George Michael died at age 53

Music star George Micheal died at age 53 for reasons yet to be determined.

A drug-tormented artist and a complicated sentimental life, British singer George Michael, who plays "Faith" and "Careless Whisper", died of unknown causes at his home at the age of 53.

 "It is with great sadness that we confirm that our son, brother and friend George died in peace at his home at Christmas," the singer's agent said in a statement on Sunday evening without further details. Idol of the teenagers in the 1980s with the band Wham !, then became superstar world solo, the singer died at his home in Goring, west of London, according to the BBC. His death is not considered suspicious by the British police, alerted shortly before 1400 GMT on Sunday.

"At this stage, death is treated as unexplained but not suspect. An autopsy will be conducted in due course," the police said. The homages to the singer, coming from unknowns and celebrities, flooded on the social networks. "I am deeply shocked, I have lost a dear friend - the kindest and most generous, and a brilliant artist." My thoughts go to his family and all his fans, "reacted British singer Elton John on Instagram.

Canadian rockstar Bryan Adams commented on Twitter: "RIP George Michael, I can not believe it, an incredible singer and an adorable man, far too young to leave us." "You gave the world an incredible gift, what talent, what a loss!" Tweeted the American singer La Toya Jackson. 

Several messages of condolences evoked the deaths of other song stars missing this year, including David Bowie in January, Prince in late April, and Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt, who died on Sunday. "Farewell my friend, another great artist leaves us, can 2016 get fucked NOW?", Published Madonna on Instagram. "2016 - loss of another talented soul, all our love and compassion to the family of George Michael," also wrote Duran Duran, a contemporary of Wham !, on his official account. "No, not George Michael, another great musician leaves us this year, 2016 can be seen," said former international footballer Gary Lineker.

Glory and Trouble

In his real name Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, he had survived pneumonia at the end of 2011. His condition required intensive care because of the severity of the pneumococcal infection he contracted. "It was literally the worst month of my life, but I have an amazing, incredible chance to be here," he said after his hospitalization. Back in recent years, George Michael was preparing an album with the British producer Naughty Boy. The pop star, son of a Greek Cypriot father and an English mother, was also expected to release an autobiographical documentary in 2017. The popularity of the singer had declined in the 1990s, but he returned in 2004 with the album "Patience ", Which occupied the first place of the sales in the United Kingdom.

The singer of "Club Tropicana", "Last Christmas", "Careless Whisper" and "Faith" has experienced various setbacks related to drugs (cannabis and crack) and alcohol in the past. In particular, he spent four weeks in jail in 2010 after raking, with his Range Rover, a store in northern London under the influence of cannabis and medicines. Three years earlier, he had been found fainted in his Mercedes and admitted to having used drugs, but escaped to prison by performing 100 hours of community service. He had been banned from driving for two years.

Tragic character

Born on June 25, 1963 in London, the British had started his career in 1981 with the band Wham! Alongside his high school fellow Andrew Ridgeley, with whom he became the darling of teenagers. Appearance neat, permanent tan, hairy puffy hair and hedonistic image, Wham! Captured the spirit of the time, quickly becoming one of the biggest British bands, with hits like "Club Tropicana" and "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go".

Success became planetary and in 1985, Wham! Was the first Western group to perform in China. After four singles ranked number one in Britain, Wham! Implosa in 1986 and George Michael began solo, targeting a more adult audience. He has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, including 20 million of his first solo album "Faith" (1987), and has repeatedly led the charts. His latest solo album, Symphonica, released in 2014, was a golden record in the UK.

After years of speculation about his sexuality, George Michael publicly disclosed his homosexuality in 1998 after being arrested for indecent assault in public toilets in Los Angeles (USA). He later explained that he did not want to talk about it as long as his mother was alive. "People want to see me as a tragic character, having sex in public toilets and taking drugs," but "I do not even see it as weaknesses, it's just what I am," he said, He told the British daily Guardian in 2009.