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LoginJordan Jackson a big hit at Apollo's amateur night with Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean'
BY John Marzulli
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Sunday, April 11th 2010, 4:00 AM
Adams for NewsJordan Jackson, 6, an avid fan of the late entertainer Michael Jackson, placed first in a recent talent contest held at the Apollo Theatre.
He's a budding prince of pop who lives on Crown St. - and his last name is Jackson, just like his idol.
Meet 6-year-old Jordan Jackson, who's headed to the Apollo Theater amateur night quarterfinals with a thrilling dance routine set to Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean."
"I feel like I want to dance right now," Jordan said one day last week, grabbing his belt buckle as the beat kicked in on the living room stereo.
Jordan's fixation with all things Jacko began in 2005 when he was on vacation in Mexico with parents Andrew and Sandra, both case managers at Brooklyn Federal Court. The family attended a performance by a Jackson impersonator and Jordan was hooked.
His dad scoured Web sites and music shops for DVDs and compact discs that now fill a miniature metal briefcase Jordan totes around. He taught himself complex dance moves, including the Moon Walk, by watching the videos over and over again.
"Michael Jackson is a better dancer than anybody," Jordan declared.
Even though he speaks of MJ in the present tense, Jordan knows the music legend died last year. When Sandra received a text message about his death, she rushed to Jordan's kindergarten class at the Brooklyn New School and found him in tears.
The teacher had tried to keep the news from him, but he overheard another parent talking about it and was distraught.
Last fall, a friend of Sandra's suggested Jordan strut his stuff at the Apollo. They spent $500 outfitting their mini-Jackson in a sequined jacket, satin pants, black fedora, white shoes and red bow tie. A tailor on Washington Ave. performed emergency alterations on the pants.
"Then the night before he decided he didn't want to go anymore," Sandra said. "But I took him and they basically loved him."
Jordan rocked the legendary house on March 24, besting a 7-year-old boy who sang "The Greatest Love of All" and an 8-year-old girl performing a contortionist act.
"I was a little nervous. People were yelling like crazy," Jordan recalled. "I was just feeling the music."
His parents are encouraging him to follow his dream, while cracking down on crotch-grabbing in his dance routines.
Despite his son's early success, Andrew Jackson vows school and Bible study will always come before dancing. "I'm not a big fan of making a child into a prodigy," he said. "A child should enjoy being a child."
