Timmy84 said:

babybugz said:

Like how they upset now over black artists doing pop&B

lol or the PP&B or whatever that is.

Michael helped start all of that

silverchild said:

Timmy84 said:

Yeah. Even though the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Meat Loaf sold numerous records, when you think about the appeal/impact, yeah it was really only those two. And I think when Tapestry was held as the "biggest-selling album of all time", it only sold five million then (it actually took years for the Beatles/Pink Floyd/Led Zeppelin/Meat Loaf to sell the records that it did compared to those two albums and Thriller). I think SNF sold 10, 11 million, same with Fleetwood Mac's Rumours. Thriller had outdone by selling 15 million by 1984, I believe.

Damn, I forgot about Rumours and Dark Side of the Moon...

Yeah it's hard to tell which album was the best-selling one when Thriller was out.

I know it wasn't Dark Side (or The Wall). It was probably Rumours, Saturday Night Fever or Tapestry. I know Tapestry was the best-selling album by a solo artist until Thriller. So it's between Rumours and SNF... also I don't recall neither of the albums doing 10 million by the time Thriller sold 10 million in one year. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Like I said, the timeline is difficult. Plus most sales were recorded to the RIAA at the time.

babybugz said:

Timmy84 said:

lol or the PP&B or whatever that is.

Michael helped start all of that

Vibe did call him the "father of modern contemporary R&B". Thriller was that type of album it was hard to categorize as R&B. I think after Thriller, R&B became the genre that was pop music sung by black folks. Made it easier for Whitney to come on the scene...

[Edited 11/30/12 15:20pm]

Some of the spetacle was partially MJ's making and alot of it had to do with his iconic status. Thats like suggesting that the millions of fans that bombarded him was because he made them harrassed him He w had immense popularity and was a A list star that did not die down after Thriller and grew great with BAD and Dangeorus so naturally that is going to cause a spectacle regardless of his marketing or promo.

mjscarousal said:

Some of the spetacle was partially MJ's making and alot of it had to do with his iconic status. Thats like suggesting that the millions of fans that bombarded him was because he made them harrassed him He w had immense popularity and was a A list star that did not die down after Thriller and grew great with BAD and Dangeorus so naturally that is going to cause a spectacle regardless of his marketing or promo.

wrong

babybugz said:

Timmy84 said:

lol or the PP&B or whatever that is.

Michael helped start all of that

Off The Wall received awards and that was a straight R&B quality album regardless of his race.

The music industry today has mostly change into black POP stars being acknowledge as R&B stars and really has nothing to do with the quality of their music. That is quite different from Michaels time and the type of music he made.

Artists like Rihanna, Chris Brown, Usher, Beyonce etc dont make R&B music but they are only categorize as R&B artists because their black POP stars. Michael at least exactlyoccassionally created R&B music that was popular. He experimented with a wide range of genres.

He had popularity, yes, but he wasn't satisfied. He did everything over the top. That's not an insult to MJ. That's just the truth. Yeah he could've sold any record because of what Thriller had done but the man himself was not satisfied with that. He always tried to do things better. He'd say things like "this album is WAY better than Thriller ever was!" Come on, are you actually suggesting that because he had "immense popularity" and was an "A-lister that didn't die down" that was the only reason he did even remotely well with Bad and Dangerous? Lots had changed when he did those two albums and he had to adapt. He wasn't satisfied.

rdhull said:

mjscarousal said:

Some of the spetacle was partially MJ's making and alot of it had to do with his iconic status. Thats like suggesting that the millions of fans that bombarded him was because he made them harrassed him He w had immense popularity and was a A list star that did not die down after Thriller and grew great with BAD and Dangeorus so naturally that is going to cause a spectacle regardless of his marketing or promo.

wrong

So Michaels Iconic status because of Thriller as an artist added nothing to the spetacle of his celebrity and promo?

Not denying of course he added to alot of his spetacle through marketing etc BUT naturally if your a big star that is already considered an Icon, that draws hype and publicity in itself.

This is not rocket science.

[Edited 11/30/12 15:28pm]

Timmy84 said:

babybugz said:

Michael helped start all of that

Vibe did call him the "father of modern contemporary R&B". Thriller was that type of album it was hard to categorize as R&B. I think after Thriller, R&B became the genre that was pop music sung by black folks. Made it easier for Whitney to come on the scene...

[Edited 11/30/12 15:20pm]

It's true.

