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Michael Jackson's Mark on Pakistan

June 29th, 2009 | 7 Comments

Michael Jackson Made his Mark in Pakistan
By Catherine Maddux Islamabad Voice of America

Pakistani fans of Michael Jackson say they are shocked and saddened by the news of his sudden death. Jackson, who was often described as the most popular musician in the world, made his mark here in Pakistan, too.

Michael Jackson’s death led many of Pakistan’s local television channels Friday morning, knocking the near constant coverage of the military campaign against Taliban militants off the top of the news lineup, if only for a few hours.

At Illusions CD shop in downtown Islamabad, employee Irfan says, even today, years after the height of Jackson’s career, people still come to buy his music.

“It’s very popular,” said Irfan. “Every single person knows Michael Jackson’s name. He’s very popular. Still, people like [him]. He’s the legend.”

Another employee, Haris, says he does not feel strongly about Jackson’s death, although he loved listening to his music during his childhood.

“I don’t feel that much, because he had dropped out of the music scene a lot,” he said. “He was trying to make a comeback, from what I heard. But I hadn’t heard any of his songs in the past couple of years.”

In a nearby outdoor café, 21-year-old Maryam Malik sat with a friend in the scorching heat. She described herself as a “big time” fan of Jackson’s music.

“We are really sad that he is no more with us,” said Malik. “Many pop singers, like all our pop singers, they have some kind of influence and they, to some extent, have followed his ideas and compositions, and so it’s a big time loss.”

Rakae Jamil, a musicologist with the Sanjan Nagar Institute of Philosophy and Arts in Lahore, says there is no doubt that Michael Jackson influenced the pop scene in Pakistan.

“You can find elements of his music in some of the pop songs in Pakistan, whether it concerns rhythmic structures or even melodies,” said Jamil. “You know, there’s a lot of adrenlin rushed, adrelin-pumped songs such as ‘Beat It,’ such as ‘Bad,’ – mostly tracks from the 1980s. Basically, Michael Jackson’s music probably went beyond his music videos, and that’s why it connected with people over here.”

Jamil also says Jackson’s talent as a singer, dancer, songwriter was so unique that it transcends time and will continue to inspire Pakistani pop artists.

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Filed under: Pakistan · Tags: Islamabad, Karachi, King of Pop, Michael Jackson, Music, Pakistan, Voice of America

7 Responses to "Michael Jackson's Mark on Pakistan"

Zia Ahmad says:

June 29, 2009 at 5:55 am

Michael Jackson made a distinct impression in Pakistan and to an extent Pakistani culture internalised his legacy. The iconic 50/50 sketch “Disco Chaur”, the brief career of Tariq Jackson via Neelam Ghar to the roadside madari instructing his monkey to do a “Machel Jesson” we made the gloved one our own.
Zia Ahmad says:

June 29, 2009 at 5:56 am

http://pakteahouse.wordpress.com/2009/06/29/michael-jacksons-mark-on-pakistan/#comment-12961
Zia Ahmad says:

June 29, 2009 at 4:36 pm

meant to forward this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0EF_Jo2A1I
MJ and Pakistan at Asian Window says:

June 29, 2009 at 5:11 pm

[...] From Pak Tea House: Michael Jackson’s death led many of Pakistan’s local television channels Friday morning, knocking the near constant coverage of the military campaign against Taliban militants off the top of the news lineup, if only for a few hours. At Illusions CD shop in downtown Islamabad, employee Irfan says, even today, years after the height of Jackson’s career, people still come to buy his music. [...]
wajid says:

June 30, 2009 at 10:18 pm

I did not come across such a horrible piece on this subject.
neelam ahmad basheer says:

July 2, 2009 at 9:34 am

michael jackson was a phenomena,people who bring joy through music to the wretched of this earth are like angels,godsend.let the music play on.
Judy Morris says:

August 14, 2010 at 4:30 am

loved the video