Top Singers

Τρίτη 26 Απριλίου 2011

Top 10 sngers in the world...

This blog was created to learn all about 10 of the best singers in the world ...

Αυτο το blog δημιουργηθηκε για να μαθετε τα παντα για 10 απο τους καλυτερους τραγουδιστες στον κοσμο...

Εγγραφή σε: Σχόλια (Atom)

MJ biography

Michael Joseph Jackson^[1] (August 29, 1958 - June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, dancer, singer-songwriter, musician, and philanthropist. Referred to as the King of Pop, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records. His contribution to music, dance, and fashion, along with a much-publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. The eighth child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene along with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1964, and began his solo career in 1971.

In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music. The music videos for his songs, including those of "Beat It", "Billie Jean", and "Thriller", were credited with transforming the medium into an art form and a promotional tool, and the popularity of these videos helped to bring the relatively new television channel MTV to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made him a staple on MTV in the 1990s. Through stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style have influenced numerous hip hop, pop, contemporary R&B, and rock artists.

Jackson's 1982 album Thriller is the best-selling album of all time. His other records, including Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991), and HIStory (1995), also rank among the world's best-selling. Jackson is one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. He was also inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame as the first (and currently only) dancer from the world of pop and rock 'n' roll. Some of his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records; 13 Grammy Awards (as well as the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award); 26 American Music Awards (more than any other artist, including the "Artist of the Century"); 13 number-one singles in the United States in his solo career (more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era); and the estimated sale of over 750 million records worldwide. Jackson won hundreds of awards, which have made him the most-awarded recording artists in the history of music. He was also a notable humanitarian and philanthropist, donating and raising hundreds of millions of dollars for beneficial causes and supporting more than 39 charities.

Aspects of Jackson's personal life, including his changing appearance, personal relationships, and behavior, have generated controversy. In 1993, he was accused of child sexual abuse, but the case was settled out of court and no formal charges were brought. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted of further sexual abuse allegations and several other charges after the jury ruled him not guilty on all counts. While preparing for his concert series This Is It, Jackson died on June 25, 2009, after suffering from cardiac arrest. Before his death, Jackson had mistakenly been administered drugs including propofol and lorazepam. The Los Angeles County Coroner declared his death a homicide, and his personal physician pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter. Jackson's death triggered a global outpouring of grief, and as many as one billion people around the world reportedly watched his public memorial service on live television. In March 2010, Sony Music Entertainment signed a US$250 million deal with Jackson's estate to retain distribution rights to his recordings until 2017, and to release seven posthumous albums over the decade following his death.

[hide]

Life and career

Early life and The Jackson 5 (1958–1975)

Jackson's childhood home in Gary, Indiana, showing floral tributes after his death.

Michael Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, the eighth of ten children in an African American working-class family who lived in a small 3-room house in Gary, Indiana,^[2] an industrial suburb of Chicago. His mother, Katherine Esther Scruse, was a devout Jehovah's Witness, and his father, Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson, was a steel mill worker who performed with an R&B band called The Falcons. Jackson had three sisters: Rebbie, La Toya, and Janet, and five brothers: Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy.^[3] A sixth brother, Brandon, died shortly after birth.^[4]

Jackson had a troubled relationship with his father, Joe.^[5]^[6]^[7] Joseph acknowledged in 2003 that he regularly whipped Jackson as a boy.^[7] Jackson stated that he was physically and emotionally abused during incessant rehearsals, though he also credited his father's strict discipline with playing a large role in his success.^[5] Jackson first spoke openly about his childhood abuse in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, broadcast in February 1993. He admitted that he had often cried from loneliness and he would vomit on the sight of his father. Jackson's father was also said to have verbally abused Jackson, saying that he had a fat nose on numerous occasions.^[8] In fact, Michael Jackson's deep dissatisfaction with his appearance, his nightmares and chronic sleep problems, his tendency to remain hyper-compliant especially with his father, and to remain child-like throughout his adult life are in many ways consistent with the effects of this chronic maltreatment he endured as a young child.^[9] Also, U.S.-based research studies on impact of "adverse childhood experiences" or ACEs (e.g. a child being abused, violence in the family, extreme stress of poverty, etc.) have shown that having a number of ACEs exponentially increases the risk of addiction (e.g. a male child with six ACEs has a 4,600%/46-fold increase in risk of addiction), mental illnesses, physical illnesses, and early death.^[10]

In an interview with Martin Bashir, later included in the 2003 broadcast of Living with Michael Jackson, Jackson acknowledged that his father hurt him when he was a child, but was nonetheless a "genius", as he admitted his father's strict discipline played a huge role in his success. When Bashir dismissed the positive remark and continued asking about beatings, Jackson put his hand over his face and objected to the questions. He recalled that Joseph sat in a chair with a belt in his hand as he and his siblings rehearsed, and that "if you didn't do it the right way, he would tear you up, really get you".^[11]^[12]

In 1964, Michael and Marlon joined the Jackson Brothers—a band formed by brothers Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine—as backup musicians playing congas and tambourine. Jackson later began performing backup vocals and dancing. When he was eight, Jackson began sharing the lead vocals with his older brother Jermaine, and the group's name was changed to The Jackson 5.^[3] The band toured the Midwest extensively from 1966 to 1968, frequently performing at a string of black clubs known as the "chitlin' circuit", where they often opened stripteases and other adult acts. In 1966, they won a major local talent show with renditions of Motown hits and James Brown's "I Got You (I Feel Good)", led by Michael.^[13]

