Michael Jackson provided the soundtrack to my life...

Programming Note: SUN FM will celebrate the music of the late Michael Jackson on a special edition of the the Lost 80’s and 90’s Brunch (9am-noon Sunday June 28th)

1:15am:

I’ve often wondered what it would be like to have to be broadcasting when news breaks that rocks the world. Today I experienced it.

Michael Jackson- the King of Pop- died today.

Never did I ever imagine I’d have to ever type those words, let alone tell you that on-air. Today was a surreal experience and although the majority of my show was filled with your reactions and thoughts about the news…it’s only now sinking in for me. Us radio folk are often so busy trying to bring you the news when something like this happens that we often don’t have a free moment to reflect on it ourselves.

I can’t believe he’s gone. I feel like I lost part of my childhood today, as his music was the soundtrack to my life growing up. My mom called me tonight to talk about it because she knows that I’ve always been a huge fan of Michael Jackson the entertainer. When I was younger, I watched my MJ “Moonwalker” VHS so many times, I wore out the tape. When my dad bought me Michael Jackson’s “BAD” cassette, it was always in my walkman.

Fast-forward to Grade 8. MJ’s “You Are Not Alone” was song that was playing when I first noticed the girl who would later become my wife.

In Grade 11, I sang and performed as Michael Jackson in the school talent show- complete with a white-sequinned glove, an open royal blue dress shirt that parachuted when I would turn, and black dress shoes with white socks that you could see when I moonwalked across the stage.

Then, just last year I lived out a dream I’ve had since I was a child of learning the entire Michael Jackson “Thriller” dance routine. With my friend Bri Cook and the amazing crew at Aradia Fitness, we danced our way into the world record books with “Thrill the World- Kelowna”. It was the largest simultaneous dance of “Thriller” around the world, and we had the biggest turnout in the country. On top of that, we raised over $6500 to help sick kids at KGH through our SUN FM Have a Heart Radiothon.

Suffice it to say, Michael Jackson the performer and singer has played a prominent role in my life, and I do feel a loss today. I not only look at all the memories I have of the King of Pop, I am selfishly sad at the fact we will never get to hear a new song from him again aside from what’s already been recorded. I mentioned on-air that I was hoping to see him if his comeback tour (set to begin in mere days) was brought to North America. He was such a brilliant performer and his songs shaped pop music as we know it today. Usher, Justin Timberlake, Ne-Yo, and countless other SUN FM artists all name Michael Jackson as one of their major influences.

I didn’t want to believe it when it was first reported. I hoped that it was just another one of those bad rumours on the internet. This time it was real. I received more phone calls, e-mails, facebook messages, tweets and texts than I’ve ever had in my radio career. Say what you will about the man’s personal life…it seems everyone agrees that we lost a musical genius today- a man who made an indelible imprint on our generation and pop culture history.

What are your Michael Jackson memories?

Long Live the King of Pop.
-Kevin Lim
99.9 SUN FM Afternoons 2-7pm PST
Kevin@thesun.net

Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/KevinLimSUNFM

A dream come true..."Thrill the World- Kelowna"