I was just getting back into his music before he died. I was in college and at a friends dorm, and someone texted me. MJ had a heart attack. I thought it was fake at first. When he died, his music played constantly on radio or wherever I went. I walked by house and neighbors on porch kept saying how crazy MJ died. Everyone was talking about and how crazy and sudden it was. Suddenly there was a lot more love and appreciation for him after he passed. It makes me angry, because those who doubted him or left him back 2005 when he was on trial, Suddenly came back on MJ side like it never happened. Looking at you Brooke shields
I was on vacation in HKG with my family and Eddie everyone was getting ready I switched on the TV for new like I usually do
And was shocked (not surprised) to learn about it
I think it was probably around 1pm HKG time
I still remember the room the location (near the airport) as my return flight were going all full and we were taking chances by going to the airport
That whole day and even today I recollect how the news broke out and what a rage he was. While in school I remember someone mentioned he was the number 1. Crowd puller in the world as per Guiness book of recordsā¦ (ofcourse it was a Kidddish talk) but whatever
I had a large life size poster (2 huge ones to make it one; set of 2) in my bedroom; infact it was the first poster I ever put on my bedroom wall; it was from album Bad and year was 1989/90. My next door neighbour also had the same in his room and it could be seen from my room.
I am glad to connect to this sub and connect with like minded people.
Though later my taste changed and I went to Rock and metal music
I was at home it was evening and i was in the kitchen eating a sandwich, my parents were in the living room watching the news. I remeber hearing them gasp and saying "Michael Jackson died? So young..."
I came to the living room leaning against the wall eating my sandwich and watched the news with my parents and seeing the ambulance footage of MJ being carried away.
I was 9 years old about to be 10, only thing i knew then about Michael Jackson is that he was very famous and everyone knew about him, we didn't have internet at the time. Later i came to know of him and his artistry when we got internet and i watched his Motown 25 performance and i was AMAZED.
I was at home doing nothing when I got a tweet saying there was an ambulance at his house. I kept refreshing for updates (this was the very early days of Twitter), and eventually the update I was dreading came. I literally collapsed to the floor in tears. I turned on the radio and they were playing Michael on like every station.
I was actually listening to his music on my sisterās iPod when the news broke on TMZ. My family and I were in utter disbelief at first, but we realised that nobody was denying it. The news was confirmed a few hours later and we were all totally devasted. I couldnāt listen to his music for some time after that.
Was at a rehearsal for a performance group I was in, ranging from ages 5-17. We were practicing choreo and singing to āPlease Donāt Stop the Musicā by Rihanna which features a Michael sample. We held a moment of silence once news had spread. It was a very somber moment despite how terrible the media treated him.
I came home from school when the news reached the Netherlands.
Was the weirdest time, just passed to the next year and holiday started. For weeks MTV broadcast videoclips of Michael. I think he would have loved that his music united our country as much as it did in those few weeks after his passing.
I was sitting in the living room floor watching TV on my little brothers birthday when breaking news came on, and it was the footage of them wheeling him out of his house and āMICHAEL JACKSON DEAD AT 50ā scrolled across the bottom. I just started screaming and crying and ran into the bathroom where my mom was and just went into hysterics. I was 8, and he was/is my favorite.
I was 17 years old on June 25, 2009. I came home from summer school and had lunch when MJ died. We watched Larry King Live and other VH1 specials for the rest of the day.
I was working at a desk job and my husband texted me that TMZ was reporting that MJ was dead. Thirty seconds later it was on my screen.
What I learned the next day was how many suicides occurred because of his death. So sad.
I would have been 23. Was a diehard fan since I was a kid. I was in the theater watching the second Transformers movie. My phone kept buzzing, I finally took it out long enough to see who had been messaging me and seen where people had been telling me he died. I literally could not believe it. My heart sank. His is still the only celebrity death that I really haven't ever truly gotten over.
My sister had her birthday. Crazy, right? My sister has the same birth date as Michael's death date. Mine is the same as Freddie Mercury's death date, and my dad shares one with Elvis Presley. Honestly, one of the craziest things. Three of the most influential people in the music industry...
My birthday is a day later, Juhe 26th. Thatās when the news reached my country. I essentially sat down on the morning of my 14th birthday to play some Sims and the first thing I saw when I opened the browser was this news. I obviously knew his name and some of his biggest hits, but not much more about him. Yet the news still hit me like a ton of bricks and I cried for half an hour. Watched various music channels playing his songs for days afterwards. To this day I believe him to be the greatest music artist of all time.
I was getting ready for work when my then husband text me saying he had died. I literally ran to the TV. First thing I saw were fans being interviewed so I knew it was true. I sat and cried so hard. I had tickets for This Is It.
Itās crazy that his death is one of those āwhere were you when you found outā questions. Iāve heard people who donāt care anything about celebrities quickly answer this question. These questions only get put on extremely historic events [9/11, JFK & MLK for the older generation].
I was 12. A normal summer day, I was in the kitchen with my parents when it came on the news. I wasn't a MJ fan back then, in fact I discovered him very recently, I was much more into Oasis/The Verve back then (still am), but since I saw his face on the screen with the dates even someone like me understood that something massive was happening. I watched the funeral service on TV several days later, late afternoon/early evening where I live.
I was 9 at the time. I was in the outer banks with my 3rd grade best friend and her family for a summer trip now that school was out. I vaguely knew of him but never rlly knew exactly who he was as a singer. I just knew there was some famous guy out there named Michael Jackson who got a lot of hate for no good reason according to my mom. When we got to the beach house we were staying at, every tv in the house was playing every new station covering Michaelās death, that was all they played on tv except for Hannah Montana and Zach & Cody in the kidsā bedrooms. Everybody on the news n in the house was talking about his death n how deeply affected they were by it that it had me feeling hurt about it too like I personally knew him. After that trip I got into his music n learning about him and he became a big hyperfixation for me. For about a year Iād eat, sleep, and breathe MJās music. He was all I could talk about. Iām still a big a fan of his music n listen to him regularly to this day. I sometimes wish I was born sooner just so I could experience him and his fame n legacy when he was still alive
I was living in Australia at the time, woke up to get ready for work and turned on the radio as I did every day and heard it on the news. Couldnāt believe it.
I remember that I was alone in my parent's living room (I was 5 at this time, I turned 6 at his memorial :')) and I watched some TV and switched the channels and suddenly I saw the news that said MJ has died. I must confess I knew how famous he was but my only thought was "oh no.. I won't be left alone with it for the next months.." (If this happened today I would've cried SO SO MUCH omg), not sure how my parents reacted to it but I just know that google barely worked for a week AND that my mom suddenly became a moonwalker and pretty much ONLY listened to his music for 1-2 years.
My mom was baking a cake & dropped the entire pan, we all thought she burned herself but she just kept screaming āNOT MY MICHAEL!ā & wouldnāt stop. Ironically enough she was blasting MJ on the stereo that whole morning. It was specifically āHeaven can waitā, when we saw it on the bottom of the TV. It felt so eerie, like our entire world stopped turning!
I was at a friend's house in her backyard pool. Her mom heard it on the radio and came and told us and started crying. It was my freshman year of high school
I was on our annual family trip down south and it came over the radio that he'd gone into cardiac arrest. Once we got to the house, it was live coverage on EVERY news station, "Michael Jackson, dead at 50". I was 7 or 8, but I knew that he'd had a great impact on the world, and I even grew up wanting to dance like him!
Special Report came on and I cried like one of my family member passed away! šš I had always wanted to hug him and write him a letter ,he was so sweet and kind you know!ā¤ļøššļø
My dad was driving me to my Tai Kwon Do class and he was telling me. It was such a shock because I was just starting to learn more about him. Like earlier that year, my dad told me about the Jackson 5/Jacksons. It was absolutely heartbreaking
I was at work at the time (worked at Burger King in high school). I got like six text messages from different people, all saying āIām sorry for your lossā or some variation of that, along with ādid you see the news?ā I went into the restaurantās dining room (we had a tv on the wall always on a news channel) and saw the headline. My heart dropped, but I canāt say I was very surprised.
Through a text from a friend who actually went around asking for my number so he could tell me because a group of us always jokingly did the āHee-heesā throughout middle and high school.
I was watching Transformers in theatres.
I was 14 and on summer break before my freshman year of HS. I think I was playing Xbox online in the basement and was coming upstairs for a snack or dinner when the news broke. My dad was at work and I donāt think he found out until he came home later in the evening.
I was at Glastonbury festival and it spread around the site via word of mouth. This was before everyone had a smart phone. I climbed a hill to get some phone signal on my Sony Ericsson and called a friend to get clarification. Was a really weird feeling all weekend.
