Wacko for Jacko

ENRICO HAMPTON, 10
How did you become wacko for Jacko?
It started when I was three. My dad is a Michael Jackson impersonator. During a big performance, he pulled me up on stage and I started getting into the rhythm. By the time I was five, I was already doing the spin. I even learned the alphabet by listening to “ABC.” Now, I perform as Michael from the Jackson 5.
Do you wear an Afro wig?
No, I’m actually growing it myself.
What is it about Michael Jackson that speaks to you?
He was the first person that I knew of who started dancing at such a young age. And he continued all the way up until age 50. He made me think I could do that, too.
Do kids at your school know about your obsession?
I brought in some of my dad’s jackets for a project once: the Thriller jacket, a Beat It jacket and a Victory tour jacket. This one boy thought it was cool, and since he’s popular, other people started thinking it was cool, too. Kids even started calling me Little Michael.

JILLIAN GRADY, 25
Are you looking forward to This Is It?
Oh, yes! I’ll get to see a glimpse of what I was supposed to see in person.
You had tickets to go see him in London, right? Yes. I had my plane tickets booked and everything! We spent $350 per ticket.
Did you cancel your trip? No. On the night that we were supposed to see him, I went to the memorial wall at the O2 arena. I wrote R.I.P. MICHAEL, with my initials and the date.
So you’re pretty wacko for Jacko.
Always. What kept me going in college at Indiana University was this Michael Jackson cover band I would go see called Who’s Bad.
Why him and not some other pop star?
I’d have to say the impact he had on pop culture—he invented the idea that we have today of a pop-culture superstar.

EMILIO CICI, 31
When did your fandom start?
When I was 6 or 7, I went as Michael Jackson for Halloween. I remember because my mom bought me a bottle of self-tanner [laughs].
What is it about Jackson that connects with you?
I’m gay but wasn’t really out in high school. So when people were making fun of him for being weird, I kind of know how he felt to be discriminated against for being different.
What’s the craziest thing you’ve done in the name of Jackson?
On my flight home from a three-day fan event in Las Vegas this year, I wrote him a note, a lyric off the Invincible album: “You’re my daytime, my nighttime / My world / You’re my life.” I put the paper up to the window, so he could read it [in Heaven].
What’s your most prized piece of MJ merch?
A rosary. At the bottom is a crucifix next to a pendant of Michael’s face.
Who’s your personal savior, Jesus or Jackson?
[Laughs] Christians talk about the Second Coming, and I feel he was it. Michael taught nothing but healing and love, he was crucified by the media, he died and was buried, and is going to be larger than life in death. Who else did that? Jesus Christ.

This Is It is now playing.

NEXT>>