Michael Jackson Skeletal & Finding it Hard to Perform Before Death

Legendary singer Michael Jackson, who passed away unexpectedly in 2009, was apparently skeletal before he died despite being in the middle of a comeback which included working on rehearsals for his ‘This Is It’ residency concerts at The O2 in London. According to costume director Michael Bush, the singer was so thin that he could see his heart beating through his skin and he describes Michael as “emotional” at the time:

‘Oh my God. I could see Michael’s heartbeat through the skin in his chest. He was clearly upset. He was pretty much in shock.”

In emails exchanged between music arranger Michael Bearden and concert choreographer Kenny Ortega, Bearden explained that Michael was struggling with the comeback and was physically unable to perform but he felt that he could eventually make it work:

 ”MJ is not in shape enough yet to sing this stuff live and dance at the same time. He can use the ballads to sing live and get his stamina back … I have full confidence he can sing the majority of the show live.”

Because of Michael’s struggles, Dr. Conrad Murray became involved (who eventually administered the fatal dose of Propofol) and Ortega wrote back that the singer might not be able to pull off the shows he had lined up because he just wasn’t up to it:

‘My concern is now that we’ve brought the doctor into the fold … the artist may be unable to rise to the occasion due to real emotional stuff. Everything in me says he should be psychologically evaluated. If we have any chance at all to get him back.”