Michael Jackson, The #5 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Eight

 

(Continued from Part Seven)

Jackson received the American Music Award for Artist of the Century.  In 2001, Michael released the album Invincible, which debuted at #1 in 13 countries and has now sold over eight million copies.  Jackson joined Fred and Rodney Jerkins, LaShawn Daniels and Nora Payne to write the lead single, "You Rock My World", which went Gold and hit #1 in France and Spain, #2 in Canada, the U.K. and the Netherlands, #4 in Australia, #5 in Switzerland, #6 in Germany and #10 in the U.S.

"You Rock My World" earned Michael a Grammy nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.  By early 2002, Invincible had already sold 6 million copies, a faster pace than Thriller.  In 2009, Billboard readers voted Invincible the #1 album of the decade.  

Marsha Ambrosius of the duo Floetry wrote this while in school at the Brit School for Performing Arts & Technology.  Both Ambrosius and Natalie Stewart of the group met Jackson through John McClain, senior urban executive for DreamWorks, which also managed Jackson.  Jackson asked permission to record the song, which the Floetry pair gladly agreed to.  Stewart couldn't believe how normal and down-to-earth Michael was:  "It was incredible because he asked, he continually asked, 'Marsh, what's the next harmony?  Girls, does this sound right?  What do you think?  Is this what you were looking for?  He was so open," Stewart related to Yahoo.   Here is "Butterflies", a #14 hit in the U.S.

"Unbreakable" is MJ's collaboration with the Notorious B.I.G.

Invincible took nearly four years and over $30 million to complete, making it the most expensive album ever made.  Here is the title song.

 

The legend Carlos Santana played guitar on this song and that whistle is his too--"Whatever Happens".

Jackson was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and he received a Special Award at the Billboard Music Awards to celebrate Thriller's 37 weeks at #1 on the Album chart, more than any other album in history in 2002.  He performed at the Apollo Theater in New York City to raise $2.5 million to encourage citizens to vote.  It was Michael's final on-stage performance.

In 2003, authorities in Santa Barbara, California charged Jackson with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of intoxicating a minor.  Michael pleaded not guilty and in 2005, he was acquitted on all counts.

Jackson released the compilation album Number Ones later in the year.  The album has sold over three million copies to date.  Jackson won American Music Awards for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist, Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist, Favorite Pop/Rock Album and Favorite Soul/R&B Album for Number Ones, and he was nominated for Artist of the Year.

The compilation album The Essential Michael Jackson was also released, with two million fans buying it up.

In 2006, Jackson sold part of his stake in Sony/ATV and closed his house at Neverland Ranch.  Michael during this time was living in Bahrain.  He sought out cosmetic treatment from Patrick Treacy in Ireland, and Treacy became Michael's dermatologist.

Jackson earned the Diamond Award from the World Music Awards for the sale of over 100 million records.  He purchased the rights to Famous Music artists in 2007 and began to work on his next album, which he never finished.  For his 50th birthday. he released compilations called King of Pop, with different versions available depending on polling of local fans.

In 2008, Off the Wall and Thriller were both inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Jackson made plans to tour the U.K. in 2009 and 2010, and initial sales for the This Is It tour came pouring in to the tune of $200 to $300 million.  One million tickets were sold in the first two hours, leading Jackson to increase his dates in London from 10 to 50.  Michael began rehearsing for the shows in Los Angeles.

Michael Jackson's This Is It  is a documentary of his final public appearances.  Here is the title song, which earned Jackson a posthumous Grammy Award nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

But on June 25, 2009, the world lost one of the greatest musical superstars ever.  Dr. Conrad Murray had given Jackson several medications to help him sleep at his home in Los Angeles.  But at 12:22 p.m., paramedics received a 911 call.  Jackson was not breathing and the first responders performed CPR.  Efforts to resuscitate Jackson continued while on the way to UCLA Medical Center and an hour after arrival were to no avail.  Michael Jackson was pronounced dead at 2:26 p.m.

The coroner ruled that Jackson died from a propofol overdose and Murray was charged with involuntary manslaughter.  Murray was convicted and served four years in federal prison.  A memorial was held July 7 at the Staples Center.  Smokey Robinson and Queen Latifah gave eulogies and Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, Lionel Richie, and Jennifer Hudson performed.

35 million of Jackson's albums sold in the months following his death. 

In 2010, the posthumous album  Michael was released which has gone Platinum.  Jackson always liked this song but couldn't seem to find the right album for it.  He co-wrote the song along with John McClain, one of the executors of his estate.  Famous arranger David Campbell (who worked with Metallica and My Chemical Romance, among others) oversaw the performance of the string section on "Much Too Soon".

Michael was posthumously rewarded with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys.  "Behind The Mask" is a song originally by the Yellow Magic Orchestra, an electronic group from Japan.

Cirque du Soleil performed Michael Jackson:  The Immortal World Tour in 2011. 

 

In 2014, Jackson became the first artist in history to have a Top 10 song in five different decades when a song recorded by Justin Timberlake using his voice--"Love Never Felt So Good" reached #9.

 

"Chicago" is also from the posthumous album Xscape.  Michael loved the song by songwriter, producer, and former Sony VP Cory Rooney.  Days after he heard the song in 1999, he boarded a plane to New York City to record it at The Hit Factory.    

 

Four years later, Drake also used Jackson's voice for the smash "Don't Matter To Me", #2 in the U.K., #3 in Australia, #4 in Canada and #9 in the U.S.

Jackson was one of the first artists to break racial barriers at MTV and his music promoted racial justice and taking care of the environment.

Michael has one of the best track records of the Rock Era:  A phenomenal 32 of his 54 single releases have found the Top 10, with 14 of those going to #1.  32 of those songs sold over one million copies and 22 of them over two million.  While most struggling artists would give anything to sell a million copies of anything they record, Jackson put together not one but two streaks in which he achieved Gold status with seven consecutive releases.  He didn't just have big hits but megahits--eight Jackson songs have sold over four million copies.

Jackson has sold over 228 million albums, fifth all-time, including over 35 million since his death.  He scored 13 #1 songs in his solo career, tops among male artists.  

Michael is among the most-honored performers in history with 44 awards.  He won 17 Grammy Awards from 43 nominations, including the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and 26 American Music Awards out of 41 nominations, including Artist of the Century and Artist of the 1980's.  He also won Best Selling Pop Male Artist of the Millennium at the World Music Awards among 12 total, 40 Billboard Music Awards out of 46 nominations, four People's Choice Awards from 6 nominations and five MTV Video Music Awards out of 19 nominations.  

He is a member of both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriter's Hall of Fame.