Michael Jackson
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10 reasons Michael Jackson became the King of Pop
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GRAMMYs
Jun 24, 2014 - 12:27 pm

On June 25, 2009, the music world stopped spinning when news broke of the death of Michael Jackson. Jackson's unparalleled place in music history was quickly solidified as millions of fans around the world mourned the loss. The GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles subsequently sprang into action with the unveiling of the special exhibit, Michel Jackson: A Musical Legacy, which served as a follow-up to the Michael Jackson: HIStyle exhibit that opened in February of that year.

On the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards in 2010, GRAMMY winners Smokey Robinson, Celine Dion, Carrie Underwood, Usher, and Jennifer Hudson teamed for an all-star 3-D rendition of "Earth Song" in tribute to Jackson, who that year was honored posthumously with a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award.

With more than 75 million albums sold in the United States, Jackson ranks No. 7 on the RIAA's list of top-selling artists of all time. As we approach the five-year anniversary of his death, we look back on 10 royal achievements that made Jackson the King of Pop.

1970: First Four No. 1 Hits
Jackson made history with his brothers in the Jackson 5 when they became the first group in pop history to have their first four singles hit No. 1. The songs were "I Want You Back," "I'll Be There," "The Love You Save," and "ABC." The latter earned the Jackson 5 their first GRAMMY nomination for Best Contemporary Vocal Performance By A Duo, Group Or Chorus.

1982: Thriller Is Released
Following the release of his 1979 hit album Off The Wall, Jackson released Thriller on Nov. 30, 1982. Both albums were inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame in 2008, but Thriller is widely considered Jackson's most successful album. Co-produced by Quincy Jones and Jackson, the landmark album became the first album to generate seven Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. With sales of 29 million copies, Thriller is tied with the Eagles' Their Greatest Hits 1971–1975 as the best-selling album of all time according to the RIAA.

1983: The Moonwalk
Jackson debuted what would become his signature dance move, the moonwalk, during a performance of "Billie Jean" on the May 16, 1983, TV special "Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever" in celebration of the label's 25th anniversary.

Later that year, on Dec. 2 Jackson changed the music video world for good when he released the music video for "Thriller." The near 14-minute epic unlocked the unlimited possibilities of music video, while helping to cement the viability of the medium.

1984: Eight GRAMMYs, One Night
Jackson made history when he became the first artist to win eight GRAMMYs in one night at the 26th Annual GRAMMY Awards on Feb. 28, 1984. The King of Pop's haul included Album Of The Year for Thriller and Record Of The Year for "Beat It." Jackson is among the artists with the most GRAMMYs won in the '80s with 11.

1984: Hollywood Walk Of Fame X 2
Jackson became the first celebrity to have two stars in the same category on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Before receiving a recording star as a solo artist, he earned his name in cement as part of the Jacksons (previously known as the Jackson 5) in 1980.

1988: GRAMMY Solo Performance Debut
Jackson made his solo GRAMMY stage debut on the 30th Annual GRAMMY Awards, which took place in New York on March 2, 1988. Arguably one of the greatest performances in GRAMMY history, Jackson performed a medley featuring "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "Man In The Mirror."

1993: GRAMMY Legend Award
To date, only 15 individuals have been awarded the prestigious GRAMMY Legend Award — a Recording Academy Special Merit Award that is presented to individuals or groups for ongoing contributions and influence in the recording field. Jackson became the 10th individual to earn this honor in 1993.

1997: The Jackson 5 Enter The Rock Hall
Jackson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the first time as part of the Jackson 5 with his brothers Jackie Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, Marlon Jackson, and Tito Jackson. He was later inducted as a solo artist in 2001.

2009: 2.6 Million Downloads Sold
In the week following his death, Jackson became the first artist to sell more than 1 million digital tracks in one week. (He sold 2.6 million tracks, easily breaking the old record.) He also became the first artist to have the three best-selling albums in the United States. Two weeks later, he became the first artist to have six of the 10 best-selling albums.

2014: Jackson Makes History … Again
On May 21 Jackson became the first artist in history to score a Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades when "Love Never Felt So Good" (from his posthumous release, Xscape) reached No. 9.

Michael Jackson's GRAMMY Moments: YouTube Playlist

 

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Remembering Michael Jackson's record-setting music career
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GRAMMYs
Jun 22, 2011 - 12:22 pm

Over the course of a four-decade career, Michael Jackson set a lot of records. In 1984 his landmark album Thriller became the first album to generate seven Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1988 his follow-up Bad became the first album to yield five No. 1 hits. In 1995 "You Are Not Alone" became the first single to enter the chart at No. 1.

Jackson's record-setting ways didn't stop when he died on June 25, 2009. In the week after his death, he became the first artist to sell more than 1 million digital tracks in one week. (He sold 2.6 million tracks, crushing the old record.) He also became the first artist to have the three best-selling albums in the United States. Two weeks later, he became the first artist to have six of the 10 best-selling albums.

