Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 - June 25, 2009) was an influential pop singer, composer, lyricist, dancer, actor, director, Record producer, philanthropist and tastemaker. He is known as the King of Pop.
Jackson popularized modern dance with complex techniques, such as the machinima and the moonwalk. His unique music, voice, singing and dancing spread all over the world, breaking cultural, racial, economic and era barriers, inspiring and influencing countless pop music and rock music. Jackson won the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Jackson is one of the few artists to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times. He has also been awarded several Guinness World Records, including his most recent certification from Guinness World Records in 2006: The Most Successful Artist in World History. Won 15 Grammy Awards and 26 American Music Awards (the most awarded artist in the history of the American Music Awards, including "One of the Artists of the Century").
He has had 17 US Billboard No. 1 singles (including four from his time as a member of the Jackson 5). At the same time, his global record sales were 215 million, and his global record sales were 854 million (this number is based on statistics in 2009), making him the best-selling solo singer in music history. He is also the singer with the most fans in the world, an outstanding philanthropist and humanitarian, and the artist who has donated the most charities in the world in his name (he alone supports 39 charitable relief funds in the world).
At the same time, Jackson's personal life has been controversial for years. The media reported changes in his nose and skin color (white due to vitiligo). He has been married twice, in 1994 and 1996, and has three children. Michael Jackson was hospitalized in a deep coma on June 25, 2009 due to an overdose of propofol and other drugs. Rescue efforts in the afternoon failed and he was pronounced dead at the age of 50.