50 Michael Jackson Quotes That Prove He's Still The King Of Pop
Today would have been his 62nd birthday.
YourTango Michael Jackson, an American singer, songwriter, and dancer is regarded as one of the greatest entertainers in the history of music.
Our collection of the best Michael Jackson quotes below show the deep commitment and respect he had towards his artistry; he set the bar for music moving into the late twentieth century.
From his movie-like music videos, to his unique sound of his music, to his dance moves, Michael Jackson created the standard for pop music.
Born in Gary, Indiana, on Aug. 29, Michael Jackson is the eighth of ten children.
The Jackson family were equal parts talented and deeply troubled: the Jackson 5, Janet Jackson, and Michael Jackson were all inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and their family was known as the most influential families in music history.
But, their legacy is also marred with controversy. Joe Jackson, Michael’s dad, and the Jackson 5 manager is known as the “most monstrous fathers in pop,” subjecting his children, but especially Michael, to physical and psychological abuse.
Many attribute Joe and Debbie Jackson’s upbringing for Michael’s downfall in later years: his germaphobic tendencies, the obsession with his appearance. Sadly and suddenly, Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009 from a cardiac arrest, widely believed to have been caused by a mix of prescribed drugs in his system that he used to help him sleep.
Michael Jackson is survived by his three children, Michael Jackson Jr., Prince Michael Jackson II, and Paris Jackson. Michael Jackson lived a very troubled life, and his controversies have become inseparable with his musical legacy.
But there is no denying that hearing songs like Bad, Dangerous, and HIStory for the first time was a life-changing experience for everyone — even people generations after Michael Jackson’s prime. He revolutionized music, dance, fashion, his eccentric style pouring into every facet of his creativity.
So take a look below at our collection of the best Michael Jackson quotes that show why he will forever be the “King of Pop.”
1. “In a world filled with hate, we must still dare to hope. In a world filled with anger, we must still dare to comfort. In a world filled with despair, we must still dare to dream. And in a world filled with distrust, we must still dare to believe.” ― Michael Jackson
2. “If you enter this world knowing you are loved and you leave this world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can be dealt with.” ― Michael Jackson
3. “Lies run sprints, but the truth runs marathons.” ― Michael Jackson
4. “We have to heal our wounded world. The chaos, despair, and senseless destruction we see today are a result of the alienation that people feel from each other and their environment.” ― Michael Jackson
5. “When they say the sky's the limit to me that's really true” ― Michael Jackson
6. “To live is to be musical, starting with the blood dancing in your veins. Everything living has a rhythm. Do you feel your music?” ― Michael Jackson
7. “People ask me how I make music. I tell them I just step into it. It's like stepping into a river and joining the flow. Every moment in the river has its song.” ― Michael Jackson
8. “Hope is such a beautiful word, but it often seems very fragile. Life is still being needlessly hurt and destroyed.” ― Michael Jackson
9. “All of us are products of our childhood.”― Michael Jackson
10. “In their innocence, very young children know themselves to be light and love. If we will allow them, they can teach us to see ourselves the same way. ”― Michael Jackson
11. “To give someone a piece of your heart, is worth more than all the wealth in the world.” ― Michael Jackson
12. “Sometimes the heart is so heavy that we turn away from it and forget that its throbbing is the wisest message of life, a wordless message that says, "Live, be, move, rejoice -- you are alive!" Without the heart's wise rhythm, we could not exist.” ― Michael Jackson
13. “A star can never die. It just turns into a smile and melts back into the cosmic music, the dance of life.”― Michael Jackson
14. “When children listen to music, they don't just listen. They melt into the melody and flow with the rhythm. Something inside starts to unfold its wings - soon the child and the music are one.” ― Michael Jackson
15. “In spite of the risks, the courage to be honest and intimate opens the way to self-discovery. It offers what we all want, the promise of love. ” ― Michael Jackson
16. “I love to read. I wish I could advise more people to read. There’s a whole new world in books. If you can’t afford to travel, you travel mentally through reading. You can see anything and go any place you want to in reading.” ― Michael Jackson