Off the Wall may have been "solid R&B" but that wasn't his goal with Thriller. If "Thriller" changed the world musically, it was due to the creation of contemporary R&B, which is not even the same as solid R&B.

Timmy84 said:

babybugz said:

Michael helped start all of that

Vibe did call him the "father of modern contemporary R&B". Thriller was that type of album it was hard to categorize as R&B. I think after Thriller, R&B became the genre that was pop music sung by black folks. Made it easier for Whitney to come on the scene...

[Edited 11/30/12 15:20pm]

So songs like Baby Be Mine, Lady In My Life, Human Nature are not R&B?

Yea Thriller is considered a POP album but those are still R&B songs and it still had R&B influences on the album aswell as other genres such as Rock, dance pop etc.

Although Thriller did change the music industyr, It absurd to compare the music artists today with that particular album success because it still had R&B songs on the album and although MJ transitioned into a POP star with that album he singed R&B songs. It is not like he gained success off of dance/pop music alone like alot of todays black pop stars who have never made a R&B song in their life.

mjscarousal said:

Timmy84 said:

Vibe did call him the "father of modern contemporary R&B". Thriller was that type of album it was hard to categorize as R&B. I think after Thriller, R&B became the genre that was pop music sung by black folks. Made it easier for Whitney to come on the scene...

[Edited 11/30/12 15:20pm]

So songs like Baby Be Mine, Lady In My Life, Human Nature are not R&B?

Did I say they weren't? No. I don't know how you got that and you basically was agreeing with ME about it being a pop album (Thriller) so I don't know what you're going on about.

babybugz said:

Timmy84 said:

lol or the PP&B or whatever that is.

Michael helped start all of that

yeh, a sinner ...

this thread is already bigger than the sticky.

it's so much fun - to break the rules.

Vibe did call him the "father of modern contemporary R&B". Thriller was that type of album it was hard to categorize as R&B. I think after Thriller, R&B became the genre that was pop music sung by black folks.

yes, "Beat It" No. 1 on the US R & B singles chart .... this is really strange ...

this song is pop/rock crossover.

Timmy84 said:

Off the Wall may have been "solid R&B" but that wasn't his goal with Thriller. If "Thriller" changed the world musically, it was due to the creation of contemporary R&B, which is not even the same as solid R&B.

Exactly. I've always considered Off The Wall to be a Black dance-pop record at its core. Destiny or Triumph would be more of an R&B record. Part of Thriller's appeal was its pop diversity. It was a record that had something for everyone really. The new-wave approach, contemporary soul, dance, rock, funk, jazz...but I've always been intrigued by the record's new wave approach. I think that's the scary part of many of the melodies of certain songs. They knew what they were doing.

[Edited 11/30/12 15:38pm]

LiLi1992 said:

babybugz said:

yeh, a sinner ...

this thread is already bigger than the sticky.

it's so much fun - to break the rules.

Vibe did call him the "father of modern contemporary R&B". Thriller was that type of album it was hard to categorize as R&B. I think after Thriller, R&B became the genre that was pop music sung by black folks.

yes, "Beat It" No. 1 on the US R & B singles chart .... this is really strange ...

this song is pop/rock crossover.

You get it! Another ironic thing is Beat It only made it to 14 on the rock charts! But it made the top of the R&B chart and yet to me it seemed so far removed from what R&B had always been. It was like a disco song with a Jimi Hendrix guitar solo. And we know Jimi Hendrix didn't sell to R&B audiences because he was never considered to be one. The only other record I know that had rock guitar in a dance song that had similar success was Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff" and that only peaked at 3 on the R&B chart lol

silverchild said:

Timmy84 said:

Off the Wall may have been "solid R&B" but that wasn't his goal with Thriller. If "Thriller" changed the world musically, it was due to the creation of contemporary R&B, which is not even the same as solid R&B.

Exactly. I've always considered Off The Wall to be a Black dance-pop record at its core. Destiny or Triumph would be more of an R&B record. Part of Thriller's appeal was its pop diversity. It was a record that had something for everyone really. The new-wave approach, contemporary soul, dance, rock, funk, jazz...but I've always been intrigued by the record's new wave approach. I think that's the scary part of many of the melodies of certain songs. They knew what they were doing.

[Edited 11/30/12 15:38pm]

Yeah there was a whole lot of new wave influence on Thriller (Human Nature and PYT being the main culprits in that sound).

