Michael Jackson’s Posthumous Comeback Continues
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Remember when Michael Jackson was so not hot?
His cooling off period began after his 1982 album, Thriller, became the biggest seller of all time worldwide, slowly but surely gained momentum with the diminishing returns of his next few albums, and peaked in 2003, when he became better known as an accused child molester than the self-proclaimed King of Pop.
Although the story of his sad slide ended tragically when he died of a heart attack last June at age 50, there’s one positive aspect to its coda: His estate probably will rake in more money than he would have earned had he lived to a ripe old age, or at least long enough to give the series of 50 London concerts he had been rehearsing for at the time of his death.
After Jackson died, it was almost as if his fans and detractors alike all but forgot the strangeness of the previous two decades, and suddenly it was 1984 all over again. His albums and singles topped music charts worldwide, and he finally accomplished the one thing he tried to do but couldn’t in life (besides healing the world): He became a movie star. His posthumous film, Michael Jackson’s This Is It, which documented his preparation for the series of London comeback concerts he was rehearsing for at the time of his death, earned $260 million worldwide and became the highest-grossing concert film of all time.
Now, post-death, his music career is getting another massive boost. According to the Associated Press, Jackson’s estate has struck a $200 million-plus deal with Sony Music Entertainment for 10 projects over the next seven years. This is the same label with which he famously tussled at the dawn of the century over the ownership of the masters of his albums, the same label that failed to promote Invincible, his 2001 final studio album, the same label that all but disowned Jackson prior to his death.
But if the public can forgive Jackson his alleged and perceived trespasses (both legal and plastic surgery-related), why can’t Sony move on, too? Apparently, time and death aren’t the only things that heal all wounds. So does money — or rather, the prospect of making a lot of it.
Is Jackson’s legacy worth it? Will both Sony and Jackson’s estate line their coffers with tons of green? Considering that 31 million copies of his albums have been sold worldwide since his death, including five million of the This Is It soundtrack, the answer would be a resounding yes. Several of the 10 projects, which includes the soundtrack, will be reissues, and Jackson apparently recorded a treasure trove of music before his death.
So whether you love him, hate him, or simply don’t care, for the next decade or so, you’ll continue hearing a lot more from Michael Jackson dead than you did during the last 10 years of his life.
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According to wikianswers.com MJ has sold between 300 and 750 albums worldwide, heck even Abba sold more than 100 million.
wow!!that’s one of the most biased and negative articles I’ve read on Michael. u shouldn’t be proud of this achievement man.
writing about the allegation as if they are a huge part of Michale’s life, entity and history?? i mean really?? and it’s coming from an African American man. One would expect that u would be more aware of injustice in this world. Yet your article is clearly devoid of that. It’s only filled with recycled false info on the most important figure in the history of music. the man with the biggest records of humanitarian works. the man who dedicated his life to fight hate and injustice through his music. this man is reduced to an allegedly child-molester, who did several plastic surgeries and made a come back after his passing!! wow!just wow!!how “accurate” and “thorough” of u!!
your job as a blogger,(or whatever as i’m reading a peice for u for the first time>>u have got to thank Michael for that. he’s bringing people who have never heard of u to this “amazing” article of yours!)entails lots of reading and researching before u jot down some articles. obviously u are swimming with anti-Michael flow. it’s so crystal clear because u chose not to research. u chose to write what the media repeats again and again. not very original if u want my opinion!
if you bothered by looking up the roots of 93 allegations, u would find it was blackmail. pure and simple. the kid’s father was recorded while he was talking baout his blackmail plan. u can find it on youtube. FYI, Michael was emotionally involved with the kid’s mother. how did we know?? look up the 2005 case transcripts, and u will understand. Michael apparently wanted to marry her and adopt her kids (a boy and lil girl). when the father (ex husband of the woman)started his threats, the woman was siding with Michael. she even said that his allegations are bullshit. but when Michael changed his mind about marrying her, she chose to back up her husband, and get a piece of the money. the money that was paid by MJ’s insurance company. he was against the payoff, but surely u will not find this info in tabloids and mainstream media.
for case 2005, u could read the script and see the mockery that went through this case. read about the history of the family of the kids. u could easily see how Michael was easily exonerated by an all-white jury. there was no case. the kids had history with blackmail along with their mother.
there’s no forcing an opinion here. but reading and researching before forming any judgment is always wise and recommended.
read more, and u will see how he endured a life being called “weird” and bizarre” for the shallowest reasons ever. because he had plastic surgeries?? mmm is not that HIS own face we are talking about. did he hurt somebody’s feelings or threaten somebody’s life with having his nose altered?? and I shall not forget the myth of him changing his skin color, and him hating his own race. while in fact he had vitiligo (proved in the autopsy reprt) and was dedicated to Black causes and issues. while he was all about Black Power and Pride.
i suggest these links if u were ever interested in finding the truth about this man:
http://lacienegasmiled.wordpress.com/category/vitiligo/
Spoken like a true MJ fan, which, by the way, I am. My intention here was not to support or blast the molestation allegations, which, by the way, I never believed (that’s the subject of a different blog post, which, by the way, I have written: http://jeremyhelligar.blogspot.com/2009/07/guilty-by-suspicion.html), nor his reputation as a bizarre person. These were both facts of his life — and for the record, yes, I do believe that his public persona was bizarre, to say the least. But here, the bottom line is this: As we approach the one-year anniversary of his death, both Jackson’s estate and the record label that all but disowned him not too long ago, continue to profit from his death.
In response to another comment. See in context »Mr. Helligar,
Mr. Jackson is just following the footsteps of Elvis Presley. “Great career move”.
Yes, it’s the one thing that seems to work every time.
In response to another comment. See in context »