17. “But for me the sweetest contact with God has no form. I close my eyes, look within, and enter a deep soft silence. The infinity of God's creation embraces me.” ― Michael Jackson
18. “I'm just like anyone. I cut and I bleed and I embarrass easily.” ― Michael Jackson
19. “But I will never stop helping and loving people the way Jesus said to.” ― Michael Jackson
20. “Please go for your dreams. Whatever your ideals, you can become whatever you want to become.”― Michael Jackson
21. “I'm really very self-confident when it comes to my work. When I take on a project, I believe in it 100%. I really put my soul into it. I'd die for it. That's how I am.”― Michael Jackson
22. “When all life is seen as divine, everyone grows wings.” ― Michael Jackson
23. “If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself, and make a change.” ― Michael Jackson
24. “You can't hurt me, I found peace within myself.” ― Michael Jackson
25. “But they told me a man should be faithful, and walk when not able, and fight till the end ... but I'm only Human.” ― Michael Jackson
26. “The greatest education in the world is watching the masters at work” ― Michael Jackson
27. “All the things I've read in my school books about England and the Queen were okay, but my eyes are the greatest book in the world.” ― Michael Jackson
28. “Often people just don't see what I see. They have too much doubt. You can't do your best when you're doubting yourself. If you don't believe in yourself, who will?” ― Michael Jackson
29. “My attitude is if fashion says it's forbidden, I'm going to do it.” ― Michael Jackson
30. “What happened to truth? Did it go out of style?” ― Michael Jackson
31. “I prefer just being with people I like. That's my way of celebrating.” ― Michael Jackson
32. “I'm a perfectionist; I'll work until I drop.” ― Michael Jackson
33. “I believe we are powerful, but we don't use our minds to full capacity. Your mind is powerful enough to help you attain whatever you want.” ― Michael Jackson
34. “When you get right down to it, survival means seeing things the way they really are and responding. It means being open.” — Michael Jackson
35. “An artist's imagination is his greatest tool. It can create a mood or feeling that people want to have, as well as transport you to a different place altogether.” — Michael Jackson
36. “Whenever I saw a sunset, I would quietly make my secret wish right before the sun tucked under the western horizon and disappeared. It would seem as if the sun had taken my wish with it. I'd make it right before the last speck of light vanished.” — Michael Jackson
37. “You can pray to the angels and they will listen, but the best way to call them, I am told, is to laugh. Angels respond to delight, because that is what they are made of. In fact, when people’s minds are clouded by anger or hatred, no angel can reach them.” — Michael Jackson
38. “Success, fame, and fortune, they're all illusions. All there is that is real is the friendship that two can share.” ― Michael Jackson
39. “This world we live in is the dance of the creator. Dancers come and go in the twinkling of an eye, but the dance lives on.” ― Michael Jackson
40. “There are people out there who don't actively hold you back as much as they work quietly on your insecurities so that you hold yourself back.” ― Michael Jackson
41. “I had to say to myself, 'Don't write the music. Let the music write itself.” ― Michael Jackson
42. “Love is a funny thing to describe. It's so easy to feel and yet so slippery to talk about. It's like a bar of soap in the bathtub - you have it in your hand until you hold on too tight.” ― Michael Jackson
43. “A wish is more than a wish, it's a goal. It's something your conscious and subconscious can help make reality.” ― Michael Jackson
44. “When you know something’s wrong for you, you have to make difficult decisions and trust your instincts.” ― Michael Jackson
45. “I’m a performer at heart. I got mine from the stage.” ― Michael Jackson
46. “When you're young and have ideas, people often think you're just being childish and silly.” ― Michael Jackson
47. “Just doing as well as you did last time is not good enough. I think of it as the ‘Try to get what you can’ mentality. It doesn't require you to stretch, to grow. I don't believe in that.” ― Michael Jackson
48. “Thinking too much about your look is one of the biggest mistakes you can make.” — Michael Jackson
49. “Change is inevitable” ― Michael Jackson
50. “I’m going to search for my star until I find it. It’s hidden in the drawer of innocence, wrapped in a scarf of wonder.” — Michael Jackson
Jessica Xing is a writer who covers music, books, media and culture.