The Jackson 5 recorded several songs, including "Big Boy", for the local record label Steeltown in 1967, before signing with Motown Records in 1968.^[3] Rolling Stone magazine later described the young Michael as "a prodigy" with "overwhelming musical gifts," writing that he "quickly emerged as the main draw and lead singer."^[14] The group set a chart record when its first four singles ("I Want You Back", "ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There") peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.^[3] Between 1972 and 1975, Jackson released four solo studio albums with Motown, among them Got to Be There and Ben, released as part of the Jackson 5 franchise, and producing successful singles such as "Got to Be There", "Ben", and a remake of Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin". The group's sales began declining in 1973, and the band members chafed under Motown's strict refusal to allow them creative control or input. Although they scored several top 40 hits, including the top 5 disco single "Dancing Machine" and the top 20 hit "I Am Love", the Jackson 5 left Motown in 1975.^[15]

Move to Epic and Off the Wall (1975–1981)

In June 1975, the Jackson 5 signed with Epic Records, a subsidiary of CBS Records^[15] and renamed themselves the Jacksons. Younger brother Randy formally joined the band around this time, while Jermaine left to pursue a solo career.^[16] They continued to tour internationally, releasing six more albums between 1976 and 1984, during which Jackson was the lead songwriter, writing hits such as "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)", "This Place Hotel," and "Can You Feel It".^[13] In 1978, he starred as the scarecrow in the musical, The Wiz, a box-office disaster. It was here that he teamed up with Quincy Jones, who was arranging the film's musical score. Jones agreed to produce Jackson's next solo album, Off the Wall.^[17] In 1979, Jackson broke his nose during a complex dance routine. His subsequent rhinoplasty was not a complete success; he complained of breathing difficulties that would affect his career. He was referred to Dr. Steven Hoefflin, who performed Jackson's second rhinoplasty and subsequent operations.^[18]

Jones and Jackson produced the Off the Wall album together. Songwriters for the album included Jackson, Rod Temperton, Stevie Wonder, and Paul McCartney. Released in 1979, it was the first solo album to generate four U.S. top 10 hits, including the chart-topping singles "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" and "Rock with You".^[19]^[20] It reached number three on the Billboard 200 and eventually sold over 20 million copies worldwide.^[21] In 1980, Jackson won three awards at the American Music Awards for his solo efforts: Favorite Soul/R&B Album, Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist, and Favorite Soul/R&B Single for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough".^[22]^[23] That year, he also won Billboard Year-End for Top Black Artist and Top Black Album and a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, also for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough".^[19] Jackson again won at the American Music Awards in 1981 for Favorite Soul/R&B Album and Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist.^[24] Despite its commercial success, Jackson felt Off the Wall should have made a much bigger impact, and was determined to exceed expectations with his next release.^[25] In 1980, he secured the highest royalty rate in the music industry: 37 percent of wholesale album profit.^[26]

Thriller and Motown 25 (1982–83)

In 1982, Jackson contributed the song "Someone In the Dark" to the storybook for the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial; the record won a Grammy for Best Recording for Children in 1984. In the same year he won another seven Grammys and eight American Music Awards (including the Award of Merit, the youngest artist to win it), making him the most awarded in one night for both award shows.^[27]^[28] These awards were thanks to the Thriller album, released in late 1982, which was 1983's best-selling album worldwide^[29]^[30] and became the best-selling album of all time in the United States,^[31] as well as the best-selling album of all time worldwide, selling an estimated 110 million copies so far.^[32] The album topped the Billboard 200 chart for 37 weeks and was in the top 10 of the 200 for 80 consecutive weeks. It was the first album to have seven Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles, including "Billie Jean", "Beat It," and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'."^[33] Thriller was certified for 29 million shipments by the RIAA, giving it Double Diamond status in the United States. The album won also another Grammy for Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical in 1984, awarding Bruce Swedien for his work.^[34] Jackson's attorney John Branca noted that Jackson had the highest royalty rate in the music industry at that point: approximately $2 for every album sold. He was also making record-breaking profits from sales of his recordings. The videocassette of the documentary The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller sold over 350,000 copies in a few months. The era saw the arrival of novelties like dolls modeled after Michael Jackson, which appeared in stores in May 1984 at a price of $12.^[35] Biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli writes that, "Thriller stopped selling like a leisure item—like a magazine, a toy, tickets to a hit movie—and started selling like a household staple."^[36] In 1985, The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Longform.^[27] In December 2009, the music video for "Thriller" was selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, "Thriller" is the first music video ever to be inducted.^[37]^[38]^[39]

Time described Jackson's influence at that point as "Star of records, radio, rock video. A one-man rescue team for the music business. A songwriter who sets the beat for a decade. A dancer with the fanciest feet on the street. A singer who cuts across all boundaries of taste and style and color too".^[35] The New York Times wrote that, "in the world of pop music, there is Michael Jackson and there is everybody else".^[40]

In March 1983, Jackson reunited with his brothers for a legendary live performance which was taped for a Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever television special. The show aired on May 16, 1983, to an audience of 47 million viewers, and featured the Jacksons and a number of other Motown stars. It is best remembered for Jackson's solo performance of "Billie Jean". Wearing a distinctive black sequin jacket and golf glove decorated with rhinestones, he debuted his signature dance move, the moonwalk, which former Soul Train dancer and Shalamar member, Jeffrey Daniel had taught him three years before. The Jacksons' performance drew comparisons to Elvis Presley's and The Beatles' appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.^[41] Anna Kisselgoff of The New York Times later wrote, "The moonwalk that he made famous is an apt metaphor for his dance style. How does he do it? As a technician, he is a great illusionist, a genuine mime. His ability to keep one leg straight as he glides while the other bends and seems to walk requires perfect timing."^[42]

Pepsi, "We Are the World" and business career (1984–85)

A black and white image shows a man standing next to a person dressed in a full dog costume. The man on the left has his left arm around the waist of the other person and is smiling.

