{"id":510642,"date":"2026-07-05T08:55:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T08:55:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/510642\/"},"modified":"2026-07-05T08:55:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T08:55:11","slug":"omemj-the-christchurch-michael-jackson-tribute-act-fans-cant-get-enough-of","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/510642\/","title":{"rendered":"OmeMJ: The Christchurch Michael Jackson tribute act fans can\u2019t get enough of"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"OmeOme MJ signs posters for fans at his appearance event. Photo \/ Anna Heath<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just his online presence that has his supporters captivated.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of fans, many not even born when Jackson was alive, filled Christchurch\u2019s streets for his tribute event on Saturday to honour 17 years since the King of Pop\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

As he walked the streets of the city centre to the event on a cold Christchurch night, the eyes of passersby were locked on his gold and black outfit. <\/p>\n

\"OmeMJ,OmeMJ, a Michael Jackson impersonator based in Christchurch, has become hugely popular online. Photo \/ Anna Heath <\/p>\n

Young fans screamed his name from blocks away, sprinting towards OmeMJ just to grab a moment with him. <\/p>\n

As he turned the corner, and just metres from the meet and greet, supporters erupted in cheers, pushing to get to the front of the group.<\/p>\n

An OmeMJ-signed Michael Jackson jacket replica was thrown to fans from a bar balcony, with a scuffle unfolding below over who would take home the prized piece.<\/p>\n

\"AA signed replica of Michael Jackson jacket is thrown to fans from the balcony at Fat Eddie’s. Photo \/ Anna Heath <\/p>\n

The fans weren\u2019t really here to hear him sing \u2013 OmeMJ let the band take the vocals for Blame It On the Boogie \u2013 and he announced he wasn\u2019t breaking out the moonwalk or any other dance moves, unlike his enthusiastic fans.<\/p>\n

Nobody seemed to mind. For them, the perfect look and a carefully cultivated Michael Jackson persona were enough.<\/p>\n

Behind the dark, tinted glasses, OmeMJ told us \u2013 in a very MJ fashion \u2013 that when he\u2019s not impersonating Jackson, he tends to be more reserved.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just a quiet person; when I\u2019m surrounded by people, it is very overwhelming because I never would have expected this in 100 years,\u201d he said in a good imitation of Jackson\u2019s voice and mannerisms.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople cry, they chase me, smile, laugh, every emotion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"YoungYoung Michael Jackson fans fight over an OmeMJ signed jacket thrown by the impersonator. Photo \/ Anna Heath <\/p>\n

OmeMJ said Jackson had been his hero for years.<\/p>\n

\u201dI just find him very unique,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s what attracted me to him and you know, his dance style of singing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way he looked, just everything about him, I absolutely adore.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SirSir Howard Morrison greets Michael Jackson with a traditional hongi on his visit to NZ in 1996. Photo \/ Mark Mitchell<\/p>\n

His popularity has grown so quickly that even members of his family only discovered his online fame in recent months.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad\u2019s very proud,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was completely shocked and my sister, she only found out about a month or two ago because I was very quiet and she couldn\u2019t believe me.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe said, \u2018Oh my God, it\u2019s my brother\u2019,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"YoungYoung fans rushed to Christchurch city to catch a glimpse of the impersonator. Photo \/ Anna Heath <\/p>\n

Asked about the sexual abuse allegations Jackson faced during his lifetime, including a 2005 child molestation trial that ended with his acquittal<\/a>, OmeMJ said his opinion had never changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t listen to it because I believe that he was innocent, and no one can change my mind,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was the most loving person ever, and I think people should really, really look into him a bit more and not judge him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jackson denied the allegations<\/a> during his lifetime. They have continued to be debated following his death.<\/p>\n

\"OmeMJOmeMJ has gained more than 40,000 followers since his first video last year. Photo \/ Anna Heath<\/p>\n

When asked what he wishes more people knew, OmeMJ said the gig is \u201cnot as easy as it looks\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes like two or three hours to get into makeup and everything,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can be very hard just to, you know, make a few videos, but it takes hours behind the scenes.\u201d<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s no sign of him slowing down anytime soon. <\/p>\n

\u201cI want to do it for as long as I can,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ome MJ signs posters for fans at his appearance event. Photo \/ Anna Heath It\u2019s not just his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":510643,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[4619,2068,9436,4487,23966,9517,1333,42,5420,254173,69063,30641,194,5494,130,43,1118,254172,384,4056,28142,31699,5412,223,1961,210,40,38,41,39,20838],"class_list":["post-510642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-act","tag-cant","tag-chase","tag-christchurch","tag-enough","tag-fans","tag-get","tag-headlines","tag-hes","tag-impersonator","tag-insists","tag-jackson","tag-kiwi","tag-michael","tag-more","tag-news","tag-of","tag-omemj","tag-people","tag-person","tag-quiet","tag-scream","tag-streets","tag-the","tag-this","tag-through","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-tribute"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=510642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510642\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/510643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=510642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=510642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=510642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}