American Bandstand 2002 performance

mjkatemjkate Posts: 276
edited January 1970 in His Music & (Short) Films
I know that this has likely been discussed before. I just watched it again last night. I was shocked at how much MJ looked like the MJ in TII. I expected that he would have the straight hair as in 2002 he mostly did but no he had the curls. He looked slightly younger and slightly heavier but I was really going wow...that is so close to him in TII. I wasn`t expecting that in 2002. In late 2001 he had the short hair and looked heavier and then after that he had the straight hair and looked thinner. Anyway I would like your opinion. It changed how I feel about whether or not he looked sick or frail or thin in TII. He looked so much the same to 2002 imo and that was 7 years earlier that now I am thinking no he didn`t look that bad. I have tried but can`t seem to post the amercian bandstand performance so if anyone can please help!

Comments

  • Here it is...He certainly did not look that much different than he did in TII. I really don't know what to think. He was skinny in 2002 and for the most part was always on the thin side, with the exception of a few years in between. Although he looked very thin in TII, he still could move like no other and certainly better than his dancers half his age. He was very much on top of his game in this video. Amazing!!!....as always!

    [youtube:b4dlburq]
  • CameronCameron Posts: 956
    I really love the Dangerous Shows. <!-- s:) -->:)<!-- s:) -->
  • mjkatemjkate Posts: 276
    Thank you so much Liberian Girl Hee Hee! - for posting the video and for your comments. When he took his hat off especially I was just struck withe image of his look in TII - same hair, lips and facial structure. With all the talk of plastic surgery I agree with Souza`s post - this is the same face we have seen for 20 years right up to TII.Then at the end when he walked over to Dick Clark I thought that he looked thin and but healthy and again similar to his look in TII. I was surprised he didn`t talk...you would have thought he would have said something to Dick but anyhoo, my main point here is you could look at this 2 ways....sadly this was only 7 years before he `died` and he was in great form...looked no different than when he performed this in 1995 at the MTV awards and he was now 43. So for a 43 year old who had been severely drug addicted for the better part of 20 years he seemed in fine shape and not heaving or out of breath or running backstage to get oxygen. The other way to look at it is it was 7 years ago, he had been through a lot, he was supposedly still very drug addicted, supposedly 110 pounds and had been to Klein for this and that every few days and he was back stage with oxygen at TII and disoriented and yet he looked so similar to the way he looked in body and face 7 years before. I don`t really know where I am going with this but thought I would put it out there to see what if anything others could glean from it. You guys always always find the gems in things. Love to all
  • This is a video of Michael and Travis (Payne) rehearsing during the making of TII. IMO, Michael doesn't look emaciated, super skinny, unhealthy etc., and he looks like the Michael we've all seen over the past 20 + years. BTW, look at his arms. They're not thin, but they actually look rather beefy.

    [youtube:1cq4la5r]
  • mjkatemjkate Posts: 276
    thanks for posting that ! I had wanted to see it again and I had no idea where to find it. Yes absolutely...He looked as good as travis there at the home practices and his bare arms looked good. Probably there were no needle marks he was trying to hide either!
  • i dont think this was mj!
  • mjkatemjkate Posts: 276
    really! what makes you think that!!! He didn`t talk so it would be really hard to tell. If that isn`t him though...what would that mean for TII and other performances - do you think this person did other performances too...
  • really! what makes you think that!!! He didn`t talk so it would be really hard to tell. If that isn`t him though...what would that mean for TII and other performances - do you think this person did other performances too...

    you can just tell when you look at the face, and as you see the fedora is covering it up the whole time, and when MJ has a double go out for him they usually wear glasses but this one cant wear them cus mj never performs with shades, or maybe that is just me..and when he tkes off the fedora the shots are far away!!!
  • really! what makes you think that!!! He didn`t talk so it would be really hard to tell. If that isn`t him though...what would that mean for TII and other performances - do you think this person did other performances too...

    you can just tell when you look at the face, and as you see the fedora is covering it up the whole time, and when MJ has a double go out for him they usually wear glasses but this one cant wear them cus mj never performs with shades, or maybe that is just me..and when he tkes off the fedora the shots are far away!!!

    No way... That's Michael in that performance. There are some pretty close shots after he takes off the fedora, and moreover some people in the audience are very close to the stage and I'm sure they could have told had that person been a double. Let's not forget that some people were there! Not everyone watches this only on TV or a computer screen.

