Absolutely Fobulous

Growing up, I was never really a fan of gym class for two reasons: 1) I was always picked last for a team, and 2) getting hit in the face numerous times with a dodge ball kinda sucks. I think I would’ve fared better if I went to school in China because kids’ morning workout routine involves choreographed dancing to Michael Jackson! Check out these Chinese primary school kids from Wushan County in China bring back the King of Pop’s infamous dance moves.

(Thanks, Vanessa!)

Chinese love the King of Pop. Check out the MJ version of Chinese communist propaganda, and a Chinese traffic cop directing traffic with MJ moves!

Maybe the long ass traffic jams in China wouldn’t be so bad if there were more traffic police officers with Michael Jackson moves to wave along cars. I never thought directing traffic could be such an art.

Azn peeps can break it down. Watch Filipina flight attendants turn a safety demonstration into a Britney Spears MV, male Japanese coast guards dancing like schoolgirls, and the Korean musical version of Pizza Hut.

Link

Not sure if these MJ scarecrows will attract birds or repel them. Taiwanese farmer, Lee Ping-hsing, set up these two MJ scarecrows as a creative technique to scare the birds. Oh, and these straw crow chasers also have a deeper metaphor to them as well. Lee said that he “thought since Michael is good at ‘grabbing his bird’, I’m inviting him to grab ours.”

Wow, the King of Pop reduced to a pile of straw.

Since China recently passed Japan as the second largest economy in the world, it seems fitting that Jackson’s “Beat It” is the theme song for this edited Chinese Red Army propaganda video. It’s pretty hilarious to see the soldiers trying to break it down like MJ with Chinese grace. You must check out the the electric guitar solo (at 2:50) played with the traditional er hu!

(Thanks, Lu!)

It has been awhile since I’ve seen these Filipino inmates release a new dance routine.  Well, I guess they were busy getting professional dance lessons from none other than Michael Jackson’s former choreographer, Travis Payne, and his dancers, Daniel Celebre and Dres Reid.  Amazing performance, but is this even a prison anymore??

Looks like the Filipino inmates are still continuing the Michael Jackson legacy.  This time, fully equipped with white gloves and black hats, these inmates show off new and improved dance moves to their own rendition of Dangerous.

With the crowd cheering and choreographed moonwalks, these prisoners are coming in as convicts and leaving as professional dancers.

The home of counterfeit Gucci purses and Prada wallets has a new imitation sensation: the fake MJ.  On this day of memorializing the King of Pop, the Chinese MJ, Wang Jie aka “WJ,” has also made the news.   Still, I must say this fake MJ looks surprisingly like the real thing.  It’s too bad I can’t say the same about his dance moves.

Check out WJ’s video here (sorry, CNN wouldn’t let me embed into this post).

Suzie

(Thanks, Danny @shinb0!)

What is incredible about my childhood idol, Michael Jackson, was that his music transcended cultural boundaries and reached even far-flung locales.  A prime example of MJ’s staggering international influence?  1,400 Filipino convicts dancing to “Thriller” inside a Cebu jail.  The performance became a worldwide YouTube hit in 2007, and as a tribute to their dead star, the jailbirds will be recreating their performance today.

RIP MJ.  From Cebu to Singapore to Japan to Vietnam and beyond, your music will live forever.

Thanks to Danny (@shinb0) for the link!

Suzie

*** Update – 6/21/09 ***

Check out the video of the MJ tribute!

(Thanks Amy!)