When Nielsen SoundScan released its final sales tallies for 2009, Jackson had four of the year's top 20 albums, a record for the SoundScan era. He also had seven of the year's top 100 albums and nine of the year's top 200 digital songs.

Jackson had Top 10 hits in each of the last five decades, which is remarkable for someone who was only 50 when he died. The Jackson 5's first hit, "I Want You Back," cracked the Top 10 the very last week of the '60s. Jackson kept his Top 10 record alive in the '00s (if just barely) when "You Rock My World" reached No. 10 in 2001.

It's extraordinary how young Jackson was when he hit it big. Before his 12th birthday in August 1970, he had sung lead on three No. 1 hits: "I Want You Back," "ABC" and "The Love You Save." (Two months later, there would be a fourth, "I'll Be There," which made the Jackson 5 the first act to top the Hot 100 with its first four hits.)

Jackson was just 12 when he first made the cover of Rolling Stone; 13 when he landed his first Top 5 solo hit ("Got To Be There"); and 14 when he sang the Oscar-nominated "Ben" on the Academy Awards.

Most of the chart records Jackson set were tied to the trio of albums he recorded with legendary producer Quincy Jones from 1979–1987. Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad sold tens of millions of copies and generated a combined total of 17 Top 10 hits.

Thriller, released when Jackson was 24, logged 37 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. That constituted the second-longest run in the top spot since the chart became a weekly feature in 1956. Only the West Side Story soundtrack had more weeks on top. (Ironically, Jackson's video for "Beat It," one of the iconic hits from Thriller, was an homage to "West Side Story.")

Jackson also set some GRAMMY records. In 1984 he became the first artist to win eight GRAMMYs in one night. (In 2000 Carlos Santana equaled the feat.) That same year, he became the only artist to win GRAMMYs in the Pop, Rock and R&B Fields in one year. (He remains one of only three artists to win in all three fields over the course of a career. The others are B.B. King and Tina Turner.)

Over the years, Jackson won a total of 13 GRAMMYs. Fittingly, they recognized the wide range of his talents. Four of the awards were for vocal performances, three for music videos, two for songwriting, and one for producing. (Of the other three, two were in the general categories of Album and Record Of The Year, while one was for Best Recording For Children.)

The Recording Academy gave Jackson its GRAMMY Legend Award in 1993 and posthumously presented him a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010.

Jackson's most memorable night at the GRAMMYs was Feb. 28, 1984, the year of his Thriller sweep. But a close second was March 2, 1988. He was nominated for four awards for Bad and for Producer Of The Year — and lost them all. But he still came away a winner. His tour-de-force performance that night of "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "Man In The Mirror" belongs on the short list of the greatest performances in GRAMMY history.

(Paul Grein writes the weekly Chart Watch blog for Yahoo.com.)

 

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Michael Jackson: A Pop Messiah
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GRAMMYs
Jun 23, 2010 - 1:23 pm

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Related news: MJ's Final Hours »
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True story. The first time I saw Michael Jackson perform, I cried.

Go ahead, laugh. But that's just how devastatingly talented Michael was. From the time he assumed the world stage 41 years ago to his tragic death last year at age 50, Michael consistently demonstrated that magical, mystical quality called "mojo." But I'm getting ahead of myself. Permit me to backtrack…

It's 1969 and I'm watching a TV variety show called "The Hollywood Palace," anxiously awaiting the television debut of the Jackson 5. After what seems like an eternity, the group is introduced and they launch into their debut Motown single, "I Want You Back." The resulting performance was positively mind-bending. Michael was just 11 years old — the same age I was — but he sang and moved with the soul, precision and confidence of a Lilliputian James Brown. The level of professionalism — dare I say, the mastery — was off the charts.

Looking back, it seems ironic that I witnessed this performance on a black-and-white television. Watching the Jackson 5 that October night, my drab world suddenly went widescreen, went Technicolor. I wasn't the only one affected. My 14-year-old sister had this fevered expression on her face that I'd never seen before. Even in my youth and inexperience, I knew that look. It was the expression of a girl consumed by the flames of sexual obsession.

And that's when the tears began to trickle. I knew that, barring a miracle, I would never annihilate a woman the way Michael did when he performed.

It's been a year since we learned of the King of Pop's death, right on the eve of a much-anticipated series of comeback concerts. Had he lived to perform those shows, I'm sure the multiple GRAMMY winner would have decimated a new generation of girls and boys. Michael possessed the same megaton talent and appeal as Elvis and the Beatles. When Michael sang and moved, you couldn't take your eyes (or ears) off of him.

Michael was transformed into a global megastar in the wake of his coming-of-age masterpieces Off The Wall and Thriller, but he was always a megastar to African-American boomers like myself. Just as Elvis and the Beatles lit fires in the hearts of suburban white kids, Michael and his brothers inspired a generation of black kids to take up music. Thanks to his influence, I learned to play the guitar. It's a gift that keeps on giving.