Timmy84 said:

He had popularity, yes, but he wasn't satisfied. He did everything over the top. That's not an insult to MJ. That's just the truth. Yeah he could've sold any record because of what Thriller had done but the man himself was not satisfied with that. He always tried to do things better. He'd say things like "this album is WAY better than Thriller ever was!" Come on, are you actually suggesting that because he had "immense popularity" and was an "A-lister that didn't die down" that was the only reason he did even remotely well with Bad and Dangerous? Lots had changed when he did those two albums and he had to adapt. He wasn't satisfied.

Wait I am confused because I never said that was the ONLY reason for his spetacles. If you read I said ALSO to add... his iconic status and popularity added to his spetacles as well. You and a few other posters implied that MJ created this spetacle ALL himself ALL THE TIME his entire career and I never denied that to an extent he created half of it but naturally if you are a big star that comes in the territory automatically.

He was a big star so that in itself creates spetacle on top of spetacle he created for himself.

Also, I said that Michael was a perfectionist and always strived to over do himself so why are you saying that he was never satisfied?

Also, I do not get what you are arguing with BAD and Dangerous? Are you suggesting his popularity died with those two eras? Because he exactly became more of a global superstar with those two eras more than Thriller. Once again, I never denied he created publicity for himself but he was a icon and at the height of those two eras a big music star that is naturally going to create hype in itself.

I am not really disagreeing with anything per se but just adding to the points already being made.

^ Then what were you saying because you clearly didn't explain yourself before and that still doesn't change the fact that he was obsessed with topping himself. Even Michael admitted he was taken aback by what Thriller had done when he didn't really promote it as much as he would with his latter albums.

My only point with the R&B music genre thing was that Michael exactly made R&B music despite what a chart position says, despite any awards he received and despite his popularity.

Nowadays, I cant really say the same for an artist like Chris Brown or Rihanna. There labeled as R&B singers and they do not have R&B music in their catalogues.

Technically I wouldn't call Michael an R&B artist at any point in his career. True he made R&B recordings but in his heart he was always a pop artist. Hence why he is called the king of pop. (Yeah it was originally pop, rock and soul) But you make it seem like he was always R&B oriented. No he wasn't. And that's not even a bad thing. Without Michael, you probably wouldn't have all these pop stars these days (Rihanna, Katy Perry, Gaga, Beyonce, etc.) that everyone claims to hate in here. If you're looking for a culprit, look at Michael Jackson and this album in particular.

Timmy84 said:

Off the Wall may have been "solid R&B" but that wasn't his goal with Thriller. If "Thriller" changed the world musically, it was due to the creation of contemporary R&B, which is not even the same as solid R&B.

I UNDESTAND THAT

I am simply arguing that Michael made R&B music despite his popularity, despite being labeled a POP star... do you get that?

An artist like Rihanna gets categorize as R&B but she does not make R&B which is why I do not know why someone would use MJ as an example for the reason for this change because he exactly made R&B music as well as other genres of course.

Do you get that Michael was never satisfied with being an R&B artist. Do you NOT get THAT?

[Edited 11/30/12 15:52pm]

Timmy84 said:

^ Then what were you saying because you clearly didn't explain yourself before and that still doesn't change the fact that he was obsessed with topping himself. Even Michael admitted he was taken aback by what Thriller had done when he didn't really promote it as much as he would with his latter albums.

I already said that MJ was a perfectionist which implies that You dont have to correct me, Were saying the same things, I have only been trying to add to some points though.

mjscarousal said:

Timmy84 said:

^ Then what were you saying because you clearly didn't explain yourself before and that still doesn't change the fact that he was obsessed with topping himself. Even Michael admitted he was taken aback by what Thriller had done when he didn't really promote it as much as he would with his latter albums.

I already said that MJ was a perfectionist which implies that You dont have to correct me, Were saying the same things, I have only been trying to add to some points though.

lol alright but you surely wrote all of that "well he didn't need to do it" and I'm saying he felt he needed to...

Happy Birthday 'Thriller!': 5 Ways Michael Jackson's set changed everything
His masterpiece turns 30 on Nov. 30

BY MELINDA NEWMAN THURSDAY, NOV 29, 2012 12:59 PM

Michael Jackson

Nov. 30th marks the 30th anniversary of the release of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” the best selling studio album in the United States.

Not only was the album a blockbuster that forever sealed Jackson’s fate as one of the most legendary pop artists of all time, it changed the music industry in ways that are still being felt today, three decades later.

