Sing Along Chrissy

Michael Jackson merchandise

2009-07-09T02:07:00.000-07:00

LA Times
Before launching his world tour, Michael Jackson developed merchandise which he planned to sell in conjunction with his "This Is It" concert series at London's O2 Arena. The merchandise included diverse items like a varsity jacket, a red handbag with a diagonal black stripe that evoked his costumes from the "Thriller" music video, a sleeping mask printed with a photo of his eyes, and even a tea set!

The collection will go on sale this week at such retailers as Hot Topic, Target, JCPenney and Spencer's, to cash in on Michael Jackson's red-hot popularity right now. The total merchandise numbers more than 300 items, including jigsaw puzzles and games for children and rhinestone dog tags. Universal Music Group developed the merchandise for Michael Jackson and now owns all the rights to its sale.

Michael Jackson remembered

2009-06-28T18:50:00.000-07:00

Michael Jackson with his father Joe Jackson (photo Kimberly White-Pool/Getty Images). On Sunday night Joe Jackson remembered his son at the BET Awards in the Shrine Auditorium in LA.

People

Sporting a black hat, sunglasses and a dark suit – and set to make an appearance onstage during the three-hour ceremony – the patriarch of the Jackson family told CNN about Michael: "I wish the world had recognized him when he was living. Right now, he's bigger than ever. But I wish he was here to see all this, to hear all this."

The memory of Michael dominated the gala. Host Jamie Foxx made his entrance in a red, leather "Billie Jean" jacket. "No need to be sad. We want to celebrate this black man," said Foxx. "We gonna go through all of Michael Jackson."

Alicia Keys and Wyclef Jean received Humanitarian Awards. Early in the ceremony, LeBron James, picking up his best male athlete trophy, told the crowd, "My heart and prayers go out to the whole Jackson family. What they did for us ... was amazing."

The BET awards turned out to be a tribute to Michael Jackson as his songs were sung by many performers. Ciara the princess performed Heal the World wearing a jacket with tassels, while Ne-Yo sang Lady in My Life.

Meanwhile the mystery surrounding Michael Jackson's death continued with his former nanny, Grace Rwaramba who worked for Jackson for 17 years, claimed that the pop star had a habit of mixing prescription drugs. "I had to pump his stomach many times," Rwaramba said in an interview to the London Times.

Rachael Yamagata

2009-06-16T20:44:00.000-07:00

Rachael Yamagata sings "Worn me Down", which was featured on the TV show The OC. Many of her other songs also became soundtracks on TV and film or were performed live by Rachael in TV shows like One Life to Live and 30 Rock. Rachael's unique good looks come from her varied ethnic background....

Rachael Yamagata is Japanese on her father's side and German-Italian on her mother's. Her first album was Happenstance, released in 2004, and Yamagata's latest effort is Elephants...Teeth Sinking Into Heart. Her musical influences include Carole King, Roberta Flack, and James Taylor. Rachael has written songs for, and performed on the albums of, artists like Jason Mraz, Ryan Adams, Conor Oberst, and Mandy Moore.