The tragedy of Michael Jackson's death at age 50, reportedly from cardiac arrest, pales in comparison to the tragedy of his life.

cardiac arrest : 心臟停搏, 心臟病 pales in comparison :相形失色

To understand all that Jackson had and lost requires wiping away three decades of plastic surgeries that deformed him,

erratic behavior that made his name synonymous with the warping powers of fame, and a 2005 trial for sexually abusing a child that,

even though he was spared of any finding of wrongdoing, made him a pariah to all but the most brainwashed of fans.

deform : 使變形 erratic : 難以捉摸 synonymous : 同義的 warping powers of fame : 名聲改變(扭曲)性格的力量 wrongdoing: 壞事;罪行 pariah : 被輕蔑(或排斥)者

Quincy Jones who produced Jackson's quintessential solo albums was devastated by the news of his passing.

quintessential 典型的, 經典的 solo albums: 專輯 devastated : 極為震驚難過的 passing : 去世

Said Jones: "Divinity brought our souls together... and the reason for that is because he had it all...."

divinity : 神 had it all : 全都有

Michael was the best dancer and singer of the bunch, but he also had the mysterious thing that record bosses and studio chiefs crave:

star power. crave: 渴望, 需要