Michael Jackson's Death: A Look Back At The First 24 Hours

The news of Michael Jackson's death one year ago Friday (June 25) seemed all the more shocking because it meant we had not only lost one of our most energetic, enigmatic and complex pop stars, but one whose entire adult life had been aimed at recapturing a childhood innocence he'd lost in service of entertaining us.

Jackson's yearning to remain eternally childlike and his whimsical, over-the-top notions of uniting the world through song made it that much harder to believe he'd died and then to accept that we would never again get to see him dazzle us with his signature live spectacle. Today, we take a look back at the rush of emotions we felt over the first 24 hours after the news broke that Jackson had died at age 50
Considered by many to be the world's greatest entertainer, Jackson was preparing for a sold-out, 50-show residency at London's O2 arena. Fans had snatched up more than $85 million worth of tickets for the This Is It shows, which would mark the self-proclaimed King of Pop's return to the stage after more than a decade in seclusion raising his three young children. Jackson had long been plotting his way back to the top following a devastating trial on child-molestation charges that ended in a 2005 acquittal, and the O2 shows — slated to begin July 13 — were promising to be a blockbuster re-emergence.

The excitement about the gigs, though, quickly turned to sadness on June 25, 2009, when news emerged in the early afternoon that the singer had been rushed to a Los Angeles hospital. In the initial hours, confusion reigned about what had happened to Jackson and what his condition was. Early reports said he had suffered cardiac arrest and was in critical condition after paramedics found him not breathing at his rented Holmby Hills, California, mansion. Some said he had already died or had died upon arrival at the hospital; others painted his condition as grave.

Within hours, the grim reality set in when it was confirmed that Jackson had died as a result of cardiac arrest. Despite decades of bizarre behavior, two high-profile allegations of inappropriate conduct with children and a maddening inability to recapture the singular magic of his greatest musical achievements, upon confirmation of his death Jackson's millions of fans turned to the thing that had always risen above his tabloid headlines for them: his music.