Today is Michael Jackson’s 55th birthday! MJ had a, well, turbulent and interesting life, to say the least, but birthday’s are meant for CELEBRATING, so some of the MyMusic staff got together to list their favorite Michael Jackson moments in pop culture!

IDOL

Where to begin! MJ had a major influence on ALL of my favorite pop stars! Britney! Christina! Justin! Drake! You name it! So, I gotta go with Thriller on this one! Thriller reinvented what a music video could be. It wasn’t just singing and dancing, it was an entire spectacle. And yes, I do know the dance. Don’t you?

HIP HOP

Moonwalker. Not the dance. Not the movie. The video game. Growing up, it was so inspiring to see that an African American could star in their own Sega Genesis game. I used to play Moonwalker all the time. And most days at work, I have an emulator with Moonwalker on, minimized in the corner of my screen.

SCENE

Captain EO. This might sound crazy, but back in the 80’s most movies weren’t 3D! Can you imagine going to the theatre and things not popping in your face!? How boring!!! Michael Jackson helped pioneer a new kind of 3D technology with Captain EO, which played at Disneyland and Disney World. It was magical, colorful, musical, and also TERRIFYING! That evil space witch thing STILL gives me nightmares! I remember going to Disneyland as a kid with my orphan support group and LOVING this!

TECHNO AND DUBSTEP

MJ and JJ! Scream! We love the duo of Michael and Janet flying around in space, dancing their hearts out. If Dubstep and I could afford a gigantic space station it would look so much like the one in this video! This is Michael AND Janet at their most PLUR!

METAL

Uh, I don’t know. Nobody gave me time to think about this. I don’t know anything about Michael Jackson. Didn’t he do a Pepsi commercial or something? Okay. I like Pepsi. So I’ll say that. Pepsi. Yeah. Okay. Later.

INTERN 2

There are germs all over the place! And you can never be too careful when it comes to risking exposure and getting sick! I thought it was very wise of Michael Jackson to wear a glove so often. Probably to keep his hand clean. Smart to keep the other hand open and free, in case you need to dial from a rotary phone or scratch your cheek.

INDIE

Michael Jackson was too mainstream.