NEW Yorkers and tourists in the city's Times Square were shocked at the news of Jackson's death.

'I don't know what to say. It's sad, it's really, really sad,' said Nicole Smith, an 18-year-old student from Brooklyn, New York, in Times Square. 'My mother was a fan. I listened to his music.'

'I'm shocked. I thought someone was lying to me when I first heard it. I was a fan from when he was a little boy and then he got weird,' said Sue Sheider, 51, a teacher from Long Island. -- REUTERS