# 8

Bad Tour

Michael performs in Tokyo on the first leg of his first solo world tour. Starting in Japan, it marked Michael’s first performances in the country since 1973. The first nine scheduled concerts that began on September 12, 1987 sold out within hours, and five more were added due to high demand.

 

# 7

11,000 Light Bulbs

The "Thriller" jacket created for the Bad tour in 1988 contained 11,000 light bulbs that would light up remotely during the performance and pulsate to the beat of the song. "Michael didn't want to be the one that turned on the switch," Michael Bush recalled. "That wouldn't have been magic."

Source: King of Style: Dressing Michael Jackson

# 6

The 1984 Grammys

The 1984 (or 26th) Grammy Awards were held on February 28, 1984 at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. Michael won eight awards in 1984 for his accomplishments in 1983. It remains a record for the most Grammy Awards won in a single night.

# 5

"Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" 1979

Make a list of the top 10 "ooooh!" screams in history, and this hit has at least six of them. MJ introduces the world to his grown bad self, rocking harder than anything on rock radio, yet sleek and debonair enough to make the rest of the Top 40 to sound like hot air. Who else could get away with that murmured spoken-word introduction? Who else could wear white socks with a tux and still look cool?

# 4

Doing the Wiz gave me new inspiration and strength. The question became what to do with those things. How could I best harness them? ~ Michael Jackson ~

# 3

"Got To Be There" 1971

His first solo single, and a first taste of the mature, introspective Michael to come, it sold more than a million and half copies after coming out in the fall of 1971. The song itself is hardly childhood stuff ("Got to be there in the morning?") with bittersweet minor-key harmonies that should have been beyond the reach of a young thing. Yet Michael coasts over the jazzy chords and lush orchestration, handling each key change like a born soulman. He'd just turned 13.

# 2

In October of 1989 Michael returns to the Gardner Street Elementary School in Hollywood, Los Angeles, where he attended sixth grade as a child. The school dedicates its auditorium in honour of Michael, renaming it The Michael Jackson Auditorium.