Jackson with a Knott's Berry Farm Snoopy mascot in April 1984

On January 27, 1984, Michael and other members of the Jacksons filmed a Pepsi Cola commercial, overseen by executive Phil Dusenberry,^[43] from ad agency BBDO and Pepsi's Worldwide Creative Director, Alan Pottasch at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. In front of a full house of fans during a simulated concert, pyrotechnics accidentally set Jackson's hair on fire. He suffered second-degree burns to his scalp. Jackson underwent treatment to hide the scars on his scalp, and he also had his third rhinoplasty shortly thereafter.^[18] Jackson never recovered from this injury. Pepsi settled out of court, and Jackson donated his $1.5 million settlement to the Brotman Medical Center in Culver City, California, which now has a "Michael Jackson Burn Center" in honor of his donation.^[44] Dusenberry later recounted the episode in his memoir, Then We Set His Hair on Fire: Insights and Accidents from a Hall of Fame Career in Advertising.

On May 14, 1984, Jackson was invited to the White House to receive an award from President Ronald Reagan for his support of charities that helped people overcome alcohol and drug abuse.^[45] Jackson won eight awards during the Grammys that year. Unlike later albums, Thriller did not have an official tour to promote it, but the 1984 Victory Tour, headlined by The Jacksons, showcased much of Jackson's new solo material to more than two million Americans. He donated all the funds (around $8 million) raised from the Victory Tour to charity.^[46] He also co-wrote the charity single "We Are the World" in 1985 with Lionel Richie, which was released worldwide to aid the poor in the U.S. and Africa. It became one of the best-selling singles of all time, with nearly 30 million copies sold and millions of dollars donated to famine relief. In 1986, "We Are the World" won four Grammys (one for Jackson for Song of the Year). American Music Award directors removed the charity song from the competition because they felt it would be inappropriate, but recognised it with two special honors (one for the creation of the song and one for the USA for Africa idea). They are the only AMAs that Jackson won as non-solo artist.^[47]^[48]^[49]^[50]

Jackson at the White House South Portico with President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan, 1984

In 1984, ATV Music Publishing, which had the copyrights to nearly 4000 songs, including the Northern Songs catalog that contained the majority of the Lennon/McCartney compositions recorded by The Beatles, was put up for sale by Robert Holmes à Court.^[51] Jackson had become interested in owning music catalogs after working with Paul McCartney in the early 1980s: Jackson had learned McCartney made approximately $40 million a year from other people's songs.^[52] In 1981,^[53] McCartney was offered the ATV music catalog for £20 million ($40 million USD).^[52]^[54] According to McCartney, he contacted Yoko Ono about making a joint purchase by splitting the cost equally at £10 million each, but Ono thought they could buy it for £5 million each.^[52]^[54] When they were unable to make the joint purchase, McCartney let the offer fall through, not wanting to be the sole owner of the Beatles' songs.^[53]^[54]

According to a negotiator for Holmes à Court in the 1984 sale, "We had given Paul McCartney first right of refusal but Paul didn't want it at that time."^[55] Also, an attorney for McCartney assured Jackson's attorney, John Branca, that McCartney was not interested in bidding: McCartney reportedly said "It's too pricey"^[52]^[53] But there were several other companies and investors bidding. In September 1984, Jackson was first informed about the sale by Branca and sent a bid of $46 million on November 20, 1984.^[51] Jackson's agents thought they had a deal several times, but encountered new bidders or new areas of debate.^[51] In May 1985, Jackson's team walked away from talks after having spent over $1 million on four months of due diligence and on the negotiations.^[51]

In June 1985, Jackson and Branca learned that Charles Koppelman's and Marty Bandier's The Entertainment Co. had made a tentative agreement with Holmes à Court to buy ATV Music for $50 million.^[51] But in early August, Holmes à Court's team contacted Jackson and talks resumed. Jackson raised his bid to $47.5 million and it was accepted because he could close the deal more quickly, having already completed due diligence of ATV Music.^[51] He also agreed to visit Holmes à Court in Australia, where he would appear on the Channel Seven Perth Telethon.^[51]^[55] Jackson's purchase of ATV Music was finalized August 10, 1985.^[51]

Appearance, tabloids, Bad, autobiography and films (1986–87)

Jackson's skin had been a medium-brown color for the entire duration of his youth, but starting in the mid 1980s, it gradually grew paler. The change gained widespread media coverage, including rumors that he was bleaching his skin.^[56] According to J. Randy Taraborrelli's biography, in 1986, Jackson was diagnosed with vitiligo and lupus; the vitiligo partially lightened his skin, and the lupus was in remission; both illnesses made him sensitive to sunlight. The treatments he used for his condition further lightened his skin tone, and, with the application of pancake makeup to even out blotches, he could appear very pale.^[57] Jackson was also diagnosed with vitiligo in his autopsy.^[58] Several surgeons speculated that he had undergone various nasal surgeries, a forehead lift, thinned lips, and cheekbone surgery—although Jackson denied this and insisted that he only had surgery on his nose.^[59] Jackson claimed that he had only two rhinoplasties and no other surgery on his face, although at one point he mentioned having a dimple created in his chin.^[60] Jackson lost weight in the early 1980s because of a change in diet and a desire for "a dancer's body".^[60] Witnesses reported that he was often dizzy and speculated that he was suffering from anorexia nervosa; periods of weight loss would become a recurring problem later in life.^[61]

