Obama: 'Jackson lived tragic life'

Barack Obama has said that Michael Jackson lived a "tragic" life.

The US president told The AP that Jackson will "go down in history as one of our greatest entertainers" and revealed that he still listens to the late singer's music.

"I grew up on his music. I still have all his stuff on my iPod," he said.

Obama added that he felt that the 'Thriller' star had a "tragic and in many ways sad personal life".

The interview was the first time that the head of state has publicly discussed Jackson's death.