Michael Jackson fans flock to the Apollo
The crowd gathered outside the famed Apollo Theater on 125th Street in Harlem came to remember the "King of Pop" Friday, leaving flowers, gifts and even handwritten notes addressed to Michael Jackson.
One day after the sudden, shocking death of Jackson, 50, fans said it was still hard to believe the king was gone.
"We'll always keep our memories and my love will go to you," wrote Kiyoshi Tyler, 12, of Bedford-Stuyvesant.
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Kiyoshi had come to the impromptu memorial with her sister, Availah, and their grandmother, Cynthia Thomas, of Far Rockaway.
Thomas said she was born just one week after Jackson, who was born Aug. 29, 1958, and rose to fame as a child as the lead singer of the Jackson 5. Jackson went on to become a Grammy-winning superstar who had 16 No. 1 hits and the biggest-selling album in history with "Thriller."
"If I had some money, right now, I'd go to L.A. for the memorial service," said Thomas, who left a note outside the Apollo that read: "The man is mine. Michael Jackson will always be in my heart."
Another 50-year-old, Cynthia Ali, of Spanish Harlem, said she saw Jackson in concert about 30 years ago - and he even kissed her hand.
"I threw my hand up and he bent over and kissed it," she said. "He should have kissed my lips."
On a piece of cardboard placed on the street outside the Apollo, Ali wrote: "I will miss him and love him so much. He inspired my life. A lot."
While the scene was packed with huge Michael Jackson fans, one woman said she came to the theater out of respect - even though she wasn't a big fan of Jackson's music.
"I wouldn't say I was a fan," said Rosan Tan, 27, of Bushwick. "I didn't even have his songs on my iPod."
But, Tan said: "He was the air of the 80s. I wanted to breathe that in . . . He was great. All the things he did for Africa, all his charity work.
I appreciated it."
Another woman made it clear where the late King of Pop stood with her.
Clearly, in her heart.
After all, Annette Thomas, 53, of Harlem, wore a Michael Jackson T-shirt and said she had been at the Apollo Thursday night for a dance-party tribute to Jackson.
"It was sad," she said. "We were celebrating his legacy and his life last night."
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With John Valenti