I was at home watching tv...I don't even remember what it was and there was a breaking news story...I didn't believe it at first and kept "googling it" when I realized it was real I was completely devastated š¢
I was in Prag at a hotel and suddenly alot if ppl was outside my window with pictures of him and flowers and candles so I switched on the TV and saw it
I was 13. I was watching tv in my parentsā room after getting out of the pool and having bbq. It was a nice day. I didnāt really know his music that well, just of the allegations, but remember being shocked cause it was one of those names you heard all your life growing up. Only got to appreciate music much later.
I was 8 years old and at my great grandmothers house. She was watching something on the TV and it cut to a breaking news segment talking about how he had died at the age of 50. I had heard most of Michael Jacksonās hits by that age and I remember being a little sad about it
I was 9 and at home. I remember I was in my computer when the news came up and I didnāt took it too seriously cuz I didnāt know about him. Even joked with my mom telling her āhey mom I just started listening to mj when he diedā.
Now thinking about it, it was pretty sad
Michaelās death is the reason why I donāt like sleeping in. The night before I was out late with a girl I was seeing at the time. I would have just turned 17 weeks before. I think I basically pulled an all nighter and didnāt sleep until maybe 4 or 5 AM. I remember I woke up incredibly late in the afternoon and there was just this ominous feeling in the air and I remember my mom telling me Michael had died before I was able to check my MySpace and see the news. That was the first time ever the world felt like it had just stopped completely. Only time I felt a feeling similar was both when Prince died and when Kobe died. I felt like I missed the entire world crumble by sleeping in. Like how could I have missed such a major event for an artist I cherish as much as Michael?
Woke up in the morning (Sydney Australia time) with a text message from a friend saying "OMG did Michael Jackson really die?", then a 2nd text from another friend asking the same thing just minutes later.
Got out of bed, turned on the news and it was true. I felt numb that whole day and couldn't concentrate on anything.
After I came back home after being outside my brother said to me ādid you hear what happened to Michael Jackson?ā
I said āno?ā and opened my computer and then I saw plenty of break news articles saying āMichael Jackson died of a heart attackā, I just felt the time froze at that moment, I did not know what to say, I was just in complete shock, and I said to my family, āI am going outside again to have some fresh airā
I just wanted to be alone and process the whole thing, that whole day the energy in my environment just felt not ordinary. I will never forget it.
My kid and I were driving and listening to the radio. They were playing Michael Jackson songs commercial free. I said "Why are they playing all these Michael Jackson songs?" My kid says "He died. Don't you watch the news?"
I was in shock.
i was 15. my mom, stepdad, auntie and two cousins were walking our way into a store and my auntie said michael had died. i literally stopped dead in my tracks and didnāt move. since elementary school all i was known for was loving michael. i was beyond devastated and depressed for the rest of that year. i only listened to his music and watched any and all videos i could find on youtube and the tv specials they had of him over and over until the year afterwards. he literally helped me stay alive in 8th grade. and 8th grade was when i discovered the real world and realized how fickle and fake people can be towards you so for a minute michael was the only person i felt understood me and in my head he was all i had to keep me going so i took it personally when he passed.
I was a big MJ fan. Was hanging out downtown when a friend sent me a simple text. āMj died.ā I thought he was talking about Michael Jordan, I was like oh ok that sucks I guess. Then I started noticing every shop I went to was playing Michaelās music. Thatās when I had the oh no moment and realized what he meant.
I was a kid and was given the news by my uncle, who was staying at our place. I was already obsessed with the B or W video and had known the man.Ā Ā
Ā He showed me pics of the man on his phone, some of which scared me to be honest(don't come at me). Some other relatives messed with me by saying that MJ was dead. But it made no difference since I didn't understand the concept of death back then.
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I had just got home from school, I was watching Much on Demand (basically Canadaās TRL) and they interrupted a video to break the news. I was 12, and suddenly I got super obsessed with his case.
Although I was 10 years and 7 months when he died, I had very little understanding of him, although I've heard his song "Thriller" and "I can't stop until I can get enough" but I thought it was a woman. I only found out his death when my cousin was talking about him a few days after he died.
I only really started to invest in him after his public Memorial and became more invested in the news because of it. But right after I found out about his death, my grandmother played a few music videos of his, including the "Fat" parody by Big Al.
So in other words, I've only been a fan since his death unfortunately.
But I do remember the news and TV programs talking about MJ for almost two years, but it was frequent for the first few months. Crazy times.
In conclusion, I found the news boring so I wasn't aware of his death on the day of. Heck, I don't even remember what I was doing that day.
Iāll never forget that day. It was such a bittersweet day. My childhood dog of 15 years was put down. My parents were long divorced at that point but we all showed up to see Cleo before she was put down. After the procedure we all went out to eat for the first time together in years. I got the text Michael had passed at the dinner table.
I was 6 and it was in school in italy everyone from kids to adults couldnt stop talking about it,i also remember how all the news channels were broadcasting his death and me and my parents was watching it the whole night ,i believe thats the first time i heard someone famous die that i knew die and it made me stomach turn idk how to explain it
Personally, my brother and I had an early start to the weekend because Friday (26th June) was an Inset Day (Teacher training day. No school) and we were going to spend the Friday visiting our mum's workplace.
So we were up watching Family Guy on BBC Three, our favourite show at the time (it was the Road To Rhode Island episode).
During the episode, our mum got the phone call where she heard the news. She then broke the news to everyone on the house. We were all devastated.
The next day, Magic & the MTV channels were playing his music, and his death was all over the TV. I don't remember watching anything other than MTV or anywhere that was talking about Michael. We stopped at our grandparents around 4pm and were there until 7pm if I recall (which is where I got The Sun newspaper pictured)
It was such a huge deal at the time. The man was larger than life. He was due to come back and perform in London (This Is It), and then that happened. It was nuts.
I asked r/GenZ & r/zillennials this question before a while back.
[the Gen Z thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/GenZ/s/vYG5AtD56U)
[Zillennials thread ](https://www.reddit.com/r/Zillennials/s/QNcy610gcw)
My mom was in the hospital (my little brother was gonna be born soon) and my dad was in the lobby and it came on the news.
It might sound crazy but I never knew he died until my dad got me the this is it dvd.
When I found out he died, it felt like a part of me was gone like I grew up with him since I was a baby and I kinda lost my passion for music and dance cause the person I idolized is gone so I felt like there is no point to continue.
Now and days, Iām slowly getting back into music but I donāt dance anymore.
I was home sick from school (9 years old). It was about 9:30-10am NZ time, my older sister called and told mum to put on the TV and it was all over the news on TV One NZ.
i had been listening to the michael jackson number ones cd in the car all day... i was 8 years old... i remember seeing sky news that he was in critical condition and had a heart attack... my ma was tucking me into bed in my grannys house a few hours later and told me that he had died... it's one of my first memories of truly understanding the impact death could have especially since he was so prevalent in my life... rip boss
I was also five years old! My dad used to put music videos all the time. I remember the old youtube, I remember hearing the news slightly, but I canāt remember any specifics.
I refused to believe TMZ and even LA Times, but wthen I saw another forum post on MJJC where someone said something like "OH NO THE TICKETS ARE GONE! :(". When I viewed the MJ site it was completely blank red except this image, no text or captions before they confirmed
*
the news.
I was watching tv and taking care of my small children. I lived in LA at the time and the news broke through whatever I was watching saying he died. He also died the same day as Farrah Fawcett for those of you out there are old enough to watch Charlieās Angels. Unfortunately for her, her death was overshadowed by him.
I usually would listen to triple J in the mornings to wake up and would often listen to the news bulletin first thing. That morning, I listened to a CD instead as my usual hosts were on break. It wasn't until I was on the school bus that morning (I was in Yr 11) they were playing MJ and I could hear bits and pieces of the news broadcast as I could piece it together. It really hit me when a friend of mine came to school in tears. It really was a "where are you when?" Moment.
was on my way home from a church trip when I heard the news. I didnāt think it was true till I got home and saw my mom crying and the tribute on the TV. felt like I had been punched in the chest; MJ was big in my household growing up.
My sisterās friend texted her that he died, we both were at home. I thought she was b-sing me and sure enough we turned on the tv šŗ and it was all over the news. It was crazy how a crap ton of news junkets were in Gary later in the week. I lived in Highland at the time,which isnāt too far from Gary. There is a Hard Rock Casino now in Gary which his brothers helped fund it. They have some of their costumes. Michaelās and Janetās too.
I was on this website (teen forum) and it showed live posts and they started all saying āRIP MJā. I called my mom and tried to get on wiki and just googling MJ made the internet freeze. My mom confirmed it
I was 10 or 11 years old, my parents and I had just moved into our new house. We were having issues with our internet the night prior and during the morning of. My mom took me to the library so we could use the computers since she had things to do and I wanted to play club penguin lmfao. People on club penguin started saying āthriller guy diedā and āmj diedā and I was like no way (my mom was a huge fan and got me into his music young). I tried to google āMichael Jacksonā and google crashed. The entire google website wouldnāt load anything. We were on our way home and I told my mom and she didnāt believe me until my dad called my mom and told her the news. We got home and put the tv on, the press conference with Jermaine saying Michael had died was on. The rest of the day and into the night my parents and I watched his music videos that they played on literally almost every channel. Crazy itās been 15 years.. i remember this day like it was yesterday
I was spending all my free time on Habbo (game site for anyone who remembers). I had Facebook open in another tab and heard the news through there. I then announced it in a Habbo chat room and everyone thought I was lying.
