Ever since the shocking news of Michael Jackson’s death on Thursday, the King of Pop has been dominating the music charts, the blogosphere, and the media. Rock critics are writing some great eulogies for the fallen icon, British tabloids are freaking the eff out, the entire Internet crashed at one point, musicians are speaking out, and candlelight vigils are popping up across the globe. I wanted to give some updates on the story to hopefully cut through some of the clutter.
First off, Jackson’s “cause of death has been deferred” until further tests come back after four to six weeks. A second autopsy has been completed at the request of the Jackson family, but no official announcements have been made publically about the results (The Sun claims to have the details, but it doesn’t look real).
Organizers for MJ’s scheduled comeback stint at London’s 02 arena are possibly looking to offset losses, which aren’t covered by insurance, by putting together an all-star tribute concert. This is still in the rumor phase, but names I’ve seen floating around (mostly in tabloids) are Justin Timberlake, Coldplay, Janet Jackson, Take That, and basically every major artist in the world.
Jackson’s intended performance for the “This Is It” tour might see the light of day, however, as The Warp reports (via The Daily Swarm) that the “last rehearsal at the Staples Center on Wednesday, the eve of his death, was recorded in multi-camera, high-definition video and multi-track audio, and could be released as the performer’s last album” and/or DVD.
These are the most important updates, IMO, but there are lots of unusual stories coming in almost hourly. The Daily Swarm is on the case with new developments worth noting, so head on over there for the MJ scoops.