What Will $3,500 Buy? 30 Seconds with Michael Jackson!

Fans of Michael Jackson will be able to spend 30 seconds with the superstar during a VIP party in Tokyo for the price of $3,500.

Jackson is in Tokyo, Japan to host an exclusive party and sponsor a fan art competition. He arrived on Sunday (March 3, 2007).

His first official foray back into the spotlight after his acquittal on child molestation charges in June 2005 was an appearance in Tokyo to accept an MTV Japan award last year.

Jackson was ushered by guards past hundreds of screaming Japanese fans at Narita Airport on Sunday. As he passed, fans displayed signs reading "We Love Michael" and "Welcome to Japan".

During the VIP party, fans paying $3,500 will be allowed to mingle with Jackson and spend between 30 seconds and one minute each with him. It is not known if Jackson will be preforming any songs.

During his stay in Tokyo, Jackson will host a fan art contest for Japanese who is unable to afford VIP tickets.

Three artists will be selected and will be allowed to have brunch with Jackson and have their photo taken together with the superstar.
Jackson's VIP party is scheduled for Thursday (March 8, 2007) and the art competition is scheduled for Friday (March 9, 2007).

Michael Joseph Jackson (born August 29, 1958) is an American musician, entertainer and pop icon, whose successful music career and controversial personal life have been a part of pop culture for the last quarter-century. He has three children: Prince Michael Joseph Jackson, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince Michael Joseph Jackson II (known as 'Blanket').

Michael Jackson is widely regarded as one of the greatest entertainers and popular recording artists in modern times, inventing, popularizing, and heralding new techniques, like the robot and the moonwalk, that have redefined the limits of physical expression. At his height, he has been characterized as "an unstoppable juggernaut, possessed of all the tools to dominate the charts seemingly at will: an instantly identifiable voice, eye-popping dance moves, stunning musical versatility, and loads of sheer star power." His achievements in the music industry have included, among other things, a revolutionary transformation of music videos, epitomized by 1983's Thriller, often cited as the greatest music video of all time, establishing pop as one of the dominant musical art forms in the world during the 1980s, and becoming the first black entertainer to amass a strong following on MTV. His distinctive vocals, style, and moves have inspired a whole generation of hip hop, pop, and R&B artists, including Beyoncé Knowles, Usher, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Janet Jackson, Ne-Yo, and Chris Brown, among others. In 1997, after a solo career spanning two and a half decades, a survey found that Michael Jackson was the most famous person on Earth, beating out Pope John Paul II and President Bill Clinton.

Jackson began his musical career at the age of seven as the lead singer of The Jackson 5 and released his first solo recording, Got to Be There, in 1971 while remaining a member of the group. He began a full-fledged solo career in 1979 and formally parted with his siblings in 1984. In his solo career, Jackson recorded and co-produced the best-selling album of all time, Thriller, which has worldwide sales exceeding 104 million. Michael Jackson has received thirteen Grammy awards and charted thirteen number-one singles in the United States, more than any other solo male artist in the Hot 100 era. In November 2006, Raymone Bain, Jackson's PR, announced that Michael Jackson has sold over 750 million units worldwide, making Jackson one of the best-selling music artists of all time. For his numerous accomplishments in the music industry, he is widely known among fans and some media as the King of Pop.

From 1988 to 2005, Jackson lived on his Neverland Ranch property, where he built an amusement park and private zoo that was frequently attended by disadvantaged and terminally ill children. Rumours of sleepover parties received disparaging media coverage after it was revealed that children frequently slept in his bed or bedroom. These first came to light when he was accused of child sexual abuse in 1993. Michael Jackson's relationship with children was brought into the spotlight again in 2003 during the TV documentary Living with Michael Jackson. This resulted in Jackson being tried, and later acquitted, of more child molestation allegations and several other charges in 2005.

SOURCES:
Associated Press (http://www.ap.com)