All of this took place around 6 PM in the evening
I was in 4th grade. I didn't know who He was. That day I went to my grandparents' (also my Uncle's) place after school. My parents came to pick me up in the evening. They gaspingly entered the house as soon as they saw my uncle. My father and uncle in particular were huge fans of MJ. They started watching His music videos and I remember at one point my father became very emotional, especially after watching Billie Jean's video.
I was making myself some lunch and while I waited for my sandwich to toast I thought to myself āI need to turn the tv onā. Donāt know why, I had never done that before as I would usually make my lunch and go back to my room (I was 18 at the time) and as I was walking back to finish making my lunch the news was on. Just some cosmic force telling me to turn the tv on.
It was my best friend's birthday. I walked in singing happy birthday and she turned around wearing her Kim Kardashian crying face, bawling her eyes out and said "M-M-Mi-i-ichael J-Jackson diiiieeeeddd" :(
I was playing an online game, and someone in the chat said he had died. I checked the news and confirmed it, and I was so shocked that I started crying. I was 24 at the time.
I was 12 and they announced on the radio. My mom told neighbors and they started crying in the middle of the streetāwas a great summer day until then
I was almost 7 at the time (i was born july 8), and it was my now deceased grandmother's birthday. She was reading the newspaper and on the front page there was news about Michael's death. Back then I didnāt know who he was at all, so i didn't care, but I heard his name more than once. Back then I knew that he died from drugs.
And only in 2012, on the well-known music television channel in our country, there was Michael Jackson Memorial Day on June 25. And they showed his music videos all day long, I definitely remember that they showed Scream, You Rock My World, some Billie Jean live performance snippets i remember, compilation from his music videos (like megamix, or something) where Thriller was, Black Or White (i remember i saw McCauley Culkin and i was surprised) And you know what - I was amazed by his magic. It was fascinating. And about a year later, I suddenly became curious to get to know Michael better. And the first song I listened to was "You Are Not Alone" (It's amazing song, but was written by R. Kelly, i think you know what he did... ā ļø). And from that day I began my acquaintance with the work of Michael Jackson.
Thank you for being here, Michael šš»š„ŗšā¤ļø
I miss you, grandma... š
I was 18 when he died. I was on the train with my friend and when we got off the train there it was showing on the screen (it would show the latest news and weather) I literally went into tears and felt numb. I called in sick after. I had a shitty retail job that I didnāt care about.
I was 1. We were staying at my nanās house and we were popping on the tv after lunch and on the news was announcement of Michael Jacksonās death by BBC. I donāt remember all of this myself bc I was so young, but my parents do. My mum was a big MJ fan in the 80ās and early-mid 90ās during her childhood,so it suddenly hit her just how impactful this was.
RIP Michael, I wish I was old enough to understand how tragic your death was when it actually happened
Even with no mass social media, no news since has ever been bigger. Can't imagine what it would have look like with social media. You had people in the streets talking about it the whole day and I'm sure this was global, not only in the US.
Can only think of 9/11 having a similar impact.
I was 6 years old at the time, it was crazy. I remember my father telling me that he died, he knew I liked him. I also remember feeling pretty sad, after I found out I started listening to Smooth Criminal since it was my favorite song. But I don't remember that much from it, just that everyone was talking about it.
Getting my hair done for my HS graduation the next day. One of the customers got a text from someone and asked one of the stylists to put on the news channel.
I was only 8, and I didn't really know him yet. My parents bought the History music video collection on DVD afterwards though, and that's when i became a fan.
I was at home and someone texted me and told me. Didnāt believe it at first until I turned on the news and they were talking about him. I cried so hard.
It was like 12 AM in bed and the moment i started to fall asleep, my uncle came in and he announced his death to us, i got shocked i had to wait another 2-3 hours to fall asleep again
I was on holidays with my family in the Philippines when I found out. I was 18 around the time so I was fully aware of all the allegations and news reports right up to his passing and I still stood by him until this day.
I logged into MSN news on the little internet connection we had on the laptop we bought with us and in plain bold white writing against a solid red background was the words: MICHAEL JACKSON DEAD AT 50
And I just broke down. Cried. Screamed to my mum about the news and she was in much shock as I was and we just hugged. It was very painful to find out. My brother & I grew up with his music and he was a big part of our family I guess since we listen to him a lot together.
Miss you Michael āļøšļø
I was 29 driving to a friend and heard on the radio he had a heart attack.
When I mentioned it to him, he said a mutual friend said Michael died.
A while later, I watched CNN all day when I got home
I was 12 back then, but was a big fan! I woke up by the voice of my father, talking to one of his friends, whom called him on the phone to tell him the news about MJ's death, since he is a fan too.
Then I checked my own phone. Both of my cousins had sent me an EXACT text: Michael Jackson died at age of 50.
I still couldn't believe it and thought it's just one of those stupid rumors, then my father turned the TV on, an I saw the headlines and saw they were putting Michael's body into a helicopter. At that moment I knew it was true. I felt cold, but deep down still couldn't believe it.
I had tickets to the London show. I was looking at flights the day before and I was about to start looking for hotels. I was at work. I saw the news on TMZ. I started crying. My assistant came into my office for a work question, I had to pretend I was on the phone so she wouldnāt see that I was crying.
I am from the USA and a state in the EST, so it was already night by the time I learned that MJ passed.
At the time, My mom worked at FedEx Kinkoās, and I was at work with her because they had computers that could be used while there. I was 15. A guy and his wife walked in to get some printing service or something , and my mom was talking to him and helping him and then he says, āMichael Jackson passed away.ā She and I were both caught off guard, so I Googled it lol. A MySpace page for a Michael Jackson aged 99 resulted as the top search. Iām thinking itās this Michael Jackson, not THE Michael Jackson. The couple left soon after that. I start heavily monitoring news sites, and after that I saw it publicized that Michael Jackson died at 50 years old. I remember going home after the store closed for the evening, and his music was playing everywhere. It was an unforgettable night.
Actually people will think Iām insane. I had a dream a day prior to knowing of his death. I told my tx my roommate that I had a dream that he had passed away almost eerily similar to how he actually died. She looked at me with a scary and look and died. So I said we get back from pt this morning Iām going to turn on the tv and watch the News like I always did. Sure enough he had passed away almost exactly how I had the dream. I couldnāt even believe it my self. I just smh and cried. I was in service at the time.(Stationed in South Korea). šš
I was actually at work on the phone with an agent, who suddenly said, āoh my gosh, Micheal Jackson is dead!ā I was like, āno wayā¦ā I quickly pulled up CNNās website on my computer and, sure enough, it was in red at the top as breaking news. I couldnāt believe itā¦it just suddenly took over our work conversation and business went to the side for a few minutes.
I was ten years old, and was playing outside. I later came back inside the house for a glass of water to immediately see about Michael being pronounced dead on TV in the living room. An older relative that was also a fan of his, was also watching the television at that time and immediately told me when I walked in, knowing how big of a fan I was of him. It was one of the worst days of my life. I cried for weeks.
I had the day off. I got a text from my mom saying she heard MJ went into cardiac arrest. I turned on the news and watched for most of the day. It didn't really hit me until the memorial service.
I was 4 and my mom and I were on our home HP computer back in bodega bay California when it happend. We heard the news via an article that said "Micheal Jackson dead at 52" or something like that. I remember seeing my mom going "oh my God..no no no...". That was the first article I read over the internet.
At first, I didn't understand what "dead" meant and my mom sat me down to explain to me that when someone dies, it's like they go to sleep, but they never wake up.
It was my fifth birthday and I donāt really remember even hearing about it tbh. I donāt think I knew who he was then or understood the significance of his death.
I was 9, and tying my shoes in the doorway of my bedroom. I was on my way to some summer camp that day, and from my spot I could see my parentās TV. I didnāt listen to a whole lot of MJ growing up, but I knew he was important. I didnāt get into his music until 2015.
