Michael Jackson impersonator

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A Michael Jackson impersonator for the 25th anniversary of the album Thriller at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival with performers from Step It Up and Dance Michael Jackson impersonator for Thriller 25th anniversary.jpg
A Michael Jackson impersonator for the 25th anniversary of the album Thriller at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival with performers from Step It Up and Dance

Impersonators of American entertainer Michael Jackson work all over the world as entertainers, and such tribute acts remain in great demand due to the enduring popularity of Jackson. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

Contents

In the media

Films

Television

Literature

In January 2014, Lorena Turner, who teaches photography in the Communication Department at California State Polytechnic University, has spent four years tracking down 35 artists and look-alikes of Jackson. She released a new book of photos, essays and stories of men and women from across the U.S. who pretend to be Jackson for a living. [14]

Live events

Jackson's impersonator during the Sticky & Sweet Tour of Madonna MichaelJacksonTributeSticky&SweetTour2009.jpg
Jackson's impersonator during the Sticky & Sweet Tour of Madonna

Tribute Shows

ShowDurationTickets SoldFormatCountry
Superstar Reflections1987–19922,500,000 [23] Concert Europe
Michael Starring Ben2008–present1,000,000 [24] Theatre Worldwide
Thriller Live2009–20204,500,000 [25] Revue Worldwide
Forever King of Pop2010–present1,000,000 [26] Concert Europe
Michael Jackson: Immortal Tour2011–20143,700,000 [27] Cirque De Solei Worldwide
MJ Live2012–present2,500,000 [28] Concert United States
Michael Jackson One2013–present5,000,000 [29] Cirque De Solei United States
Michael Lives Forever2017–present1,000,000 [30] Concert Worldwide
I Am King: The Michael Jackson Experience2019–present2,000,000 [31] Concert Worldwide
MJ The Musical2019–present1,500,000 [32] Broadway Musical United States

List of notable impersonators

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billie Jean</span> 1983 single by Michael Jackson

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<i>Thriller</i> (album) 1982 studio album by Michael Jackson

Thriller is the sixth studio album by the American singer and songwriter Michael Jackson, released on November 29, 1982, by Epic Records. It was produced by Quincy Jones, who previously worked with Jackson on his album Off the Wall (1979). Jackson wanted to create an album where "every song was a killer". With the ongoing backlash against disco music at the time, he moved in a new musical direction, resulting in a mix of pop, post-disco, rock, funk, synth-pop, and R&B sounds, and darker themes. Paul McCartney is the first credited appearance of a featured artist on a Jackson album. Recording took place from April to November 1982 at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California, with a budget of $750,000.

<i>Bad</i> (album) 1987 studio album by Michael Jackson

Bad is the seventh studio album by the American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson. It was released on August 31, 1987, by Epic Records. Written and recorded between 1985 and 1987, Bad was Jackson's third and final collaboration with the producer Quincy Jones. Primarily featuring pop, dance, and R&B, as well as elements of funk, soul, jazz, rock, and hard rock, Bad incorporated new recording technology, including digital synthesizers. Jackson co-produced and composed all but two tracks, and the lyrical themes include self-improvement, romance, world peace, media bias, paranoia, and racial profiling. The album features appearances from Siedah Garrett and Stevie Wonder.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Impersonator</span> Art form or criminal act

An impersonator is someone who imitates or copies the behavior or actions of another. There are many reasons for impersonating someone:

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Another Part of Me</span> 1988 single by Michael Jackson

"Another Part of Me" is a song by American singer and songwriter Michael Jackson. Produced by Quincy Jones, it was released as the sixth single on July 11, 1988, for the singer's seventh studio album, Bad (1987). The song was originally featured in Jackson's 1986 3D film Captain EO. It is the sixth song on the album. As with earlier songs in his career such as "Can You Feel It" and "We Are the World", the lyrics emphasize global unity, love and outreach.

<i>Michael Jacksons Thriller</i> (music video) 1983 music video

Michael Jackson's Thriller is the music video for the song "Thriller" by the American singer Michael Jackson, released on December 2, 1983. It was directed by John Landis, written by Jackson and Landis, and stars Jackson and Ola Ray. It references numerous horror films and has Jackson dancing with a horde of zombies.

