OCTOBER 29, 1996. I was there at the HIStory Tour, live at Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur.
I forgot how much I paid for the concert. I can’t even recall all the friends I went there with. I do not keep a single Kodak photo from that night. No video recordings either. Yet, I still remember his spectacular performances so vividly. Those nostalgic moments were carefully and silently archived in my heart until Michael, the biopic, was released on April 24, 2026.
It was not until the fourth week of its showing that I managed to watch it.
FOMO? Absolutely.
Watching Michael Jackson on the big screen with my two Gen Z children, I was proud to announce that at about their age, I had seen Michael live, in front of my eyes!
Being a listener of diverse music from the past, including Michael’s, my son was genuinely impressed. I added that during our childhood in the 80s, we would often mispronounce words despite trying to memorise the lyrics.
But that would not be a problem, as we would still sing along confidently. Singing our lungs out with “bideppp, bideppp, I duwanna biidep biidep”, or “Annie are you walking, Annie are you walking, are you walking Annie?”, for instance, would be perfectly alright. Forgivable.
To us, Billie Jean and Dirty Diana were merely names of beautiful women, gleefully singing the songs without understanding the lyrics. Listening again now as adults, they hit differently. We learned that these songs and a few others were written in reflection of the King of Pop’s heartbreak, pressure, dissatisfaction, loneliness and paranoia of being recognised in public.
Amidst these personal issues, his care for others and sense of humanity never ceased. He always wanted to understand “Human Nature”, to sing the “Earth Song”, to say “We are the World” no matter if we are “Black or White” to “Heal the World” and make it a better place.
Waiting for the film to start had me drowning in a mixture of emotions, an indescribable anticipation. I got teary-eyed instantly at the mere sound of ‘hee-hee’ at the beginning and when the movie abruptly ended after that iconic performance of Bad at Wembley, I was stunned.
“Wait…whattt? That’s it??”
Honestly, I was not prepared for that.
Glued to the cinema seat in silence, I was hoping for more scenes, more songs, more Michael. My brain just refused to decipher the simple words popping on the screen: Michael...Will...Return...
My daughter was quick to Google something and went, “Dah habislah mama, confirmed. Let’s go!”
But I remained seated until the post-credits ended.
Maybe because for many of us, we do not merely watch Michael Jackson. We revisit parts of ourselves through him.
I left the cinema feeling incomplete, not disappointed but somehow unfinished.
It is unsettling that the story halted in 1988 when things were really starting to peak for Michael. We all know he continued to tour solo and make music until the end of the 1990s and into the 2000s.
We witnessed the growth of this super-talented human being for over four decades, not only as an entertainer, but as a son, brother, husband, father and humanitarian. We also saw his struggles (in coping with accusations of harming his children, for example), his isolation and his strength to keep going despite all of it, until it all ended on June 25th, 2009. The day the world lost Michael.
Michael Jackson’s legacy goes far beyond the title King of Pop. His passion, soulful voice and multiple award-winning records have inspired millions around the world to follow their lifelong dreams. His music transcended not only geographical boundaries but also across generations. As technology evolves, his timeless songs will continue to be played on cassettes, CDs, MP3s, YouTube, TikTok, Spotify and so on, even long after we have all passed on.
Yet, with all the glory, fame and fortune, his life was not always a bed of roses.
Through him, we witnessed the beauty of family ties mixed with the burden of expectation, sibling loyalty, sacrifice and, at times, emotional wounds hidden beneath success.
We observed his tenderness, literally, through his soft-spoken tone and we saw his love for animals, compassion for humanity and devotion to fans around the world.
Behind the sequined glove and moonwalk, there was a deeply fragile soul trying to survive the ultimate fame that few could ever comprehend.
Jaafar Jackson deserves all the praise and limelight for giving Michael justice in this biopic. He truly embodied his uncle’s movements, voice, energy and emotions. It was so hauntingly real in certain scenes that it felt as if Michael came back to life for a moment or two, thanks to the superb makeup, costumes and props.
But, an Oscar-worthy performance? Hmm…not yet. Not until you survive being swallowed by a bear or sink a ship dramatically, until you have played diverse roles in movies of different genres. Still, Oscar-worthy does not necessarily equal my-worthy.
Grossing over USD 1 billion at the Box Office might make something worthy of anything, perhaps? Jaafar undeniably nailed the role, nonetheless, with a performance worthy of fans who carry Michael in their hearts and memories, not merely in their playlists. He can definitely go far as an actor if he chooses to be.
The rest of the cast, especially the 10-going-8-year-old Michael (Juliano Valdi), Joseph Jackson (Colman Domingo) and Katherine Jackson (Nia Long), were all equally brilliant in their roles, portraying the many significant people in the King of Pop’s life.
These also include the actors playing Quincy Jones, Bill Bray, and John Branca. It was easy to see and feel that they had really got into character playing their respective roles. But, as we are reminded time and time again throughout the film, there is only one Michael.
To my surprise (and a little disappointment), the superstar sister, Janet Jackson, was totally missing. Apparently, Janet had requested not to be featured or even mentioned in the film despite being the closest to Michael, a decision perhaps rooted in privacy, respect, or simply exhaustion from public narratives about the Jackson family that never seem to end.
I entered the cinema expecting a complete biographical journey until his final days. Perhaps my “mistake” was going in with almost zero knowledge about the film. I did not follow its production timeline despite all the hype, nor did I read any reviews. I walked in almost clueless except for my ingrained compilation of Michael’s music, guided only by instinct and nostalgia.
Indeed, there is still so much of Michael left to tell.
And to be fair, it is not practically realistic to have it all in two hours.
If the sequel is done right (and it has got to be), we will be there in the cinema again, unmoved during the post-credits, reluctant to leave Michael behind, unwilling to say goodbye. Still.
Dr Zaamah Mohd Nor is a senior lecturer at Universiti Teknologi MARA Academy of Language Studies. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of Sinar Daily.