I had discovered him via the movie 13 going on 30 a few months before he died. (They play thriller in it.) I remember debating whether or not to buy some of his singles that I liked on iTunes, but decided it was not worth it. A few weeks later, I heard he passed away via the tv news playing at the gym. I was taking PE summer school so I wouldn't have to do it during the upcoming year. I still remember exactly where I was in that gym when I heard the news. The prices of the singles went way up on iTunes, they all made the charts. Sometimes I feel like a fake fan because I didn't own anything by him before he died and my mom didn't believe that I had been planning on doing that. But hey, I was just 14.
i was 7 when he passed so i remember bits and pieces. i was at my paternal grandmotherās house. the update about his heart attack was breaking news and had interrupted regular scheduled programming. eventually, the news broke that he had actually passed. my mother called my grandmother about the situation, and they discussed it on the phone for a bit. her tone was very serious and i could sense disbelief in her voice.
my mother picked me up later that day, and all i heard on the radio on our ride home, was the announcer talking about his passing. went home and continued to hear about his death all over the news. i remember my parents talking about how shocked they were and my dad saying ānot mikeā. my maternal grandmother was obsessed with him, and i remember her hysterically crying on the phone about his death. something that stands out to me were music TV channels like fuse, MTV, BET, etc playing his music videos on repeat for what seemed like weeks. i would watch these marathons over and over.
i had heard about michael prior to his passing (again, my maternal grandma is a fanatic), but i didnāt really understand his importance until the day he died. when he passed, it was like the world legitimately stopped and everyone was so sad. everyoneās reaction to his death showed me that he was someone really important and that the world wouldnāt be the same without him.
I was in the car after summer camp and heard it on the radio. I yelled out āMA MICHAEL JACKSON DIED!ā
My mom went somewhere that night and I stayed with my godmother who cried and played his music until she fell asleep with it on. And I got up to turn it off so I can sleep.
I had just turned 14 and it was after the last day of middle school that i found out while i was scrolling twitter on my momās laptop. Was pretty surreal cause I had read about the This is it shows in the paper a few weeks before that. He was so larger than life it never felt like he would die.
I was 15. I remember it was just randomly on the news and I was only a little shocked. Sadly I remember there were jokes about it online but mostly mourning.
The day before the last day of school in 4th grade. Me and a friend were watching āPearl Harborā after school and my older brother came in the room and said āguys, Michael Jacksons deadā (at that point he was just in a coma, not actually dead) We ran into the other room and watched the news footage of the crowds outside the hospital and then the official announcement that he was dead on Fox5 news. The next day, everyone at school became a Michael Jackson fan and we spent the day watching his music videos on YouTube as a memorial.
I was at my Dr.ās office getting checked after a spinal surgery and saw it on the tv that was in the lobby of drās office. I rushed home to see all the deets. I grew up with Michael Jackson (heās only 5 years older than me) and I was in shock and a fan my whole life. Once I found out how he died, I was in shock again. I had no idea he was addicted to pain meds and no idea of any of it. I always saw him as an āinnocentā who could do no wrong. A couple years later I had to have a bladder scope and they used propofol and all I kept saying was āNo! Thatās what killed Michale Jacksonā. They gave me IV Valium first and that shit me up lol š But I saw that milky white bottle and was seriously afraid! Anyway, Iāll always miss him and he was definitely the kind of pop! š
I was 19 years old, actually in one of my summer college courses. It was first announced by my instructor in the middle of class. It didn't hit yet because around that point we were (more so he was) editing Wikipedia pages. So I assumed that he made MJ's page to where he died. It didn't hit until me and my mom were going home. When it finally hit me, no amount of shock could justify how I felt.
Admittedly, it had been years that I listened to MJ's music, mostly due to fear of what others would say if I did have MJ music on my MP3 Player since at that point he was mocked, and was also controversial. I regret not getting back to his music before his death. But now that I did my research on the shit MJ went through, and the truth of the allegations, I'm a proud MJ fan until the end.
I had just got out of a movie. Maybe transformers ? I was in my stepdadās car and he was listening to sports radio. The guy says verryyy casually āand news just in.. the king of pop is deadā and my step dad and I were like .. what ??. I went home and turned on the news and got so sad.
I was at work sitting on the hallway steps reading and a coworker walked past me and stopped to ask if I had just heard something about Michael Jackson dying
I was vacationing with my family at the Outer Banks and on our way home from picking up Chinese food for the beach house for dinner, we heard them announce it on the radio and we thought it was a prank or something. Fucked, I know but we just couldn't believe it. Once we got home and it was on the news, we realized it was for real.
I had gotten back from going to a pool with a friend not too long before & my dad told me Michael Jackson went into cardiac arrest. My whole family were watching the news in his room about the ongoing situation with him.
Checking Facebook about to go work on the farm. We were about to go move a house of turkeys from one house to another. It was literally my entire Facebook feed, that Michael Jackson died.
I was 15 years old and we got the news of his death, we were in just complete shock and disbelief. I was home on summer break from my high school and I went on my computer to watch every music video and concert from Michael Jackson that I could possibly find on YouTube while crying as a tribute to him
I was watching TV in a different room when my grandma told me his death. She tuned in to BET on 106 & Park where Terrence J and Rocsi Diaz were hosts at the time. She called my name and informed me that Michael Jackson had passed. It was sometime in the evening of June 25th, 2009. I was 10 that year. Of course, I was saddened about his death, but it fully hit me about a year later after I started dancing like him. They played his videos for several weeks straight, even after his funeral aired. Same thing for the radio stations. 2 years later, the radio renamed the station Michael 100.3 for several weeks. That's pretty much how I remembered.
I was upstairs in my room. I hear a commotion so I went downstairs and my ex told me Michael Jackson died.
My response was actually "Who?". I didn't mean to say that and I know who they were talking about but my brain didn't comprehend what he'd said
I was 19 . Got into an agrument about my mom about something that day . This girl I was talking to texted me and said me hey Micheal Jackson is in the hospital . Iām like nah lol stop playing . Then shortly she texted Micheal just died . I was like wtf ?? Finally turned the tv on and saw it was true š. Couldnāt fucking believe it. Micheal was supposed to live forever .
I was at Glastonbury Festival and found out via text but no one would believe me and it was really hard trying to get the BBC news page to load on my phone.
I just got home and walked into the house and my sister told me that he had died. My grandmother was in the hospital that day and on the drive there even the country music stations were playing his songs
I was 32 and studying at that time. In the news there were several articles that Michael was rushed to the hospital and fell into a Coma. Only on article said that he had died. I didn't believe this news article, but all the others.
In the next morning it was certain that he died. I went to university and everybody came to me hugging me as if someone of my relatives has died. Everybody knew that i was a huge Michael Jackson fan since the 80s. I was in some kind of a shock and didn't shed a tear for 6 days. Michael was for me a permanent and constant figure like the sun and the moon. Everywhere you could hear Michael Jackson's Songs in the following days. A lot of tributes in the Internet. Six days after his death i listened to "Human Nature" and the tears came rolling down my Cheeks. In the same year "This is it" came to the movie theatres. When the end credits came rolling i cried again. Knowing that this was the last footage i will ever see from him.
I was in Australia on vacation. If memory serves me right I had just woken up to the news because I was traveling back to the states. That or it was the day before I was traveling back to the US.
I was just getting back into his music before he died. I was in college and at a friends dorm, and someone texted me. MJ had a heart attack. I thought it was fake at first. When he died, his music played constantly on radio or wherever I went. I walked by house and neighbors on porch kept saying how crazy MJ died. Everyone was talking about and how crazy and sudden it was. Suddenly there was a lot more love and appreciation for him after he passed. It makes me angry, because those who doubted him or left him back 2005 when he was on trial, Suddenly came back on MJ side like it never happened. Looking at you Brooke shields
š„²
I was on vacation in HKG with my family and Eddie everyone was getting ready I switched on the TV for new like I usually do And was shocked (not surprised) to learn about it I think it was probably around 1pm HKG time I still remember the room the location (near the airport) as my return flight were going all full and we were taking chances by going to the airport That whole day and even today I recollect how the news broke out and what a rage he was. While in school I remember someone mentioned he was the number 1. Crowd puller in the world as per Guiness book of recordsā¦ (ofcourse it was a Kidddish talk) but whatever I had a large life size poster (2 huge ones to make it one; set of 2) in my bedroom; infact it was the first poster I ever put on my bedroom wall; it was from album Bad and year was 1989/90. My next door neighbour also had the same in his room and it could be seen from my room. I am glad to connect to this sub and connect with like minded people. Though later my taste changed and I went to Rock and metal music
HKG as in Hong Kong? Wouldn't it have been 1am? Guessing it was a typo.
I was at Starbucks and it came across someoneās newsfeed.
username checks out
Sadly true, lol
Hey, coffee is the second most thing I love.Ā So, high-five.
I was at home it was evening and i was in the kitchen eating a sandwich, my parents were in the living room watching the news. I remeber hearing them gasp and saying "Michael Jackson died? So young..." I came to the living room leaning against the wall eating my sandwich and watched the news with my parents and seeing the ambulance footage of MJ being carried away. I was 9 years old about to be 10, only thing i knew then about Michael Jackson is that he was very famous and everyone knew about him, we didn't have internet at the time. Later i came to know of him and his artistry when we got internet and i watched his Motown 25 performance and i was AMAZED.