    The other video posted here, with the TII rehearsals: Interesting, I'd never seen the whole thing. I think it's Michael there throughout as well... though he seems thinner in the last days of the rehearsals than when he's shown rehearsing with Travis in front of the mirrors. (I wouldn't say his arms were ever beefy, though.) And yes, it's always interesting to see MJ in a T-shirt with bare arms, because that shows he most likely had no needle marks to hide!
  • at 3:24 of the video TII "i think he can create his own school of dance..and teach is style"-....this sort of reminds me some news about neverland become a dance school.... makes u go huuummm <!-- s;) -->;)<!-- s;) -->
  • really! what makes you think that!!! He didn`t talk so it would be really hard to tell. If that isn`t him though...what would that mean for TII and other performances - do you think this person did other performances too...

    you can just tell when you look at the face, and as you see the fedora is covering it up the whole time, and when MJ has a double go out for him they usually wear glasses but this one cant wear them cus mj never performs with shades, or maybe that is just me..and when he tkes off the fedora the shots are far away!!!

    No way... That's Michael in that performance. There are some pretty close shots after he takes off the fedora, and moreover some people in the audience are very close to the stage and I'm sure they could have told had that person been a double. Let's not forget that some people were there! Not everyone watches this only on TV or a computer screen.

    The other video posted here, with the TII rehearsals: Interesting, I'd never seen the whole thing. I think it's Michael there throughout as well... though he seems thinner in the last days of the rehearsals than when he's shown rehearsing with Travis in front of the mirrors. (I wouldn't say his arms were ever beefy, though.) And yes, it's always interesting to see MJ in a T-shirt with bare arms, because that shows he most likely had no needle marks to hide!


    If you've followed Michael throughout his career, you'll know he was very self conscious about his arms due to his vitiligo, and he seldom wore anything revealing his arms; however, you'll also notice when he did appear sleeveless or in short sleeves, his arms were relatively slender yet muscular (I reference his ITC & YANA videos for example). That's what I mean by beefy. Michael has always been a slim, but extremely tone and fit man. IMO, this video reinforces my belief that he was not frail or weak, nor was he emaciated as some have reported him as being.
  • encino_girl:

    I agree that Michael wasn't frail or emaciated per se, but I do think he looked both thin and tired at times in TII, and it's probably that combination of greater-than-usual thinness (and now at age 50!) and apparent tiredness/exhaustion that alarm(ed) some people... When I watched TII there were many moments when I found myself thinking "God, he's so skinny!"or "Man, he looks tired"...
  • mjkatemjkate Posts: 276
    The other thing is ( and I know it`s been said here before ) is that the bulk of TII is said to have been shot those last few days. He didn`t look near death then or 110 pounds and if he was only 110 pounds surely he would not have been able to pull off what many who were there and witnessed said were his best performances. Also we have to remember the other tidbit here was that Sherilyn Lee said that he called her on fathers day weekend to say that he was very hot on one side and very cold on the other and she told him to get the hospital right away. Also Karen Faye and some of the followers say that he was so frail and out of it the last couple of days before that weekend that they wrote their letters and Karen sent her email. The the Cascio`s show up on Oprah and say that they got a father`s day call from them and he was great that weekend and went on to have the best 3 days of rehearsals that he`s had to date.
  • encino_girl:

    I agree that Michael wasn't frail or emaciated per se, but I do think he looked both thin and tired at times in TII, and it's probably that combination of greater-than-usual thinness (and now at age 50!) and apparent tiredness/exhaustion that alarm(ed) some people... When I watched TII there were many moments when I found myself thinking "God, he's so skinny!"or "Man, he looks tired"...

    I understand what you're saying, and I agree. I believe his physical condition (frail, weak, emaciated, poor, etc.) was extremely exaggerated (perhaps to feed in with the up and coming hoax??).

    Take into consideration:

    1. His age & the fact he's always been a thin (lean) man. Look at him during his Bad tour.
    2. His profession (dancing and singing take a lot out of a body).
    3. His clothing (colors and style: blacks tends to slenderize, and skinny jeans tend to make a lean person look, well, thinner).
    4. His habit of eating sparsely during rehearsals (well documented during his previous tours).

    I just do not believe he was in poor physical shape; not as poor as some have purported.
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