King of music

For any music lover, whether they like it or not, it's unlikely that anyone would not recognize Michael Jackson. This man, who holds an irreplaceable position in the river of music, has a name that can definitely be said to be well-known worldwide.

Elizabeth Taylor, who is known as the most beautiful woman in the world, referred to Michael Jackson as the "King of Pop" at a cultural heritage awards ceremony in 1989. Since then, this title has become the most accurate description of him. Although Michael never publicly demanded to be called by this title, there is no doubt that it is well-deserved.

In 1965, at the age of only seven, Michael and his four other brothers formed "The Jackson 5" and appeared before the public, thus starting his legendary life. In 1979, Michael, after leaving the family group, released his first solo album, "Off the Wall," which created a legendary era in modern pop music throughout the 1980s. "Thriller" became the only album in the world to have sold over 100 million copies, breaking the dominance of white artists in the pop music industry at the time and bringing black music into the mainstream.

Furthermore, Michael transformed music videos from simple promotional tools into a form of artistic expression with storylines. He is considered the pioneer and milestone of modern music videos. Nowadays, the music video format advocated by Michael has been widely used throughout the modern pop music industry. Not to mention, as a dancer and performer, Michael showcased the artistry of singers to the world with his unique tone, vocal color, voice, singing style, movements, and posture.

With fifteen Grammy Awards, twenty-six American Music Awards, seventeen number-one singles on the Billboard charts, he has been honored three times in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He has also received multiple Guinness World Records, including "World's Most Successful Artist", "Highest Earning Pop Singer in a Year", "Most Successful Pop Music Family", and more. With over 750 million album sales worldwide and personal album sales certification of 215 million, he has become the best-selling male artist in pop music history.

If one were to list the records of this great King of Pop, perhaps it would take more than a day and night to fully describe his achievements, let alone explain his glorious career trajectory. The influence he has had in the field of music is still felt even in the distant year of 2014, and his impact on music can be sensed throughout nearly half a century. This is what defines a legend.

So, when Hugo saw Michael in front of him, his mind just froze.

In fact, after a year of training, Hugo had become much calmer. When he saw Katharine Hepburn just now, although Hugo was excited, he didn't have an extreme reaction. Of course, Katharine was performing on stage, and Hugo was just a mere spectator. There was still a distance between the two, and that was one of the important reasons.

However, now seeing the great King of Pop standing next to him with a smile, Hugo's initial reaction was to want to swear. Especially when he realized that the person sitting on his left watching the performance was Michael, apart from swearing, there was no other language that could clearly express the thunderous stampede of wild horses running through Hugo's mind.

Hugo's astonishment and pause were already accustomed to Michael. Throughout his career, he had seen all kinds of crazy fans, so Hugo's reaction didn't scare him. But when he noticed Hugo's expression, Michael's first reaction was to tone down his smile, and a sense of distance appeared in his eyes.

Michael wouldn't overlook Hugo's keen observation of his subtle change. Hugo felt somewhat embarrassed and averted his gaze, knowing that staring at Michael like an obsessed fanatic would make him uncomfortable. It was an impolite behavior, so Hugo shifted his gaze while expressing his apologies, "Sorry, really sorry. I think I need to check if there's drool coming out of my mouth."

Hugo's sincere apology, coupled with a touch of humor, seemed to work because Michael didn't immediately turn away but continued the conversation, "Do you like this play?"

Hugo looked up again at the pale-faced Michael in front of him, still overwhelmed by the experience. Especially seeing Michael up close, even in the slightly dim theater lighting, he could clearly see the foundation on his face and his surgically altered nose. The impact of this direct encounter lingered in his mind. However, after a year in the entertainment industry, Hugo had become much calmer in his mindset. He successfully suppressed his excitement and sincerely and politely redirected his gaze towards Michael, saying, "Yes, I'm a devoted fan of Katharine Hepburn."

The first sentence is always the most difficult. Hugo could now understand Melin's feelings when standing on top of the Empire State Building. But once he got started, things became smoother. Hugo's previously muddled brain started working again. "Besides, I'm an actor myself, so I always try to learn from senior actors and gain some experience. Watching performances tends to make me overly excited. After all, not every actor has the opportunity to watch Katharine's performance up close." Hugo silently joked to himself, "Of course, not everyone has the chance to see Michael Jackson up close either!"

