History Music / MichaelJackson

Known as the King of Pop, he is the most successful recording artist in history, with his music influencing much of the genre in the 1980s and early 1990s, his music videos breaking the color barrier on {{MTV}}. He also had [[{{Moonwalker}} a video game]] based on him. All of this resulted in a total of 13 Grammy Awards. Then he released his next album, ''Bad'', which was also a big hit.

Originally a member of the {{Motown}} act the Jackson 5, Michael Joseph Jackson (1958-2009) debuted as a solo artist in 1971 -- the year he turned thirteen. His full-fledged solo career took off in the late [[TheSeventies 1970s]]. Though songs from his first serious solo effort, ''Off The Wall'', were popular, he reached superstardom in 1982 with his album ''Thriller''. ''Thriller'' is currently the only album in history to have sold more than one hundred million copies -- beating the number two album by more than double.

Originally a member of the {{Motown}} act the Jackson 5, Michael Joseph Jackson (1958-2009) debuted as a solo artist in 1971 -- the year he turned thirteen. His full-fledged solo career took off in the late 1970s. Though songs from his first serious solo effort, ''Off The Wall'', were popular, he reached superstardom in 1982 with his album ''Thriller''. ''Thriller'' is currently the only album in history to have sold more than one hundred million copies -- beating the number two album by more than double.

Originally a member of the {{Motown}} act the Jackson 5, Michael Joseph Jackson debuted as a solo artist in 1971 -- the year he turned thirteen. His full-fledged solo career took off in the late 1970s. Though songs from his first serious solo effort, ''Off The Wall'', were popular, he reached superstardom in 1982 with his album ''Thriller''. ''Thriller'' is currently the only album in history to have sold more than one hundred million copies -- beating the number two album by more than double.

* RedemptionEqualsDeath: In a sense. Michael Jackson was the unfortunate butt of many jokes during the last years of his life. Once he died, though, those jokes quickly became a case of DudeNotFunny, and Michael became 'redeemed' by an outpouring of grief and tributes from his fans.

** He also appeared as himself in ''[[MenInBlack Men In Black 2]]'', and as a hidden boxer in ''Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2''.

* EverythingsCuterWithKittens: On the extended ''Thriller'' CD cover, Jackson is holding a tiger cub.

* PopStarComposer: In the mid 2000s, it was discovered that Michael Jackson had a hand in composing some of the soundtrack of ''SonicTheHedgehog3'', with most evidence pointing to the fact that most of the songs are either uptempo or [[TheJimmyHartVersion Jimmy Hart versions]] of tracks from his ''Dangerous'' album. He is not credited in the game itself, with the official reasons being that he disliked the low-grade sound equipment used to make Sega Genesis music, but given that he had [[MemeticMolester somewhat bigger things]] to worry about in early 1993, it's easier to see the true reasons behind his abandoning the project. He later lent his voice and likeness to another Sega project, ''SpaceChannel5'', but it's not known if he provided any music.

* AccidentalPervert: According to at least an interview, when his older brothers brought girls to their hotel rooms for [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean "private times"]], Michael found himself in this situation as he was the youngest of the FiveManBand and by that hour, he usually was trying to get some sleep.
** Made even more awkward/{{squick}}y/hilarious/etc. when he added more than one of the girls would say "Aw, really? He's so cute" upon learning about his "presence".

* EverythingsBetterWithSparkles: He wore silver sequins on his glove and socks for this reason.

Jackson died due to an overdose of propofol on June 25, 2009, at the age of fifty, a few weeks before the start of a long-awaited series of shows in London that were to serve as a comeback. In late August, his death was ruled a homicide. His death occurred during an almost surreal two-week period between June 21 and July 4, which was densely populated by celebrity deaths including those of [[TheTonightShow Ed McMahon]]; Sky Saxon; [[CharliesAngels Farrah Fawcett]] (who died on the same ''day'', no less); BillyMays; [[Series/AreYouBeingServed Mollie Sugden]]; [[{{Fargo}} Harve Presnell]]; Karl Malden; and [[{{AmericanFootball}} Steve [=McNair=]]], in what has been dubbed the "Summer of Death" or the "2009 Celebrity Death Wave". [[KillBill David Carradine]] died two weeks before the beginning of this period, but is often included with these folks anyway. The doctor who administered the overdose was found guilty in November of 2011.

Jackson died due to an overdose of propofol on June 25, 2009, at the age of fifty, a few weeks before the start of a long-awaited series of shows in London that were to serve as a comeback. In late August, his death was ruled a homicide. His death occurred during an almost surreal two-week period between June 21 and July 4, which was densely populated by celebrity deaths including those of [[TheTonightShow Ed McMahon]]; Sky Saxon; [[CharliesAngels Farrah Fawcett]] (who died on the same ''day'', no less); BillyMays; [[Series/AreYouBeingServed Mollie Sugden]]; [[{{Fargo}} Harve Presnell]]; Karl Malden; and [[{{AmericanFootball}} Steve [=McNair=]]], in what has been dubbed the "Summer of Death" or the "2009 Celebrity Death Wave". [[KillBill David Carradine]] died two weeks before the beginning of this period, but is often included with these folks anyway.

* TheSomethingSong: "Earth Song".

* YouDontLookLikeYou: He may be the most famous real-life example, as well as perhaps the most extreme example not involving cross-dressing. (Though to shield himself from the public and press, he dabbled in [[CrossDresser cross-dressing]]. In the Middle East, he was spotted wearing a burqa and entering a ladies' room.)

* TheTropeSong: "Earth Song".

* TheTysonZone: The biggest example of the trope aside from its namer.

** Iran was fraught with post-election riots around the time of his death, with some even speculating that the regime could not survive. The story was promptly forgotten with Michael died. One wonders how the Arab Spring might have played out if the Western media wasn't distracted in 2009.

* XJustX: "Beat it, just beat it."

* FamilyUnfriendlyAesop: The public relations folks at Motown taught Michael and his brothers that it was okay to lie for the sake of their image. See TheTysonZone below.
--> '''Ed Sullivan''': How old are you, Michael? \\
--> '''Michael''': Nine. (He was eleven.)

!!Michael Jackson music videos:

Jackson died due to an overdose of propofol on June 25, 2009, at the age of fifty, a few weeks before the start of a long-awaited series of shows in London that were to serve as a comeback. In late August, his death was ruled a homicide.
His death occurred during an almost surreal two-week period between June 21 and July 4, which was densely populated by celebrity deaths including those of [[TheTonightShow Ed McMahon]]; Sky Saxon; [[CharliesAngels Farrah Fawcett]] (who died on the same ''day'', no less); BillyMays; [[Series/AreYouBeingServed Mollie Sugden]]; [[{{Fargo}} Harve Presnell]]; Karl Malden; and [[{{AmericanFootball}} Steve [=McNair=]]], in what has been dubbed the "Summer of Death" or the "2009 Celebrity Death Wave". [[KillBill David Carradine]] died two weeks before the beginning of this period, but is often included with these folks anyway.

His death occurred during an almost surreal two-week period between June 21 and July 4, which was densely populated by celebrity deaths including those of [[TheTonightShow Ed McMahon]]; Sky Saxon; [[CharliesAngels Farrah Fawcett]] (who died on the same ''day'', no less); BillyMays; [[Series/AreYouBeingServed Mollie Sugden]]; [[{{Fargo}} Harve Presnell]]; Karl Malden; and Steve [=McNair=], in what has been dubbed the "Summer of Death" or the "2009 Celebrity Death Wave". [[KillBill David Carradine]] died two weeks before the beginning of this period, but is often included with these folks anyway.

** {{Retirony}}.