CNN releases clip of Michael Jackson’s final concert rehearsal

CNN just got a hold of a one minute clip from Michael Jackson’s last rehersal, taken on Tuesday, June 23rd, two days before he died. It’s footage shot by AEG, which was Jackson’s promoter for his planned London summer concert series. It’s professionally shot from a few angles, which means it’s not poor-quality cell phone video or something of that nature. While he’s certainly not moonwalking or doing anything out of this world, what’s most obvious is how normal Jackson seems. In fact, compared to some of the sickly looking photos and videos we’ve seen of him over the last decade, Michael seems relatively active and healthy.

Michael Jackson appeared healthy in a video clip — obtained by CNN — of his rehearsal two nights before he died.

AEG, promoter of Jackson’s planned London shows, released the short video of Jackson rehearsing on a stage in the Staples Center arena on June 23, 2009.

Jackson sang “They Don’t Care About Us” — a song from Jackson’s “HIStory” album — as he danced along with eight male dancers.

[From CNN]

Obviously the heart is a complex organ so it’s not possible to generalize, but it seems like often when people are suffering from heart problems they’re under the weather and have some symptoms prior to cardiac arrest. In Jackson’s case it may have been more sudden. If nothing else, it’s just hard to believe someone who seemed very healthy – for him – could die two days later. Considering all the times he’s been in and out of the hospital, face covered with a mask, looking so weak and pale, Michael really did seem to be getting healthier. Clearly that wasn’t the case, and the evidence is making it look more and more like his drug addiction was taking over his life.

Whenever people in the music industry talked about him over the last few years, they always talked about how he “still had the gift.” This little clip of video makes that clear.

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34 Responses to “CNN releases clip of Michael Jackson’s final concert rehearsal”

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  1. yadira says:

    There’s no denying it, the man had great dance moves and made great music. No matter how odd he got, he still had the talent to please a crowd

  2. Enonymous says:

    What a sad loss and he looked good in the video, especially for a 50 year old man. However, was that an actual live vocal or was he lip-synched, not that it matters anyway.

  3. CandyKay says:

    Certainly much better than expected, and much better than in that terrible appearance with ‘nSync at the MTV awards a few years ago, when he looked like he didn’t know where he was.

    In this clip he seems a bit stiff – like Dad trying out his old dance moves. But he was keeping up, which is more than I’ve seen a lot of 40 plus dancers doing at the ballet. What a strain all this activity must have been on his 50-year-old heart, however.

  4. Just a poster says:

    I think he looks great. He still had the moves.

  5. wow says:

    Man, its sad because just by this rehearsal clip, it looked as if his concert was going to be yet another MJ spectacular.

    Even more sad that we won’t get to see it now. 🙁

  6. bros says:

    he seemed tired to me. not with it.

  7. jane says:

    Clearly he loved stimulants too, as that’s the only way this guy is up and about. Wasn’t it Judy Garland who said she learned from an early age to take a pill before performing, another for afterwards and then more to sleep?

  8. BlueSkies says:

    Drugs or bad heart.

  9. dark says:

    He seemed ok for me! You have to remember this was only a rehearsal. He wasn’t giving 100%. He was not that bad as the tabloids were trying to portraying him.

  10. Larissa says:

    It would have been GRAND to see him performing like that!!! The man really had TALENT, sadly at such a cost!

  11. Annie says:

    Oh wow.

    To have been able to see him perform….

  12. Llana says:

    That video makes me so sad all over again. He was incredible and looked like he was in good health .Those shows would’ve been unforgettable. He always will be anyway. R.I.P

  13. fizXgirl314 says:

    i’d like to see a longer clip…

  14. Feebee says:

    I think he looked good but agree with some comments above re: tired/dad trying out his moves! ha ha.

    His heart may have been perfectly fine for this cardio workout, but no match for whatever drug entered his system that day, if that’s what happened.

    So sad that the world won’t get to appreciate his talent one more time.

  15. Zoe says:

    Anyone who says he looks tired out is insane. The man is dancing with people more than half his age and was rehearsing an entire concert, meaning a few hours of dancing. I’d like to see you do that at that age. He danced just as well as he always had. RIP, MJ, that would have been a great show.