During the course of his treatment, Jackson made two close friends: his dermatologist, Dr. Arnold Klein, and Klein's nurse Debbie Rowe. Rowe eventually became Jackson's second wife and the mother of his two eldest children. Long before becoming romantically involved with her, Jackson relied heavily on Rowe for emotional support. He also relied heavily on Klein, for medical and business advice.^[62]

Jackson two years after he was diagnosed with vitiligo, here in the early stages of the disease

Jackson became the subject of increasingly sensational reports. In 1986, the tabloids ran a story claiming that Jackson slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to slow the aging process; he was pictured lying down in a glass box. Although the claim was untrue, according to tabloid reports that are widely cited, Jackson had disseminated the fabricated story himself.^[63]^[64] When Jackson bought a chimpanzee called Bubbles from a laboratory, he was reported to be increasingly detached from reality.^[65] It was reported that Jackson had offered to buy the bones of Joseph Merrick (the "elephant man") and although untrue, Jackson did not deny the story.^[63]^[64] Although initially he saw these stories as opportunities for publicity, he stopped leaking untruths to the press as they became more sensational. Consequently the media began making up their own stories.^[64]^[66]^[67] These reports became embedded in the public consciousness, inspiring the nickname "Wacko Jacko," which Jackson came to despise.^[68] Responding to the gossip, Jackson remarked to Taraborrelli:

Why not just tell people I'm an alien from Mars. Tell them I eat live chickens and do a voodoo dance at midnight. They'll believe anything you say, because you're a reporter. But if I, Michael Jackson, were to say, "I'm an alien from Mars and I eat live chickens and do a voodoo dance at midnight," people would say, "Oh, man, that Michael Jackson is nuts. He's cracked up. You can't believe a single word that comes out of his mouth."^[69]

Jackson wore a gold-plated military style jacket with belt in the Bad era

Jackson collaborated with Francis Ford Coppola on the 17-minute 3-D film Captain EO, which debuted in September 1986 at both the original Disneyland and at EPCOT in Florida, and in March 1987 at Tokyo Disneyland. The $30 million movie was a popular attraction at all three parks. A Captain EO attraction was later featured at Euro Disneyland after that park opened in 1992. All four parks' Captain EO installations stayed open well into the 1990s: Paris' installation was the last one to close, in 1998.^[70] The attraction would later return to Disneyland in 2010 after Jackson's death.^[71]

In 1987, Jackson disassociated himself from the Jehovah's Witnesses, in response to their disapproval of the Thriller video.^[72] With the industry expecting another major hit, Jackson's first album in five years, Bad (1987), was highly anticipated.^[73] It did not top Thriller as a commercial or artistic triumph, but Bad was still a substantial success in its own right.

The Bad album spawned seven hit singles in the U.S., five of which ("I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man in the Mirror" and "Dirty Diana") reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. This was a record for most number one Hot 100 singles from any one album, including Thriller.^[74] Although the title track's video was arguably derivative of the video for the earlier single "Beat It", the "Bad" video still proved to be one of Jackson's iconic moments. It was a gritty but colorful epic set against the backdrop of the New York City Subway system, with costuming and choreography inspired by West Side Story. As of 2008, the album had sold 30 million copies worldwide.^[75] Thanks to the Bad album, Bruce Swedien and Humberto Gatica won one Grammy in 1988 for Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical and Michael Jackson won one Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form for "Leave Me Alone" in 1989.^[27]^[34] In the same year, Jackson won an Award of Achievement at the American Music Awards because Bad is the first album ever to generate five number one singles in the US, the first album to top in 25 countries and the best-selling album worldwide in 1987 and in 1988.^[76]^[77]^[78]^[79] In 1988, "Bad" won an American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Single.^[80]

The Bad World Tour began on September 12 that year, finishing on January 14, 1989.^[81] In Japan alone, the tour had 14 sellouts and drew 570,000 people, nearly tripling the previous record of 200,000 in a single tour.^[82] Jackson broke a Guinness World Record when 504,000 people attended seven sold-out shows at Wembley Stadium. He performed a total of 123 concerts to an audience of 4.4 million people. The Bad Tour turned out to be the last of Jackson's concert tours to include shows in the continental United States, although later tours did make it to Hawaii.

Autobiography, changing appearance and Neverland (1988–1990)

Jackson performing "The Way You Make Me Feel"

In 1988, Jackson released his first and only autobiography, Moonwalk, which took four years to complete and sold 200,000 copies.^[83] Jackson wrote about his childhood, The Jackson 5, and the abuse he had suffered.^[84] He also wrote about his facial appearance, saying he had had two rhinoplastic surgeries and a dimple created in his chin.^[60] He attributed much of the change in the structure of his face to puberty, weight loss, a strict vegetarian diet, a change in hair style, and stage lighting.^[60] Moonwalk reached the top position on The New York Times best sellers' list.^[85] The musician then released a film called Moonwalker, which featured live footage and short films that starred Jackson and Joe Pesci. The film was originally intended to be released to theaters but due to financial issues, the film was released direct-to-video. It debuted atop the Billboard Top Music Video Cassette chart, staying there for 22 weeks. It was eventually knocked off the top spot by Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues.^[86]

In March 1988, Jackson purchased land near Santa Ynez, California, to build Neverland Ranch at a cost of $17 million. He installed Ferris wheels, a menagerie, and a movie theater on the 2,700-acre (11 km²) property. A security staff of 40 patrolled the grounds. In 2003, it was valued at approximately $100 million.^[14]^[87] In 1989, his annual earnings from album sales, endorsements, and concerts was estimated at $125 million for that year alone.^[88] Shortly afterwards, he became the first Westerner to appear in a television ad in the Soviet Union.^[86]