Here’s five ways that “Thriller” forever altered the pop landscape:

1. “Thriller” was the first blockbuster title to release seven songs as singles to radio. Until “Thriller,” labels usually put out three or four singles and then the artist went back into the studio to work on the next album. While seven singles is still a stretch for most artists, many superstars routinely go five or six singles deep on an album.

2. “Thriller” was the first major release to come out around the world simultaneously. Previously, release dates were often staggered to accommodate an act’s ability to be in the marketplace for promotional activities when the album came out. Now, it’s the industry standard for a star with any kind of global reach to have his or her album out worldwide at the same time. In fact, now it’s common for the U.S. release date to move from its usual Tuesday standard release date to Monday to match the release date used by much of the rest of the world. Rihanna and Taylor Swift just did it with their chart toppers.

3. “Thriller” was one of the first albums to release simultaneous singles to different radio formats. After “The Girl Is Mine” peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, Epic put out “Billie Jean” to the pop stations and while it was still climbing the charts, pushed “Beat It” to rock radio.

4. “Billie Jean” became the first video by a black superstar artist to be played on MTV. Epic’s parent, CBS, claims they had to threaten to yank all its artists off a then-18 month-old MTV if the channel didn’t play Jackson’s video. MTV says they were always going to play “Billie Jean.” Regardless of which side you believe, Jackson busted through any color barrier at MTV, altering the cable outlet’s programming for good.

5. After breaking down walls with the “Billie Jean” video, MTV and Jackson were close allies. When it came time to debut the 14-minute video for “Thriller,” which MTV paid $1 million for exclusive airing rights, the music channel aired the clip at five designated times per day. It thereby created the first “destination viewing” for a video clip.


Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/new...jEM7hXJ.99

Eddie Van Halen deconstructs his collaboration on 'Beat It'

(CNN) -- Eddie Van Halen sits on a sofa in his home studio, smoking an electronic cigarette and reminiscing about the 30th anniversary of Michael Jackson's masterpiece album, "Thriller."
"It seems like yesterday, doesn't it," he says softly. "It would have been fun to work with him again."
Van Halen was a surprise guest on "Beat It," the album's third single. His blazing guitar solo lasted all of 20 seconds and took half an hour to record. He did it for free, as a favor to producer Quincy Jones, while the rest of his Van Halen bandmates were out of town.
"I said to myself, 'Who is going to know that I played on this kid's record, right? Nobody's going to find out.' Wrong!" he laughs. "Big-time wrong. It ended up being Record of the Year."
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer recently revealed to CNN what went on behind-the-scenes of his iconic collaboration with the King of Pop.
CNN: When Quincy rang you up, you thought it was a crank call.
Eddie Van Halen: I went off on him. I went, "What do you want, you f-ing so-and-so!" And he goes, "Is this Eddie?" I said, "Yeah, what the hell do you want?" "This is Quincy." I'm thinking to myself, "I don't know anyone named Quincy." He goes, "Quincy Jones, man." I went, "Ohhh, sorry!" (Laughs)
I asked, "What can I do for you?" And he said, "How would you like to come down and play on Michael Jackson's new record?" And I'm thinking to myself, "OK, 'ABC, 1, 2, 3' and me. How's that going to work?"
I still wasn't 100% sure it was him. I said, "I'll tell you what. I'll meet you at your studio tomorrow." And lo and behold, when I get there, there's Quincy, there's Michael Jackson and there's engineers. They're makin' records!
CNN: Did Quincy give you any direction about what he wanted you to do?
Van Halen: Michael left to go across the hall to do some children's speaking record. I think it was "E.T." or something. So I asked Quincy, "What do you want me to do?" And he goes, "Whatever you want to do." And I go, "Be careful when you say that. If you know anything about me, be careful when you say, "Do anything you want!"
I listened to the song, and I immediately go, "Can I change some parts?" I turned to the engineer and I go, "OK, from the breakdown, chop in this part, go to this piece, pre-chorus, to the chorus, out." Took him maybe 10 minutes to put it together. And I proceeded to improvise two solos over it.
I was just finishing the second solo when Michael walked in. And you know artists are kind of crazy people. We're all a little bit strange. I didn't know how he would react to what I was doing. So I warned him before he listened. I said, "Look, I changed the middle section of your song."
Now in my mind, he's either going to have his bodyguards kick me out for butchering his song, or he's going to like it. And so he gave it a listen, and he turned to me and went, "Wow, thank you so much for having the passion to not just come in and blaze a solo, but to actually care about the song, and make it better."
He was this musical genius with this childlike innocence. He was such a professional, and such a sweetheart.
CNN: That collaboration surprised a lot of people.
Van Halen: I'll never forget when Tower Records was still open over here in Sherman Oaks. I was buying something, and "Beat It" was playing over the store sound system . The solo comes on, and I hear these kids in front of me going, "Listen to this guy trying to sound like Eddie Van Halen." I tapped him on the shoulder and said, "That IS me!" That was hilarious.
CNN: How did you explain to the guys in Van Halen what had happened?
Van Halen: I just said, "You know. (Shrugs) Busted!" "Dave, you were out of the country!" "Al, you weren't around!" I couldn't call anyone and ask for permission.
Unfortunately, "Thriller" kept our album, "1984," from going to No. 1. Our album was just about ready to go No. 1 when he burned his hair in that Pepsi commercial, if you remember that. And boom, he went straight to No. 1 again!
CNN: Is there an album since then that has shaken things up in the same way?
Van Halen: Wow, I don't know.
CNN: Some people cite Nirvana's "Nevermind" has one that caused a musical shift.
Van Halen: But still not like that. Not that crossed over to such a mass audience. Nirvana was huge, but it didn't appeal to everyone.
I have a lot of respect for Michael. He's going to be sorely missed. I'd be curious as to what he'd be doing right now.
CNN: I believe Quincy has said he paid you in two six packs of beer.
Van Halen: Yeah, something like that. Actually, I brought my own, if I remember right.
I don't even think I'm credited on the record. It just says, "Guitar solo: Question Mark" or "Guitar solo: Frankenstein" (the name of his guitar).
CNN: Did you ever hear from Quincy again?
Van Halen: At the very end, Quincy wrote me a letter thanking me. It was signed, "The F-ing Blah Blah Blah," which I still have. It's very funny.

