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Michael Jackson vs. Neil Armstrong: Who Had The Best Moonwalk

Author KevinKevin, July 11th, 2024

One for the scientists, artists, engineers and dreamers!

July 20th, 1969, the world watched through their retro TVs as Neil Armstrong made history by setting foot on the Moon, a moment immortalized by his words: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.".

Over a decade later, in 1983, pop king Michael Jackson exploded onto the stage of a Motown 25th anniversary special and introduced another kind of moonwalk that was out-of-this-world.

As the 55th anniversary of the moon landing heads into orbit, let's compare the two most infamous moonwalks in history!

Neil Armstrong V MJ

The sight of Armstrong descending the ladder of the lunar module, the Eagle, and stepping onto the powdery surface of the Moon was broadcast live to millions of awe-struck viewers around the world. It was a triumph of human invention, an event that marked a significant milestone in the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union, and showed us humans that science could achieve just about anything if it wanted to.

Dressed in a sequined jacket, a single rhinestone glove, and black fedora, Jackson appeared to glide backward effortlessly as if defying the laws of physics. This dance move, although previously seen in different forms by street dancers, was perfected and popularized by Jackson. Now we see it at parties, on television, and even performed in the streets. It was a viral hit long before the age of TikTok and Insta.

Both moonwalks shook the world to its core - one through technological achievement and the other through cultural impact, but which one are you more obsessed with?

Did You Know?

  • - Armstrong insisted that he said, "for a man," which would technically make more grammatical sense.

  • - The lunar surface was covered in a cloud of fine dust and it clung to everything, including the astronauts' suits. This made getting back inside of the base pretty tricky.

  • - They had to use a horizontal rod to give the flag the appearance of fluttering. Now we know where all the conspiracy theories come from!

  • - While Michael Jackson is credited with popularizing the moonwalk, it was inspired by street dancers like Jeffrey Daniel from the group Shalamar, who performed similar moves in the 1970s.

  • - Variants of Jackson's moonwalk date back to as early as the 1930's.

  • - Fans of Jason Derulo can spot him using the moonwalk in his song Swalla.

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