King Phillip II

It's well known that Michael was a huge fan of art. Apparently Neverland Ranch had tons of painted portraits of him in it. This one, called "Equestrian Portrait of King Phillip II," was completed after his death and recently auctioned for $175,000.

It's definitely a little eccentric, but still cool at the same time. I mean, he is the king of pop, so he might as well have regal portraits of himself, right?

There Really is an App for Everything

So I was at work today, bored as ever, and I decided to pull out my handy dandy iPhone. It's the second one I've had in five months, costing me a cool $400 (another story for another time), and I figured I better start using it as much as humanly possible to get my money's worth.

I looked for Michael Jackson apps, and to my surprise, there were quite a few in the app store. I bought a free one called "This Aint It." It's basically a trivia game that asks you questions about MJ's life and career. It's pretty decent for a random, free MJ app.

There really is an app for everything, even Michael Jackson trivia.

The AMAs

Last Sunday, the American Music Awards aired live on ABC. Janet opened the show with a medley of her greatest hits and then her newest song "Make Me." There were other lackluster performances from Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Eminem and 50 Cent, and Adam Lambert. Whitney Houston won a special international artist award for her worldwide success and performed, too.

I think the biggest shocker was the fact that Taylor Swift, of all people, won the 2009 Artist of the Year award. She's a big star in her own right, yes, but artist of the year? That's a stretch. And let's be honest...would she really be getting that award if Kanye hadn't have interrupted her speech at the VMAs? I highly doubt it.

Oh well. Michael set the record for the most AMAs won by a single artist (23). I don't think Artist of the Year doesn't suit him anyway. He's more like...the Artist of the Century.

Accuser's Father Commits Suicide

Almost two weeks ago, Evan Chandler, the father of the supposed victim of child molestation in the 1993 case, was found dead in his home after shooting himself in the head.



Chandler reportedly received a $20 million settlement from MJ in 1993, so why was he so depressed? Some people are claiming that he was bipolar and had some type of medical condition, others say it was because he was estranged from all of his children and family, but I personally think there's probably more to it than that.



Money definitely can't buy happiness, especially if the money is coming from sexual molestation accusations.

The Importance of the Message - "Keep the Faith"

The first MJ album that I really got into was Dangerous. In middle school, I used to listen to that album over and over again. I knew (and still know) every song and every word. I personally think it's the best out of Michael's four classic albums (Off the Wall, Thriller, Bad, and Dangerous).




Song 12 on the album is called "Keep the Faith." It has some typical MJ characteristics in it - catchy chorus, MJ's pop vocals, and a heartfelt message - but it's something you really never expected from him at the same time. The song is basically an anthem for perseverance and having faith in your ability to be successful in whatever you choose. A choir sings the backup vocals in the song, too, something that's extremely rare for a Michael Jackson song. But it's Michael's own version of a gospel song, and it works.



Take a listen here. It's one of those songs that has a funny way of picking you up when you're feeling down.

MJ Blogs

I'm sorry for being so late on this, but there are tons of Michael Jackson blogs out there and I wanted to make sure I picked some quality ones before I posted them on here:

http://www.mjfanclub.net/home/index.php
http://michaeljacksonbeat.blogspot.com/
http://www.allmichaeljackson.com/blog/index.html

All three provide important newsworthy information, but more importantly, they celebrate the life and music of MJ.

Take a peek. Their layouts are pretty awesome, especially the first one.

Exploitation Ctd.

Who needs the iPhone when you can have this?

I wonder if this will ever stop...

Doubt it.