Chương 165: **Chapter 164: The King of Music**
"Lights! It's too dark here!"
As Link and Selena walked over, a beam of light illuminated the front row of the audience seats.
Kanye and a few others were chatting warmly with MJ offstage. They were gathered around MJ like devoted fans meeting their idol, their eyes filled with admiration and eagerness.
Link glanced at MJ in the middle of the crowd. He was tall and slim, wearing a black fedora, with a strand of curly hair falling over his forehead, and sunglasses, looking as cool as he did in the music videos.
While talking to Kanye and the others, he lightly patted Kanye's arm, his face wearing a friendly smile.
However, his complexion was excessively pale, his facial lines stiff, with high cheekbones and sunken cheeks, resembling a white mask.
Link felt Selena's grip on his hand tighten a bit. He smiled gently, put his arm around her shoulder, and walked over quickly.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Jackson. I'm Link Beck, and this is my sister Selena Gomez. It's a great honor to meet you here!"
Link said warmly.
MJ looked up at him, smiled slightly, stepped out of the crowd, and extended his hand, saying, "Link, I'm also very pleased to meet you. I've watched your match with Tyson in Atlantic City."
"Oh?"
Link was somewhat surprised. MJ had come to watch his fight with Tyson?
But recalling the media reports from May last year that MJ had disguised himself and appeared at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas to watch the Ultimate Fighting Championship among the crowd, and his habit of disguising himself as an ordinary person to shop in supermarkets, Beverly Hills CD stores, and antique shops, it wasn't entirely impossible for him to have watched Link's fight with Tyson. Moreover, as a superstar, MJ had no reason to lie to a small celebrity like Link.
"Mr. Jackson, what do you think of my boxing?"
Link asked with a smile.
"Call me Mike!"
MJ smiled warmly and also greeted the nervous Selena, saying, "Link, you're definitely one of the best boxers in the world. What's even more remarkable is that you're only 21. That's so cool."
Link smiled lightly and quickly thanked him modestly.
"Mike, he's not that great. If Tyson weren't so old, this guy wouldn't be Tyson's match," Lil Wayne said discontentedly.
MJ patted his shoulder and said, "I called Tyson and asked him. Even if he were ten years younger, he would still only tie with Link. For a super middleweight boxer to defeat a heavyweight like Tyson, that's real strength. No one can deny that."
As they were talking, MJ's doctors and nurses came over, asking him to sit down and rest while they checked his condition.
In 1999, MJ had suffered a severe stage accident, falling from a 50-foot high bridge, resulting in serious injuries to his waist and back. He needed injections to relieve the pain, which led to his addiction to medication and worsening of his physical condition.
He also suffered from severe vitiligo and hereditary lupus erythematosus, among other diseases.
These ailments and old injuries constantly tormented him, severely affecting his performance on stage.
This also meant he needed to bring a medical team with him during rehearsals and performances.
MJ apologized to everyone, sat down on a massage chair, and underwent an examination by the doctors and nurses.
Link looked at the emaciated MJ and once again understood the deep meaning of "to wear the crown, one must bear its weight."
He debuted in the 60s, became globally famous in the 70s, became a top global superstar in the 80s, and a unique superstar in the 90s, also holding titles such as musician, philanthropist, pacifist, and humanitarian.
The more titles he had, the more skepticism he faced.
In 1984, while filming a Pepsi commercial, an accident caused his hair to catch fire, leading to severe burns on his scalp and face. After several skin graft surgeries and the impact of vitiligo, his skin gradually turned white.
From then on, there were many media reports about his skin whitening.
By 1993, with the first outbreak of the Chandler case, he faced a massive media attack, insults, a criminal investigation, and almost went to jail.
Although he appeared in court multiple times to defend himself and was acquitted twice, people tend to make guilty assumptions about public figures to achieve psychological balance. That incident became an indelible stain on him, with ongoing media coverage even now.
To deal with these troubles, he had to temporarily retreat from the public eye.
This year, after a change in Washington, the situation seemed to improve, leading to the current comeback concert.
Link thought about his own future in light of MJ's experience. If he became a unique superstar, would he also face intense media scrutiny like MJ?
The answer was definitely yes.
Every celebrity is burdened by fame after rising to prominence. This seems to be an unavoidable rule in the entertainment industry.
The bigger the fame, the more interests are involved, and the more people want to benefit from him, making this rule even more pronounced.
Just like MJ, the King of Entertainment, with over 1 billion fans worldwide.
He had immense influence in the U.S. and around the world. Every new president would invite him to Washington for a chat and award him various medals to win him and his fans over.
MJ had become a "towering figure."
For many, this wasn't necessarily a good thing.
Similarly, Taylor Swift, who would become a hugely influential star in the future and even influence politics.
In her rise to fame, she also faced massive media attacks, though as a blonde white person, the attacks were relatively less.
Moreover, she had done something very smart—publicly dating many boyfriends, making herself a person with a bad reputation and an imperfect idol, providing a target for media attacks and reducing the media's opportunities to pry into her private life.
Link thought that if he did become a global superstar in the future, he could also follow Taylor's example, shaping himself as an imperfect idol to avoid much trouble.
"Mr. Beck, Mr. West, please come this way."
While MJ was receiving his massage, the concert's executive director, Kenny Ortega, found Link and Kanye to discuss rehearsal arrangements.
According to the plan, Link would collaborate with MJ to perform two songs.
The first song was "Remember The Time," performed by Link and MJ together on stage.
The second song was "We Are the World," led by MJ, with Link, Kanye, Lil Wayne, Backstreet Boys, Billy Gilman, Liza Minnelli, and over ten other invited singers performing together. This was also one of MJ's concert's staple songs, similar to "Auld Lang Syne."
Link's task was to familiarize himself with these two songs over the next month and attend rehearsals when possible. The concert was scheduled for June.
"Mr. Beck, is there any problem?"
Director Kenny Ortega asked.
"Will there be dancing involved? If so, I hope the directing team can notify me in advance so I can get some practice time."
Link didn't want to be outperformed by MJ on stage, so he needed to practice more.
Ortega nodded, indicating there was no problem.
Having received the task, Link went to bid farewell to MJ. MJ asked about his next match, and Link mentioned a championship fight in New York next month.
MJ didn't say whether he would attend or not, just acknowledged it.
After chatting for more than ten minutes, several staff members came over to talk to MJ. Seeing he was too busy, Link took Selena and said goodbye before leaving.
(End of Chapter)
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