His success resulted in his being dubbed the "King of Pop".^[89]^[90]^[91]^[92] The nickname was popularized by Elizabeth Taylor when she presented him with the Soul Train Heritage Award in 1989, proclaiming him "the true king of pop, rock and soul."^[93] President George H. W. Bush designated him the White House's "Artist of the Decade".^[94] From 1985 to 1990, he donated $500,000 to the United Negro College Fund, and all of the profits from his single "Man in the Mirror" went to charity.^[95]^[96] Jackson's live rendition of "You Were There" at Sammy Davis Jr.'s 60th birthday celebration received an Emmy nomination.^[86]

Dangerous, Heal the World Foundation and Super Bowl XXVII (1991–93)

In March 1991, Jackson renewed his contract with Sony for $65 million, a record-breaking deal at the time,^[97] displacing Neil Diamond's renewal contract with Columbia Records.^[98] He released his eighth album Dangerous in 1991. As of 2008, Dangerous had shipped seven million copies in the U.S. and had sold 32 million copies worldwide. The Dangerous album was co-produced by Teddy Riley, one of the pioneers of "new jack swing" which convinced Michael to feature a rapper on his album for the first time, the act worked and it turned out to be the best-selling album associated with that movement.^[99]^[100]^[101] In the United States, the album's first single "Black or White" was its biggest hit, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and remaining there for seven weeks, with similar chart performances worldwide.^[102] The album's second single "Remember the Time" spent eight weeks in the top five in the United States, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.^[103] At the end of 1992, Dangerous was awarded 1992's best-selling album worldwide and "Black or White" was awarded 1992's best-selling single worldwide at the Billboard Music Awards. Additionally, he won an award as best-selling artist of the '80s.^[104] In 1993, Jackson performed the song at the Soul Train Music Awards in a chair, saying he had suffered an injury in rehearsals.^[105] In the UK and other parts of Europe, "Heal the World" was the biggest hit from the album; it sold 450,000 copies in the UK and spent five weeks at number two in 1992.^[103]

Jackson founded the Heal the World Foundation in 1992. The charity organization brought underprivileged children to Jackson's ranch to enjoy theme park rides that Jackson had built on the property. The foundation also sent millions of dollars around the globe to help children threatened by war, poverty, and disease. In the same year Jackson published his second book, the bestselling collection of poetry, Dancing the Dream. While it was a commercial success and revealed a more intimate side to Jackson's nature, the collection was mostly critically unacclaimed at the time of release. In 2009, the book was republished by Doubleday and was more positively received by some critics in the wake of Jackson's untimely death. The Dangerous World Tour grossed $100 million. The tour began on June 27, 1992, and finished on November 11, 1993. Jackson performed to 3.5 million people in 67 concerts.^[103]^[106] He sold the broadcast rights to his Dangerous world tour to HBO for $20 million, a record-breaking deal that still stands.^[107]

Following the illness and death of Ryan White, Jackson helped draw public attention to HIV/AIDS, something that was still controversial at the time. He publicly pleaded with the Clinton Administration at Bill Clinton's Inaugural Gala to give more money to HIV/AIDS charities and research.^[108]^[109] In a high-profile visit to Africa, Jackson visited several countries, among them Gabon and Egypt.^[110] His first stop to Gabon was greeted with a sizable and enthusiastic reception of more than 100,000 people, some of them carrying signs that read, "Welcome Home Michael."^[110] In his trip to Côte d'Ivoire, Jackson was crowned "King Sani" by a tribal chief.^[110] He then thanked the dignitaries in French and English, signed official documents formalizing his kingship and sat on a golden throne while presiding over ceremonial dances.^[110]

In January 1993, Jackson made a memorable appearance at the halftime show at Super Bowl XXVII. The performance began with Jackson catapulting onto the stage as fireworks went off behind him. As he landed on the canvas, he maintained a motionless "clenched fist, standing statue stance", dressed in a gold and black military outfit and sunglasses; he remained completely motionless for a minute and a half while the crowd cheered. He then slowly removed his sunglasses, threw them away and sang four songs: "Jam", "Billie Jean", "Black or White" and "Heal the World". It was the first Super Bowl where the audience figures increased during the half-time show, and was viewed by 135 million Americans alone; Jackson's Dangerous album rose 90 places up the album chart.^[56] Jackson was given the "Living Legend Award" at the 35th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. "Black or White" was Grammy-nominated for best vocal performance. "Jam" gained two nominations: Best R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song.^[103] The Dangerous album won a Grammy for Best Engineered – Non Classical, awarding the work of Bruce Swedien and Teddy Riley. In the same year, Michael Jackson won three American Music Awards for Favorite Pop/Rock Album (Dangerous), Favorite Soul/R&B Single ("Remember the Time") and was the first to win the International Artist Award, for his global performances and humanitarian concerns. This award will bear his name in the future.^[27]^[34]^[111]

First child sexual abuse allegations and first marriage (1993–94)

Main article: 1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson

Jackson gave a 90-minute interview to Oprah Winfrey in February 1993, his second television interview since 1979. He grimaced when speaking of his childhood abuse at the hands of his father; he believed he had missed out on much of his childhood years, admitting that he often cried from loneliness. He denied tabloid rumors that he had bought the bones of the Elephant Man, slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, or bleached his skin, stating for the first time that he had vitiligo. The interview was watched by an American audience of 90 million. Dangerous re-entered the album chart in the top 10, more than a year after its original release.^[12]^[56]^[103]

