One Year Later: Michael Jackson's Eerie Final Public Appearance

CLEVELAND - Michael Jackson took to the podium amid a rabid group of fans chanting and yelling their affection for him and proceeded to say almost nothing relevant. One year later, those seemingly empty words have taken on a sad and unintentional irony and significance because it was the last time he truly spoke to us.

What a shame.

Today marks the one year anniversary of Michael's press conference announcing his planned comeback concerts in London. The spectacle took place in the famous 02 arena where MJ's stage shows were to play out from July 2009 until March 2010. Within hours of the tickets going on sale, every date sold out in very short order which caused AEG Live to add many more dates to the originally planned 10. Michael, during his short speech seemed a bit unsure of what to say as he repeatedly stated, "this is it...these are my final shows....and when I say 'this is it' I mean 'this is it.'" He told the howling crowd that he'd be "performing the songs that [his] fans want to hear."

The way I felt about the concert announcement at the time was bittersweet. Of course I was excited, but a little subdued. Michael was almost never seen in public since his 2005 acquittal on child molestation charges, so it was a treat to see him back in the limelight. However, I had grown frustrated at the long delay in him releasing any new material after so many rumors of pending releases ended up being empty in fact. Therefore, I felt that he may not even perform the shows and even if he did, they wouldn't take place in the U.S.

When the horror of June 25, 2009 arrived, it was overwhelming for many around the world and specifically for me. Michael's sudden and unbelievably shocking death that day obviously made the concerts a lost cause and caused millions upon millions of people a ton of grief. Looking back from the vantage point of today, that press conference was very eerie and ominous. It seemed joyous at the time since it represented Michael returning to the elements of his life that made us fall madly in love with him in the first place; his great artistry. But knowing that his death was just 112 days in the future from that point takes the air out of the entire thing. MJ ended his announcement by saying, "I love you all so much. I really do. See you in July."

As he strode away from the podium and disappeared behind the red curtains, no one knew that we'd seen the last of him being alive as we were seeing him. Sure, we got treated to the hastily assembled film, Michael Jackson's This Is It nearly eight months later, but as we watched Michael unleash his raw magic on screen, we knew that he was no longer with us in real life. That makes the whole awful situation even more unbearable.

Today is yet another day for us to cherish life and the awesome memory of Michael Joseph Jackson.