The event followed Tuesday's Apollo memorial service. "I just pray before I get on stage," he said.
He said the Apollo flew him out to Manhattan from Toledo, Ohio, where he lives, so that he could perform in Jackson's honor. One of the night's stars, Zaccheus, 13, later posed for photos next to a poster of Jackson. On Wednesday, the theater presented a lineup of aspiring stars, and those whose Jackson performances weren't worthy were booed off the stage, followed by chants of "Michael! Michael!" In grand Apollo tradition, the audience cheers and jeers performers. A dance troupe called Rhythm City wowed the crowd with a rousing medley of Jackson classics, including "Thriller."Ī young singer named Zaccheus, an Apollo regular, performed "Who's Lovin' You" in honor of Jackson, who sang the Motown hit on the night the Jackson 5 won Amateur Night in 1967.īilly Mitchell, the tour director of the Apollo, told the crowd he witnessed Jackson's victory there and "it was incredible." Several young moonwalkers - too young to remember Jackson in his heyday - slid across the stage, showing off their best Jackson moves. Hundreds of people had lined up outside before the Amateur Night show, which also featured a moonwalking contest.īrooklyn resident Marlene Villalona, 21, said she loved Jackson's "style, his moves, his music." She said she was excited about her first visit to the Apollo, where Jackson performed as a child. As the crowd roared, he performed "Man In the Mirror" and "Billie Jean." Lacey arrived on stage dressed as Jackson of the latter years, sporting a black suit, white socks, black wig and sunglasses. Lacey paid homage to the pop legend, who died last week at age 50. "I will never forget this night," the Bronx resident said.Ĭelebrity impersonator C.P. Hector, whose favorite Jackson song is "Dirty Diana," said she "had dreams of meeting him and becoming famous." "I feel it in my blood - I just can't help it!" "Nobody moves like him," the 19-year-old said, her eyes filling with tears. Hector, who wore a T-shirt with the image of the "Thriller" album cover, ecstatically emulated moves she learned watching Jackson's music videos. The crowd cheered on the 16-year-old Rios, prompting Jackson superfan Allison Hector to jump on stage and bust a move. "I just watched his video, and I practiced," said Rios, who praised Jackson's all-around "musicality." The Elizabeth, N.J., boy wore a Jackson-inspired red jacket and pants and grooved to the 1987 hit "Bad." Teenager Mike Rios was the first to demonstrate his Jackson jinks and jukes when the Harlem theater's doors opened Wednesday night. One of those albums which have re-invented music and whose cover is iconic.Tributes to the King of Pop continued Wednesday at the Apollo Theater, where the weekly Amateur Night turned into a Michael Jackson celebration, with impersonators emulating his outfits and mimicking his dance moves. It's so minimal and monolithic at the same time. How awesome is that Michaels career spans over four decades and with the news of unreleased music, it very well could be that some of this music may date. Michael has recorded tons of unreleased songs that could last decades. One of my all-time favorite covers is Aphex Twin's first SAW. According to Sony Music CEO, Tommy Mottola, in the wake of his death, Michael Jackson has left the fans a special gift. Similarly, a well made cover might not be a guarantee of a good album, but if it's something creative that grabs the attention, it's usually a safe bet. That being said, there are plenty of great albums out there with shitty covers (such as Dance of Death). Something about artistic endeavor in music going in parallel with making an effort at producing a good cover art to go with it. This isn't bad as in so-bad-it's-good type as is the case with many early works of various bands, but simply bad. The thing with bad covers is that, in my experience, under a bad cover is usually a bad album, so when you ask me about worst covers, those are usually on shitty albums I've long forgotten about. Might be because of the resolution though. That Mgla cover is great, but a bit too detailed and muffled in said details for my taste.