<i>Mister Lonely</i> 2007 film by Harmony Korine

Mister Lonely is a 2007 comedy drama film directed by Harmony Korine and co-written with his brother Avi Korine. It features an ensemble cast of international actors, including Diego Luna, Samantha Morton, Denis Lavant, Werner Herzog, James Fox, Anita Pallenberg and Leos Carax. The film follows a Michael Jackson look-alike joining a commune filled with other impersonators as they build a stage to attract people to see them perform. Mister Lonely garnered mixed reviews from critics and was a box-office bomb, grossing $393,813 against an $8.2 million budget.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Jackson</span> American singer (1958–2009)

Michael Joseph Jackson was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a four-decade career, his world record music achievements and publicized personal life made him a global figure. Through songs, stages, and fashion, he proliferated visual performance for singers in pop music, and popularized street dance moves including the moonwalk, the robot, and the anti-gravity lean. Jackson has an extensive fandom, which includes impersonators around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sticky & Sweet Tour</span> 2008–2009 concert tour by Madonna

The Sticky & Sweet Tour was the eighth concert tour by American singer Madonna, to promote her eleventh studio album, Hard Candy (2008). It was Madonna's first major venture under a new ten-year 360 deal with Live Nation. Following a series of promotional appearances in support of Hard Candy, the tour was announced in May 2008, with concerts in Europe and North America; additionally, it marked the singer's first dates in Latin America in fifteen years. The first part of the tour began on August 23, 2008, at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, and ended on December 21 at the Morumbi Stadium in São Paulo, Brazil. Afterwards, it was announced that Madonna had decided to resume the tour in the summer of 2009, with twenty-seven more concerts, mostly in European markets she had either never played in or visited in several years; the 2009 extension started on July 4 at the O2 Arena in London, England, and concluded on September 2 at the Yarkon Park in Tel Aviv, Israel. Though initially planned, the tour did not visit Australia and East Asia due to financial problems and the financial recession. The show was described as a "rock driven dancetastic journey" and, like previous tours by the singer, was divided into different thematic acts: Pimp, Old School, Gypsy, and Rave.

<i>Thriller – Live</i> Musical by Various Artists

Thriller Live is a two-and-a-half-hour concert revue celebrating the music of The Jackson 5 and the solo work and life of Michael Jackson. It had already been performed in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and Scandinavia before opening at the Lyric Theatre, London, on 21 January 2009. The show was conceived by Jackson family friend and author Adrian Grant.

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On June 25, 2009, the American singer Michael Jackson died of acute propofol intoxication in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 50. His personal physician, Conrad Murray, said that he found Jackson in his bedroom at his North Carolwood Drive home in the Holmby Hills area of the city not breathing and with a weak pulse; he administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to no avail, and security called 9-1-1 at 12:21 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time (UTC–7). Paramedics treated Jackson at the scene, but he was pronounced dead at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Westwood at 2:26 p.m.

"Blue Gangsta" is a song by American singer and recording artist Michael Jackson. The song is the 7th track of Jackson's second posthumous album Xscape. The song was originally written, composed and produced by Jackson with additional music by Dr. Freeze during the Invincible album recording sessions in 1998–1999, and was re-tooled by Timbaland and Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon during the Xscape recording sessions in 2013–2014.

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Jonathan Phillip "Sugarfoot" Moffett is an American drummer, songwriter and record producer from New Orleans, Louisiana. Beginning in 1979, Moffett collaborated with the Jackson family, particularly Michael Jackson, over the course of 30 years. More recently, he has worked with other notable artists and producers such as Madonna, George Michael, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones and many others.

Navi is a Trinidadian-born Michael Jackson tribute artist and actor based in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cultural impact of Michael Jackson</span>

American singer Michael Jackson (1958–2009) is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Consider the greatest entertainer of all time, Michael Jackson broke racial barriers and profoundly influenced the evolution of pop music, earning him the title of 'King of Pop.' To date, Michael Jackson is one of the best-selling music artists in history, having sold over 500 million records worldwide. His unparalleled success spans multiple decades, with numerous chart-topping albums such as Off the Wall,HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I,Bad, and Dangerous, and most importantly, Thriller, which remains the best-selling album of all time. Guinness World Records named him the most successful entertainer of all time. His achievements in the 1980s helped desegregation of popular music in the United States and introduced an era of multiculturalism globally. Through his dance, fashion and redefinition of music videos, he proliferated visual performance for musical artists. Credited for influencing hundreds of musicians, his songs are among the most covered and sampled in music history. His influence extended to inspiring a vast array of trends and raising awareness for social causes around the world. Before he passed, Jackson was received by over 30 different world leaders. Jackson's global brand resulted in celebrity products and commemorations such as video games, documentaries, and monuments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madonna impersonator</span>

A Madonna impersonator is an entertainer who impersonates American singer-songwriter Madonna. Professional or dedicated Madonna impersonators have existed since at least the mid-1980s, and were sometimes sorted as "tribute acts". As an established artist, Madonna impersonators have seen a notable demand, many of them performing in front of thousands people and visiting several countries in their professional Madonna career as some media outlets have reported. Notable Madonna impersonators include Chris America, Denise Bella Vlasis and Venus D-Lite. Others impressionists have included Madonna in their repertoire, such as Tracey Bell, Charlie Hides and Véronic DiCaire, while Nadya Ginsburg and Alejandra Bogue dedicated Madonna-inspired monologues.

References

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