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Jason Jackson, a Michael Jackson impersonator and tribute artist, poses outside his Sydney home yesterday. Business is booming for the 35-year-old Australian. [AFP] |
He may be mourning the death of his idol but business is booming for Jason Jackson, Australia's answer to the late King of Pop.
The tribute artist, who has turned his Sydney home into a mini-Neverland Ranch, said he had been inundated with booking requests since the star's death.
"Before Michael Jackson's passing I was, I would say, 50 to 70 percent booked," he said. "Now I'm 200 percent."
Jackson, 35, changed his name by deed poll from Jason Zamprogno aged 18 and credits the Thriller icon with curing him of bone cancer.
He said the phone in his suburban home - decked out with concrete tigers, rhinos and elephants in homage to Neverland's famous zoo - had been ringing off the hook.
Hundreds of managers and agencies from Las Vegas to Beijing had called to make bookings, said Jackson, who performed an emotional moonwalk at a memorial concert on Saturday.
"It's been quite a rollercoaster for me, what happened with Michael. I was in such shock when the news broke out, I didn't want to believe it," he said.
"Everyone wanted to sign me up and all I wanted to do was grieve for Michael and it's been very hard for me."
Jason Jackson has pursued his career since the tender age of 10, bringing the star's trademark moves, tunes and costumes to weddings, nightclubs and corporate events.
Diagnosed with bone cancer as a baby, the impersonator's obsession began during a trip to hospital for treatment, when Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough came over the car radio.
Inspired by the man he considered a "second father", Jackson studied the pop legend's footwork and taught himself to sing and dance.
"I saw him doing Billie Jean and I thought 'I want to be just like him,' so I started to do talent quests, and I got over my cancer because of Michael," said Jackson.
(China Daily/AFP July 7, 2009)
