BANGALORE: The King of Pop had planned a comeback, and he did, although not quite in a way that the world was waiting for. Michael Jackson’s death has brought him back on the world’s music map and has hurtled his music to the top of the charts.
Recently, an agency reported that Michael Jackson’s greatest hits album number one has topped the UK charts while six of the late pop legend s songs have re-entered the top 40 in the singles chart.
The album containing his chart-topping hits which was first released in 2003 rocketed from the 121st position to the top spot after the superstar’s death. In the singles chart, 43 out of the top 200 singles feature the singer with Jackson hits accounting for all but one of the new entries in the top 40.
Overall, Jackson accounted for over 3,00,000 record sales across singles and albums in just two days this week.
Jackson’s albums have dominated sales at music retailers and download sites across the world since his death. Earlier on Sunday, his songs topped Apple’s iTunes download charts in every country except Japan.
Gnanamurthy, in-charge of the music department at Crossword on Residency Road, said, “All our Michael Jackson albums are selling out. We are receiving at least 15 to 20 customers a day asking for Jackson’s albums. In fact, our stocks have run out. We have asked for fresh stocks, but there is so much rush that we will only get some. Landmark and PlanetM have about 50 customers walking in a day for the King of Pop’s albums.” A senior manager of another leading lifestyle store in the city said that the albums are fast moving off the shelves.
MJ’s songs can be heard buzzing through the radio stations in the city too. Radio Indigo, Bangalore has been flooded with requests of MJ’s greatest hits since the day of his demise. “We’ve been receiving constant messages and texts from listeners and MJ fans requesting his all-time best tracks,” says Trigam Mukherjee, Image Consultant of Radio Indigo.
“Although we play the legendary singer’s songs all year round, but now is the time when we are celebrating his phenomenal music. On the day of his demise, we dedicated a two-hour stretch in the evening (from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.) to the icon, playing all of chart topping songs. We also played testimonials on MJ by singers like Cher, Larry King, Celine Dion and Quincy Jones. We also interviewed fans from the city who spoke about their beloved late singer, how deeply attached they were to his music and how much it meant to them,” adds Trigam.
He says, “Even the following weekend, Bangalore was reconnected with the magic of MJ’s music as the station played some of his best tracks one after the other. Other than playing his greatest hits, we also set the mood in honour of the late musician by talking about his music and some related trivia.” BIG 92.7 FM, Bangalore, even though it is a Kannada radio channel, also paid a tribute to MJ. “On the day he passed away, we hosted updates on the breakfast show with trivia on the icon. On the evening drive time ‘No Tension’, we had his fans call up and speak about him, impersonate him and his mannerisms etc,” says Sunil Kumaran, Station Head, BIG 92.7 FM, Bangalore.
Not a healthy scene New schemes and big promises have been made for district or taluk-level hospitals here. But none has been put into action HALL OF FAME ● Michael Jackson was inducted onto the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1984 ● MJ was a double-inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, once as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1997 and later as a solo artist in 2001 ● Jackson was also an inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002 ● His awards include multiple Guinness World Records (eight in 2006 alone), 13 Grammy Awards, 13 number one singles in his solo career — more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era — and the sale of over 800 million records worldwide, making him the world’s best selling male solo pop artist PAGE 4 CELEB TIMEOUT FROM PAINTING TO GAMBLING, AND FENCING TO CATCHING BASKETBALL MATCH-UPS, TAKE A SNEAK PEEK AT OUR ACTORS' OFF SCREEN DIVERSIONS PAGE 3 FADING FLOWERS THE FLOWER MARKET AT MALLESWARAM MAY SEEM TO BE COLOURFUL AND FRAGRANT, BUT THE VENDORS DON'T HAVE IT ALL THAT EASY As Jackson’s songs shoot up music charts, our city also sees a new frenzy surrounding the pop superstar.