Top 10 Moments in Life, Career

Teen queen snags artist of the year in an upset

(NEWSER) - Taylor Swift unexpectedly captured artist of the year honors at tonight's American Music Awards, preventing a sweep by Michael Jackson. The 19-year-old country-pop crossover sensation called being included in the same category as the King of Pop an "unimaginable honor." She won five awards; Jermaine Jackson accepted two of his brother's four trophies wearing a sequined glove on his left hand, the AP reports. More»

Response to 'This Is It' tepid from critics, all over the place from fans

(NEWSER) - Michael Jackson’s posthumous single was released to much hype, but the critical response is lukewarm and fan reactions are mixed. A sampling:

• In a roundup of fan comments on Michael Jackson’s website, the Times reports that while some are pleased—“This single is great, even better than I thought it was gonna be”—many others are calling it “garbage.”

He had a big heart and bigger sense of humor

(NEWSER) - Janet Jackson opens up about her late brother in next month’s Harper’s Bazaar. Though she speaks to her own troubles—“people can have rhinoceros skin, but there's a point when something's going to hurt you”—and the family—“people said to me that Michael's daughter speaking really gave them a sense of how he was as a father”—the focus is mostly on the small pleasures of the King of Pop. “He loved to laugh," she says, noting he was a fan of the Three Stooges. More»

Two sedatives blamed for entertainer's demise

(NEWSER) - Confirming reports leaked Monday, the LA County coroner's office said today that Michael Jackson's death was a homicide. The ruling means someone else caused the death but does not assign blame or even necessarily mean a crime was committed, MSNBC reports. The official cause of death is "acute intoxication" with the powerful anesthetic propofol, which Jackson's personal physician, Conrad Murray, has acknowledged administering. The full autopsy report was not released. More»

(NEWSER) - Fans of Michael Jackson are pushing for a Nobel Peace Prize nod for the late pop star. 12,000 have signed various online petitions putting the singer up for the honor because of his “lifelong dedication to the well-being of humanity,” and one organizer hopes for 100,000 signatures. However, Sky News notes, Nobel nominations are decided by a select few, not the public. More»