Huey: Can I just pull on your wings to see how they're attached?
Michael: Why don't you pull on your pecker to see how it's attached?
Genius Bonus: Michael claims to have written Psalm 85, which is largely an entreaty to God to not be wrathful and show his endless forgiveness on his children. Also,
Covered Up: Jackson's cover of "Behind the Mask" is generally much better known than the original instrumental by Yellow Magic Orchestra. Interestingly, it wasn't really associated with Jackson for the longest time due to the fact that he did not release it at the time. His keyboardist, Greg Phillinganes, first recorded Jackson's arrangement on his solo album Pulse several years after Thriller. Phillinganes then became a member of Eric Clapton's band, and introduced him to the song, which Clapton loved and thus covered on his album August, with it becoming a sizeable hit as a single. Jackson having been credited on both Phillinganes and Clapton's recordings raised interest in the song, which had faded from public view by the time it was included on Michael, thus that version is better known by younger fans. In a case of Approval of God, both the original lyricist Chris Mosdell and its original musical composer Ryuichi Sakamoto loved this version. Sakamoto even recorded it with Bernard Fowler on vocals for his Media Bahn Live album in the 80s, and then studio recorded for a single.
Critical Dissonance: Despite the controversy over the album's vocals, it was still certified Platinum in several countries.
Fan Nickname: "Breaking News", "Keep Your Head Up", and "Monster" are colloquially known as the "Cascio tracks," after the official story that they were recorded in a home studio that Eddie Cascio, a personal friend of the Jackson family, set up in his basement. The name is also used for nine other leaked tracks with the same, heavily debated vocal style.
Fanon Discontinuity: Due to the questioned authenticity of the Cascio tracks, as well as the debate of whether or not it should have even been released in the first place. With the Cascio tracks being pulled from circulation in 2022, this may also overlap with Canon Discontinuity.
Overshadowed by Controversy: The album is almost exclusively known for the infamous "Cascio tracks", a set of tracks supposedly recorded with Eddie Cascio in 2007. However, both fans of Michael and several of his family members made allegations that Michael did not actually perform on the songs but instead featured soundalike Jason Malachi. The controversy was further exacerbated by Michael's brother Randy claiming that he and other family members were not allowed into the studio where the album was being completed, implying foul play on the part of Sony Music. These allegations would prompt years of class action lawsuits against Sony and ultimately the removal of the songs from distribution in 2022, with an official statement giving the controversy over the tracks as the reason for their removal.