In death as in life, Michael's mystique just seems to grow. Nowadays I'm struck by the notion that he was a sort of pop messiah — a notion underscored by the eerie Biblical allegories of Michael's life. Born the impoverished son of a man named Joseph, Michael was a musical wonderworker who sacrificed his youth to inspire others. His career leveled off in the mid-'70s, only to stage the most successful "resurrection" in entertainment history. Many fans will argue that Michael was unjustly persecuted (i.e., "crucified") later in his career. Any mythology professor worth his or her salt would have a field day with this stuff.

I was trawling the Internet last June 25 when news broke that Michael had been rushed to the hospital suffering cardiac arrest. Even before his death was confirmed, I knew he was gone. For decades I had a premonition that Michael would die young, so when his time finally arrived there was no shock or prostrating grief, just acceptance.

Unlike that night in 1969, I didn't cry.

(Bruce Britt is an award-winning journalist and essayist. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, USA Today, San Francisco Chronicle, and other prominent publications. He lives in Los Angeles with his beloved Fender Telecaster.)

Michael Jackson's single covers
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Michael Jackson songs: What is your favorite No. 1 hit?
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From "Ben" and "Beat It" to "Man In The Mirror" and "You Are Not Alone," vote on your favorite chart-topping single from the King of Pop's solo career
GRAMMYs
Jun 20, 2017 - 1:35 pm

Ariana Grande sings at One Love Manchester benefit in 2017
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Ariana Grande releases Manchester charity single, resumes tour
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The GRAMMY nominee's benefit concert and charity single join a venerable history of artists using their platforms to give back
GRAMMYs
Jun 8, 2017 - 6:09 pm
GRAMMY.com

On June 4 Ariana Grande took the stage at Old Trafford Cricket Ground to headline One Love Manchester, a benefit concert organized to memorialize and raise funds in support of the victims of the horrific attack that took place on May 22 at Manchester Arena in England where the singer had just completed a concert in support of her 2017 Dangerous Woman Tour.

Set up in partnership with the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund, charitable proceeds from the concert— which also featured Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry and Justin Bieber, among others — combined with donations received during the 12 hours immediately following the event, reportedly totaled nearly $13 million.

As the evening came to a close, Grande bid the gathered audience of mourning fans farewell with a heartfelt cover of Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg's "Somewhere Over The Rainbow," originally written for the film version of The Wizard Of Oz and famously sung by Judy Garland.

 

 

Following the concert, Grande announced the resumption of her tour and the release of her live recording of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" to streaming outlets alongside a re-released version of "One Last Time" from her GRAMMY-nominated album, My Everything. Proceeds from both tracks will continue to benefit victims of the Manchester bombing.

The benefit concert Grande helped organize joins a venerable tradition of musicians who have made the choice to leverage their platforms to provide relief to victims of disaster, economic circumstances and acts of terrorism.

Nearly a year ago, GLAAD partnered with GRAMMY winners Nate Ruess and Imagine Dragons to host the All Is One Orlando Unity Concert to honor and raise support for the victims of the Pulse Nightclub attack on June 12, 2016. Organized days after the incident, the event was primarily focused in the Orlando community, raising more than $700,000. All proceeds were donated directly to the OneOrlando Fund to benefit victims and their families.

Reaching further back to 2001, George Clooney and Joel Gallen organized America: A Tribute To Heroes, a trio of concerts simulcast from New York, Los Angeles and London. Broadcast commercial-free on the major networks — and later shown across some 30 networks in an estimated 210 countries — the event and its associated telethon reportedly raised more than $200 million for first responders, victims and affected families of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Contributing artists included GRAMMY winners U2, Sheryl Crow, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, and many others.

While modern day charity concerts and music released to benefit victims is now a common practice, prior to George Harrison's 1971 Concert For Bangladesh, the idea of collecting a group of top-tier talent to play a show for a charitable cause was an untapped concept.

Harrison's benefit concert, organized in collaboration with Ravi Shankar, drew together performers such as Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and Klaus Voorman to raise money for East Pakistani refugees who sought to form the new country of Bandgladesh. The concert itself netted approximately $250,000 for UNICEF, but the associated concert album went on to win Album Of The Year at the 15th GRAMMY Awards. Proceeds from the live album and accompanying film raised approximately $12 million for Bangladeshi relief by 1985.

Arguably the most successful example of leveraging music for a charitable cause, in 1985 Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie joined producer Quincy Jones to write and record  "We Are The World."

The song was recorded by a musical supergroup calling itself United Support Of Artists For Africa (USA For Africa), featuring Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Ray Charles, and a cavalcade of other stars.

 

 

Not only was the single a charitable success, the recording won GRAMMYs for Record and Song Of The Year, Best Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal, and Best Music Film, Short Form at the 28th GRAMMYs. "We Are The World" eventually sold more than 20 million physical copies worldwide. Album sales and merchandise associated with the single raised $63 million for humanitarian aid in Africa and the United States.

From The Concert for Bangladesh to "We Are The World" and Grande's latest charity single — and numerous efforts in between — musicians have proven time and time again that when they speak up and speak out, they can make a difference.

"Music is meant to heal us, to bring us together, to make us happy," said Grande. "So that is what it will continue to do for us."

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