Super star Michael Jackson turns 50

Singer Michael Jackson turned 50 yesterday, a shadow of the superstar once known as the King of Pop whose records thrilled millions before his bizarre personal life eclipsed his musical brilliance.

Unlike Madonna's 50th birthday bash and launch of another world tour earlier this month, the singer who wishes he was Peter Pan appears to have no special celebrations planned and a much-touted musical comeback has so far come to nothing. A semi-recluse since his harrowing 2005 trial and acquittal on child sex abuse, Mr Jackson has been living out of the spotlight for the past few months.

In a telephone interview with ABC TV programme Good Morning America, Mr Jackson said he will "just have a little cake with my children and watch come cartoons", and he added that he feels "very wise and sage, but at the same time very young".

Recent pictures of Mr Jackson in Las Vegas showed him dressed in pyjamas and slippers, and one had him sitting in a wheelchair, wearing a surgical mask. Long-time Jackson family friend and lawyer Brian Oxman said the singer sometimes used the wheelchair to get around unobserved. "It is not an indication of any health problems. It is an effort to be unseen," he said.

Dr Oxman added that for the 50th birthday, "no one is planning anything special. He is just being quiet these days."

Billboard senior music analyst Geoff Mayfield saw nothing unusual in Mr Jackson's low-key birthday. "I don't think our celebrities are real hot on how old they are getting. Why would a pop singer draw attention to the fact they are getting older?" Mr Mayfield said.

Mr Jackson's record label Sony BMG launched a big overseas promotion to mark his half-century and a career that started with his brothers in The Jackson Five, when Michael was 11, and which produced the 1982 album Thriller - still the world's biggest selling album and one of the most influential.

Fans in 11 countries, including Japan, Britain, the Netherlands, Germany and Australia where Mr Jackson has his biggest following have voted on websites for their favourite songs that have been compiled on a King of Pop hits album being released yesterday.

Yet, a poll on AOL's pop culture news website PopEater.com suggested that Mr Jackson's surgically-altered face, his financial problems, the shuttering of his Neverland fantasy ranch, and the fallout of the 2005 trial, risked overshadowing his musical achievements.