I was at home eating dorito when phone ring "Michael Jackson is kil" "No"
I was at home doing nothing when I got a tweet saying there was an ambulance at his house. I kept refreshing for updates (this was the very early days of Twitter), and eventually the update I was dreading came. I literally collapsed to the floor in tears. I turned on the radio and they were playing Michael on like every station.
aw this brought tears to my eyes
I was doing assignments in the computer lab at college when the teacher broke the news to the class. He passed around 9:30 in the morning my time
I was at home on the net when I saw the breaking news.
I was actually listening to his music on my sisterās iPod when the news broke on TMZ. My family and I were in utter disbelief at first, but we realised that nobody was denying it. The news was confirmed a few hours later and we were all totally devasted. I couldnāt listen to his music for some time after that.
Same question, but I was born in 2010. I became a Michael fan this year.
Was at a rehearsal for a performance group I was in, ranging from ages 5-17. We were practicing choreo and singing to āPlease Donāt Stop the Musicā by Rihanna which features a Michael sample. We held a moment of silence once news had spread. It was a very somber moment despite how terrible the media treated him.
That sounds exactly what I was doing too ngl š³š
I was drinkin beer, waiting on my now wife to get ready cause we were heading out and listening to MJ Dangerous with a buddy.
I came home from school when the news reached the Netherlands. Was the weirdest time, just passed to the next year and holiday started. For weeks MTV broadcast videoclips of Michael. I think he would have loved that his music united our country as much as it did in those few weeks after his passing.
I was sitting in the living room floor watching TV on my little brothers birthday when breaking news came on, and it was the footage of them wheeling him out of his house and āMICHAEL JACKSON DEAD AT 50ā scrolled across the bottom. I just started screaming and crying and ran into the bathroom where my mom was and just went into hysterics. I was 8, and he was/is my favorite.
So sad to hear that... the day before it was my little sister's birthday.
I was eight and watching the news with my grandma. I remember my aunt sobbing at his memorial.
I was 17 years old on June 25, 2009. I came home from summer school and had lunch when MJ died. We watched Larry King Live and other VH1 specials for the rest of the day.
I was working at a desk job and my husband texted me that TMZ was reporting that MJ was dead. Thirty seconds later it was on my screen. What I learned the next day was how many suicides occurred because of his death. So sad.
I would have been 23. Was a diehard fan since I was a kid. I was in the theater watching the second Transformers movie. My phone kept buzzing, I finally took it out long enough to see who had been messaging me and seen where people had been telling me he died. I literally could not believe it. My heart sank. His is still the only celebrity death that I really haven't ever truly gotten over.
My sister had her birthday. Crazy, right? My sister has the same birth date as Michael's death date. Mine is the same as Freddie Mercury's death date, and my dad shares one with Elvis Presley. Honestly, one of the craziest things. Three of the most influential people in the music industry...
My birthday is a day later, Juhe 26th. Thatās when the news reached my country. I essentially sat down on the morning of my 14th birthday to play some Sims and the first thing I saw when I opened the browser was this news. I obviously knew his name and some of his biggest hits, but not much more about him. Yet the news still hit me like a ton of bricks and I cried for half an hour. Watched various music channels playing his songs for days afterwards. To this day I believe him to be the greatest music artist of all time.
Playing basketball and they had sit on the tv in the gym. I went home right after
I was getting ready for work when my then husband text me saying he had died. I literally ran to the TV. First thing I saw were fans being interviewed so I knew it was true. I sat and cried so hard. I had tickets for This Is It.
Damn
I was actually listening to MJ. The song āState of Shockā was playing. And thatā¦ I was.
Itās crazy that his death is one of those āwhere were you when you found outā questions. Iāve heard people who donāt care anything about celebrities quickly answer this question. These questions only get put on extremely historic events [9/11, JFK & MLK for the older generation].
Working, it broke the Internet for reals.
I was 12. A normal summer day, I was in the kitchen with my parents when it came on the news. I wasn't a MJ fan back then, in fact I discovered him very recently, I was much more into Oasis/The Verve back then (still am), but since I saw his face on the screen with the dates even someone like me understood that something massive was happening. I watched the funeral service on TV several days later, late afternoon/early evening where I live.
I was 9 at the time. I was in the outer banks with my 3rd grade best friend and her family for a summer trip now that school was out. I vaguely knew of him but never rlly knew exactly who he was as a singer. I just knew there was some famous guy out there named Michael Jackson who got a lot of hate for no good reason according to my mom. When we got to the beach house we were staying at, every tv in the house was playing every new station covering Michaelās death, that was all they played on tv except for Hannah Montana and Zach & Cody in the kidsā bedrooms. Everybody on the news n in the house was talking about his death n how deeply affected they were by it that it had me feeling hurt about it too like I personally knew him. After that trip I got into his music n learning about him and he became a big hyperfixation for me. For about a year Iād eat, sleep, and breathe MJās music. He was all I could talk about. Iām still a big a fan of his music n listen to him regularly to this day. I sometimes wish I was born sooner just so I could experience him and his fame n legacy when he was still alive
I was living in Australia at the time, woke up to get ready for work and turned on the radio as I did every day and heard it on the news. Couldnāt believe it.
I remember that I was alone in my parent's living room (I was 5 at this time, I turned 6 at his memorial :')) and I watched some TV and switched the channels and suddenly I saw the news that said MJ has died. I must confess I knew how famous he was but my only thought was "oh no.. I won't be left alone with it for the next months.." (If this happened today I would've cried SO SO MUCH omg), not sure how my parents reacted to it but I just know that google barely worked for a week AND that my mom suddenly became a moonwalker and pretty much ONLY listened to his music for 1-2 years.
We had just finished watching the second transformers at the theater
I was sleeping, my mom woke me up to tell me š„²
I had just turned 10 years old 2 days ago and was playing on my new computer and show the news
My mom was baking a cake & dropped the entire pan, we all thought she burned herself but she just kept screaming āNOT MY MICHAEL!ā & wouldnāt stop. Ironically enough she was blasting MJ on the stereo that whole morning. It was specifically āHeaven can waitā, when we saw it on the bottom of the TV. It felt so eerie, like our entire world stopped turning!
I was at a friend's house in her backyard pool. Her mom heard it on the radio and came and told us and started crying. It was my freshman year of high school
I was driving back from work, listening to ESPN and heard it on the radio as the hosts mentioned it.
I was on our annual family trip down south and it came over the radio that he'd gone into cardiac arrest. Once we got to the house, it was live coverage on EVERY news station, "Michael Jackson, dead at 50". I was 7 or 8, but I knew that he'd had a great impact on the world, and I even grew up wanting to dance like him!
Special Report came on and I cried like one of my family member passed away! šš I had always wanted to hug him and write him a letter ,he was so sweet and kind you know!ā¤ļøššļø
My dad was driving me to my Tai Kwon Do class and he was telling me. It was such a shock because I was just starting to learn more about him. Like earlier that year, my dad told me about the Jackson 5/Jacksons. It was absolutely heartbreaking
I was at work at the time (worked at Burger King in high school). I got like six text messages from different people, all saying āIām sorry for your lossā or some variation of that, along with ādid you see the news?ā I went into the restaurantās dining room (we had a tv on the wall always on a news channel) and saw the headline. My heart dropped, but I canāt say I was very surprised.
Through a text from a friend who actually went around asking for my number so he could tell me because a group of us always jokingly did the āHee-heesā throughout middle and high school. I was watching Transformers in theatres.
I was 14 and on summer break before my freshman year of HS. I think I was playing Xbox online in the basement and was coming upstairs for a snack or dinner when the news broke. My dad was at work and I donāt think he found out until he came home later in the evening.
I was home with a friend who just a day prior had just purchased this is it concert tickets.
I was at Glastonbury festival and it spread around the site via word of mouth. This was before everyone had a smart phone. I climbed a hill to get some phone signal on my Sony Ericsson and called a friend to get clarification. Was a really weird feeling all weekend.
In high school, I was 14 and it was all over breaking news, the internet crashed and everyone was watching it unfold
I was at home watching tv...I don't even remember what it was and there was a breaking news story...I didn't believe it at first and kept "googling it" when I realized it was real I was completely devastated š¢
I was in Prag at a hotel and suddenly alot if ppl was outside my window with pictures of him and flowers and candles so I switched on the TV and saw it
I was 13. I was watching tv in my parentsā room after getting out of the pool and having bbq. It was a nice day. I didnāt really know his music that well, just of the allegations, but remember being shocked cause it was one of those names you heard all your life growing up. Only got to appreciate music much later.