http://edition.cnn.com/20...-thriller/

Michael Jackson: Time to remember such a talented musician
As Thriller turns 30 and Bad turns 25, Catherine Gee pays tribute to the two record-breaking albums by Michael Jackson.

By Catherine Gee2:36PM GMT 30 Nov 2012

On Saturday night, Bad 25, Spike Lee’s brilliantly detailed, two-hour documentary on the making on Michael Jackson’s Bad celebrates the album’s 25th anniversary. But Bad is not the only Jackson record with an anniversary to celebrate.
On this date, 30 years ago, Jackson released Thriller, and with it, changed the landscape of contemporary pop music. Before Thriller, established rock guitarists did not collaborate with soul, R’n’B and disco singers. Before Thriller, black artists were very rarely featured on MTV.

The album came three years after Jackson’s first non-Motown solo record, Off the Wall – itself a smash hit which had sold more than eight million copies. Released when Jackson was 20, Off the Wall had been seen as a departure from his brothers and his childhood stardom. Many were sceptical that he could survive without Motown but Off the Wall had proved them wrong and it was assumed that Jackson had reached his peak. Jackson, on the other hand, knew that he was only just getting started. Off the Wall had been a decent disco record, but Thriller was set to span genres and break both boundaries and records.

Jackson and his producer Quincy Jones approached the project with enormous ambition. They wanted to make an album that would appeal to fans of all genres and prove so important that the press that would normally give a black man little coverage would be forced to pay attention to him. To give the record true rock credibility, Jackson and Jones drafted in Eddie Van Halen to play a solo on Beat It.
To add to the sheer scope of the record, Paul McCartney sang a duet with Jackson on The Girl is Mine, horror film actor Vincent Price provided the creepy vocals at the start and end of the song Thriller; and sound effects of footsteps, opening doors and howling wind were added. It played across the genres: Billie Jean and Wanna Be Startin’ Something are funk tracks, Human Nature and Lady of My Life are ballads, Beat It is a rock song, PYT and Baby Be Mine fall into the realm of R’n’B and disco. Never had a pop record incorporated so much and done it so well. It went on to win a record-breaking eight Grammy Awards and became the best-selling album of all time but Thriller’s legacy did not end there.

In the early Eighties, MTV showed only rock videos with black artists barely getting a look in. It’s debateable whether their refusal to play Jackson’s previous hits was based on his race or his genre, but with Thriller, Jackson made songs – and videos – that MTV simply could not ignore. His use of Eddie Van Halen on Beat It made it undoubtedly a rock song and its gangland, West Side Story-influenced video set a new standard – costing an unheard-of $150,000 to make.

