Dance, especially the moves of Michael Jackson, captivated a young J Lucas.
“I saw Michael Jackson on TV, and I saw a passionate dancer,” said Lucas, an Aiken native who has performed as Jackson in several tribute shows and will be on a stage in his hometown March 11.
Forever Michael will be performed at 7 p.m. at the Amentum Center for the Performing Arts, 126 Newberry St., Aiken.
Lucas was only 4 when he saw Jackson for the first time. He was so enamored that his mother bought him silver socks, a red jacket and red pants, which became his standard dress code in elementary school.
“I wore them at least three days out of the week,” he said.
He took dance at Aiken’s Burns Dance Studio, where he trained as a competitive dancer until he was 17. Since then, dance has been his primary occupation. He’s danced on cruise ships and for MTV and Nickelodeon.
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When Jackson died in 2009, it was hard on Lucas.
“It was like losing a friend,” he said.
Jackson’s death was a turning point of sorts because Lucas wanted to pay homage to his idol; he dove into Jackson’s videos following and imitating his moves until he perfected them.
While Lucas was working on his tribute to Michael Jackson, his wife, Jass Meagher, found herself compared to another high-powered singer — Mariah Carey.
The Scottish-born singer wanted to do her own music at one time, but at clubs and in showcases in England, she found that people often had the same comments.
“People kept saying, ‘You sound like Mariah Carey;’ ‘You look like Mariah,’” said Meagher, who was eventually dubbed as the “Scottish Mariah.”
At one point, she was approached by a promoter who asked if she’d ever consider doing a tribute show as Mariah.
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Meagher said she didn’t even know what a tribute show was at the time.
Lucas and Meagher’s careers eventually intertwined, leading to their meeting and ultimate marriage.
The pandemic pushed the couple into new territory. They moved back to Aiken and started a new business — Music Royalty. The name honors Jackson and Carey who the couple consider to be royalty in the music world.
And the show Lucas and Meagher plan to put on is a night of chart toppers by both Carey and Jackson.
Not only do they perform on stage, but they have backup singers and dancers in the show as well.
Meagher is wearing multiple production hats in readying for the Aiken show, and they have their sights set on traveling. There’s been interest to bring the show to other U.S. cities, and inquires have come in from Europe and Japan.
While they’re living in Aiken for now, Meagher and Lucas don’t know if that will remain their home base, although Meagher said she likes Aiken.
“It reminds me of my home in Scotland,” she said.
The couple said the hope is to have another show in a few months on the Augusta side of the Savannah River.
Tickets are $55 and are available at Osbon’s Cleaners on Silver Bluff Road.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the managing editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com
