Michael Jackson was the Barack Obama of pop music. Or perhaps it should be put the other way round, since Michael came long before Obama did on the public scene. On Thursday, as the king of pop passed away, here’s what makes Obama and Michael so similar in more ways than just the fact that they are the world’s most recognisable Black faces.

Like Obama, Michael, an African-American youngster, had White audiences under his spell. His 1982 album Thriller, with 50 million copies sold worldwide, is history’s best-selling album ever. His concerts had Whites attempting to “moon-walk” like him. MTV, which was criticised for playing videos by only white performers, started regularly airing the title video of Thriller.

Soon enough, Michael had cast his magical spell all over the world, just like Obama’s victory was celebrated from New York to New Delhi. As an Indian child growing up in conservative Saudi Arabia in the 1980s — I still remember Michael’s legendary numbers like Billy Jean and Beat It beaming out of racing sedans on the streets of Jeddah. Blasphemous it may sound, such was my craze for Jackson —as was that of any other kid in the 1980s — I would play the number in our car when we would drive back to Jeddah after our pilgrimage in Mecca. Not to forget, we would play a videogame whose theme was based on his song, Smooth Criminal. And oh yes, who can forget the Bad poster that adorned many a wall of my friends there.

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