Evidently, Michael sensed the friendliness in Hugo's frankness. Although Hugo's voice still sounded somewhat tense, his efforts to maintain composure and calmness sent a positive signal. This made Michael's vigilant gaze relax slightly, although he still kept a distance of three steps between them. "Oh, I can tell. Your comments on the performance earlier were interesting and professional."

"Sorry, I got a bit carried away while speaking. It's not the behavior of a professional audience member to affect others' enjoyment of the show." Hugo's mindset remained tightly wound. He made an effort to keep his eyes focused on Michael's, avoiding wandering around out of excessive curiosity, which would be highly impolite. Especially for Michael, who was extremely alert and even showed signs of crowd panic disorder.

However, Hugo didn't have time to ponder over why Michael had initiated the conversation with him. It was really strange. Normally, Michael would have arrived quietly, just like when he came, and left without causing any disturbance. That way, he could minimize the chances of attracting attention. So why did he stay after the performance and talk to him?

But Hugo didn't have time to dwell on this question. His mind had to be fully focused on the conversation. "Of course, I'm lucky that I wasn't kicked out by Katharine Hepburn."

Hugo openly acknowledged his mistake, accompanied by a self-deprecating joke. This genuine display of sincerity warmed Michael's heart, and a rare smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. "No, no, your words didn't disturb me. In fact, my knowledge of theater isn't that deep, and your comments actually answered some of my doubts. If I weren't watching the performance in the theater, maybe I would have hoped you could chat with me while watching."

It seems that during the halftime break, Michael interrupted Hugo and Joseph's conversation not because of the noise but because he wanted to start a conversation. Unfortunately, Hugo didn't realize it.

"I actually wasn't sure until the lights came on at the end, but I felt like I should have seen you before." Michael's smile was gentle, his voice soft and gentle. He appeared very kind, without any hint of a superstar aura, in stark contrast to his commanding presence on stage. On the other hand, the tall bodyguards standing beside him looked fierce, constantly glaring at Hugo as if he might suddenly become violent. "You're Hugo Lancaster, the actor, right?"

This time, Hugo couldn't hide his surprise anymore. "Yes, I'm Hugo Lancaster, and this is my manager, Joseph." Hugo hurriedly turned around and introduced Joseph, only to find that Joseph had also noticed Michael at some point and had turned into a statue, standing still without any reaction. But Hugo didn't have time to awaken Joseph. He quickly turned his head back to Michael and asked, "But how do you know me?"

"Scent of a Woman" and "Heroic Seas" were both quite successful, but they hadn't been released on video yet, so there was no way Michael could have seen them at home. And it was unlikely for Michael to appear in a movie theater. So Hugo's mind was filled with question marks.

"Oh, I did an interview with Oprah last month. Before officially agreeing to the interview, I watched several episodes of Oprah's show, including the one where you were interviewed," Michael explained calmly.

Hugo suddenly realized that Michael had appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in January. It was his first television interview in fourteen years and ultimately achieved an unprecedented 62 million viewers, a record that could never be surpassed in the history of The Oprah Winfrey Show. No wonder Michael recognized him. It seemed that the reason Michael started a conversation with him was also due to that particular episode, which left a positive and favorable impression on Michael.

However, Michael's sentence was not yet finished. He smiled lightly and continued, "Actually, I've also seen some of the negative news about you in the past month. It caused quite a commotion." This statement made Hugo somewhat embarrassed, and he smiled awkwardly.

If Michael believed the news about Hugo's arrogance, that would truly be a laughingstock. Compared to Hugo, Michael was the one who had the right to act arrogantly. Hugo, on the other hand, was just a half-empty bottle, far from deserving the privilege of acting arrogantly. But Hugo couldn't explain it directly to Michael during their first meeting. It would only make him appear desperate and give those rumors more credibility.

To Hugo's surprise, Michael chuckled and said, "The media's ability to fabricate news is always frustrating, isn't it?"