Michael Jackson impersonator Jason Jackson (right) performs beside a wax portrait of his idol, in 1999
By Amy Coopes
SYDNEY (AFP) — He may be mourning the death of his idol but business is booming for Jason Jackson, Australia's answer to the late King of Pop.
The tribute artist, who has turned his Sydney home into a mini-Neverland Ranch, said he had been inundated with booking requests since the star's death.
"Before Michael Jackson's passing I was, I would say, 50 to 70 percent booked," he said. "Now I'm 200 percent."
Jackson, 35, changed his name by deed poll from Jason Zamprogno aged 18 and credits the "Thriller" icon with curing him of bone cancer.
He said the phone in his suburban home -- decked out with concrete tigers, rhinos and elephants in homage to Neverland's famous zoo -- had been ringing off the hook.
Hundreds of managers and agencies from Las Vegas to Beijing had called to make bookings, said Jackson, who performed an emotional moonwalk at a memorial concert on Saturday.
"It's been quite a rollercoaster for me, what happened with Michael. I was in such shock when the news broke out, I didn't want to believe it," he told AFP.
"Everyone wanted to sign me up and all I wanted to do was grieve for Michael and it's been very hard for me."
Jason Jackson has pursued his career since the tender age of 10, bringing the star's trademark moves, tunes and costumes to weddings, nightclubs and corporate events.
Diagnosed with bone cancer as a baby, the impersonator's obsession began during a trip to hospital for treatment, when "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" came over the car radio.
Inspired by the man he considered a "second father," Jackson studied the pop legend's footwork and taught himself to sing and dance.
"I saw him doing Billie Jean and I thought 'I want to be just like him,' so I started to do talent quests, and I got over my cancer because of Michael," said Jackson.
"I had so much passion and I've built this (show) from nothing to something. Michael Jackson gave me the strength to do that."
Jackson's "Michael Jackson Dance Spectacular" has played thousands of venues, including many of Sydney's major arenas, and he believes the show will now be more popular than ever.
"There's something fantastic, it's spectacle," he explained.
"When people go to one of his concerts they expect the best showmanship that Michael can give, it's amazing to watch, he's got so much talent and so much charisma."
His promotional material boasts an "uncanny likeness to the King of Pop himself," but it's the spirit of his hero that Jackson values most.
"I am not Michael Jackson but people look at me and go 'oh this guy's got talent, this guy's got the same thing as Michael,' and it makes me happy to show what Michael can do," he said.
"I am very blessed and very honoured to pay tribute to him, the biggest artist in the world."
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