July 3, 2009
Jackson Rehearsal: "Full of Potential"
Insiders Speak Out About His Apparent Condition During Prep For Sold-Out London Tour
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Play CBS Video Video Jackson Days Before His Death One of Michael Jackson's former wives may want custody of their two children. Planning continues for a memorial next week and a video of his final rehearsal has been released. Ben Tracy reports.
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Michael Jackson during a rehearsal for his comeback tour just days before his death. (CBS)
The CEO of AEG Live, Randy Phillips, whose company was producing Jackson's concert, says, "What I saw was a guy who had turned the corner both in his own belief and self-esteem that he could do this, he could get it back and grab that ring again."
CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy reported on "The Early Show" Friday that the rehearsal footage taken at the Staples Center in L.A. shows Jackson performing alone at times, and with several backup dancers.
"It was extraordinary, and it was artistic, and it was full of potential," said concert director Kenny Ortega. "And we saw him triumph in this very space."
Tracy reported Jackson was preparing for his "This Is It" Tour, a sold-out series of 50 concerts in London -- what might have been one of the biggest comeback tours of all time.
Now, however, Jackson will be celebrated in the same space where he rehearsed for the last time: Tracy says a memorial is planned for next Tuesday at the Staples Center.
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- Next to the word 'neo-con', this term of 'potential' is one of the most overused words in our vocabulary. Potential denotes there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but in fact there are too many variables that either promote or destroy the dream.
In Mr. Jackson's case, he was surrounded by a cloud of uncertainty. His health was waning, his skills were deteriorating (I saw the tapes), his energy was slowing, and he could not walk around with an IV solution with his favorite narcotic in it.
There were too many negative things happening in his life, with no end in sight. If this were not the case, MJ would not have continued 'deeper' into a bad situation. It will be interesting to see the tox panels when they are published.
The moral of this story is: We cannot resurrect our past, when we allow ourselves to slip deeper into destructive behavior. When we allow ourselves to erode inwardly, the outward appearance only becomes a facade of what we want others to see; not what we really are.
Have a great holiday weekend. - Reply to this comment
- He was not healthy enough to really perform. He was talented but very disturbed and had been going downhill since the molestation trial ended and he left the country dragging 3 innocent children with him.
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- Was this a joke or what? Michael looked like a fifty year old pedofile trying to impress some seven year old boys!He would have done better with a bag of candy and a puppy.His face scared most little girls so bad they would turn gay!I was born white and can't remember ever being as white as Michael.I'll be glad when they bury this freak and end this circus (I am sad that the clown is dead ,but I wont lose any sleep over it) Good nite Michael
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