1. 162 PRESTIGE APRIL2015
I’m waiting for Jermaine Jackson in
thelobbyoftheRitz-Carltonhotelbut
I’m not the only one expecting him.
Malaysia’s legendary shoe maker
Prof Datuk (Dr) Jimmy Choo is also
waiting patiently for the fourth eldest
Jackson member to arrive. Jackson
is running late but that’s presumably
because he spent last night together
with his brothers entertaining a
crowd of 2,000 fans at the Petronas
Malaysia Grand Prix Gala 2015. The
75-minute concert was a walk down
memory lane as The Jacksons belted
out hits from their chart-topping
albums including Man of War, ABC,
A HIGH ENERGY PERFORMANCE THAT DID NOT DISAPPOINT
Can You Feel It and Beat It. Safe to say, by the end
of the night, they successfully got everyone in the
audience to stand up and dance along.
Jackson finally turns up, a pair of dark tinted
aviators frame his face and he’s donning a
striped dark blazer complete with neck chains.
He greets me in a melodic low voice and turns
to give Choo a welcome hug, like old friends
reuniting after years apart. Later on, I learn from
Choo that a long-standing friendship had formed
between the two back in London ten years ago
and they’ve preserved that bond ever since.
At age 60, Jackson still towers above his small
entourage of publicists but what is even more
astounding is to see him seamlessly perform
his iconic slick dance moves on stage without
CULTUREMUSIC
AsTHEJACKSONSfeversettlesinKualaLumpurafteranightofMotown
groove,julie yim basksinthecompanyofJERMAINEJACKSONtounearth
thesuccessbehindthegroup’sfourdecadecareer
Z
Z
missing a beat. “The energy we
project on stage comes from eating
right. We don’t drink and I haven’t
had red meat since I was 17,” the
star reveals.
Together with his brothers Tito,
Marlon, Jackie and of course
Michael, The Jacksons led a highly
illustrious career that propelled
them to become an international
multi-media phenomenon thanks
to their dazzling Motown fusions.
Everywhere they went, chaos from
fans ensued, as everyone wanted
a piece of them. The Jacksons have
been performing since the mid 60’s
tar PowerS
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2. MAY2015 PRESTIGE 163
and embarked on their Unity Tour
in 2012 to 2013. Prior to that, the
brothershittheroadtogetherontheir
1984 Victory Tour. This year marks
the 50th anniversary of The Jackson
5 and they show no signs of slowing
down. “We’re going to perform until
we can’t walk. It’s in our blood. We
love performing and making people
happy. We were fortunate to have
Berry Gordy and his staff get us to
hit records and made it the way we
did,” Jackson attests.
Like most bands, their colossal
triumph also came with a share of
creative differences and the fourth
Jackson member embarked on
his solo career in 1972 before re-
joining the group in 1984 for their
Victory Tour. “I love my brothers
and I worked very hard during the
Motown days to establish a solo
career. So did Michael. It’s just an
incredible feeling coming back to
the brothers and going on stage
but I’ll say I miss Michael so much
because he was always on my
right. Sometimes I still find myself
moving out of the way because he’s
going to come out and do a spin,”
Jackson confesses.
Since the death of Michael,
the brothers have covered his
“Ibreakdownonstageandit’shardtogetthroughitbecauseall
thememoriesofTheJackson5dayscomefloodingbacktome”
parts in the group’s repertoire and included
some of his solo hits that never fail to make the
crowd go wild. A tribute to Michael was also
part of last night’s performance where we saw
Jermaine dedicating the ballad Gone Too Soon
in memory of the legendary performer. At this
point, Jackson’s voice falters when we touch on
the subject of Michael. “It’s important to keep
Michael’s legacy alive. What went through my
mind when I performed Gone Too Soon was
I miss him and I never thought I’ll be singing
that song for him. He’s been very inspiring in
our lives and it’s healing for us when we sing as
we’re still mourning his passing. I once started
crying during rehearsal because it was very
emotional for me to sing that song. I break down
on stage and it’s hard to get through it because
all the memories of The Jackson 5 days come
flooding back to me,” Jackson reminisces with
an air of melancholy.
A four decade career that survives and
transcends the test of time will indisputably leave
a legacy to remember. “The kind of legacy The
Jacksons will leave behind will be a family that
was world renowned known but at the same time,
their music and daily life was focused towards
bringing people, races and cultures together and
paying attention to the less fortunate. Michael
was the number one donor out of anybody in the
history of charity itself,” Jackson asserts.
Love, hope and self-confidence have always
been the centre of the message through the
songs The Jacksons sing as their main goal
is to unite people. The Jackson
fever even spread to the depths of
Africa where kids had no running
water but learnt English through
their songs. “Music is a universal
language so we make people feel
good and smile,” Jackson smiles.
A quick Google search reveals
that Jackson maintains a Twitter
account and I shoot him a question
on his thoughts about social media.
“I think if you don’t have anything
to say that’s not informative or
that’s not going to help people then
don’t say anything. It’s a way that
the world can speak to each other
but it’s got to go back to privacy
because your life is an open book
now,” Jackson responses.
ReportsofTheJacksonsreturning
to the recording studio to produce
new music have now surfaced and
Jackson confirms this as he reveals
that three of his sons, Jermaine
Junior, Jaafar and Jermajesty will
also be coming up with new music.
As for next year, he’s looking to do
a special Jacksons 50th United We
Stand performance and there’s
going to be some exciting television
and film projects in the pipeline.
The question is, are you ready for
another wave of Jackson fever?
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