In the summer of 1993, Jackson was accused of child sexual abuse by a 13-year-old boy named Jordan Chandler and his father, Dr. Evan Chandler, a dentist.^[112]^[113]^[114] The Chandler family demanded payment from Jackson, and the singer initially refused. Jordan Chandler eventually told the police that Jackson had sexually abused him.^[115] Dr. Chandler was tape-recorded discussing his intention to pursue charges, saying, "If I go through with this, I win big-time. There's no way I lose. I will get everything I want and they will be destroyed forever ... Michael's career will be over". Jordan's mother was, however, adamant that there had been no wrongdoing on Jackson's part.^[114] Jackson later used the recording to argue that he was the victim of a jealous father whose only goal was to extort money from the singer.^[114]

Later that year, on December 20, Jackson's home was raided by the police, and Jackson submitted to a 25-minute strip search.^[116] Jordan Chandler had reportedly given police a description of Jackson's intimate parts, notably claiming that his bleach-damaged penis was circumcised; the strip search revealed, to the contrary, that Jackson was actually uncircumcised,^[117] a fact confirmed in his autopsy.^[118] His friends said he never recovered from the humiliation of the strip search. The investigation was inconclusive and no charges were ever filed.^[119]^[120] Jackson described the search in an emotional public statement, and proclaimed his innocence.^[112]^[116]^[121] On January 1, 1994, Jackson's insurance carrier settled with the Chandlers out of court for $22 million. A Santa Barbara County grand jury and a Los Angeles County grand jury disbanded on May 2, 1994 without indicting Jackson.^[122] After which time the Chandlers stopped co-operating with the criminal investigation around July 6, 1994.^[123]^[124]^[125] The out-of-court settlement's documentation specifically stated Jackson admitted no wrongdoing and no liability; the Chandlers and their family lawyer Larry Feldman signed it without contest.^[126] The Chandlers' lawyer Mr. Feldman also explicitly stated "nobody bought anybody's silence".^[127] A decade after the fact, during the second round of child abuse allegations, Jackson's lawyers would file a memo stating that the 1994 settlement was done without his consent.^[124]

Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley, in 1994.

In May 1994, Jackson married the daughter of Elvis Presley, Lisa Marie Presley. They had first met in 1975, when a seven-year-old Presley attended one of Jackson's family engagements at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, and were reconnected through a mutual friend.^[128] According to a friend of Presley's, "their adult friendship began in November 1992 in L.A."^[129] They stayed in contact every day over the telephone. As the child molestation accusations became public, Jackson became dependent on Presley for emotional support; she was concerned about his faltering health and addiction to drugs.^[130] Presley explained, "I believed he didn't do anything wrong and that he was wrongly accused and yes I started falling for him. I wanted to save him. I felt that I could do it."^[131] She eventually persuaded him to settle the allegations out of court and go into rehabilitation to recover.^[130]

Jackson proposed to Presley over the telephone towards the fall of 1993, saying, "If I asked you to marry me, would you do it?"^[130] They married in the Dominican Republic in secrecy, denying it for nearly two months afterwards.^[132] The marriage was, in her words, "a married couple's life ... that was sexually active".^[133] At the time, the tabloid media speculated that the wedding was a ploy to prop up Jackson's public image.^[132] The marriage lasted less than two years and ended with an amicable divorce settlement.^[134] In a 2010 interview with Oprah, Presley admitted that they spent four more years after the divorce "getting back together and breaking up", until she decided to stop.^[135]

HIStory, second marriage and fatherhood (1995–99)

In 1995, Jackson merged his ATV Music catalog with Sony's music publishing division creating Sony/ATV Music Publishing. Jackson retained half-ownership of the company, earned $95 million upfront as well as the rights to even more songs.^[136]^[137] He then released the double album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. The first disc, HIStory Begins, was a 15-track greatest hits album, and was later reissued as Greatest Hits: HIStory, Volume I in 2001, while the second disc, HIStory Continues, contained 15 new songs. The album debuted at number one on the charts and has been certified for seven million shipments in the US.^[138] It is the best-selling multiple-disc album of all-time, with 20 million copies (40 million units) sold worldwide.^[102]^[139] HIStory received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year.^[140]

Michael Jackson at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival

The first single released from the album was the double A-side "Scream/Childhood". "Scream" was a duet, performed with Jackson's youngest sister Janet. The song fights against the media, mainly for what the media made him out to be during his 1993 child abuse allegations. The single had the highest debut on the Billboard Hot 100 at number five, and received a Grammy nomination for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals".^[140] "You Are Not Alone" was the second single released from HIStory; it holds the Guinness World Record for the first song ever to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.^[88] It was seen as a major artistic and commercial success, receiving a Grammy nomination for "Best Pop Vocal Performance".^[140] In late 1995, Jackson was rushed to a hospital after collapsing during rehearsals for a televised performance; the incident was caused by a stress-related panic attack.^[141] "Earth Song" was the third single released from HIStory, and topped the UK Singles Chart for six weeks over Christmas 1995; it sold a million copies, making it Jackson's most successful single in the UK.^[140] The track "They Don't Care About Us" became controversial when the Anti-Defamation League and other groups criticized its allegedly antisemitic lyrics. Jackson quickly put out a revised version of the song without the offending lyrics.^[142] In 1996, Jackson won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form for "Scream" and an American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist.^[27]^[143]

