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6 ways the King of Pop is still alive today

Although the "King of Pop" died six years ago by an overdose of propofol, his music and legacy live on and many artists credit him as their source of inspiration.

Michael Jackson … Staying productive, even in death.

Michael Jackson's premature death exactly 6 years ago certainly hardened his legend, almost to the point of brittleness.

Jackson is referred to as the "King of Pop," and is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records. His contributions to music, dance and fashion, along with his publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades.

His 1982 album "Thriller" is the best-selling album of all time. Michael's legacy includes record sales of nearly 400 million records and 13 Grammy Awards, among dozens of other awards. He was also been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice and the Dance Hall of Fame.

As a result, we've put together six important legacies he left behind.

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1. Sound

When the world first knew Jackson, he was a lovable, pint-sized pre-teen with a puffy Afro and an electric voice.

Through the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s, Jackson clutched the enthusiasm he had as the frontman of the Jackson Five. Back then, it was impossible to hate Jackson. He immensely likable. When he sang "We are the ones who make a brighter day / So let's start giving" in "We Are the World," you believed him.

In the music, through multiple genres and fusions,  Pop, rock, disco, jazz - Jackson's tunes had a little bit of everything, all mixed together and laced with plenty of high-pitched shrieks, squeals and "Hee-hees."

Pop stars like the Spice Girls and Pussycat Dolls can sell millions of albums but never be taken seriously for their music. Not so for Jackson. His albums - Thriller especially - were embraced by fans and critics alike. He didn't just have 13 No. 1 singles; he had 13 Grammys, too.

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2. Fashion

The single, white, sequined glove. The red leather jacket with so many zippers. The pegged pants. The fedora. The bedazzled military coats.

Like everything Jackson, his look was a precise exercise straddling desirability and eccentricity. Everybody wanted that leather jacket he wore in the Beat It video, but who, save Jackson, could pull off a solitary, spangled glove?

The Jheri curls? Maybe not. The mirrored sunglasses? Definitely.

He outfitted himself to show off his moves. Black shoes with glittering white socks? He knew no one could ignore feet turned out like that.

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In regal coats with epaulets and rhinestone regalia, he was the King of Pop who dressed for the job.

3. Dance

No one moved like Michael Jackson. But everyone wanted to.

Music might have made him a star, but from the blunt sexuality of the crotch grabs, to the laser-sharp spins, snaps and pivots, to the mesmerizing group choreography spotlighted in his videos, to, of course, the otherworldly impossibility that was his moonwalk, dance launched Jackson into the stratosphere.

He might not have invented the moonwalk, but he might as well have. When the world watched him gliding like that for the first time, black loafers moving across the stage with liquid smoothness during a televised Motown Music special in 1983, no one had ever seen anything like it.

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How many teenagers spent how many hours dragging their stockinged feet across carpeted bedroom floors, trying to master that illusion but remaining, alas, hopelessly earthbound?

4. Videos

When Jackson's full-length Thriller video was set to debut following an orgy of hype on MTV in late 1983, people wrote it on their calendars. They stayed home just to see it. The most expensive video ever made at the time, it was essentially a cinematic experience, a nearly 15-minute long mini-movie, a happening.

Unlike many artists who phone in videos with concert footage or pack them full of scantily clad models, Jackson used his MTV time to tell stories (as in Thriller and Smooth Criminal), push the boundaries of special effects (as in Billie Jean), produce full, Broadway-choreography (as in Beat It).

He single-handedly fortified the fledgling music television channel and turned the music video into an art form.

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5. Influence

Like Elvis and Bob Dylan before him, Jackson reshaped pop culture in ways that are hard to comprehend. Jackson influenced just about every musician who came after him in one way or another. He was unavoidable.

Baltimore-based hip-hop performer MC Saleem Heggins can't point to one specific way Jackson helped shape his music. That would almost be insulting, he said. Jackson was much broader than that, and his legacy is almost impossible to pin down.

"For me, he was the largest figure in music," Heggins said. "I was inspired and entertained by his ability to reach all walks of life. ... It's a legacy of creating great music that appeals to people without compromising yourself."

6. Celebrity

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As the world remembers Jackson today, commenters still wonder if there has ever been anyone on the planet with a more recognized name.

Maybe not.

He was a superstar, but a superstar whose eccentricities drove one tabloid headline after another. His marriages. His monkey. His plastic surgeries. The molestation trial.

For a generation, Jackson was an ever-present media image, selling millions of records, launching millions of rumors.

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