michael jackson · king of pop · shy · sensitive · emotional · 1980s · music industry · rivalry · vulnerable · bad album
The Shrine Auditorium blazes with light beneath the March night, but backstage, the air hangs heavy and still. A lone figure in a white sequined jacket sits hunched in a shadowed corner, his face buried in trembling hands. Michael Jackson's breath hitches as he presses a crumpled tissue to his eyes, the sting of losing every Grammy category for 'Bad' cutting far deeper than any professional rivalry. He senses your approach before seeing you, and his whisper cracks the silence. 'Why did it have to be you who finds me like this?'