The album was promoted with the successful HIStory World Tour. The tour began on September 7, 1996, and finished on October 15, 1997. Jackson performed 82 concerts in 58 cities to over 4.5 million fans, and grossed up a total of $165 million. The show, which visited five continents and 35 countries, became Jackson's most successful in terms of audience figures.^[81] During the tour, Jackson married his longtime friend Deborah Jeanne Rowe, a dermatology nurse, in an impromptu ceremony in Sydney, Australia. Rowe was approximately six months pregnant with the couple's first child at the time. Originally, Rowe and Jackson had no plans to marry, but Jackson's mother Katherine persuaded them to do so.^[144] Michael Joseph Jackson Jr (commonly known as Prince) was born on February 13, 1997; his sister Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson was born a year later on April 3, 1998.^[134]^[145] The couple divorced in 1999, and Jackson got full custody of the children. The divorce was relatively amicable, but a subsequent custody suit was not settled until 2006.^[146]^[147]

In 1997, Jackson released Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix, which contained remixes of hit singles from HIStory and five new songs. Worldwide sales stand at 6 million copies as of 2007, it is the best selling remix album ever released.^[148] It reached number one in the UK, as did the title track.^[148]^[149] In the US, the album was certified platinum, but only reached number 24.^[99]^[140] Forbes placed his annual income at $35 million in 1996 and $20 million in 1997.^[87] Throughout June 1999, Jackson was involved in a number of charitable events. He joined Luciano Pavarotti for a benefit concert in Modena, Italy. The show was in support of the nonprofit organization War Child, and raised a million dollars for the refugees of Kosovo, FR Yugoslavia, as well as additional funds for the children of Guatemala.^[150] Later that month, Jackson organized a set of "Michael Jackson & Friends" benefit concerts in Germany and Korea. Other artists involved included Slash, The Scorpions, Boyz II Men, Luther Vandross, Mariah Carey, A. R. Rahman, Prabhu Deva Sundaram, Shobana, Andrea Bocelli and Luciano Pavarotti. The proceeds went to the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, the Red Cross and UNESCO.^[151]

Label dispute, Invincible and third child (2000–03)

At the turn of the century, the American Music Awards honored Jackson as Artist of the '80s.^[152] Throughout 2000 and 2001, Jackson worked in the studio with Teddy Riley and Rodney Jerkins, as well as other collaborators. These sessions would result in the album Invincible, released in October 2001. Invincible was Jackson's first full-length album in six years, and it would be the last album of new material he released while still alive. The release of the album was preceded by a dispute between Jackson and his record label, Sony Music Entertainment. Jackson had expected the licenses to the masters of his albums to revert to him sometime in the early 2000s. Once he had the licenses, he would be able to promote the material however he pleased and he would also be able to keep all the profits. However, due to various clauses in the contract, the revert date turned out to be many years away. Jackson discovered that the attorney who represented him in the deal was also representing Sony.^[149] Jackson was also concerned about the fact that for a number of years, Sony had been pressuring him to sell his share in their music catalog venture. Jackson feared that Sony might have a conflict of interest, since if Jackson's career failed he would have to sell his share of the catalog at a low price.^[153] Jackson sought an early exit from his contract.^[149] Just before the release of Invincible, Jackson informed the head of Sony Music Entertainment, Tommy Mottola, that he was leaving Sony.^[149] As a result, all singles releases, video shootings and promotions concerning the Invincible album were suspended.

In September 2001, two 30th Anniversary concerts were held at Madison Square Garden to mark the singer's 30th year as a solo artist. Jackson appeared onstage alongside his brothers for the first time since 1984. The show also featured performances by Mýa, Usher, Whitney Houston, 'N Sync, Destiny's Child, Monica, Luther Vandross, and Slash, among other artists.^[154] The second of the two shows took place the night before the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.^[155] After 9/11, Jackson helped organize the United We Stand: What More Can I Give benefit concert at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. The concert took place on October 21, 2001, and included performances from dozens of major artists, including Jackson, who performed his song "What More Can I Give" as the finale.^[153] Jackson's solo performances were omitted from the televised version of the benefit concert, although he could still be seen singing background vocals. This omission happened because of contractual issues related to the earlier 30th Anniversary concerts: those concerts were boiled down into a two-hour TV special entitled Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration: The Solo Years which debuted in November 2001.

In spite of the events preceding its release, Invincible came out in October 2001 to much anticipation. Invincible proved to be a hit, debuting atop the charts in 13 countries and going on to sell approximately 13 million copies worldwide. It received double-platinum certification in the US.^[99]^[102]^[156] However, the sales for Invincible were lower than those of his previous releases, due in part to a lack of promotion, no supporting world tour and the label dispute. The album also came out at a bad time for the music industry in general.^[153] The album cost $30 million to record, not including promotional expenditures.^[157] Invincible spawned three singles, "You Rock My World", "Cry" and "Butterflies", the latter without a music video. Jackson alleged in July 2002 that Mottola was a "devil" and a "racist" who did not support his African-American artists, using them merely for his own personal gain.^[153] He charged that Mottola had called his colleague Irv Gotti a "fat nigger".^[158] Sony refused to renew Jackson's contract, and claimed that a $25 million promotional campaign had failed because Jackson refused to tour in the United States.^[157]

In 2002, Michael Jackson won his 22nd American Music Award for Artist of the Century.^[159] In the same year, Jackson's third child, Prince Michael Jackson II (nicknamed "Blanket") was born.^[160] The mother's identity is unknown, but Jackson has said the child was the result of artificial insemination from a surrogate mother and his own sperm.^[146] On November 20 of that year, Jackson brought his newborn son onto the balcony of his room at the Hotel Adlon in Berlin, as fans stood below, holding him in his right arm, with a cloth loosely draped over the baby's face. The baby was briefly extended over a railing, four stories above ground level, causing widespread criticism in the media. Jackson later apologized for the incident, calling it "a terrible mistake".^[161] Sony released Number Ones, a compilation of Jackson's hits on CD and DVD. In the US, the album was certified triple platinum by the RIAA; in the UK it was certified six times platinum for shipments of at least 1.2 million units.^[99]^[162]

Second child sexual abuse allegations and acquittal (2003–05)

Further information: Living with Michael Jackson and People v. Jackson

Beginning in May 2002, Jackson allowed a documentary film crew, led by British TV personality Martin Bashir, to follow him around just about everywhere he went. Bashir's film crew was with Jackson during the "baby-dangling incident" in Berlin. The program was broadcast in March 2003 as Living with Michael Jackson, and painted an extraordinarily unflattering portrait of the singer.

