The ‘King of Pop’ is dead, long live the ‘King’

Hard to imagine Jackson's magnitude
Wilson mentioned Usher and Justin Timberlake as potential heirs, and said he would have included Chris Brown if not for his recent abuse incident. “The question for these people is, how do I carve my own identity?” Wilson said. “I’m not that optimistic about the people who exist now. But you could be surprised. Who would have thought that little Michael Jackson would have surpassed the legion of Motown greats?

“He came out bigger than the Temptations, bigger than Marvin Gaye, bigger than Stevie Wonder.”

The magnitude of Michael may not need any other measure than the 750,000 tickets for 50 shows in London’s O2 Arena that sold out in March less than five hours after they went on sale. It showed that, despite his recent legal and money woes, his intense popularity was always bubbling just below the surface of the pop landscape.

“Honestly, I can’t think of anybody else who would come close to that,” said Gary Bongiovanni, editor-in-chief of Pollstar, which tracks the concert business. “There are a couple of rock acts who would be huge if they regrouped, like Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin. But that’s it.

“Nobody comes close.”

Search for new King may go global
‘The new “King of Pop” might also be someone the world doesn’t yet know. The throne may sit empty for a while until that person has time to ascend.

“It probably will be somebody who was born in the ‘90s or 2000s, or even somebody who is around but will have to completely reinvent himself,” Wilson said.

Like a lot of journalists who cover music, Ann Powers of the Los Angeles Times has found herself having the “King of Pop” discussion in recent days. She feels that talent alone won’t get it done when it comes to a coronation.

“In terms of astounding talent, I think Lil Wayne fits it, in a way,” she said. “And Justin (Timberlake) definitely has a lot of talent. I love Beyonce. She’s incredibly talented, but she hasn’t quite presented her vision as solidly.”

Powers suspects that the next “King of Pop” might appear from another land. “If we do see another Michael Jackson figure,” she said, “that person might not come from the U.S., and the next new thing could be a truly global phenomenon not based in the States. The next Michael Jackson could come from Asia, or Latin America. I don’t think we should expect that person to necessarily be an American.

“A bilingual person could be the next Michael Jackson.”

There is also one other distinct possibility. Said Toure: “It may be that the throne is left unused.”

Michael Ventre is a frequent contributor to msnbc.com.

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