This is it, here I stand, I’m gonna light up the world, I feel grand…

And so begins what may be the last great Michael Jackson single the world will ever hear.  Hearing that soft voice count off and purr out the lyrics should induce goosebumps on even the slightest MJ fans.  In a way, this song represents a microcosm of the brave front put up to cloak the sad, tortured existence that Jackson lived during the last few years of his life.

‘I feel grand…’

The truth is, though he ultimately killed himself to prove his fans otherwise, Michael didn’t feel grand.  A premature death at the hands of the painkillers offer insight to the extremes that Jackson went to in order to fill the void and kill the depression that resulted from years of ostracization and, more recently, much of the public’s false assumption that he was a pedophile.

As of this writing, it’s unclear as to when this song was written.  Some label it as a cast-off from the Dangerous sessions.  Others pinpoint it to the time between Off the Wall and Thriller.  Irregardless, of when it was written, one thing is for certain.

Michael, you did light up the world.  And wherever you are, I hope you feel grand.

Because you sure have made my life, and the lives of millions of others, happier.