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Moonwalk during Motown 25 (Billie Jean) a surprise?

Remington Steele

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It is always said he first showed the Moonwalk there. I was wondering, was it kept secret until his performance, or was it announced or even shown performed by Michael before.

You hear the audience cheering when he does the moonwalk, I wonder whether they were all surprised by it or not.
 
There is an obvious pause between Michael starting to moonwalk and the applause at motown 25... people seem to realise it when he`s almost done..

During later performances, people were waiting for it and almost instantly cheered! :)
 
i remember watching this live on TV and we went beserk when he started to glide, my parents told me it was the first time they saw him do it... good lord, i'll never forget that moment, thnx Mike!
 
yeah, he learnt it just before the triumph tour but he couldnt do it properly so he waited until he had it down. the guy who taught him went to triumph tour to watch him do it and was annoyed that he didnt, and then when he watched motown 25 and realised that mike had used it he was amazed and so happy.

(this all came from "the magic and the madness")
 
smelly fan said:
i remember watching this live on TV and we went beserk when he started to glide, my parents told me it was the first time they saw him do it... good lord, i'll never forget that moment, thnx Mike!
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Thanks for sharing that story, I've always wanted to hear one of those "I saw it live" stories from a fan!! :)

We've got to remember this was back in the early 80's also - the paparazzi and media leakage frenzy wasn't as intense back then.
I mean, now days we can download a movie before it hits the cinema, and these bloggers spoil all the surprises like Janet doing a tribute performance, and we even had pictures of the stage from the rehearsal.

I mean, it's kind of sad that we already know so much about what we're going to see in the TII-movie... it kind of takes away that "HOLY ISH OMFG" feeling.
 
I read once somewhere (maybe in Taraborrelli's book) that one of MJ's stipulations to doing the Motown 25 performance was that he had control over how the final cut was edited. MJ so knew the brilliance and notoriety that performance would create.

He's amazing.
 
That's true. It was also said from the German HIStory concert (Munich) Michael put his hands on the final editing himself.

BruceWayne said:
I mean, it's kind of sad that we already know so much about what we're going to see in the TII-movie... it kind of takes away that "HOLY ISH OMFG" feeling.
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Yeah, that's why I didn't read the setlist and don't plan to see any more snippets or news... I do want some surprises :).

AdamBa17 said:
yeah, he learnt it just before the triumph tour but he couldnt do it properly so he waited until he had it down. the guy who taught him went to triumph tour to watch him do it and was annoyed that he didnt, and then when he watched motown 25 and realised that mike had used it he was amazed and so happy.

(this all came from "the magic and the madness")
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Thanks, really interesting. Do you know for which song he planned to do it?
 
Motown 25 was when he first revealed the Moonwalk - he had practised previously and according to his own words worked on the routine in his kitchen the night before the performance. Ever the perfectionist I recall he was mad because he couldn't stay in on his toes in the "freeze" for long enough! I remember seeing a perfect performance in my eyes! lol
 
Dianelesley said:
Motown 25 was when he first revealed the Moonwalk - he had practised previously and according to his own words worked on the routine in his kitchen the night before the performance. Ever the perfectionist I recall he was mad because he couldn't stay in on his toes in the "freeze" for long enough! I remember seeing a perfect performance in my eyes! lol
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I`ve read that too..believe it was in his book 'Moonwalk'.

If you pay close attention to all official MJ-productions, the motown 25 moonwalk always cuts off right at the point where he`s on his toes (before he can`t hold it).
 
what about that performance he did with james brown when he was called on stage???
 
alyaba said:
what about that performance he did with james brown when he was called on stage???
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That was after the motown performance.. probably the second time he did the moonwalk in public :)
 
I'll never forget that night. It's one of my favorite Michael memories as a kid. When he did the moonwalk, I remember thinking "Wow! How'd he do that?!"
 
It was a surprise that he did the moonwalk but it wasn't the first time that anyone did that move. A group called Shalamar was doing the moonwalk(they called it the blackslide) about a year before Michael did on Motown 25.

Michael got Jeffrey Daniel, a member of Shalamar, to teach him the dance. Jeffrey Daniel did more choreography for Michael and traveled with him during the Dangerous tour.
 
Michael Jackson Debuted Moonwalk With ‘Billie Jean’ In 1983
March 25, 2024
On this date in 1983, Michael performed “Billie Jean” at Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever. The audience in the Pasadena Civic Auditorium gasped as Michael showed off his moonwalk for the first time, but the rest of the world would have to wait until May of that year to see it on the TV special.
www.michaeljackson.com

Michael Jackson Debuted Moonwalk With ‘Billie Jean’ In 1983

On this date in 1983, Michael performed “Billie Jean” at 'Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever.' The audience in the Pasadena Civic Auditorium gasped as Michael showed off his moonwalk for the first time, but the rest of the world would have to wait until May of that year to see it on the TV...
www.michaeljackson.com www.michaeljackson.com
 
electrickeyez said:
I read once somewhere (maybe in Taraborrelli's book) that one of MJ's stipulations to doing the Motown 25 performance was that he had control over how the final cut was edited. MJ so knew the brilliance and notoriety that performance would create.

He's amazing.
Click to expand...
I believe he also said (in the recent Lost Tapes?) that he planned out every shot of his Motown performance himself (all camera angles and timing) and that the only thing that wasn't impromptu was the moonwalk
 
filmandmusic said:
Who called it the moonwalk first and why?
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I don't know who coined the term first, but the name itself came from the illusion that the performer is literally walking both backwards and forwards at the same time, like in a zero-gravity environment. So the word "moonwalk" seemed appropriate at the time, and it just stuck.
 
God I wanna see these rehearsals. I wanna know what he did on the rehearsal for the moonwalk segment
 
It's been years since I've read Moonwalk but I'm sure Michael himself said he kept it secret from his brothers. I'm not positive on that though
 
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