Michael Jackson Dies

In the moments following Michael Jackson's death -- so many people rushed to the Internet, that it practically stopped the entire WWW in its tracks.

Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, AIM -- just a few of the scores of major web sites bombed by a tidal wave of traffic. Most of the sites still worked, but the epically high traffic numbers caused them all to move at a snail's pace.

We're told Elton is singing right now at the event and he's dedicated his song "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" to Michael.

We just spoke with Tito Jackson, who was grief-stricken. Tito said he so regrets not having spoken with Michael Jackson "in a while."

"As someone who served as Michael Jackson's publicist during the 1st child molestation incident, I must confess I am not surprised by today's tragic news.

Michael has been on an impossibly difficult and often self-destructive journey for years. His talent was unquestionable but so too was his discomfort with the norms of the world.

We just received the following statement from Quincy Jones, who produced Michael Jackson's legendary "Thriller" album:

"I am absolutely devastated at this tragic and unexpected news. For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don't have the words.

Divinity brought our souls together on The Wiz and allowed us to do what we were able to throughout the 80's.

To this day, the music we created together on "Off The Wall," "Thriller" and "Bad" is played in every corner of the world and the reason for that is because he had it all...talent, grace, professionalism and dedication.

He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever.

I've lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him."

TMZ just received the following statement from The Recording Academy -- the people behind The Grammys:

"Rarely has the world received a gift with the magnitude of artistry, talent and vision as Michael Jackson.

He was a true musical icon whose identifiable voice, innovative dance moves, stunning musical versatility and sheer star power carried him from childhood to worldwide claim.

A 13-time Grammy recipient, Michael's career transcends musical and cultural genres, and his contributions will always keep him in our hearts and memories.

We are deeply saddened by this tragic news, and our hearts go out to his family and to music lovers around the globe who mourn this great loss."

Lou Ferrigno -- former "Hulk" star and Michael's trainer for his upcoming tour -- and his wife, Carla, are in pieces over the King of Pop's passing.

TMZ just received the following statement from Al Sharpton:

"A friend of Michael's for the last 35 years, I call on people around the world to pray for him and his family in the hour.

I have known Michael since we were both teens, worked with him, marched for him, hosted him at our House of Justice headquarters in New York, and we joined together to eulogize our mutual idol, James Brown.

We're told Michael Jackson's ex-wife, Debbie Rowe, is "inconsolable."

For the record, Debbie gave up all parental rights to the two children -- Paris and Michael Jr. Therefore she is not legally in line to take custody.

UPDATE: We just pulled legal documents regarding custody of Debbie and Michael's kids, and you can see here the moment when Debbie gave up her parental rights.

We just spoke with Dr. Arnold Klein, the Beverly Hills dermatologist who has treated Michael Jackson for decades -- the man who has seen Jackson weekly for the last few months.

Klein said, "Michael is a gift from heaven. He was the most talented man I've ever known. He was a great father and we should pray for him."

We've just learned Michael Jackson has died. He was 50.

Michael suffered a cardiac arrest earlier this afternoon at his Holmby Hills home and paramedics were unable to revive him. We're told when paramedics arrived Jackson had no pulse and they never got a pulse back.

A source tells us Jackson was dead when paramedics arrived. A cardiologist at UCLA tells TMZ Jackson died of cardiac arrest.

Once at the hospital, the staff tried to resuscitate him but he was completely unresponsive.

A source inside the hospital told us there was "absolute chaos" after Jackson arrived. People who were with the singer were screaming, "You've got to save him! You've got to save him!"

We're told one of the staff members at Jackson's home called 911.

La Toya ran in the hospital sobbing after Jackson was pronounced dead.

Michael is survived by three children: Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr., Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince "Blanket" Michael Jackson II.

We've just learned Michael Jackson was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Los Angeles ... and we're told it was cardiac arrest and that paramedics administered CPR in the ambulance ... and it's looking bad.

He was picked up at his home around 20 minutes ago -- we're told his mother is on the way to visit him.

UPDATE: The 911 call came in at 12:21PM at his Holmby Hills home in L.A.

UPDATE: A Jackson family member tells TMZ Michael is in "really bad shape" and the brothers are headed to UCLA.

UPDATE: We just got off the phone with Joe Jackson, Michael's dad, who says "he is not doing well."