Stefano de filippi biography of michael jackson

His second solo album, Thrillerlaunched Michael Jackson into a position as the most famous pop singer in the world. With little commercial advertising and promotion, Thriller rose to number one on album sales and remained at the number one spot for a total of 37 weeks. Thriller included number one hits such as Beat It, Billie Jean. He performed his distinctive and memorable dance move — the Moonwalk.

In the dance routine, he effortlessly moves backwards with seemingly keeping one leg perfectly straight. His performance made him a global icon of not just music, but dance. Michael Jackson pioneered the importance of music video in promoting a pop artist. His final album was Invincible Michael Jackson underwent numerous operations of plastic surgery to fix his nose and add a dimple in his chin.

The press covered a range of speculative stories about Michael Jackson, including imaginary stories Michael had invented himself such as sleeping in an oxygen tent to avoid the ageing process. He married Lisa Marie Presley in ; it lasted two years though they remained friendly after the divorce. White artists whether we call them singer- songwriters, avant-garde, grunge or what have you have been releasing personal, angst- driven albums for years, usually to great critical acclaim.

Without the artistic and personal constraints that had previously stymied many of his creative ideas, he was now free to take his artistic vision in any direction he chose. He also had the luxury of time and money to do what he damn well pleased in the studio. Although every Michael Jackson track was the result of much collaborative effort between Jackson, his producers, co-writers, musicians, and engineers as any album must be there was never any doubt as to who was in complete control of the process.

The sky, as the saying goes, was the proverbial limit In crucial ways, HIStory continues many of the same themes Jackson was exploring on Dangerous. Like its predecessor, it continues to explore his newfound interest in industrial grooves perhaps to an even greater extent due to the influence of bands like Nine Inch Nails and their groundbreaking album The Downward Spiral, of which Jackson was a fan.

It also shares with Dangerous similar themes of social awareness and neo-liberalism. And, as on Dangerous, he would continue experimenting with hip-hop, bringing in artists like The Notorious B. Also, like Dangerous, Jackson clearly envisioned HIStory as a concept album, albeit one whose structure was not as easily or clearly defined, at least not on initial listenings.

But although HIStory may share many traits with its predecessor, there are marked differences. Its songs are even more personal, sometimes to an almost voyeuristic degree; its politics far more radical, and the anger and alienation that drives them decidedly harder edged. Michael Jackson had been through a lot in the three years that had elapsed since the Dangerous album.

He lost the sponsorship of Pepsi and other lucrative endorsement deals, despite having been charged with no crime. He had been placed on the FBI watch list, joining the long line of politically controversial celebrities-from Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison to John Lennon-to be placed under official government suspicion. The stress and anxiety of all of the above had, in turn, exacerbated a drug dependency on painkillers and opiates, resulting in the abrupt cancellation of his Dangerous tour and a grueling stint in rehab.

But while the honeymoon period was by most accounts blissfully passionate, discontent soon set in. Jackson and Presley were, quite simply, two volatile personalities whose union was bound to have the effect of oil on water. All of this, of course, was just the icing on the cake of a life that had already had more than its share of drama since the age of five, a life that had been spent both in the unforgiving glare of the spotlight and a life that had witnessed all of the ugly underhanded sides of fame.

Given the circumstances, there was no other direction Jackson could have taken and remained true to himself as an artist. How could they realistically expect him to simply deliver more catchy dance grooves, like those he had written as a teenager and as a youth in his early twenties, when he was effectively in the midst of midlife crisis?

While dealing with stalkers, extortionists, lawsuits, marital discord, the demons of drug dependency, and a heart that was enraged with injustice-both his own and in the world that surrounded him? Had Jackson upset the apple cart by daring to expose the victimization of himself and his race? Netflix, Michael Jackson had never been quite forgiven for snapping up the rights to over two hundred Beatles songs in For a song whose very theme was addressing the issue of racism, it was a ludicrous claim.

It also resulted in a deluge of negative publicity for the album that would be hard to overcome. HIStory sold overcopies in its first week and quickly achieved an RIA ranking of seven times platinum. While banned in the U. If we add to this the 4. But perhaps the bigger stefano de filippi biography of michael jackson is not whether Michael Jackson could still move big numbers he was Michael Jackson, after all!

While Jackson had proven himself as an artist not only willing to evolve with changing tastes and times, and as with any true artist one who must evolve for the sake of his own growth and sanity, many critics at the time seemed to want him to remain frozen in time, an image forever cemented by a moonwalk, a sparkling jacket and a sequined glove.

Stefano de filippi biography of michael jackson

They clearly were not ready to embrace a Michael Jackson who swore; who dared to point out real problems of injustice in the world; who embraced being referred to by The Notorious B. There was nothing particularly magical or wondrous in that; it was his way of stripping away the illusions and showing us the brutal reality, and it was ugly-ugly, perhaps, but startlingly beautiful in its honesty.

Yet, like all great works of art, it is also an album that has successfully transcended its time. Many of the political and environmental issues that Michael wrote and sang about on HIStory-messages for which he was roundly mocked and criticized twenty years ago-have become the dominant issues of our headlines today. In Ferguson, they blasted the Michael Jackson song through car windows.

In New York City and Berkeley last weekend, it was sung and performed by protesters. Maybe we just finally need to listen to Michael Jackson. Aside from the obvious word play intended to emphasize the album as autobiography, the album also utilizes practically every known definition of the word. At the time, it seemed a rather odd marketing strategy, an album of all new studio material accompanied by a Greatest Hits package.

Obviously, this served a twofold purpose, on the one hand, as an obviously crass move to maximize sales it has long been tradition that record companies will often put one or two token new, bonus tracks on a Greatest Hits package in order to entice fans who already own all of the old songs to buy the collection-in this case, they just happened to get fifteen of them!

