De wereld is geschokt over de dood van Michael Jackson. Zo ook ‘s werelds artiesten. Verschillende sterren hebben hun verdriet al laten optekenen. Zo liet Run DMC-icoon Rev Run weten: ‘The thing that went through my mind was that he lived so big. He just worked it so hard. He was such a big imagination. He danced, he sang, he pushed so hard to entertain us. He was so driven that it was really amazing. I think the best thing that Michael will leave is his ability to captivate people. He captivated us.’ Snoop Dogg heeft ook lovende woorden voor Jackson: ‘I feel like his music will never die and his spirit will never die, because he influenced so many of us. He gave us a lot of hope that we feel like we can be big. He was very inspiring and up close and personal with his fans. That to me was special. That’s one of the things that I loved about Mike. When I got a chance to meet him, that’s the feeling and spirit that I got from him.’
Rapper Fat Joe toonde respect voor de overleden King: ‘This is probably [among] the top three worst days of my life. MJ – you know I’m a gangsta rapper so we always got that hard edge, but at the end of the day, the king is the king. I can go down the list: there wouldn’t be no Usher, there wouldn’t be no Chris Brown. There wouldn’t be nobody without MJ. There wouldn’t be no Justin. He was just harmony on Earth. I never think MJ ever did anything wrong in his life. He was just a beautiful soul on this earth.’
Justin Timberlake, die in het begin van zijn solocarrière nogal eens als Jackson-kloon getypeerd werd, is erg ontdaan door het overlijden van zijn grote voorbeeld: ’I can’t find the words right now to express how deeply saddened I am by Michael’s passing. We have lost a genius and a true ambassador of not only pop music, but of all music. He has been an inspiration to multiple generations, and I will always cherish the moments I shared with him onstage and all of the things I learned about music from him and the time we spent together. My heart goes out to his family and loved ones.’
Producer Timbaland zei: ‘He was just a fabulous guy. Phenomenal. I watched him as a kid and I was like, ‘Man, he works very hard.’ His music was incredible. Everybody from Chris Brown to everybody who started dancing – he influenced all of that.’
Tot slot Britney Spears: ‘I was so excited to see his show in London,’ zegt de zangeres. ‘We were going to be on tour in Europe at the same time and I was going to fly in to see him. He has been an inspiration throughout my entire life and I’m devastated he’s gone!’
