This Is It
In March 2009, Jackson had a press conference at The O2 Arena in London to annouce his last show, This Is It, which was planned to be a residency at the same arena, and that he would retire after that. It was increased to 50 dates due to record breaking ticket sales. The show was to run from July until May 2010.
On June 25, Jackson sadly passed away from cardiac arrest, caused by a propofol and benzodiazepine overdose. His physician, Conrad Murray, gave his various drugs to help him with his insomnia. Murray testified that he injected him with 25 mg of propofol diluted with lidocaine to help him sleep. After he came back from the bathroom, he noticed he wasn't breathing and had a weak pulse. He performed CPR and administered flumazenil, which is used to counteract sedative overdose. He performed CPR on his bed instead of on the floor, and he placed one hand underneath him and the other on the chest, when both hands should be placed on the chest for compression. He also stated he didn't call 911, claiming there wasn't a landline available and he didn't know the exact address. A security guard called 911 at 12:21 pm, paramedics arrived 5 minutes later. They performed CPR for 42 minutes, then was taken by ambulance to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. It arrived aroung 1:14 pm, he was pronounced dead at 2:26 pm.
Jackson's funeral was held on July 7, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. There was an estimated online audience of 31.1 million Americans, and 2.5 to 3 billion globally. Making it one of the most watched events in streaming history. Murray finally went to trial on September 27, 2011. He was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter on November 7 and sentenced to 4 years in prison. He was released on October 28, 2013.
Jackson won four posthumous awards at the 2009 AMAs, including two for his compilation album Number Ones. The year after his death, more than 16.1 million albums were sold nationwide and 35 million worldwide, more than any other artist in 2009. He also became the first artist to sell one million music downloads in a week, and the first to have four of the top 20 best-selling albums in a single year in ther US. In 2014, he became the first artist to have a top ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades. The following year, Thriller became the first album certified for 30 million shipments by the RIAA, it was certified 33x platinum a year later after Soundscan added streams and audio downloads to album certifications.
Although allegations would sometimes tarnish his name even after death, there's no doubt that he was an impactful and giving person. Inside and out of music.
