Artist Playlists
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There are rare talents, and then there is Michael Jackson. Yes, the musical prodigy's albums sold like kitchen appliances in the '80s, but more importantly, the lifelong showman sang as if every breath were his last. He out-discoed disco. He used elements of R&B, soul, funk, blues, rock and gospel to turn sonic emotion into genre set pieces, like how “Thriller” morphed fear into horr-opera. MJ even invented his own onomatopoeic language—“Hee hee”; “Chi-ooh!”; “Ow!”—all of which instantly conjure a snapped fedora. Even among the Greatest of All Time, the King of Pop stands apart. - Any discussion of music videos' rise in the ‘80s inevitably leads to Michael Jackson, whose talent and sky's-the-limit vision helped lead the medium to stratospheric new heights. The gangland homage “Smooth Criminal,” the zombie-flick dance party “Thriller,” and the royally slick “Remember the Time” are just a few of the groundbreaking clips in the King of Pop's catalog.
- It takes a special artist to make a love song for a rat sound like the most romantic thing in the world. Jackson's pure falsetto and commitment to a heart-rending lyric on “Ben” did exactly that. When he turned his attention to human love, the results were even more spectacular, whether it's quivering heartbreak on “She's Out of My Life” or the soulful solidarity of “You Are Not Alone”.
- His intense vocal acrobatics and kitchen-sink funk-pop made Michael Jackson a titanic presence whose influence runs through just about every current of pop. These artists followed the trail he moonwalked, then veered off in thrilling directions—Lady Gaga crafting grandiose anthems, Usher pouring confessions over infectious soul and Justin Timberlake rocking bodies with slick grooves.
- MJ’s talent was cosigned by the hip-hop scene from day one with old-school DJs spinning the funky breaks from Jackson 5 songs at block parties. It’s a trick Puff Daddy would later resurrect in the ’90s, along with Jackson’s music being turned into timeless anthems for Naughty by Nature, JAY Z and Nas.
- Michael Jackson's mastery of how to precisely blend dance-floor-ready funk, deeply felt soul, and massive hooks electrified his entire catalogue. He could deftly serve up a politically charged message (“Heal the World”), create magic with Paul McCartney on a pitch-perfect duet (“The Girl Is Mine”), or reveal his sensitive side on an open-hearted R&B-flavoured ballad (“Butterflies”).
- It shouldn't be surprising that a few artists would want to cover songs from the King of Pop's canon of hits. From smooth Motown legends like Marvin Gaye, to the quirky electronica of The Weeknd, to the muscular guitars of Alien Ant Farm, these covers of MJ classics run the gamut from sincere to silly and radical to reverent.
- Michael Jackson's ascent to King of Pop owes plenty to his keen study of the music's biggest stars. The moonwalk has Fred Astaire's combo of smooth vocals and gravity-defying footwork in its DNA; Diana Ross' spirited soprano coloured his expressive approach to singing; and James Brown's bandleading mastery and ecstatic hiccups and shouts informed the military-grade precision of Jackson's musicianship and his singular extra-lingual vocalisations.
- Grab the mic and sing along with some of their biggest hits.