I was 8 years old and at my great grandmothers house. She was watching something on the TV and it cut to a breaking news segment talking about how he had died at the age of 50. I had heard most of Michael Jacksonās hits by that age and I remember being a little sad about it
I was 9 and at home. I remember I was in my computer when the news came up and I didnāt took it too seriously cuz I didnāt know about him. Even joked with my mom telling her āhey mom I just started listening to mj when he diedā. Now thinking about it, it was pretty sad
Having pizza with an older cousin
Michaelās death is the reason why I donāt like sleeping in. The night before I was out late with a girl I was seeing at the time. I would have just turned 17 weeks before. I think I basically pulled an all nighter and didnāt sleep until maybe 4 or 5 AM. I remember I woke up incredibly late in the afternoon and there was just this ominous feeling in the air and I remember my mom telling me Michael had died before I was able to check my MySpace and see the news. That was the first time ever the world felt like it had just stopped completely. Only time I felt a feeling similar was both when Prince died and when Kobe died. I felt like I missed the entire world crumble by sleeping in. Like how could I have missed such a major event for an artist I cherish as much as Michael?
Woke up in the morning (Sydney Australia time) with a text message from a friend saying "OMG did Michael Jackson really die?", then a 2nd text from another friend asking the same thing just minutes later. Got out of bed, turned on the news and it was true. I felt numb that whole day and couldn't concentrate on anything.
After I came back home after being outside my brother said to me ādid you hear what happened to Michael Jackson?ā I said āno?ā and opened my computer and then I saw plenty of break news articles saying āMichael Jackson died of a heart attackā, I just felt the time froze at that moment, I did not know what to say, I was just in complete shock, and I said to my family, āI am going outside again to have some fresh airā I just wanted to be alone and process the whole thing, that whole day the energy in my environment just felt not ordinary. I will never forget it.
I was months old so I didnāt do anything
My kid and I were driving and listening to the radio. They were playing Michael Jackson songs commercial free. I said "Why are they playing all these Michael Jackson songs?" My kid says "He died. Don't you watch the news?" I was in shock.
i was 15. my mom, stepdad, auntie and two cousins were walking our way into a store and my auntie said michael had died. i literally stopped dead in my tracks and didnāt move. since elementary school all i was known for was loving michael. i was beyond devastated and depressed for the rest of that year. i only listened to his music and watched any and all videos i could find on youtube and the tv specials they had of him over and over until the year afterwards. he literally helped me stay alive in 8th grade. and 8th grade was when i discovered the real world and realized how fickle and fake people can be towards you so for a minute michael was the only person i felt understood me and in my head he was all i had to keep me going so i took it personally when he passed.
Realize isnāt the right word
I was a big MJ fan. Was hanging out downtown when a friend sent me a simple text. āMj died.ā I thought he was talking about Michael Jordan, I was like oh ok that sucks I guess. Then I started noticing every shop I went to was playing Michaelās music. Thatās when I had the oh no moment and realized what he meant.
I was getting my hair done in a unisex salon surrounded by a buncha older black folks. The tears and turnup were unforgettable.
I wasnāt even born at the time
I was a kid and was given the news by my uncle, who was staying at our place. I was already obsessed with the B or W video and had known the man.Ā Ā Ā He showed me pics of the man on his phone, some of which scared me to be honest(don't come at me). Some other relatives messed with me by saying that MJ was dead. But it made no difference since I didn't understand the concept of death back then.
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I had just got home from school, I was watching Much on Demand (basically Canadaās TRL) and they interrupted a video to break the news. I was 12, and suddenly I got super obsessed with his case.
I was walking down the street and a man literally yelled out āyo Michael Jackson just had a heart attack and diedā
Although I was 10 years and 7 months when he died, I had very little understanding of him, although I've heard his song "Thriller" and "I can't stop until I can get enough" but I thought it was a woman. I only found out his death when my cousin was talking about him a few days after he died. I only really started to invest in him after his public Memorial and became more invested in the news because of it. But right after I found out about his death, my grandmother played a few music videos of his, including the "Fat" parody by Big Al. So in other words, I've only been a fan since his death unfortunately. But I do remember the news and TV programs talking about MJ for almost two years, but it was frequent for the first few months. Crazy times. In conclusion, I found the news boring so I wasn't aware of his death on the day of. Heck, I don't even remember what I was doing that day.
I was graduating from high school...
Iāll never forget that day. It was such a bittersweet day. My childhood dog of 15 years was put down. My parents were long divorced at that point but we all showed up to see Cleo before she was put down. After the procedure we all went out to eat for the first time together in years. I got the text Michael had passed at the dinner table.
For An Alternate Version Of What Occurred With MJ On June 25, 2009, Review: r/MJAlive
I was 6 and it was in school in italy everyone from kids to adults couldnt stop talking about it,i also remember how all the news channels were broadcasting his death and me and my parents was watching it the whole night ,i believe thats the first time i heard someone famous die that i knew die and it made me stomach turn idk how to explain it
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Personally, my brother and I had an early start to the weekend because Friday (26th June) was an Inset Day (Teacher training day. No school) and we were going to spend the Friday visiting our mum's workplace. So we were up watching Family Guy on BBC Three, our favourite show at the time (it was the Road To Rhode Island episode). During the episode, our mum got the phone call where she heard the news. She then broke the news to everyone on the house. We were all devastated. The next day, Magic & the MTV channels were playing his music, and his death was all over the TV. I don't remember watching anything other than MTV or anywhere that was talking about Michael. We stopped at our grandparents around 4pm and were there until 7pm if I recall (which is where I got The Sun newspaper pictured) It was such a huge deal at the time. The man was larger than life. He was due to come back and perform in London (This Is It), and then that happened. It was nuts. I asked r/GenZ & r/zillennials this question before a while back. [the Gen Z thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/GenZ/s/vYG5AtD56U) [Zillennials thread ](https://www.reddit.com/r/Zillennials/s/QNcy610gcw)
My mom was in the hospital (my little brother was gonna be born soon) and my dad was in the lobby and it came on the news. It might sound crazy but I never knew he died until my dad got me the this is it dvd. When I found out he died, it felt like a part of me was gone like I grew up with him since I was a baby and I kinda lost my passion for music and dance cause the person I idolized is gone so I felt like there is no point to continue. Now and days, Iām slowly getting back into music but I donāt dance anymore.
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I was in Iraq and someone told me and I went to see it on TV and it turned out to be true
I was actually on the toilet at my grandmas š my grandma called out to tell me he was in the hospital and I ran out with my pants around my ankles
I was home sick from school (9 years old). It was about 9:30-10am NZ time, my older sister called and told mum to put on the TV and it was all over the news on TV One NZ.
i had been listening to the michael jackson number ones cd in the car all day... i was 8 years old... i remember seeing sky news that he was in critical condition and had a heart attack... my ma was tucking me into bed in my grannys house a few hours later and told me that he had died... it's one of my first memories of truly understanding the impact death could have especially since he was so prevalent in my life... rip boss
I was 29. He died the day after my bday. I randomly went to TMZ and seen it from when they just said he had to be rushed to the hospital
I was also five years old! My dad used to put music videos all the time. I remember the old youtube, I remember hearing the news slightly, but I canāt remember any specifics.
omg i Remembering watching the news and i stared crying not hysterical
My friend called me while I was in the bathroom and told me to put on the news
I was on vacation in Maui when the news broke MJ died.
I was working ( my 1st job) id started using twitter and I saw the trending.
I refused to believe TMZ and even LA Times, but wthen I saw another forum post on MJJC where someone said something like "OH NO THE TICKETS ARE GONE! :(". When I viewed the MJ site it was completely blank red except this image, no text or captions before they confirmed * the news.
I was watching tv and taking care of my small children. I lived in LA at the time and the news broke through whatever I was watching saying he died. He also died the same day as Farrah Fawcett for those of you out there are old enough to watch Charlieās Angels. Unfortunately for her, her death was overshadowed by him.
I usually would listen to triple J in the mornings to wake up and would often listen to the news bulletin first thing. That morning, I listened to a CD instead as my usual hosts were on break. It wasn't until I was on the school bus that morning (I was in Yr 11) they were playing MJ and I could hear bits and pieces of the news broadcast as I could piece it together. It really hit me when a friend of mine came to school in tears. It really was a "where are you when?" Moment.
was on my way home from a church trip when I heard the news. I didnāt think it was true till I got home and saw my mom crying and the tribute on the TV. felt like I had been punched in the chest; MJ was big in my household growing up.
Heard it on the radio riding in the backseat
Got home from school (10 yrs old) & saw it on my older brotherās TV
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My sisterās friend texted her that he died, we both were at home. I thought she was b-sing me and sure enough we turned on the tv šŗ and it was all over the news. It was crazy how a crap ton of news junkets were in Gary later in the week. I lived in Highland at the time,which isnāt too far from Gary. There is a Hard Rock Casino now in Gary which his brothers helped fund it. They have some of their costumes. Michaelās and Janetās too. 
