well, well... if one has followed the journey (if you will) of michael's voice, one could notice that his voice is actually that deep.. he's done performances where he's got this tone, some years back...

he actually did not seem any taller than his 5'10 frame, in my opinion... i actually thought he was WAAAAAY too skinny... i was not aware of the traffic situation, but i figured that making people wait an hour (it was 8 am for me, 4 pm in london) was a thing he did to prop up some anticipation (as he does before he performs and shows all those clips of him on the screen)... i made this conclusion due to the less than 3-minute vague speech he made about these being his 'final show performances'... in london? or forever? was the major question asked all around the world... so i figured it was another cunning/decisively clever moment for the MJ.

also, the strut he was doing upon his entrance- he's been doing that a lot lately, within the past few years... he's gained a tiny bit of self-assurance as he gets older, which is good... but yeah, his posture's not all that good. and really, there is NOBODY who looks EXACTLY like michael, if you pay attention. there are people who look A LOT like him, but not JUST like him...

i don't blame this one solely on media... i just think that peoples' perceptions of mike stay in the 80s (i can't tell you how many people don't even know he made a record past 'bad, or even before 'thriller' or 'off the wall'), and so they expect him to be the same man (just looking differently), with the same high-pitched voice. if a 50-year old michael has the same voice he did in 1985, then i would think the THAT guy was an impersonator... something would be terribly amiss.

so i'm not too worried about the rumor mill; i'm just going along for the ride. i'm sure there will be a significant amount of the people who make fun of him or whatever going to at least one of the O2 shows, 'for curiosity's sake'... and he will pocket millions for it.

never underestimate the MJ. he's one of the smartest cats in the business. like any human does, he slips up on those business moves sometimes, but you can never underestimate the man. he's a veteran in the industry, not for nothing. and he will live forever in our collective consciousness. which is one of his major goals as a performer.

so i'd say he 's pretty successful.