Lecture Notes - MUS 15

Preshow

Yikes: Celine Dion dressed as Michael Jackson performing “Bad” in a 1988 concert.

Week 10: Public Forgiveness and Lasting Cultural Impact

The Final Years • After his exoneration, Michael went into hiding – Bahrain: rumored to have signed a record contract with Two Seas Records, though the deal was never finalized – Westmeath, Ireland: began working on new material with will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas – Las Vegas: recording with will.i.am and Akon

The Final Years: Finances • Successfully got out of his contract with Sony in the early 00’s • Sony released several greatest hits compilations, which put MJ back on the charts throughout the globe – Thriller 25: commemorating the 25th anniversary of Thriller, included some remixes of the original material – King of Pop: several versions of this album were packaged based on fans’ preferences

• The title to Neverland Ranch was transferred to a real estate company, in an effort to forgive some of his outstanding loans

2009: Comeback King

2009: Comeback King • There were only supposed to be 10 performances, but the # of dates was increased to 50 after overwhelming ticket sales – Over 1 million sold in les than 2 hours

• Rehearsals took place in Los Angeles at the Staples Center • A soundtrack to the concert series was in production – Included music/hits from the performances, as well as unreleased material – Planet Earth: spoke word piece featuring a poem and orchestration

June 25, 2009: Michael Jackson passes away

Public Response • Word of his death spread quickly via new media outlets – Major news sources reported web traffic so great that it crashed their systems: TMZ, LA Times, Twitter, Wikipedia and AOL

• 15% of tweets (5,000 per minute) were about Michael Jackson • Google shut down searches related to Michael Jackson for a brief period • MTV and BET ran marathons of his short films • NBC, ABC and CBS even news broadcasts devoted large portions of their programming to pay tribute • Commemorative editions of magazines were released

New Media and Participation Culture • Public outcry of reverence • Countless vigils and spontaneous memorials • Tribute websites sprang up as a way for people to participate in public grieving • His music became a ubiquitous presence in the summer months • People released their own tributes through youtube and facebook

Public Memorial • July 7, 2009: Staples Center in LA • Broadcast live throughout the world on television as well as in cinemas and on the internet – 3.1 million Americans watched the service – An estimate of 2.5 billion viewers tuned in worldwide

• Featured tribute performances by those who worked with and were inspired by him • Several of Michael’s closest friends eulogized him • Paris tearfully addressed the crowd – Her words were viewed as a gesture that finally humanized the larger than life persona

Michael Jackson and The Media •

1970s: child prodigy – Marveled at the incredible skill of such a young boy, “40-year-old midget” – No tabloid stories, but Teen Magazines wanted to know harmless details about his personal life

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1980s: Young man coming into his own – Tabloid focus on his eccentricities, but isn’t yet slanted negatively – Major news outlets focus on his record-breaking sales and his mass appeal

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1990s: Grown man whose sexuality and racial identity place him outside of “normal” – Tabloids and major news organizations zero in on the possibility that he might be a pedophile – His personal life becomes the main focus over his musical output, favoring salacious headlines over factual reporting

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2000s: Personal ruin and exile – ALL news organizations focused on the criminal investigation and subsequent trial – His erratic behavior became the focal point of the stories – Once exonerated, he was largely ignored by the press, save for a story here and there about his financial troubles

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2009: Redemption – The tone shifts from ambivalence and negativity to tribute and triumph

Image Restoration “In light of this history, we may read the mass media’s reappraisal of Jackson’s character as an atonement, an apology for the many stories over the years that contributed to the construction of a public image of Jackson that was visually inhuman, psychologically unsound, and sexually devious. Here, an obsession with Jackson as a tabloid figure superseded the artistry and talent that transfixed popular culture years earlier.” – Zack Stiegler, 214

Image Shift: Bolstering • In death, the media focused on the “young, sexy, successful, talented, dignified” Michael Jackson • All headlines ran photos of Michael before the first allegations of molestation • Re-presented Michael in terms of his distant, triumphant past • Media is in recuperative mode: – Saving his legacy by reducing the offensive nature of his final years

Worth More in Death • Digital sales totaled 12,355,000 for 2009 – 16% of all digital sales for that year – First artist to reach 1 million downloads in a week

• First time a catalog (old, not a re-release) album sold more than new albums • First artist in history to have the top 4 albums in a single year in the US • Sony reconstructed their deal with Michael, extending ownership of his material to 2017 (their ownership was due to expire in 2015, which means it will go up for sale at this time) – In this new deal, Sony agreed to release 10 new albums’ worth of unreleased material along with re-releases and remixes of existing work – The new contract left the Michael Jackson estate with $250 million signing cost, as well as royalties on all music sold

Posthumous Music and Entertainment • Michael was released in December, 2010 – “Breaking News” was released in November as the 1st promotional single off the album

• Michael Jackson: The Experience video game – among the first games to use motion detecting camera sytems so folks can sing and dance

• November 2010: Cirque du Soleil announced their Michael Jackson-themed show • a $57 million venture – The show is centered around MJ’s Giving Tree

• 2011: Cirque soundtrack, Immortal is released – featured 40 remastered songs

• 2013: Michael Jackson: One – Cirque du Soleil show opened in Feb at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas

Dr. Conrad Murray Criminal Trial • 2010: Dr. Murray was charged with involuntary manslaughter – Private physician to Michael Jackson – The defense argued that Michael had taken lorazepam (an anxiety drug) after a particularly stressful day of rehearsal. When Dr. Murray left the room, Michael administered a dose of propofol (sedative), which reacted negatively with the lorazepam, killing him instantly. – The prosecution argued that Dr. Murray negligently administered the drugs himself, not taking into account the possibility that other drugs might already be in his system.

• 2011: found guilty and sentenced to 4 years in prison • October 2013: released early on good behavior

Michael Jackson’s This Is It • Documentary put together from 110 hours of rehearsal footage • Painted Michael Jackson positively, in good health and in top form • Conspiracy theorists view the documentary as a “collage of lies,” stating that those who stood to make a lot of money off the ticket sales edited him to look as if he were at his peak. • The film acts as a confirmation of his legacy in entertainment – Getting the glimpse into his rehearsal process – We get to see how he thinks, moves, reacts while preparing to be his best in performance

Michael Jackson’s Legacy • • • • •

Supported more charities than any other single artist Most expensive music video: “Scream” at $7 mil Largest worldwide audience for a music video premiere: “Black or White” simulcast in 27 countries, 500 mil viewers 2 best-selling VHS music videos: Moonwalker (1988) and Thriller (1982) 372 awards won throughout his career – Most Grammy, Billboard Music and American Music Awards won by a single artist

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2006 Guinness World Record for Most Successful Entertainer of All Time First performer to sell 100 mil albums outside of the US Held and broke records for highest-grossing tours of all time: Bad, Dangerous, HIStory and This is It First musician inducted into the National Museum of Dance Hall of Fame Thriller – – – –

#1 on the Billboard 200 for 37 weeks (second to West Side Story) Top 10 for 87 weeks (1 ½ years) Highest selling album of all time “Billie Jean” made him the first artist to have both the #1 single and #1 album