Ben Lee Remembers Michael Jackson's Music as 'Corny in All the Right Ways'

It's common knowledge that Michael Jackson's music touched an audience the world over but it's still impressive when that gets validated by, say, fellow entertainers from places far and wide. Take, for example, singer-songwriter Ben Lee, who hails from Australia.

"I love 'Man in the Mirror,'" Lee tells Spinner. "It's corny in all the right ways. It just moves me. I like how bold the emotion is behind it." Turns out, a lot of people are in agreement -- that single became the fourth consecutive No. 1 hit from Jackson's 1997 album 'Bad,' which has sold well over 32 million copies and counting. That's not even taking into account sales of the chart-topping single itself.

"The days of that kind of pop star might be over," Lee admits. After all, the king is gone. Lee still remembers where he was, a year ago, when he heard the news: "I was in Birmingham, Alabama," he says, "watching CNN with the sound down and writing lyrics."

So that's where he gets ideas for songs such as 'Cigarettes Will Kill You.' Regardless, a year after Jackson's death and the music world is still in mourning.