SYDNEY (Reuters) - Michael Jackson fans around the world lit candles on Friday to mark the death one year ago of the controversial pop star whose posthumous popularity has returned him to a pedestal and made him a billion dollar man.
Fans in Hanoi, Vietnam, held a night of performances of Jackson's songs while 50 Japanese admirers -- one for each year of his life -- were picked from 10,000 people to spend a night at Tokyo Tower among the singer's possessions in the Neverland Collection, the only official Michael Jackson exhibition.
"The idea may sound a bit odd to Western cultures, but in Japan the tradition of being with the remains and possessions of passed loved ones on the anniversary of their passing is an important ritual," said Hiroyuki Takamura of the Tokyo Tower.
Jackson's sudden death at age 50 on June 25 last year in Los Angeles sparked an outpouring of grief internationally for the former child star, who was rehearsing for a series of concerts aimed at reviving a career shattered by bizarre events as an adult and acquittal on charges of molesting a 13-year-old boy.
One year on, Jackson is again idolized and his debts a burden of the past.
Hollywood trade paper Billboard estimated Jackson's earnings in the past year have hit $1 billion, including album sales generating about $383 million and revenue from the film "This Is It" hitting nearly $400 million.
The Official Charts Company, which compiles record sales in Britain, said Jackson sold more records than any other artist in the last 12 months.
His sales of 2.77 million albums outstripped Michael Buble's 2.0 million. Including singles, Jackson's sales in Britain reached 4.31 million for the year since his death. "Man in the Mirror" topped singles sales, followed by "Billie Jean".
