911 Call: Jackson Wasn't Breathing

Singer kept demos extremely private

(NEWSER) - Michael Jackson plotted his comeback album with Will.i.am, and the Black Eyed Peas frontman now tells the Mirror it was going to be “something Michael has never done before—a dance music album.” The King of Pop kept the demos “under lock and key,” but Will.i.am heard them. “It was going to be out of this world," he said. More»

(NEWSER) - Authorities have seen no evidence that Michael Jackson was injected with the painkiller Demerol before his death, a detective tells the Los Angeles Times. The widely reported claims “are coming from outside the investigation,” he said today. Meanwhile, Jackson’s doctor, Conrad Murray, has returned to the city and is preparing to speak with police, TMZ reports. More»

(NEWSER) - The surge in Internet traffic yesterday as Michael Jackson fans searched for information about his death had a deep impact on the Web, Ars Technica reports. Sites as diverse as Twitter and the iTunes Store slowed to a crawl, but perhaps the most profound effect was on Google. The search engine interpreted the high volume as a cyberattack and went into so-called “self-protection mode.” More»

(NEWSER) - Michael Jackson’s reputation will forever be tainted by the numerous allegations of child molestation levied against him, the New York Daily News reports. Jackson was never convicted of any crime, but he did settle out of court on two occasions, once for $20 million. A Jackson attorney said the singer settled because he didn’t like “courtrooms and lawyers.” More»

(NEWSER) - It’s no exaggeration to say that Michael Jackson “made a more profound impact in the arenas of soul, R&B and dance-pop than any other singer or songwriter in history,” writes Jim DeRogatis in the Chicago Sun-Times. But while many fans reach for Thriller, “widely considered the best-selling disc of all time,” DeRogatis and other “hardcore fans” cast their lot with 1979’s Off the Wall. More»