Britney Spears: "I was so excited to see his show in London. We were going to be on tour in Europe at the same time and I was going to fly in to see him. He has been an inspiration throughout my entire life and I'm devastated he's gone!"

Beyonce Knowles: "This is such a tragic loss and a terrible day. The incomparable Michael Jackson has made a bigger impact on music than any other artist in the history of music. He was magic. He was what we all strive to be. He will always be the king of pop!"

Celine Dion: "I am so devastated by this terrible news. From the beginning of my career, he was my idol in show business. He was a genius and an incredible artist!!"

Madonna: "I can't stop crying over the sad news. I have always admired Michael Jackson. The world has lost one of the greats, but his music will live on forever. My heart goes out to his three children and other members of his family. God bless."

Justin Timberlake: "I can't find the words right now to express how deeply saddened I am by Michael's passing. We have lost a genius and a true ambassador of not only Pop music, but of all music. He has been an inspiration to multiple generations and I will always cherish the moments I shared with him on stage and all of the things I learned about music from him and the time we spent together. My heart goes out to his family and loved ones."

P. Diddy: "Michael Jackson showed me that you can actually see the beat. He made the music come to life!! He made me believe in magic. I will miss him!"

John Mayer: "Dazed in the studio. A major strand of our cultural DNA has left us. RIP MJ. I think we'll mourn his loss as well as the loss of ourselves as children listening to Thriller on the record player."

Bollywood

A.R. Rahman: "I am shocked at the untimely passing away of Michael Jackson, one of the greatest musicians of our times. MJ, for most of our generation was an icon who made uncompromising music. He pushed the milestone of Pop music to unbelievable levels through the 80s and 90s. I am yet to find an artist with that energy, perfection and vision. I met him personally after the Oscars in Los Angeles and we vibed very well. He said that he loved India and the Indian people. He said he heard good things about me and he was praising the chord progression of Jai Ho's chorus.

He was bursting with energy and told me that every dance move he did came from his soul and did a five second stunning example. It was like a lightning strike. He was concerned about developmental issues such as Global Warming and about wars and its damages to the human community. He asked me to compose a unity anthem on the likes of "We are the World" for him. I nodded in awe...!

He introduced me to his three lovely bright kids. The kids told him "I love you Dad". And he replied, "I love you more" as a proud father. I wished him well for his concerts and he said "God Bless you". After hearing the shocking news, I wished it was another rumor which would fade away soon. It took me time to believe that he is no more. I remember, my late sound engineer H. Sridhar had brought me a video of the premiere of 'Remember the Time' when I was recording 'Kadal Rojave' for my first movie Roja. Seeing it inspired all of us that afternoon.

Now, there is no Sridhar and no Jackson anymore. I hope all of us value people's existence more and respect them when they are alive. LIFE IS SHORT...! Artists and their art live for ever. Jai Ho, MJ! We love you for your music, regardless of all the controversies!"

Saroj Khan: "It's a great loss to the world. He was not just a lovely dancer, but also a wonderful creator. I admired him very much. God bless his soul to rest in eternal peace."

Farah Khan: "I officially had no training in dance and whatever I learnt was from watching Michael Jackson by watching his videos, especially 'Thriller' over and over again. I consider him as my guru... I had a won an award at the ceremony (Bollywood Awards in New York) and Michael Jackson was also getting an award for his humanitarian works.

The organizers knew how crazy I was for him so they did take me backstage to meet him. I have a picture with him which I will cherish all my life. I told him that I am choreographer and that is just because of him...