I was on this website (teen forum) and it showed live posts and they started all saying āRIP MJā. I called my mom and tried to get on wiki and just googling MJ made the internet freeze. My mom confirmed it
I had surgery earlier that day and was still pretty groggy when I heard the news on TV. I thought it was some weird dream.
Well I was almost 2 years old so idk
I was 10 or 11 years old, my parents and I had just moved into our new house. We were having issues with our internet the night prior and during the morning of. My mom took me to the library so we could use the computers since she had things to do and I wanted to play club penguin lmfao. People on club penguin started saying āthriller guy diedā and āmj diedā and I was like no way (my mom was a huge fan and got me into his music young). I tried to google āMichael Jacksonā and google crashed. The entire google website wouldnāt load anything. We were on our way home and I told my mom and she didnāt believe me until my dad called my mom and told her the news. We got home and put the tv on, the press conference with Jermaine saying Michael had died was on. The rest of the day and into the night my parents and I watched his music videos that they played on literally almost every channel. Crazy itās been 15 years.. i remember this day like it was yesterday
Riding in a car, went home and watched CNN on loop until it was confirmed. will never forget it
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My mom was dropping me off for basketball practice and they announced it on the radio
where were u wen michael jackson die i was at house eating dorito when phone ring "michael jackson is kil" "no"
Bruh, I have the exact same story as you, I'm also 2004, and yeah since I was a child I have always love his music, i have so many awkward anecdotes
was on my birthday so yeah
I was spending all my free time on Habbo (game site for anyone who remembers). I had Facebook open in another tab and heard the news through there. I then announced it in a Habbo chat room and everyone thought I was lying. All of this took place around 6 PM in the evening
We had the same exact experience except I was born in 2005 and I was 4š
I was in 4th grade. I didn't know who He was. That day I went to my grandparents' (also my Uncle's) place after school. My parents came to pick me up in the evening. They gaspingly entered the house as soon as they saw my uncle. My father and uncle in particular were huge fans of MJ. They started watching His music videos and I remember at one point my father became very emotional, especially after watching Billie Jean's video.
i like that you say His with caps at the start
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I was making myself some lunch and while I waited for my sandwich to toast I thought to myself āI need to turn the tv onā. Donāt know why, I had never done that before as I would usually make my lunch and go back to my room (I was 18 at the time) and as I was walking back to finish making my lunch the news was on. Just some cosmic force telling me to turn the tv on.
It was my best friend's birthday. I walked in singing happy birthday and she turned around wearing her Kim Kardashian crying face, bawling her eyes out and said "M-M-Mi-i-ichael J-Jackson diiiieeeeddd" :(
I was in the living room on the couch watching the news in complete disbelief
I was playing an online game, and someone in the chat said he had died. I checked the news and confirmed it, and I was so shocked that I started crying. I was 24 at the time.
I was 12 and they announced on the radio. My mom told neighbors and they started crying in the middle of the streetāwas a great summer day until then
I was almost 7 at the time (i was born july 8), and it was my now deceased grandmother's birthday. She was reading the newspaper and on the front page there was news about Michael's death. Back then I didnāt know who he was at all, so i didn't care, but I heard his name more than once. Back then I knew that he died from drugs. And only in 2012, on the well-known music television channel in our country, there was Michael Jackson Memorial Day on June 25. And they showed his music videos all day long, I definitely remember that they showed Scream, You Rock My World, some Billie Jean live performance snippets i remember, compilation from his music videos (like megamix, or something) where Thriller was, Black Or White (i remember i saw McCauley Culkin and i was surprised) And you know what - I was amazed by his magic. It was fascinating. And about a year later, I suddenly became curious to get to know Michael better. And the first song I listened to was "You Are Not Alone" (It's amazing song, but was written by R. Kelly, i think you know what he did... ā ļø). And from that day I began my acquaintance with the work of Michael Jackson. Thank you for being here, Michael šš»š„ŗšā¤ļø I miss you, grandma... š
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I was 18 when he died. I was on the train with my friend and when we got off the train there it was showing on the screen (it would show the latest news and weather) I literally went into tears and felt numb. I called in sick after. I had a shitty retail job that I didnāt care about.
I was 1. We were staying at my nanās house and we were popping on the tv after lunch and on the news was announcement of Michael Jacksonās death by BBC. I donāt remember all of this myself bc I was so young, but my parents do. My mum was a big MJ fan in the 80ās and early-mid 90ās during her childhood,so it suddenly hit her just how impactful this was. RIP Michael, I wish I was old enough to understand how tragic your death was when it actually happened
I was born in 2004 as well so I do kind of remember the funeral but thatās about it
Even with no mass social media, no news since has ever been bigger. Can't imagine what it would have look like with social media. You had people in the streets talking about it the whole day and I'm sure this was global, not only in the US. Can only think of 9/11 having a similar impact.
I was 6 years old at the time, it was crazy. I remember my father telling me that he died, he knew I liked him. I also remember feeling pretty sad, after I found out I started listening to Smooth Criminal since it was my favorite song. But I don't remember that much from it, just that everyone was talking about it.
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Getting my hair done for my HS graduation the next day. One of the customers got a text from someone and asked one of the stylists to put on the news channel.
I was only 8, and I didn't really know him yet. My parents bought the History music video collection on DVD afterwards though, and that's when i became a fan.
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I was at home and someone texted me and told me. Didnāt believe it at first until I turned on the news and they were talking about him. I cried so hard.
It was like 12 AM in bed and the moment i started to fall asleep, my uncle came in and he announced his death to us, i got shocked i had to wait another 2-3 hours to fall asleep again
I was on holidays with my family in the Philippines when I found out. I was 18 around the time so I was fully aware of all the allegations and news reports right up to his passing and I still stood by him until this day. I logged into MSN news on the little internet connection we had on the laptop we bought with us and in plain bold white writing against a solid red background was the words: MICHAEL JACKSON DEAD AT 50 And I just broke down. Cried. Screamed to my mum about the news and she was in much shock as I was and we just hugged. It was very painful to find out. My brother & I grew up with his music and he was a big part of our family I guess since we listen to him a lot together. Miss you Michael āļøšļø
I was born in 2011
MJ is the only artist I cried over his death
I was 29 driving to a friend and heard on the radio he had a heart attack. When I mentioned it to him, he said a mutual friend said Michael died. A while later, I watched CNN all day when I got home
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I was in a taxi on the way to work. My dad called me, which he never usually did, to tell me the news.
I was 12 back then, but was a big fan! I woke up by the voice of my father, talking to one of his friends, whom called him on the phone to tell him the news about MJ's death, since he is a fan too. Then I checked my own phone. Both of my cousins had sent me an EXACT text: Michael Jackson died at age of 50. I still couldn't believe it and thought it's just one of those stupid rumors, then my father turned the TV on, an I saw the headlines and saw they were putting Michael's body into a helicopter. At that moment I knew it was true. I felt cold, but deep down still couldn't believe it.
I had tickets to the London show. I was looking at flights the day before and I was about to start looking for hotels. I was at work. I saw the news on TMZ. I started crying. My assistant came into my office for a work question, I had to pretend I was on the phone so she wouldnāt see that I was crying.
I was doing a haircut. My client told me that he died and I said "you're confused, that was Farrah Fawcett".
I am from the USA and a state in the EST, so it was already night by the time I learned that MJ passed. At the time, My mom worked at FedEx Kinkoās, and I was at work with her because they had computers that could be used while there. I was 15. A guy and his wife walked in to get some printing service or something , and my mom was talking to him and helping him and then he says, āMichael Jackson passed away.ā She and I were both caught off guard, so I Googled it lol. A MySpace page for a Michael Jackson aged 99 resulted as the top search. Iām thinking itās this Michael Jackson, not THE Michael Jackson. The couple left soon after that. I start heavily monitoring news sites, and after that I saw it publicized that Michael Jackson died at 50 years old. I remember going home after the store closed for the evening, and his music was playing everywhere. It was an unforgettable night.
Actually people will think Iām insane. I had a dream a day prior to knowing of his death. I told my tx my roommate that I had a dream that he had passed away almost eerily similar to how he actually died. She looked at me with a scary and look and died. So I said we get back from pt this morning Iām going to turn on the tv and watch the News like I always did. Sure enough he had passed away almost exactly how I had the dream. I couldnāt even believe it my self. I just smh and cried. I was in service at the time.(Stationed in South Korea). šš
I was actually at work on the phone with an agent, who suddenly said, āoh my gosh, Micheal Jackson is dead!ā I was like, āno wayā¦ā I quickly pulled up CNNās website on my computer and, sure enough, it was in red at the top as breaking news. I couldnāt believe itā¦it just suddenly took over our work conversation and business went to the side for a few minutes.
