“If I win the Oscars…”

Did you know that AR Rahman refused to meet Michael Jackson? The music maestro revealed this during a meet and greet session at the Majestic International Convention Centre at Menara PGRM in Malaysia. In a video shared by Free Malaysia Today on YouTube, AR Rahman recalled the 2009 incident. He said, “In 2009, initially, I was in Los Angeles. I was with my agent. And he introduced me to another agent, he said, ‘This is my friend. He manages Michael Jackson.’ I tested the waters and asked, ‘Can I meet Michael Jackson?’ And he said, ‘Oh yeah, sure. I’ll send an email.’ There was no response for the first week. I was silent, and then I said, ‘Okay.’”

“Then the nomination came, I was nominated for the Oscars. Then I got an email saying, ‘Michael Jackson wants to meet you.’ But I said, ‘No, I don’t want to meet him now. If I win the Oscars, I will meet him. If I don’t, I won’t meet him.’ So I was sure that I was going to win an Oscar. So I won the Oscar,” AR Rahman added.

AR Rahman then recounted his encounter with pop icon Michael Jackson. He shared, “The next day, I went to meet him (Michael Jackson). He was in the house, in Los Angeles. My driver dropped me off. It was almost 6:30 p.m. The sun was setting. And then someone opened the door, with the gloves on. And I was high, I had won two Oscars there. I felt on top of the world.” FYI: AR Rahman won two Oscars in 2009 for Best Original Score and Best Original Song for Jai Hofrom the movie Slumdog Millionaire.

AR Rahman described Michael Jackson as “nice”. He said: “It was a nice moment to meet him. He was very nice. He said, ‘Oh, I love the songs, what chords have you programmed.’ He was talking about world peace and ‘Why don’t you do the next song?’ We are the world? ” he kept asking.

AR Rahman continued: “And that’s it, it all happened. (Michael Jackson) introduced me to his kids. And I was jet-lagged, working day and night. I was waiting to go to India. So we had two hours. And he said, ‘When I dance, I dance with my heart.’… It was unforgettable.”

AR Rahman also mentioned that after returning to India, he had an interaction with Michael Jackson and the duo had planned to collaborate on a song. Unfortunately, it couldn’t happen as Michael Jackson passed away in 2009.

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