LOS ANGELES , California ( CNN ) -- The rehearsals ended on a high note that night . Jackson , here at a June 23 rehearsal , `` was full of jokes , full of life , '' band vocal coach Dorian Holley said . Michael Jackson was energetic and excited . He popped his signature moonwalk and dance spins that gave chills to some of those watching . As he walked to his car , he put his arm around concert promoter Randy Phillips and -- as Phillips later recounted -- in his soft voice , whispered : `` Thank you , I know we 're going to get it there together . I know I can do this . '' That was late Wednesday night , June 24 . A few hours later , Jackson was rushed to a hospital and pronounced dead . `` All I know is that the Michael Jackson that hugged me and said 'goodnight ' was a healthy , vibrant human being about to undertake the greatest undertaking of his life , '' Phillips said Thursday . `` And something happened between 12:30 when he left us and the morning when I had to rush to the hospital when I got the first call . '' Watch Jackson rehearse for London shows » . The death of the pop icon shocked the music world , not only because many fans were looking forward to his 50 sold-out shows in London , England , beginning in mid-July , but also because the 50-year-old singer -- while a step slower than in his prime -- was apparently healthy and up to the task of what has been described as a grueling show . `` He was just like a kid in the candy store because he was seeing his vision come alive , '' said Dorian Holley , the vocal coach for Jackson 's band , about the last rehearsal . `` He was just full of jokes , full of life , '' Holley said . He added that Jackson was due to be back at rehearsals again at 4:30 p.m. on the day of his death . On Thursday , Phillips ' promotion company , AEG Live , released a 1½-minute rehearsal clip that was shot two nights before Jackson 's death . In that clip , Jackson barreled through the song `` They Do n't Care About Us . '' As a guitarist played a riff , he danced next to her and then led eight backup dancers in a choreographed march , reminiscent of his breakthrough music video `` Thriller . '' The clip -- shot at the Staples Center arena in Los Angeles , California , on June 23 -- ends with a voice off stage saying , `` Hold for applause , hold for applause ... fade out . '' Two days later , Jackson was dead . Phillips said a doctor , hired by the tour 's insurance carrier , examined Jackson before AEG proceeded with the rehearsals -- and gave the singer the green light to continue . `` He examined Michael for about five hours at his house and I think they went somewhere for some other tests , '' Phillips said . `` We are obviously not privy to the patient-doctor relationship with that information , but the insurance broker told us that he passed with flying colors . '' The production pace in those final weeks was ferocious , some of the attendees said . Jackson 's manager , Frank DiLeo , told a radio interviewer that he discussed tweaking the strenuous two-hour format of the shows . `` We were going to do one of two things , '' DiLeo told KDKA in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , last week . `` We were either going to do so much in the beginning , take a half-hour break , then come back and do the second half of the shows . Or we were going to cut it down to 90 minutes . '' The exacting rehearsals may have been taking a toll on Jackson , his doctor 's lawyer has said . `` Michael Jackson did n't eat very much , '' said Edward Chernoff , the lawyer for Jackson 's cardiologist , Dr. Conrad Murray . `` He really did n't drink very much . He did n't hydrate very well . When he rehearsed , it was very strenuous exercise . '' As authorities await toxicology reports to determine how Jackson died , fans around the world lamented the loss of a great performer whose ability to dazzle seemed intact , if inhibited , in the short video clip . `` He still moves better at 50 than I could at 15 , '' said Stephanie Siek , a graduate student in Frankfurt , Germany . `` But he also seems to be holding back in a way he never did in his older videos or other footage I 've seen . I think it would have been a great show , but I think that a lot of people would have been disappointed , because he was so iconic in his prime . That 's a very , very hard standard to live up to . '' This report incorporates information from CNN broadcasts and interviews conducted Thursday for the shows `` AC 360 '' and `` The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer . ''
Jackson rehearsed at Staples Center on night before he died . He was preparing for 50 sold-out shows in London , England . `` He was just full of jokes , full of life , '' vocal coach says . Video clip shows Jackson singing , dancing 2 days before he died .