Inwhen HIStory was released, it had been exactly fifteen years since Off The Wall, the album that had officially launched his adult solo career. Although the album may begin as a celebration of the glorious past, Jackson clearly intended his present and future to be the centerpiece, and thus I will honor that intent here. However, no Michael Jackson album can lend itself completely to such narrowly defined categories, and HIStory is certainly no exception.

Ultimately, Jackson was always acutely aware of his status as a role model. Whether he had willingly assumed the role or not, he knew that he was in a unique position as a performer. Millions of fans all over the world looked up to him and willingly followed his example. On some conscious level, Jackson knew he could not open up and make himself so vulnerable to us, allowing us to vicariously experience his pain while also inciting us to anger at world injustices, without at least offering some hope of reconciliatory healing.

In other words, there must be a balance. In the end, HIStory is, quite simply, an album of self empowerment. But the message, nevertheless, was conveyed loud and clear, and as with all other aspects of his life, it was a message that was not going to be delivered quietly on a small scale. Jackson wanted us to know that he was still standing tall.

And, perhaps, more importantly, to let us know that he had come through it all without losing complete faith in humanity or himself. They are indeed songs of passion-songs of personal rage and songs against perceived personal injustice. However, even the most personal of them act as mere microcosmic glimpses of a much broader spectrum—the injustices of African-Americans and, particularly, the injustices perpetuated against African-American artists in the music industry.

But there is also a larger scope than simply race. Many of the tracks are operating on at least two, very distinct binary levels, whereby the rage that grows organically out of personal experience is then extended to include, first, the collective whole of his race, and lastly, the collective whole of humanity. Rather, they are merely representative of the much bigger problems that plague humanity.

We may assume that, surely, if any artist had a right to a meltdown, it was Michael Jackson in the summer of Everyone who was placing demands on him, trying to tell him when to be where and even who to be; everyone who was creating expectations that must be lived up to. But by the bridge, the song has expanded outward, beyond the personal. Michael joseph jackson August 29,Gary, Indiana - June 25, ; Los Angeles, California was an African American singer, musician, composer, songwriter and dancer, known to many as the "King of Pop".

Born the seventh of nine children to the Jackson family, Michael Jackson entered his musical life in the Jackson 5 band, formed by his father in when he was only six years old. His albums have sold over million copies worldwide. Michael Jackson is the best-selling musician of all time in the world. His studio albums alone sold million copies. The thriller album is the best-selling album in the world with over 55 million copies.

Michael Jackson is the first to be included in the list of the world's best-selling albums with five albums and number one with Thriller. Michael Jackson has come to the fore with some health problems and scandals, especially in the last few years before his death. The father of three children was hospitalized in a coma on June 25, after an illness at his Los Angeles home but could not be saved.

Although the cause of death was believed to be cardiac arrest, the autopsy performed by the Los Angeles Forensic Medicine Institute revealed that the cause of death was propofol, a very effective anesthetic used to treat insomnia. Propofol and lorazepam sedatives were recorded as the top causes of Jackson's death, and Jackson's blood was said to also contain the drugs midazolam, diazepam, lidocaine, and ephedrine.

Although the incident was suspected of murder, Jackson's personal doctor was prosecuted in February for "causing an accidental death". This case resulted in the doctor's arrest by court order. He was born on August 29, in the American city of Gary. Thriller remains one of the best-selling albums in history. In his later years, Jackson was dogged by allegations of child molestation.

The time Grammy Award winner died in at age 50 of a drug overdose just before launching a comeback tour. Joseph pushed his children hard to succeed, making them rehearse five hours a day after stefano de filippi biography of michael jackson, and was reportedly known to become violent with them. He was said to beat them with a belt buckle or electric kettle cord and to order them to break a branch off a tree if they got a dance step wrong so he could hit them with it.

Joseph molded his sons into a musical group in the early s that would later become known as the Jackson 5. He showed remarkable range and depth for such a young performer, impressing audiences with his ability to convey complex emotions. They officially became the Jackson 5 when older brother Marlon joined the group. Watch This Is Itthe dramatic documentary with rare behind-the-scenes footage of Michael creating and preparing for his sold out shows that would have taken place in London's O2 Arena.

Jackson and his brothers spent endless hours rehearsing and polishing their act. At first, the Jackson 5 played local gigs and built a strong following. Many of these performers were signed to the legendary Motown record label, and the Jackson 5 eventually caught the attention of Motown founder Berry Gordy. Impressed by the group, Gordy signed the group to his label in early Jackson and his brothers moved to Los Angeles, where they lived with Gordy and with Diana Ross of the Supremes as they got settled.

The group became so popular that it even had its own self-titled cartoon show, which ran from to The group officially severed ties with Motown inthough Jermaine remained with the label to pursue his solo career. Now calling themselves the Jacksons, the group signed a new recording deal with Epic Records. By the release of its third album for the label, Destinythe brothers had emerged as talented songwriters.

Jackson began his solo career while simultaneously performing with the Jackson 5. He released his debut solo album at age 13 with Got to Be Theremaking the charts with the title track. He had his first solo No. Jackson followed those albums with Music and Me and Forever, Michaelthe latter of which was his last album with Motown Records. Jackson achieved his solo career breakthrough with Off the Wallhis first album with Epic Records and his first produced by Quincy Joneswhom he met while working on The Wiz.

Critics felt the album moved Jackson from the pop music of his youth into a more complex sound, and some have called it one of the best pop albums ever made. Jackson was still performing with his brothers at this time, and the overwhelmingly positive response to Off the Wall helped the Jacksons as a group. Their album Triumph sold more than 1 million copies, and the brothers went on an extensive tour to support the recording.