  16. fizXgirl314 says:

    his voice is just so unique… you can always make it out even when there’s a chorus behind him. characteristically mj… and his dancing… it’s not just the moves, it’s the way he does them… it’s like you can’t keep your eyes off him even though there’s a whole crowd doing the same thing behind him… check out “you rock my world”… a video he made only 8 years ago… he was still very good…

    woulda been a great show… ahh well…

  17. jill says:

    I had enough to my hairline with this saga. He was a pedafile point blank. I hate too speak ill will of the dead but it is what it is.

  18. omondieu says:

    That’s so heartbreaking to watch…
    🙁

  19. alecto says:

    Did I hear Martin Luther King Jr.’s voice around 30seconds???

  20. RubySlippers says:

    He definitely looked slowish, tired….still not bad for a 50 yr old filled with narcotics tho. That smile at the end was a little creepy.

  21. Shay says:

    He looks good considering how long he was out of the mix. Micheal always looked “tired” during rehearsals. If you look at the practice tapes from Dangerous and History tour (they’re on youtube) MJ never put his all into them. It’s more of a walk through and not a performance.

  22. Kati says:

    He died because of the combinations of the drugs he took that day.

  23. xploxite says:

    It’s a shame that he died at this young age he was a genius and looked so healthy on that clip, a real shame i wished he was alive.

  24. Tia C says:

    Thank you Zoe. He WAS dancing with people half his age – and he looked great doing it. For me, there is no other explanation than that he had the judgment of a child. And, as such, he was not capable of choosing “appropriate” drugs and/or drug dosage. He OD’ed, plain and simple. And tragic. Goodbye, Michael, you did not have to go yet.

  25. diddy says:

    the world has lost a huge talent, at 50 years of age the man had still got it; i miss him

  26. ccoop says:

    Michael often found it to his advantage to pretend to be more incapacitated than he really was.

  27. Zoe (The Other One) says:

    Ah, he still had ‘it’ – by the bucketload.

    What an incredible event that concert would have been to witness. He looked happy, he looked well and he was keeping up with the dancing and singing.

    The man was such a huge huge talent…it’s made me sad all over again seeing this.

  28. Alin Azmi says:

    he smiles at the end of the clip…the last smile..

  29. Annie says:

    Half his age who probably view him as the inspiration for why they even got into the dancing biz!

  30. raven says:

    I think he cleaned up for the tour as someone on another thread suggested that the insurance company would not insure him otherwise. Then he got stressed out and mistakenly took more drug than his system could handle in its cleaned up state. That’s exactly what happened to River Phoenix years ago with the same result.

  31. Kevin says:

    WOW I never realised we had so many doctors posting on this site!! The dude was a total inspiration for so many, but if you watch a bunch of his tapes and break them down he really only had about 8 different moves. I mean, 4 flashy moves will get you through a drunken night at ABC lounge and probably get you laid too. However, he really hasn’t done anything FRESH since his early 30’s. Sorry nut huggers that’s the truth. Now, his singing probably had the chance of breaking new ground. Anyone remember what a disappointment the album BAD was? He was ridiculous. Anyone that thought that little wimp wrapped in buckles, band-aids, and leather was bad probably never made it to school with their lunch money. Probably the only brother in history that had a smaller wiener than Pee Wee Herman. His concert shoulda been named “Get Michael outa debt or die trying 2009”. Sorry if this sounds harsh, he may have been the 80’s, but he wasn’t Elvis.

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  33. Rabbit says:

    If you’re a disciplined person, you can pull off a decent performances for short period of time even though you’re feeling like crap. He looked less flexible than usual to me in this video like perhaps he was avoiding movements or more extreme exertion that would cause pain or be extremely exhausting.

    Question I have is why he did not seek the services of a very reputable alternative medicine practitioner like acupuncturist especially for pain management, terminating drug addiction and managing sleep problems? I don’t have to know Michael Jackson personally. I can see from how he sang and danced, each movement in synch with each sound, and the sensitivity that goes along with these gifts that he would have been better off with healing arts that are attuned to balancing and strengthening the body as opposed to conventional medicine that just treats the symptoms with pills.

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