Sexy. Exotic. Yummy. Appealing. Striking. Famous.

Jackson's death came as the singer prepared to make a keenly anticipated concert comeback in London, his first series of shows in more than a decade and the first since his 2005 acquittal on child molestation charges.

However those concerts -- billed as the "final curtain" -- were thrown into doubt after Jackson pushed back the opening dates last month.

Organizers of the concerts at the time stressed the delay was not linked to Jackson's health. When asked about Jackson's physical condition, Randy Phillips of concert backers AEG Live said: "I would trade my body for his tomorrow. He's in fantastic shape."

While Jackson reigned as the "King of Pop" in the 1980s, his once-stellar career was overshadowed by his colorful public behavior, his startling physical transformation and multiple allegations of child abuse.

Jackson lived as a virtual recluse following his 2005 acquittal on charges including child molestation and plotting to kidnap his young accuser.

Despite his acquittal, the trial was a body blow from which the pop music superstar struggled to recover.

Four years later, Jackson was still worshipped by fans for revolutionizing music, dance and music videos at the peak of his success.

The attention however paid to him in recent years was less flattering, focusing on apparent cosmetic surgery -- which he denies -- his baby dangling antics and a decade of swirling child abuse allegations.

Born on August 29, 1958, Jackson made his show business debut with four of his older brothers in the Jackson Five pop group, and went on to lead the stage clan with a piping soprano and dazzling dance moves.

By 1969, the group had signed a contract with Motown Records, becoming one of the last great acts to emerge from the legendary label.

The Jacksons produced seven platinum singles for Motown, selling over a million, and three multi-platinum albums, selling more than two million. They moved to CBS's Epic Records in 1976.

Despite the early success, Jackson was to recall those years as unhappy and lonely ones. Eventually the family act broke up, as Jackson went solo.

In 1979, Quincy Jones produced Jackson's first solo album for Epic, "Off the Wall," a huge disco-oriented success that sold 10 million copies.

They teamed up again in 1982 for what would be Jackson's breakthrough album as a composer and co-producer, "Thriller," which became the top-selling album of all time, with sales exceeding 41 million.