Jackson's Legacy Lives On In Asia

All around the world, people of every country mourn his death as TV shows of local countries continues to portray his biography. Even when the news gradually dies out, we all know that Michael Jackson may be gone, but he has left permanent footprints all over the entertainment industry, and unlike many other Western artists, Asian countries will remember this King of Pop forever.

“You can’t say that the influence happened when he was on stage only, because it is still happening now”, says Vicky Lee, a seventeen year old Hong Kong student, “I mean, look! People who have never really paid attention to his work have been moved by the news displaying on ever channel, and now they want to ‘check his moves out’”.

Sure enough, his legendary work stretches back for 40 years, and after the breaking news of his death, people’s interest have been “sparked,” “permanently printed in dancing and music”, and then “re-sparked” by his death. Even now, more demands than ever of his music and videos have continually flooded the internet and CD stores. “Soon after the news of Jackson's death was released, my store completely became full of people of all ages asking if I sell his stuff”, said Naraya Chan, owner of a local CD store in Malaysia. As a buyer, we all know that we want some way to connect with and remember our hero when he’s no longer there for us.

The ‘influence’ isn’t just his music, but it’s everything of him. Local well-known bands, such as the Titanium, in countries like Thailand were practically too shocked to comment much, but one thing they did agree on was that he was half of the countries popular band’s influence. A Thai girl even commented that even the dancing style of the local Teen Pop sensations, Golf-Mike, had many moves that resembled that of Michael Jackson even though it might not have been done on intention... And those moves are going to be discarded anytime soon.

“The news came as a shock to me, but then it opened my eyes”, she says, “he’s everywhere and after seeing all he has done to our music world; I couldn’t help but to admire him especially when we all know that he's still going to keep influencing us from the better place that he is in now.”

So we know that Jackson’s legacy lives on in Asia, now, here’s the big question; will there ever be another Michael Jackson? We have no way of telling, but one thing we know for sure, no one can take away his footprint in the entertainment industry in the East.