Ask most parents what they say when their kid does something great, and you’ll hear some version of “I’m proud of you.” Michael Jackson had his own way of saying it.
His oldest son knows that better than anyone.
Prince Jackson was born in 1997, the first of Michael’s children. On Friday, Sept. 4, 2020, he sat down on ITV’s “This Morning,” a daytime show in the UK, with hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield. And he talked about his dad in a way that felt warm and thoughtful.
“I feel that the older I get, the more I get to unpackage the wisdom he left and all the experiences he imparted on us,” Prince said, as Townsquare Media’s 99wfmk transcribed it.
He also said he’s “very proud to share the same name as my father.” That’s a nice line coming from a son who carries Michael’s name every day. If you’d like to see Prince for yourself before you read his dad’s famous question, this clip from the show has him talking about wanting to help the world the way his father did.
Prince Jackson on This Morning
So what did Michael say when one of his kids did something well?
Prince said the answer never really changed. “One thing for me is he wanted us to be the best at whatever it is that we did,” he explained.
Here’s how he described those moments at home, again in 99wfmk’s version of the interview:
“No matter what you do or how confident you feel or how well you did something,” Prince said, “he’d say, ‘That’s great, but what’s next? What’re you going to learn from this and apply to improve the next one?'”
That’s it. “That’s great, but what’s next?”
A lot of people would expect a superstar dad to hand out easy praise. Michael gave praise and a push at the same time, because he believed there was more in his kids.
And Prince took it that way. He called it “a form of motivation and inspiration.” He said he’s “extremely grateful to have the life experiences with him that I did and the knowledge he imparted on me.”
Prince has found his own way to keep going, too. He runs a charity called the Heal Los Angeles Foundation, and ITV put his words right in the headline of the interview: “I want to heal the world like my dad.”
For more of Prince talking about life with Michael, this conversation on FOX Soul’s “The Mix” has him looking back on growing up as his son.
Prince Jackson talks about growing up with his dad
The question still follows him, and he doesn’t sound like he minds. Prince said he’s always thinking about how to top his last effort.
“It’s always [about] figuring out maybe what I did last time was alright, but I need to make it better or the best…” he said.
Then he put his dad’s whole outlook into one simple idea. In his words, “one year is fantastic, [so] the next year needs to be incredible.”