Michael Jackson May Do Live Gig
Dec. 8 -- In an article published on Beliefnet, Michael Jackson talks about dressing up as a fat man to mingle with ordinary people — but when he hits New York on Dec. 19, it will be as a superstar.
New York radio station WKTU announced this morning that the King of Pop would join stars Destiny’s Child, Ricky Martin, and Christina Aguilera for their “Miracle on 34th Street” charity concert, to be held at Madison Square Garden. The singer’s representatives could not be reached for confirmation. Though tickets for the show, which also includes Toni Braxton, Marc Anthony, and Sisqo, have been sold out for months, the station is still giving away tickets to listeners and participants in online contests. Although the Gloved One has made periodic international appearances — and cancellations — throughout the ’90s, stateside appearances have been seldom.
Under Cover in the MallThe announcement comes on the same day as the publication of an essay written by Jackson on Beliefnet, a Web site devoted to issues of faith. “The public at large has yet to really understand the pressures of childhood celebrity, which, while exciting, always exacts a very heavy price,” Jackson writes. “More than anything, I wished to be a normal little boy.” The singer talks about the importance of the Sabbath, and says that until 1991, he would dress up with a “fat suit, beard, wig, and glasses” to sell Jehovah’s Witness magazines at shopping malls.
“The funny thing is, no adults ever suspected who this strange bearded man was. But the children, with their extra intuition, knew right away. Like the Pied Piper of Hamlin, I would find myself trailed by eight or nine children by my second round of the shopping mall. They would follow and whisper and giggle, but they wouldn’t reveal my secret to their parents. They were my little aides.”
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