CAKETIME: HAPPY 50TH BIRTHDAY TO MICHAEL JACKSON.

He's been the King of Pop, the cute phenomenon in a 70s super group and a shunned star.And now the man who has fascinated the world, for better or worse, since he was just a child is turning 50. It's been a tough road for Michael Jackson. The highs have indeed been high - his 1980s album Thriller is still the biggest selling LP ever released. And the lows have been horrendous - whether it be bankruptcy or defending himself against charges of child molestation.

Born in 1958, Jackson was thrust into the limelight at just 11 when he became the star turn in the wildly popular group, The Jackson Five. He began his solo career while still with his band of brothers, recording mega-hits like Ben and Got To Be There. But it was in the 1980s that Jackson hit the heights of his career - and what heights they were. First came Off The Wall, an album that spawned huge hits like Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough and Rock With You. And then came Thriller. The album swept all before it - winning seven Grammy awards and going on to become the biggest-selling album of all time. Enormously catchy tracks like Beat It and Billie Jean became the soundtrack to the early 1980s. But by the middle of the decade, the world's love affair with Jackson began to sour.

He was said to have slept in an oxygen chamber, his radical cosmetic surgery operations became all too obvious and his best friend was allegedly a chimp called Bubbles. All were mercilessly parodied and Jackson became less an object of adulation, more an object of fun. Soon came sagging album sales, short-lived marriages - including one to Elvis Presley's daughter Lisa-Marie - and rafts of bizarre stories that, while probably untrue, proved all too believable.

But it was the unsavoury allegations of child molestation that, perhaps sadly, became to define him. In the early 1990s, his career barely survived allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a young boy. In 2003, he was charged with child molestation and faced an ugly trial and all manner of sordid accusations. He was acquitted, but his public reputation was badly damaged. Soon he was roaming the world, an object of scorn, parody or both.

It's been a long and difficult road for the King of Pop. Is it over? Can he ever repair the damage done? Perhaps we'll know in another 50 years.

MORE MJ NEWS TODAY.....

THRILLER has been voted MICHAEL JACKSON's best song ever by fans celebrating the pop legend's 50th birthday. To mark the big occasion PopEater.com invited Jacko devotees to decide the star's number one track - and Thriller was the clear winner, capturing 42 per cent of more than 50,000 votes. The song appeared on Jackson's 1982 album of the same name - which became the world's best-selling LP, shifting more than 100 million copies worldwide.

A mega-rare MICHAEL JACKSON record is up for auction - and is expected to fetch a stunning $10,000.The promo CD, said to be one of only 10 in the world, has gone on sale on the eBay website. It contains an early demo of an unreleased Jackson song - Men In Black along with an alternative version of Black or White and Too Much Monkey Business. The disc was given to an executive from record company Sony BMG during a flight to Jackson's Neverland home in 1991, as a taster for the Dangerous album. The anonymous seller, who is based in Britain, says of the record, "This promo CD is one of the rarest Michael Jackson items in existence, only 10 are said to exist and this is the first time one has been on eBay. "The most interesting track on the CD is "Men In Black" (not related to the films staring Will Smith), as it was intended to be a single release from Dangerous, but Men In Black was shelved and since has not been released or leaked."

MICHAEL JACKSON has launched a gaming contest to run across three social network websites, with a prize of two round-the-world plane tickets for the lucky winner. Users of Facebook, MySpace and Bebo will compete against each other to win an online dance-off where they get to control Jackson's stage routines. The game allows members to control a replica of Jackson and direct his trademark moves. Smaller prizes, including iPods, will be given out daily. The top five players will then compete to win two round-the-world plane tickets - or a TV and PlayStation 3, if the winner is under 18.

MICHAEL JACKSON's legendary album THRILLER has been added to the U.S. National Recording Registry, which preserves records deemed "culturally and aesthetically significant". The archive, run by the U.S. Library of Congress, has saved the "best existing version" of the 1982 LP in a bid to preserve Jackson's music for future generations.
Each year the organisation chooses recordings to be added to the country's official archive, and 2008 - the year the King of Pop turns 50 - was deemed the right time to honour Jackson's musical achievements.

MICHAEL JACKSON's record company has released a "fans' favourite" compilation album - to celebrate the legendary singer turning 50. Fans across the world were given the chance to vote for their most beloved Jackson tracks ever, after record label Sony BMG announced it was releasing a new LP, titled King of Pop, in honour of the star's half century celebrations. Countries in Europe, Australasia and Asia had their own internet forums for fans to pick their favourite tunes for the compilation, with 1983 hit single Billie Jean making the top of the LP wishlist in 10 out of the 11 countries taking part in the vote. King of Pop is slated for U.K. release on 25 August (08), in time for the superstar's 50th birthday on 29 August (08).

What can I say? Happy Birthday Michael. He is my fave male artist of all time just like Madonna is the female. Above is MJ two days ago in Vegas showing up at his fanfest birthday party once again in pyjamas bottoms!