One of the most well known figures in pop music, Michael Jackson, still stands to be one of the most influential artists of all time. Called “The King of Pop”, Michael grabbed the attention of many audiences with his amazing dance moves and very catch lyrics(Thorpe). He has left a legacy on countless artists, and his music is still played often. Michael sang about thought-provoking songs and racial injustices, and broke MTV’s musical barrier(Rosen). In several ways, Michael Jackson has contributed to much of America’s culture as he changed the face of music, bringing about new innovations to pop and influencing countless artists, and changed other aspects of American culture with his unique dance moves and cool music videos.
Michael Jackson has had a huge impact on music in several ways and still stands to be the “king of pop”. Michael deserves this name. With the success of his 1982 album “Thriller” becoming the best-selling album of all time, and his very speical videos that went along with the songs that made it on MTV, Jackson broke the music color barrier(Rosen).
In Jackson’s time, TV music videos would be of bands playing or singers singing on a stage, or a video of them just playing somewhere. Jackson’s biggest hit “Thriller” had a very unique video. It was 14 minutes long , and costed nearly $500,000. Before “Thriller”, MTV would not play any black artists videos, claiming it wasn’t “rock enough”. His other big hit from the album, “Beat it” cost about $150,000(Tompkins). These videos influenced artists to make actual videos for their songs, and changed how artists would advertise their music and visualise their songs.
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Jackson changed pop music in many significant ways. As stated before, he was one of the few of highly produced music videos. There were simply no other music videos like “Thriller” when it was released on December 2, 1983, it was very unique, and is still played often today. Jackson was very influential with his music. He popularized new ideas and methods that transcended genres. Two of Jackson’s biggest hits, “Beat it” and “Black or White” brought rock guitar to the dance floor and social consciousness. Both of these songs spent several weeks at the number 1 spot on charts. Jackson combined multiple genres, such as R&B, soul, pop, disco, and pop to become unquestionably one of the most transcendent performers in pop music(“Michael Jackson: The Legend Lives On”). A New York Times podcast called, “Reckoning with the real Michael Jackson”, talks about the life and legacy of Michael Jackson.
During the podcast, the host of this podcast states, “This man was changing everything. In terms of historical American events, you know on the one hand, you have the moon landing. And then you have and I would argue there is probably no other artists who is as important to where popular music currently is then Michael Jackson”(Barbaro). Jackson’s music was big and impactful, being played everywhere, it brought new ideas to pop music. Jackson inspired countless artists such as Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, Usher, and Kanye West. Hearing the Michael Jackson in these artists is clear. These artists have contributed to much of modern culture, without some of these artists, music and media would be completely different. Given this, Jackson stands to be one of the most important figures in music. Some artists have built entire careers, artists that the music industry wouldn’t even have if there were was no Michael Jackson. Artists such as Bruno Mars, The Weeknd, Britney Spears, and many more(Thorpe). One thing the Rolling Stones Magazine wrote in 2001, was that trying to trace Michael Jackson’s influence on pop stars that followed him is like trying to trace the influence of oxygen and gravity(“Michael Jackson: The Legend Lives on”).
Michael Jackson rose to his fame with his childhood band, “The Jackson 5”, who were also a very influential and important band. After the Jackson 5 stopped, they continued to influence many bands for decades to come. They were one of the first to combine genres like R&B, disco and pop, and many groups tried to mimic this sound. The Jackson 5 was an influence to other musicians as well as African Americans. The Jackson’s were not just a band, they were more than that. The Jackson 5 showed many blacks that they could be treated as equally as whites. The Jackson’s were unique with their music and became popular because of their creativity. Their music truly became a turning point in history within the music industry
Jackson was such a superstar because he always pushed the limit in his music and music videos. From releasing inspirational songs like “We Are The World” or “Heal The World,” to thought-provoking, conscious songs like “Black Or White,” “Man In The Mirror,” or “They Don’t Care About Us,”. Michael has many timeless hits(Barbaro) His 1987 comeback album “Bad” was also impactful on upcoming artists, and the album cleverly blended pop, rock, and r&b(Scalfani). In his career, Jackson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame not once, but twice, with the Jackson 5 and him as a solo artist. On top of that, he’s won 13 Grammys, 86 Billboard Awards, won eight World Music Awards, and won 26 American Music Awards, and has actually been named “Artist of The Century” at the American Music Awards(“Michael Jackson”) Time magazine’s pop critic Jay Cocks, who is an American film and music critic, and screenwriter. He said that Michael Jackson was the biggest thing to happen to music since the Beatles. Jay also states that he was the hottest single phenomenon since Elvis Presley(Thorpe).
In Conclusion, Michael Jackson has left a legacy with his amazing music, completely changing the sound of pop with his multiple genre infusions, and influencing countless artists of several genres to come over decades. Michael definitely lives up to his given title, “The King of Pop”, and is an important historic figure in the music world