The 14-minute horror film pastiche that was the accompaniment to the song Thriller, directed by American Werewolf in London’s John Landis, was something else entirely. Its budget was $500,000 and the production was on the scale of a major movie. The television premiere was a well-hyped event, and it was shown on Channel 4 late at night due to its scary contents. Fans stayed up late to watch, fingers poised over the VCR record button.

His performance of Billie Jean at the Motown 25 celebration went down in history simply for being brilliant
It was five years before Jackson completed another album, again with Quincy Jones at his side. They left his disco roots behind and produced an album of pop, rock, funk and R’n’B. The result was more adult, with darker themes and even more polished.

More event videos followed; this time Martin Scorsese made the video for Bad (which starred Welsey Snipes), Moonwalker - which included the video for Smooth Criminal - became a project even more ambitious than Thriller, and Liberian Girl starred possibly the largest number of celebrities ever featured in a music video.
Compared to the enormous success of Thriller, Bad did not sell as well and only won two Grammies. With time it has found its place in history. Both Bad and Thriller can easily be named as Jackson’s finest album, depending on who you ask. That said, it could be argued that Bad is the stronger album simply because it doesn’t contain the utterly dire Paul McCartney duet, The Girl is Mine.

The legacy of both albums, along with Jackson's individual dancing style, voice, and inclusive approach to different genres is well-documented. Love them or hate them, even brand new artists such as Justin Bieber cite him as an influence. With the countless bizarre stories now associated with the artist, it's easy to forget just how innovative, talented and groundbreaking the work of Michael Jackson was, and still is today.
Bad 25 is on BBC Two, Saturday 1 December, at 9.45pm

http://www.telegraph.co.u...ician.html

Timmy84 said:

Technically I wouldn't call Michael an R&B artist at any point in his career. True he made R&B recordings but in his heart he was always a pop artist. Hence why he is called the king of pop. (Yeah it was originally pop, rock and soul) But you make it seem like he was always R&B oriented. No he wasn't. And that's not even a bad thing. Without Michael, you probably wouldn't have all these pop stars these days (Rihanna, Katy Perry, Gaga, Beyonce, etc.) that everyone claims to hate in here. If you're looking for a culprit, look at Michael Jackson and this album in particular.

He created the blueprint.

Timmy84 said:

Technically I wouldn't call Michael an R&B artist at any point in his career. True he made R&B recordings but in his heart he was always a pop artist. Hence why he is called the king of pop. (Yeah it was originally pop, rock and soul) But you make it seem like he was always R&B oriented. No he wasn't. And that's not even a bad thing. Without Michael, you probably wouldn't have all these pop stars these days (Rihanna, Katy Perry, Gaga, Beyonce, etc.) that everyone claims to hate in here. If you're looking for a culprit, look at Michael Jackson and this album in particular.

I am not implying that and suggesting he made R&B music does not mean I am labeling him a R&B artist although he did start out as that. My point was suggesting that he has made enough R&B music to be called R&B if someone wanted to call him that, personally I WOULDNT because to me he did much more than that and likewise he made songs that could easily be nominated in R&B catagories unlike those specific artists. NUMEROUS OF TIMES I have stated Michael has done many many genres.

I LOVE MICHAEL JACKSON, been a HUGE fan since before I could even tie my shoes, PLEASE, you do not have to give me a history lesson on anything

If you look on the previous page where Gray insisted that Thriller had negative effect on the music industry I was the FIRST to agree with it. I am not sugar coating anything or making Thriller album to being perfect or anything but if someone says something I disagree with especially related to my favorite singer than I am simply going to challenge it.

Where did I say that MJ never inspired Beyonce, Chris Brown, etc OF COURSE they are influenced by him

[Edited 11/30/12 16:00pm]

[Edited 11/30/12 16:01pm]

solo and group: MJ has 17 songs number one in the pop chart and 19 in the R & B chart --------> Michael Jackson officially R & B artist!
.
in general (solo and as part of the group) MJ has released more R & B-oriented songs than pop. Although I still think that he had his style, it was a mix, so sometimes it is difficult to attribute many of his songs to a certain style.
I would not call him a pure pop artist in any period of his career, although he is King of pop.

The prelude to Victory? This would've been huge...