We Said Goodbye to the King of Pop Weeks Before His Highly Anticipated Comeback 17 Years Ago

On this day (June 25) in 2009, Michael Jackson was found dead in his Los Angeles home at the age of 50. His official cause of death was an accidental overdose of propofol, for which his personal physician was later jailed. He left behind a legacy that will outlive even the youngest of his fans.

 Jackson had largely been out of the public eye before announcing This Is It, a 10-show residency at the O2 Arena in London. The King of Pop hadn’t been on tour since 1997. As a result, when he announced the comeback concerts on March 5, 2009, fans around the world were overjoyed. Websites offering pre-sale tickets crashed due to high traffic. The public’s demand for tickets was so high that 40 extra dates were added to the residency. Tickets sold out in a matter of hours.

According to a CNN report, 750,000 tickets sold out in just four hours. This Is It was set to be one of the biggest entertainment events in history. At the same time, sales of Jackson’s music skyrocketed. Specifically, King of Pop saw a 400% increase and Thriller sales were up by 200%.

Michael Jackson Was Ready for His Comeback

On June 24, Michael Jackson was at the Staples Center in Los Angeles preparing for his residency. He did a full run-through of the show and had a dress rehearsal at the O2 Arena planned for the following week, according to the Los Angeles Times.

[RELATED: Michael Jackson Correctly Predicted the Success of This Song Before It Was Finished]

Kenny Ortega, who was directing the show, told the publication that Jackson was thrilled to be back on the stage. “There were a couple of times when Michael stood at my side and we just looked at the stage together and were just beaming with gladness that we had arrived at this place,” he said.

Ortega also said that Jackson was in top form during rehearsals. “He was dancing, training, working every day with our choreographer Travis,” he told the publication. “He was getting rest time, coming in and working with the band, guiding the singers, working on orchestrations,” Ortega added.

Ed Alonzo, a magician who created illusions for the O2 residency also commented on Jackson’s condition. “He was dancing, singing, joking with the crew. If he was having any aches or pains, nobody knew about it that night.”

The Death of the King and the Aftermath

Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson’s personal physician, found him unresponsive in his bedroom just after noon on June 25. He wasn’t breathing and his pulse was weak. Murray did CPR and security called 911. Paramedics arrived, finding the pop icon in cardiac arrest. A little more than two hours later, at 2:25 in the afternoon, Jackson was pronounced dead at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

In late August, the LA County Medical Examiner ruled Jackson’s death a homicide. Murray was later charged and convicted of involuntary manslaughter. He served two years of his four-year sentence.

Featured Image by Steve Granitz/WireImage

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