On Dec. 25, 2016, singer George Michael passed away at the age of 53. According to his publicist, Michael passed away peacefully at home over Christmas. Although the BBC reports that he cancelled a series of concerts in 2011 after being treated for pneumonia, it has not been immediately confirmed that his past illness could be related to Michael's cause of death.
Michael rose to fame in the '80s as one half of the musical duo, Wham! Although the band had many hits, the song "Last Christmas" remains one of their most celebrated pieces of work — as The Atlantic noted, it's " one of the few canonical Christmas songs minted after the Baby Boom."
Beyond his time with Wham!, Michael had a successful solo career, with 14 awards, many Billboard Top 100 hits, and over 100 million albums sold. Later in life, he became something of a gay icon, after coming out publicly during a CNN interview in 1998.
In a year when we lost so many beloved celebrities (David Bowie, Prince, and Alan Rickman among others) Michael's death is hitting fans particularly hard. An outpouring of love and tributes is already taking over social media as the community remembers one of the most beloved singers of our time.
