''Move Like Michael Jackson'' is a British

talent show A talent show is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are performances rather ...

made by independent production company Fever Media and Gogglebox Entertainment and broadcast on

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, cov ...

. It aimed to find people who can dance like the pop singer

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

. The show aired months after Jackson's death in June 2009. Presented by television personality

Reggie Yates Reginald (Reggie) Yates (born 31 May 1983) is a British writer and director with a career spanning three decades on screen as an actor, television presenter and radio DJ. Yates played Leo Jones in '' Doctor Who'' and has worked at the BBC in ra ...

, the programme broadcast the auditions of hopefuls as they perform in front of the show's judges:

Mark Summers Mark Summers is the English CEO, sound engineer and music producer of Scorccio, a music production company founded in the UK in 1996. A London DJ since 1979, he is a guest lecturer and masterclass presenter on sample replay production, sound ...

contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music Music genre, genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of Pop music, pop, Soul music, soul, funk, Hip hop music, hip hop, and electronic music. The genre features a distinctive Recor ...

singer

Jamelia ' Jamelia Niela Davis (born 11 January 1981) is an English singer, songwriter and television presenter. She has released three studio albums, each of which has reached the Top 40 in the UK, which collectively have spawned eight UK top-ten singl ...

, and Jackson's elder brother and former

Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most ...

band member Jermaine.

Background and production

Entertainer Michael Jackson

died Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

in June 2009, in his home in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wo ...

. He was regarded as one of the greatest dancers of the 20th century, and popularized several dance moves, including the moonwalk and

robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be ...

. Jackson adapted choreography from figures such as Michael Peters and

Jeffrey Daniel Jeffrey Glen Daniel (born August 24, 1955 ) is an American dancer, singer-songwriter and choreographer, most notable for being a founding member of the R&B vocal group Shalamar. In Nigeria, he is best known as a former ''Idol'' series judg ...

and used them his music videos. In creating the six-part series, the producers stated that they were aiming to find individuals "with the showmanship and technical ability of

ackson Tulia Ackson (born 23 November 1976) is the Speaker of the National Assembly of Tanzania, in office since 2022. She was appointed as a Member of Parliament by President John Magufuli. Early life Ackson was born on 23 November 1976 in ...

. Jermaine Jackson was drafted to judge the show, and said of his younger sibling at the time of production, " einspired people across the world to master his moves and create their own unique routines." He added that he was "really excited and delighted" to be a part of the series and looked forward "to finding the UK's most talented and inspiring dancers". Auditions for the talent show were held in October and were open to any persons aged 16 and over. The ''Move Like Michael Jackson'' participants had to learn Jackson's signature dance move, the moonwalk, as well as create new Jackson-inspired dance steps for the series. Karl Warner, executive producer for BBC Entertainment Commissioning, said that the show's production staff wanted to "hear from anyone who's ever been inspired by the moonwalk, the

Smooth Criminal "Smooth Criminal" is a song by the American singer Michael Jackson, released on November 14, 1988, as the seventh single from his seventh album, ''Bad'' (1987). It was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. The lyrics ad ...

lean or the crotch grab and find out if they can move like Michael Jackson."

References

External links

''Move Like Michael Jackson''
at

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* {{Michael Jackson BBC Television shows Dance competition television shows Cultural depictions of Michael Jackson