Most uncles come to the big show and clap. Michael Jackson came with a plan.
Taj, Taryll and TJ Jackson are the three sons of Tito Jackson, Michael’s older brother. Together they called their group 3T. Their debut album was “Brotherhood” from 1995. Its first single was a love song called “Anything,” and it came out on Michael’s own label, MJJ Music.
The boys wrote and produced the song themselves. That’s a lot for a first single, and it paid off. “Anything” reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 15 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
If you’ve never heard it, start here with the song itself in 3T’s official video.
The official video for 3T’s “Anything”
A hit song needs a live performance to go with it. That’s where Uncle Michael stepped in.
Years later Taj told the story on his own Twitter account. The posts aren’t dated, but the MJ Ultimate Archive saved them from a fan forum thread. Here’s what Taj wrote:
“Every pose in our ‘Anything’ performance was created by MJ. He flew us to New York to help choreograph the song during his busy schedule.”
Think about how busy Michael was in those days. He still made room to fly his nephews to New York and work out every pose with them himself.
Then Taj added the line fans love most:
“And of course the backpack was his idea. But originally TJ had it on, not me.”
So the one prop in the routine was a backpack, and it came straight from Uncle Michael. It wasn’t even meant for Taj at first. His brother TJ wore it before it ended up on Taj’s shoulders.
That’s a funny little detail when you think about it. Even the prop went through a casting change, and Uncle Michael was the one making the call. It also tells you how closely he was watching. He cared about who held what and when.
That backpack also got its own moment in the act. A fan once asked Taj about it: “There’s a performance where you throw it down angrily. Why?”
“Angrily” was the fan’s word. Taj’s answer was pure nephew.
“Because my uncle said. Wasn’t gonna disagree lol”
You can almost hear the shrug in that one.
The boys took “Anything” to Britain’s “Top of the Pops” on Jan. 25, 1996. This clip gives you the song and the routine on British TV, so you can see how polished the three of them looked.
3T performing “Anything” on Top of the Pops in 1996
They brought the song home to American TV too. This one is from BET’s “Video Soul,” so you get to see the brothers sing it for viewers in the States.
3T singing “Anything” on BET’s Video Soul
Taj never said which performance the fan had in mind. But the routine itself has a story behind it now. Every time the three of them hit a pose, you’re looking at moves Taj says came from their uncle first.
So the next time you hear “Anything,” think of Uncle Michael in that New York room, fussing over his brother’s boys until every pose looked right.