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Broadway.com: [The June 25 show] was very, very special. It started off a little bit somber. Of course, everyone took the news a little bit hard, but we all pulled together. We said a huge cast prayer and we dedicated the show to Michael—it turned out to be an amazing show. Right after we finished the prayer, I pulled Alex [musical director Lacamoire] to the side and I said, “You know what would be really cool? After we take our bows, if we could do a little Michael Jackson—we need to hear something uplifting. Something people can dance to.” Alex hand-wrote the sheet music, and we pulled it off. We did “Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough.” The whole audience was in an uproar. Everyone was dancing on stage, dancing in the audience—it was awesome. Everyone sang and danced—it was a really wonderful, wonderful evening. I spoke to [Michael Jackson] on the phone in 2007 when I started working on my album. I was working with a producer that was also working with him. And I spoke to him and he was just—I can’t even explain the feeling. He paid me a compliment. He said, “I like your song ‘Turn It Up.’” It was a song that was on my third album, Concrete Rose. I was like, Oh my God, I can’t believe it. He said, “Just continue to do what you’re doing.” It was a blessing to be able speak to him. I also performed at the Neverland Ranch back in 2003. When people see the pictures or video on TV, it’s really like that there—ferris wheels and rides and cotton candy and animals. It was like a completely different world. I remember I was the only one performing that day. It was a huge stage and a bunch of kids and families and it was just like, wow, this is something for my own history books.

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EXTRA: Ashanti, who is currently starring in the Broadway production of “The Wiz,” shared her thoughts on the death of the superstar, who starred in the 1978 movie based on the musical. She says, “This is such traumatic loss to the world of entertainment and our global culture. His musical impact has changed lives forever including mine. I had the opportunity to perform at his Neverland Ranch and cover one of his songs ‘Rock with You’ that to this day I still perform on stage. I know his legacy will live on forever. Tonight our performance of ‘The Wiz’ will be dedicated to Michael Jackson.”

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