michael jackson and i

Last night we went to see the movie Michael. I thought it was fantastic in celebrating the creative genius, even as it omitted the infinite other dimensions of his life.

I’ll tell you the crazy story of how Michael Jackson — at the time the biggest star on the planet — came to an event we were hosting for orphans in Moscow in the mid-nineties, how he was the reason I went into music and had massive success.

More importantly, I’ll tell you why this story unlocks the secret to your success in any area.

Unfortunately for my daughter Bella, who was sitting next to me, I was leaning over every few minutes to share a fountain of knowledge about every aspect of Michael’s life. Thankfully, she found it entertaining.

I knew every word of every song, every intonation and rhythmic vocal pattern, every dance move, every shot in every music video. I know every turning point in Michael’s biography, the name of his manager, who produced and played on every album, and what mic he used to record Thriller. I hadn’t thought about any of this in decades — until last night.

The reason for any “overnight success” is obsessive learning from someone way ahead of you for years before the big break comes. And it always comes if you stay with it. I can tell you insane details about the work ethic, strategic moves, personal and business lives of a whole slew of people I obsessed over — not just as a fan, but as an apprentice. Prince. Boyz II Men. Terence Trent D’Arby. Bobby Brown. Every one of them also obsessed and apprenticed under masters they’d never met. Eventually you may be lucky enough to meet your heroes.

I met George Duke, Al Jarreau, C&C Music Factory, Chaka Khan — and many others you’ve never heard of. I was lucky enough to share the stage with some of them.

There are three stages to every journey to mastery.

Imitate — you do what they do, period. Not even close to as good. Mechanically and faithfully.

Iterate — you create variations of what you’ve learned and make it second nature.

Integrate — you synthesize your own original style, voice, and signature brand.

At any point in history, with any notable person — this is what happens. It’s the way of mastery.

The trick is to know it and have the humility to wholeheartedly imitate the master, in the hopes of someday becoming a master yourself.

I’ve never stopped doing this. I still do it at 57 with every new skill I learn.

Imitate. Iterate. Integrate.

Can you recognize an apprentice in this picture?

It started with the moonwalk. I learned it from playing, pausing, and rewinding Michael’s Billie Jean performance — the moment the world was introduced to that magical move. I learned every choreography he had in his videos and combined it with the breakdancing I was doing at the time. I even recorded a cover of one of his songs on my first album. Heaven Knows I Love You Girl.

Fast forward to 1996. From a daydreaming apprentice in the USSR — with zero chance of ever becoming a well-known artist or seeing my heroes live — I was now one of the top artists across the entire post-Soviet space of 15 countries, with a string of hits and millions of albums sold.

I was having breakfast with my buddy Shawn Wooten, head of HOPE worldwide, an organization I was deeply involved with in serving orphans. We had a yearly event where thousands of orphans had a full day of sports and entertainment. I headlined and invited my celebrity friends. I told Shawn that Michael was coming to town — and how incredible it would be to align our festival with his visit and see if he’d be open to coming.

Impossibly, we got a tentative yes. Until about 15 minutes before, there was no guarantee he’d show. We were all just praying he’d walk through the door. And he did.

It felt like an out-of-body experience. It meant so much that I froze. I was a few feet away from the man who inspired me to go into music — and I couldn’t bring myself to say how much his music meant to me.

Then it hit me: I was about to perform for the King of Pop. That sent me into a deeper paralysis. When he finally walked out — after spending a generous amount of time with us and before I hit the stage — I was euphoric with relief.

To this day, it is one of my biggest regrets that I couldn’t bring myself to say thank you to him in person.

Then a bizarre twist. Michael’s people loved our event and our volunteers so much that they asked if we could provide a few extras for his stadium show. Michael had this epic performance of Earth Song where a mix of people — including two or three middle-aged women — come up on stage. One of them was my mom.

My mom performed on stage with Michael Jackson in front of an ocean of people — while I sat in the audience with my bags packed in the car, about to leave on a tour of my own. The year Michael tragically died, I lived in LA 15 minutes away from where he lived. I was inconsolable for weeks.

I dug up a clip from the charity event for you to enjoy. I watched it last night and it still feels surreal.

To this day I apprentice under masters to become a master myself. In my mind, it’s a lost art that needs to be talked about more.

Imitate. Iterate. Integrate.