Michael Jackson Pop Icon: His Reign and Fall - Research Paper Example

Running Head: MICHAEL JACKSON POP ICON HIS REIGN AND FALL Topic: Michael Jackson Pop Icon His Reign and fall Introduction Michael Jackson is one of the greatest musicians around the world, who will forever be remembered by several generations even after his death. This is due to the fact that he provided the world with high quality music, unique routines and dancing styles, which remain to be the best in the show business. His influence is immeasurable as most of the great present musicians such as Beyonce, Usher, Britney spears among others have him to consider as their role model (Heatley, 2009). However, it is true to say that great men and women also have their twists and turns and therefore, Jackson is no exception. This paper will discuss the life of Michael Jackson, evaluating his ups and downs in his life as a pop star. The Rise and fall of Michael Jackson Michael Jackson is a man, who spent the largest part of his life in the public domain, both due to his successes and numerous controversies. The later to be pop icon was born in the year 1958, as the seventh born child in a family of 9 children. It may be important to note that, his was a family that could have been categorized as a working class, which meant that they were not too far from being considered poor. Apparently, it may never have occurred to him or his close associates that he would later turn out to be one of the most talented and influential musicians around the world (Heatley, 2009). Michael’s music career begun when he was at a tender age of approximately 5 years, when he is considered to have made his debut performance. During this time, he was the lead singer of a group known as the Jackson 5, which comprised of artistes such as Jackie, Jermaine, Tito as well as Marlon, who were his brothers (Cadman, 2002). This group used to perform in clubs, where they had the privilege of sharing a platform with other renowned musicians, thereby exposing Michael to the much needed experience. The group performed on this platform for approximately 4 years after which they were discovered by two of Motown records’ signatories, i.e. Boby Tylor and the Vancouvers, who introduced the Jackson 5 to the producer; Beny Gordy, for auditions (Cadman, 2002). Consequently, they signed up with the production house i.e. Motown and this necessitated the group to relocate from their hometown to California. Working with Motown can be considered as the foundation of Michael Jackson’s success in the music industry. This is due to the fact that it enabled him as well as his group to become more professional thereby achieving a national outlook unlike when they were performing in clubs. For example, they managed to produce 14 albums as a group whereas Michael managed to record 4 on his own (Cadman, 2002). It is important to note that their first singles received a lot of praise and airplay across the US and in fact, they were ranked among the most favorite songs in the industry at that time. Some of these songs included and not limited to; I want you back, I will be there among others. Ambition is a virtue present in every man and woman and the Jacksons were no exception. It is therefore not a wonder to find that they decided to leave Motown after a short stay, to go and exercise their freedom and probably search for greener pastures. Michael’s journey to glory, however, begun in the year 1977, when came to meet with Queens Jones, who would later become his producer with the Epic records. Working with Jones, he was able to release an album titled Off The Wall in 1979, and which became an instant success not only in the US but also internationally (Taraborrelli, 2009). It is estimated that this album managed to make sales of approximately 20 million copies and above, asserting the fact that the musician was destined for greater things in life. Apparently, his fans did not have to wait for long as in 1982 he went ahead to release one of the greatest albums of all times i.e. the Thriller. This album comprised of 9 singles, three of which were produced as videos, so as to act as a marketing strategy. During this time, it is believed that MTV, which is a multinational corporation, and the major satellite music channel then, bowed to pressure from Michael Jackson so as to allocate airplay to his music. It is important to note that this was a special and remarkable breakthrough for the superstar based on the fact that MTV was always biased against music produced by artistes of African origin (Heatley, 2009). It is estimated that this album managed to sell more than 50 million copies not forgetting the fact that it still commands a lot of listening and watching on the international level. To the greater surprise of many, Michael Jackson managed to perfect one dancing style that later came to be more of his trademark i.e. the moon walk, and which is categorized as one of the best styles in the whole world. This dancing style can be traced back to 1932 when it was performed by one Bill Calloway, and who at that time used to call it the buzz (Jefferson, 2006). However, the popularity of Michael Jackson at the time when he performed it in a concert in 1983 and his persistence to perfect it further made it possible for him to acquire much credit than those before him. In fact, it may be true to say that every time a person goes on stage to display similar moves, the first thing that comes into the minds of the audience is the pop icon. This development in his skills alongside the success of the thriller album enabled the superstar to scoop numerous awards most significantly in the year 1984 when he won more than 8 Grammy awards (Jefferson, 2006). This trend of success continued to follow the pop icon as he went on to produce more albums such as Bad, Dangerous, History, Blood on the dance floor and invincible. However, the pop star’s personal life, which was open to media scrutiny, came to be one of his major nightmares that almost led to his downfall. For example, it was realized that Michael had an addiction to pain killers, a fact which he confirmed and which made Pepsi Cola, one of his major sponsors to abandon him (Taraborrelli, 2009). In addition, reports indicate that the musician used to fabricate stories after which he would leak them to the media so as to gain popularity. At one time, he made the world believe that he slept in a special oxygen chamber in order to slow down his rate of ageing. This definitely portrayed him as a person who is out of touch with the reality coupled with the fact that there were rumors of him having numerous plastic surgeries and skin bleaching to modify his looks (Taraborrelli, 2009). After realizing the damage he was causing himself by providing the media with such information, Michael stopped the habit and created a distance between him and the media, which according to reports, allowed the media to develop untrue stories that portrayed him negatively. Apparently, it is believed that this is how he came to be nicknamed Wacko Jacko. The pop icon also got involved in several cases of child molestation. In 1994 for example, he was charged for allegedly abusing a boy child i.e. Jordan, and in the course of investigations, he was subjected to strip search as the boy had claimed that the singer was circumcised to prove his accusations but as it turned out later, this was just a lie as he was not. Though the case was later dropped, it is believed that he never got over the embarrassment of the strip search (Jefferson, 2006). A similar case occurred in the year 2003 when he was recorded live dangling a child over the balcony in his residence. This attracted a public outcry but nevertheless, he was acquitted of the charges. These are some of his lowest moments in his career which, coupled with reports that he was having financial problems, almost ruined his reputation and success. Reports indicate that Jackson was having numerous debts in form of loans such that some of his property was being put up for auction including his prestigious Neverland Ranch (Jefferson, 2006). However, it is important to note that these unfortunate situations did not ruin his status as one of the best musicians around the world. This can be attested by the value of sales that his albums have made after his untimely death in June 2009. Reports indicate that the sales reached a high figure of approximately 8 million albums in the US alone and more than 30 million albums world wide. References Cadman, C. (2002) Michael Jackson the Early Years, Chronicle Books Heatley, M. (2009) Michael Jackson: 1958-2009: Life of a Legend, Headline Book Publishing Jefferson, M. (2006) On Michael Jackson, Pantheon Taraborrelli, R. (2009) Michael Jackson: The Magic, the Madness, the Whole Story, 1958-2009, Hachette Book Group Read More