Michael Jackson the most popular black singer ever." In 1990, "Vanity Fair" cited Jackson as the most popular artist in the history of show business. In 2003, "Daily Telegraph" writer Tom Utley described Jackson as "extremely important" and a "genius". In 2007, Jackson said: "Music has been my outlet, my gift to all of the lovers in this world. Through it, my music, I know I will live forever." At Jackson's memorial service on July 7, 2009, Motown founder Berry Gordy proclaimed Jackson "the greatest entertainer that ever lived". In a June 28, 2009 "Baltimore Sun" article titled "7 Ways Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson honor his legacy. A portion of the proceeds were presented to some of Jackson's favorite charities. In the 12 months after his death, Jackson sold more than 8.2 million albums in the United States and 35 million albums worldwide, making him the best-selling albums artist of 2009. He became the first artist to sell one million downloads in a week in music download history, with a record-breaking 2.6 million downloads of his songs. Three of his albums, "Thriller", "Number Ones" and "The Essential Michael Jackson", sold more than any new album, the first time a catalog album has ever scanned