AP Photo/Ira Mark Gostin

They may have passed away, but their music lives on — and continues to make money. Forbes has released their annual list of the musicians who earned the most since death, “The Top-Earning Dead Musicians of 2012.” And, it comes to no surprise the number one artist for the 2012 list is the King of Pop. Michael Jackson is still the world’s best-paid musician, living or dead. His estate made a whopping $145 million in 2012, the third straight year of nine-figure earnings for Jackson.

Michael Jackson’s estate raked in revenues from the work of other artists (through Jackson’s 50 percent stake in the Sony/ATV publishing catalog) and his own material (the Mijac Music catalog). But the large revenue stream is the Michael Jackson Immortal World Tour, which is a joint venture with Cirque Du Soleil. The production grossed an amazing $160 million during its first leg, making it the most successful tour in North America during the first half of 2012.

The other King, the King of Rock ‘N Roll, Elvis Presley came in second with $55 million.

The King of Reggae Bob Marley took the third spot on the list with $17 million. During the past 20 years, according to Forbes, Marley has sold more than 75 million albums. Two deals put Marley in the third place: the Marley beverage company, Marleys Mellow Mood (home to the “relaxation drink” of the same name) and House of Marley (producer of eco-friendly audio and lifestyle products).

Rounding out the list were a couple of Beatles — John Lennon and George Harrison along with composer Richard Rodgers.

Some might wonder why Whitney Houston didn’t make the list. “Though the singer signed a $100 million record deal in 2001, she still hasn’t earned back the $30-$40 million advance she received as part of the deal, and didn’t leave behind much in the way of unreleased material,” reports Forbes. Also not on the list are Jimi Hendrix and Tupac Shakur, who both earned more than $3 million but not enough to be on the list.

Source: StyleBlazer

 From StyleBlazer

His voice is everywhere. His moves inspired a generation of spins, moonwalks, and b-boy acrobatics. His humanitarian efforts continue to change the world. Simply put, he is the greatest entertainer who ever lived. Today would have been Michael Jackson‘s 54th birthday. And since he made it his lifelong mission to bring happiness and joy through his craft, we’re going to celebrate his life today with his most stylish videos. From red leather jackets to sequined gloves, crisp white socks and shiny black patent leather shoes, whatever MJ rocked was instantly cool and we wanted it, too! Michael will be forever missed.

Read More at styleblazer.com

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Source: hellobeautiful.com

From hellobeautiful.com

By Danielle Young

Paris Jackson‘s father was (and still is) the King of Pop, we were never really allowed to pay much attention to her until, well…we lost her father. Seeing the bright-eyed beauty’s pain televised at Michael Jackson’s memorial service placed a spotlight on the 14-year-old’s life.

Michael had our attention captured as he dangled his son Blanket over a balcony, attempting to show the flashing cameras the baby without truly showing him. Michael had an odd obsession with keeping his children’s identities secret as he shrouded their faces with scarves and masks. He may have well just placed a “Look At Me Now” sign on their foreheads. The media ate it up and tried every chance they could to get a clear photo of Michael’s kids.

Read more at hellobeautiful.com

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Michael Jackson is a star who’s often imitated but never duplicated. Still, the cast of “Glee” wants to put their own spin on the King of Pop in an upcoming episode titled, “Michael.”

“Glee” has already taken on heavy hitters in the game like Madonna, Britney Spears, and Lady Gaga, which were hopefully good practice for channeling MJ. The episode will feature some of Michael’s favorite songs like “Scream,” “Wanna Be Startin’ Something,” and “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You.” There are also a couple of numbers that pay direct homage to Michael’s original videos, one of the cast members says, which should be an interesting surprise.

“Michael” will air Jan. 31 at 8p on Fox. Will you tune in?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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The involuntary manslaughter trial against Dr. Conrad Murray is continuing to underscore the state of panic that ensued after Michael Jackson was found to be unresponsive on the day of his death. Here are the sad details, which seem to implicate Dr. Murray as lacking in moral responsibility in the face of Jackson’s obviously grave condition:

• It has been revealed during the trial that Michael Jackson called the intravenous anesthetic that took his life, “his milk.” It was also revealed that, “condom catheters were attached to Jackson’s penis to collect urine” as a normal process of his daily functioning. {The Washington Post}
• On day four of the trial, Extra.com has reported that Jackson’s person chef, Kai Chase, was called on by Dr. Murray to alert Michael Jackson’s security and summons his son Prince to his aid. Chase also huddled with the children who prayed and cryed over concern for their father. {Extra}
• Canadian publication The Toronto Star reports that a former client of Dr. Murray faced numerous disappointments in dealing with the doctor close to the time of Michael Jackson’s death. Dr. Murray apparently canceled many appointments related to heart disease ailments suffered by the client, which understandably alarmed the patient. This client felt abandoned in his time of need. {TheStar.com}
• A gag order was issued by the judge on the Michael Jackson involuntary manslaughter trial after Murray’s defense attorney Matthew Alford appeared on the “Today” show. It seems that the lawyer working on Dr. Murray’s defense was trying to promote the idea to the public that some of the prosecution witnesses could not be trusted. From this point onward, anyone involved in the case is no longer permitted to comment on the trial in public. {Reuters}
• Prosecution witnesses assert that there was no sign of life in Michael Jackson’s body when the EMTs arrived. Sadly, it was also revealed that the device being used to monitor Jackson’s vital signs was not equipped to beep as a sign of trouble. A more advanced device would have alerted Dr. Murray that his patient’s heart had stopped beating. This inferior model may have been enough to prevent proper intervention in a timely manner, which could have saved Michael Jackson’s life. {MTV News}
• Paramedics who were called to the scene have stated that Dr. Murray lied about the medications the King of Pop was taking. They also claim to have witnessed him placing important medical evidence into a bag and removing it from the scene, even as his dead patient was being wheeled away. {The Daily News}
• Medical emergency workers called to the scene also said there was a “good chance” Michael Jackson could have been saved if Dr. Murray had been monitoring him properly. Apparently he told them Jackson had been unresponsive for only one minute, when 20 minutes was far more likely given the state he was in when the EMTs arrived. {The Telegraph}

In our country a man is innocent until proven guilty. In this case, I can only hope that justice is done. After the death of Troy Davis, it is difficult not to weigh circumstantial evidence heavily (which would have saved Troy’s life) — but that is not how our criminal justice system works. It is hard to refrain from trying a man in the court room of the press, rather than in a trial by jury which is his right. But we must try. Withholding judgment of Dr. Murray will be hard given the testimony provided so far. But if we believe in justice, it is only fair to the concept of justice to wait and see what his defense attorneys present in the proper context before we pass judgment. In the meantime, this is going to be an emotionally trying case.

Follow Alexis Garrett Stodghill on Twitter.

A year ago today, the world was in total shock and disbelief of the untimely passing of Michael Jackson. The King of Pop had become a household name, being in the limelight for 43 years — not many could fathom his nonexistence. As people’s jaws dropped in the beaming hot streets of New York that summer, all I could do was observe. Like a proverbial anthropologist watching how a foreign society works, I felt absolutely no connection to the sadness people felt.

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(EW.com) — We’re coming up on a year since Michael Jackson’s untimely death, but the late King of Pop’s stuff lives on. Not just his music, though that’s here to stay, too. I mean Jackson’s actual worldly possessions: the assorted knick-knacks, portraits, and outfits that only he could have collected at Neverland Ranch. Photographer Henry Leutwyler has documented some of this treasure trove for an upcoming book, Neverland Lost. And today, noted MJ fan Kanye West has posted many of Leutwyler’s most striking images on his personal blog.

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