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Because m.j. was 50 years old, and they were half of his age, and he was wearing them out. >> on stage, always a perfectionist. off stage, a legend with a sense of humor. >> he's making big-money decisions and then he would lean over to me and say silly stuff like who's your favorite three stooges. and i would say what, m.j.? oh, no, i don't like this. can i have more of this or that or this. yeah. i like moe. >> but we beneath the surface, concerns from the very moment the concert tour was announced. jackson was pushing himself to the brink. >> i just think how is he going to do these shows? ...

As the sun rose above the exclusive los angeles hills, inside michael jackson's mansion, the entertainer began the morning of june 24th, 2009, doing what he loved. preparing for a show. >> now do it slow. >> he and i would start about noon or 1:00 at his home. we'd dance a few hours and stretch. >> you have to have a full attitude. >> travis payne was michael jackson's the long-time choreographer. >> we were on a journey with michael that was going to return him to the stage, you know, that he loved so much. and i know that we were eight days away from leaving for london. >> the stage is where...

Started, we were doing one-nighters. every day, you're in a different place. you're riding in the bus and sleeping on top of each other, that's tough. but this was it, you didn't have to take the stage down. you're in one location. >> i think that night, he finally accepted down deep and whatever the inner reaches of an artist's soul are that he could do this. >> was anything out of the ordinary? >> the only thing that might have been out of the ordinary was michael had a serious glow about him that night. >> you could see his confidence growing and you could see physically he was able to do t...

Different image of the pop legend. from a vibrant singer, dancer and entertainer on stage, to a completely different person behind the scenes. >> to michael jackson. >> then, midway through opening arguments, a stunning moment. the voice of michael jackson as he'd never been heard before. >> when people leave my show, i want them to say he's the greatest entertainer of the world. >> jackson sounded fragile. impaired. incapable. and that's just what kenny ortega feared. ortega was directing the most anticipated show in decades, with a star he feared wasn't up to it.

>> did he talk to you about his insomnia at all? were you aware of that? did he say, i'm having trouble sleeping? >> no, i mean, i didn't have a clue about it. but he used to call me at 12:00, 12:30 at night. i'd engage him in a conversation, usually last about an hour. then i would go to bed and he would call me again at 6:30 in the morning when i'm up. i just thought because he had kids he got up early. it never occurred to me that he had never gone to sleep. so, looking back, that's probably a sign that i didn't pick up. >> we know that randy phillips' concerns about michael jackson started...