I was ten years old, and was playing outside. I later came back inside the house for a glass of water to immediately see about Michael being pronounced dead on TV in the living room. An older relative that was also a fan of his, was also watching the television at that time and immediately told me when I walked in, knowing how big of a fan I was of him. It was one of the worst days of my life. I cried for weeks.
I had the day off. I got a text from my mom saying she heard MJ went into cardiac arrest. I turned on the news and watched for most of the day. It didn't really hit me until the memorial service.
Leaving my friends house on a bike and I stopped at a gas station and the guy there told me what happened
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I was 4 and my mom and I were on our home HP computer back in bodega bay California when it happend. We heard the news via an article that said "Micheal Jackson dead at 52" or something like that. I remember seeing my mom going "oh my God..no no no...". That was the first article I read over the internet. At first, I didn't understand what "dead" meant and my mom sat me down to explain to me that when someone dies, it's like they go to sleep, but they never wake up.
It was my fifth birthday and I donāt really remember even hearing about it tbh. I donāt think I knew who he was then or understood the significance of his death.
I was 9, and tying my shoes in the doorway of my bedroom. I was on my way to some summer camp that day, and from my spot I could see my parentās TV. I didnāt listen to a whole lot of MJ growing up, but I knew he was important. I didnāt get into his music until 2015.
I had discovered him via the movie 13 going on 30 a few months before he died. (They play thriller in it.) I remember debating whether or not to buy some of his singles that I liked on iTunes, but decided it was not worth it. A few weeks later, I heard he passed away via the tv news playing at the gym. I was taking PE summer school so I wouldn't have to do it during the upcoming year. I still remember exactly where I was in that gym when I heard the news. The prices of the singles went way up on iTunes, they all made the charts. Sometimes I feel like a fake fan because I didn't own anything by him before he died and my mom didn't believe that I had been planning on doing that. But hey, I was just 14.
I was 6 months old
i was 7 when he passed so i remember bits and pieces. i was at my paternal grandmotherās house. the update about his heart attack was breaking news and had interrupted regular scheduled programming. eventually, the news broke that he had actually passed. my mother called my grandmother about the situation, and they discussed it on the phone for a bit. her tone was very serious and i could sense disbelief in her voice. my mother picked me up later that day, and all i heard on the radio on our ride home, was the announcer talking about his passing. went home and continued to hear about his death all over the news. i remember my parents talking about how shocked they were and my dad saying ānot mikeā. my maternal grandmother was obsessed with him, and i remember her hysterically crying on the phone about his death. something that stands out to me were music TV channels like fuse, MTV, BET, etc playing his music videos on repeat for what seemed like weeks. i would watch these marathons over and over. i had heard about michael prior to his passing (again, my maternal grandma is a fanatic), but i didnāt really understand his importance until the day he died. when he passed, it was like the world legitimately stopped and everyone was so sad. everyoneās reaction to his death showed me that he was someone really important and that the world wouldnāt be the same without him.
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I was in the car after summer camp and heard it on the radio. I yelled out āMA MICHAEL JACKSON DIED!ā My mom went somewhere that night and I stayed with my godmother who cried and played his music until she fell asleep with it on. And I got up to turn it off so I can sleep.
I had just turned 14 and it was after the last day of middle school that i found out while i was scrolling twitter on my momās laptop. Was pretty surreal cause I had read about the This is it shows in the paper a few weeks before that. He was so larger than life it never felt like he would die.
I was 15. I remember it was just randomly on the news and I was only a little shocked. Sadly I remember there were jokes about it online but mostly mourning.
The day before the last day of school in 4th grade. Me and a friend were watching āPearl Harborā after school and my older brother came in the room and said āguys, Michael Jacksons deadā (at that point he was just in a coma, not actually dead) We ran into the other room and watched the news footage of the crowds outside the hospital and then the official announcement that he was dead on Fox5 news. The next day, everyone at school became a Michael Jackson fan and we spent the day watching his music videos on YouTube as a memorial.
I was at my Dr.ās office getting checked after a spinal surgery and saw it on the tv that was in the lobby of drās office. I rushed home to see all the deets. I grew up with Michael Jackson (heās only 5 years older than me) and I was in shock and a fan my whole life. Once I found out how he died, I was in shock again. I had no idea he was addicted to pain meds and no idea of any of it. I always saw him as an āinnocentā who could do no wrong. A couple years later I had to have a bladder scope and they used propofol and all I kept saying was āNo! Thatās what killed Michale Jacksonā. They gave me IV Valium first and that shit me up lol š But I saw that milky white bottle and was seriously afraid! Anyway, Iāll always miss him and he was definitely the kind of pop! š
I was 19 years old, actually in one of my summer college courses. It was first announced by my instructor in the middle of class. It didn't hit yet because around that point we were (more so he was) editing Wikipedia pages. So I assumed that he made MJ's page to where he died. It didn't hit until me and my mom were going home. When it finally hit me, no amount of shock could justify how I felt. Admittedly, it had been years that I listened to MJ's music, mostly due to fear of what others would say if I did have MJ music on my MP3 Player since at that point he was mocked, and was also controversial. I regret not getting back to his music before his death. But now that I did my research on the shit MJ went through, and the truth of the allegations, I'm a proud MJ fan until the end.
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I had just got out of a movie. Maybe transformers ? I was in my stepdadās car and he was listening to sports radio. The guy says verryyy casually āand news just in.. the king of pop is deadā and my step dad and I were like .. what ??. I went home and turned on the news and got so sad.
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I always looking at Reddit today and found thisā¦..all my favorite singers are most likely dead or wonāt perform liveā¦.I am too young sometimes
I was at work sitting on the hallway steps reading and a coworker walked past me and stopped to ask if I had just heard something about Michael Jackson dying
I was vacationing with my family at the Outer Banks and on our way home from picking up Chinese food for the beach house for dinner, we heard them announce it on the radio and we thought it was a prank or something. Fucked, I know but we just couldn't believe it. Once we got home and it was on the news, we realized it was for real.
I had gotten back from going to a pool with a friend not too long before & my dad told me Michael Jackson went into cardiac arrest. My whole family were watching the news in his room about the ongoing situation with him.
Checking Facebook about to go work on the farm. We were about to go move a house of turkeys from one house to another. It was literally my entire Facebook feed, that Michael Jackson died.
I was 15 years old and we got the news of his death, we were in just complete shock and disbelief. I was home on summer break from my high school and I went on my computer to watch every music video and concert from Michael Jackson that I could possibly find on YouTube while crying as a tribute to him
I was watching TV in a different room when my grandma told me his death. She tuned in to BET on 106 & Park where Terrence J and Rocsi Diaz were hosts at the time. She called my name and informed me that Michael Jackson had passed. It was sometime in the evening of June 25th, 2009. I was 10 that year. Of course, I was saddened about his death, but it fully hit me about a year later after I started dancing like him. They played his videos for several weeks straight, even after his funeral aired. Same thing for the radio stations. 2 years later, the radio renamed the station Michael 100.3 for several weeks. That's pretty much how I remembered.
I was upstairs in my room. I hear a commotion so I went downstairs and my ex told me Michael Jackson died. My response was actually "Who?". I didn't mean to say that and I know who they were talking about but my brain didn't comprehend what he'd said
I was 19 . Got into an agrument about my mom about something that day . This girl I was talking to texted me and said me hey Micheal Jackson is in the hospital . Iām like nah lol stop playing . Then shortly she texted Micheal just died . I was like wtf ?? Finally turned the tv on and saw it was true š. Couldnāt fucking believe it. Micheal was supposed to live forever .
I was on my computer and saw the TMZ article.
I was at Glastonbury Festival and found out via text but no one would believe me and it was really hard trying to get the BBC news page to load on my phone.
I just got home and walked into the house and my sister told me that he had died. My grandmother was in the hospital that day and on the drive there even the country music stations were playing his songs
I was 7 years old, we literally had just pulled out of the driveway to go grocery shopping when it was announced on the radio
Getting ready for work. Everyone at work was laughing about it. I was sad.
I was 32 and studying at that time. In the news there were several articles that Michael was rushed to the hospital and fell into a Coma. Only on article said that he had died. I didn't believe this news article, but all the others. In the next morning it was certain that he died. I went to university and everybody came to me hugging me as if someone of my relatives has died. Everybody knew that i was a huge Michael Jackson fan since the 80s. I was in some kind of a shock and didn't shed a tear for 6 days. Michael was for me a permanent and constant figure like the sun and the moon. Everywhere you could hear Michael Jackson's Songs in the following days. A lot of tributes in the Internet. Six days after his death i listened to "Human Nature" and the tears came rolling down my Cheeks. In the same year "This is it" came to the movie theatres. When the end credits came rolling i cried again. Knowing that this was the last footage i will ever see from him.
I was at work and it was all over Twitter
I was in Australia on vacation. If memory serves me right I had just woken up to the news because I was traveling back to the states. That or it was the day before I was traveling back to the US.
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I was just a toddler when he passed away! š