KING OF POP
Michael Jackson was a multi-talented musical entertainer who enjoyed a chart-topping career both with the Jackson 5 and as a solo artist.Michael Jackson once stated,"The greatest education in the world is watching the masters at work."That was what Jackson was-The Master of Pop. And he was right. Michael Jackson had one of the largest influences in the entertainment industry.Without the influence of Michael,the R&B and Hip Hop industry would not have had the artists or music that it has today. Known as one of the best entertainers of all time, Michael Jackson is the most decorated pop artist. He was a pioneer in the music industry,thanks to his innovative music,choreography,and music videos. Michael Jackson revolutionized what it means and takes to be a pop star,making his mark not only in the music industry,but in popular culture as well.
Micheal Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, and dancer. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century and one of the greatest entertainers. Jackson's contributions to music, dance, and fashion, along with his publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades.
The eighth child of the Jackson family, Michael made his professional debut in 1964 with his elder brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon as a member of the Jackson 5. He began his solo career in 1971 while at Motown Records, and in the early 1980s, became a dominant figure in popular music. His music videos, including those for "Beat It", "Billie Jean", and "Thriller" from his 1982 album Thriller, are credited with breaking racial barriers and transforming the medium into an art form and promotional tool. Their popularity helped bring the television channel MTV to fame. Bad (1987) was the first album to produce five US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles. He continued to innovate throughout the 1990s with videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream", and forged a reputation as a touring artist. Through stage and video performances, Jackson popularized complicated dance techniques such as the moonwalk, to which he gave the name. His sound and style have influenced artists of various genres.
Jackson is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated sales of over 350 million records worldwide;Thriller is the best-selling album of all time, with estimated sales of 66 million copies worldwide. His other albums, including Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991), and History (1995), also rank among the world's best-selling. He won hundreds of awards (more than any other artist in the history of popular music), Jackson was inducted onto the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1980 as a member of the Jacksons, and in 1984 as a solo artist. He also won the World Music Awards' Best-Selling Pop Male Artist of the Millennium, the American Music Award's Artist of the Century Award and the Bambi Pop Artist of the Millennium Award. He was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1997, and again as a solo artist in 2001.In 2002 he was added to the Songwriters Hall of Fame.In 2010, Jackson was the first pop and rock 'n' roll performer inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame, and in 2014 he was posthumously inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame.
Jackson won hundreds of awards, more than any other popular music recording artist. His awards include many Guinness world records (eight in 2006 alone), including Most Successful Entertainer of All Time, 13 Grammy Awards the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and a record 26 American Music Awards (including the "Artist of the Century" and "Artist of the 1980s").13 number-one singles in the US in his solo career—more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era and estimated sales of over 350 million records worldwide making him one of the best-selling artists in music history. Jackson received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Fisk University in 1988. On December 29, 2009, the American Film Institute recognized Jackson's death as a "moment of significance".Jackson was the first artist to have a top ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades. In 2016, his estate earned $825 million, the highest yearly amount for a celebrity ever recorded by Forbes.
In the late 1980s, Jackson became a figure of controversy for his changing appearance, relationships, behavior and lifestyle. In 2009, while preparing for a series of comeback concerts, This Is It, Jackson died from an overdose of sedatives administered by his personal physician, Conrad Murray. Jackson's fans around the world expressed their grief, and his public memorial service was broadcast live.
