American Bandstand 2002 performance
mjkate
Posts: 276
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
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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.
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.