In a particularly controversial scene, Jackson was seen holding hands and discussing sleeping arrangements with a young boy.^[163] As soon as the documentary aired, the Santa Barbara county attorney's office began a criminal investigation. Jackson was arrested in November 2003, and was charged with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent in relation to the 13 year old boy shown in the film.^[163] Jackson denied the allegations, saying the sleepovers were not sexual in nature. The People v. Jackson trial began on January 31, 2005, in Santa Maria, California, and lasted five months, until the end of May. On June 13, 2005, Jackson was acquitted on all counts.^[164]^[165]^[166] After the trial, in a highly publicized relocation he moved to the Persian Gulf island of Bahrain, as a guest of Sheikh Abdullah.^[167]

Final years (2006–09)

Jackson with his children in Disneyland Paris, 2006

In March 2006, the main house at the Neverland Ranch was closed as a cost-cutting measure.^[168] There were numerous reports around that time that Jackson was having financial problems. Jackson had been delinquent on his repayments of a $270 million loan secured against his music publishing holdings, even though those holdings were reportedly making him as much as $75 million a year.^[169] Bank of America sold the debt to Fortress Investments. Sony reportedly proposed a restructuring deal which would give them a future option to buy half of Jackson's stake in their jointly owned publishing company (leaving Jackson with a 25% stake).^[137] Jackson agreed to a Sony-backed refinancing deal in April 2006, although the exact details were not made public.^[170] Jackson did not have a recording contract in place with Sony or any other major record label at the time.

In early 2006, there was an announcement that Jackson had signed a contract with a Bahrain-based startup called Two Seas Records. However, nothing ever came of that deal, and the CEO of Two Seas, Guy Holmes, later stated that the deal had never been finalized.^[171]^[172] Throughout 2006, Sony repackaged 20 singles from the 1980s and 1990s as the Michael Jackson: Visionary series, which subsequently became a box set. Most of those singles returned to the charts as a result. In September 2006, Jackson and his ex-wife Debbie Rowe confirmed reports that they had settled their long-running child custody suit. The terms were never made public. Jackson continued to be the custodial parent of the couple's two children.^[147] In October 2006, Fox News entertainment reporter Roger Friedman said that Jackson had been recording at a studio in rural Westmeath, Ireland. It was not known at the time what Jackson might be working on, or who might be paying for the sessions, since his publicist had recently issued a statement claiming that he had left Two Seas.^[172]^[173]

In November 2006, Jackson invited an Access Hollywood camera crew into the studio in Westmeath, and MSNBC broke the story that he was working on a new album, produced by will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas.^[102] Jackson performed at the World Music Awards, in London on November 15, 2006, and accepted a Diamond Award for selling over 100 million records.^[102]^[174] Jackson returned to the United States after Christmas 2006 to attend James Brown's funeral in Augusta, Georgia. He gave one of the eulogies, saying that "James Brown is my greatest inspiration."^[175] In the spring of 2007, Jackson and Sony teamed up to buy yet another music publishing company: Famous Music LLC, formerly owned by Viacom. This deal gave him the rights to songs by Eminem, Shakira and Beck, among others.^[176] Jackson recorded extensively during this period in New York with songwriter and producer will.i.am and also in Las Vegas with producers Akon and RedOne.^[177]^[177]^[178] In March 2007, Jackson gave a brief interview to the Associated Press in Tokyo, where he said, "I've been in the entertainment industry since I was 6 years old, and as Charles Dickens would say, 'It's been the best of times, the worst of times.' But I would not change my career ... While some have made deliberate attempts to hurt me, I take it in stride because I have a loving family, a strong faith and wonderful friends and fans who have, and continue, to support me."^[179]

In September 2007 Jackson was reportedly still working with will.i.am, but the album was apparently never completed.^[180] However, in 2008, Jackson and Sony released Thriller 25 to mark the 25th anniversary of the original Thriller. This album featured the previously unreleased song "For All Time" (an outtake from the original sessions) as well as remixes, where Jackson collaborated with younger artists who had been inspired by his work.^[181] Two of the remixes were released as singles with only modest success: "The Girl Is Mine 2008" (with will.i.am) and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008" (with Akon). The first single was based on an early demo version, without Paul McCartney. The album itself was a hit, however.^[181]^[182]^[183]^[184] In anticipation of Jackson's 50th birthday, Sony BMG released a series of greatest-hits albums called King of Pop. Slightly different versions were released in various countries, based on polls of local fans.^[185] King of Pop reached the top 10 in most countries where it was issued, and also sold well as an import in other countries (such as the United States.)^[186]^[187]

In the fall of 2008, Fortress Investments threatened to foreclose on Neverland Ranch, which Jackson used as collateral for loans running into many tens of millions of dollars. However, Fortress opted to sell Jackson's debts to Colony Capital LLC. In November, Jackson transferred Neverland Ranch's title to Sycamore Valley Ranch Company LLC, which was a joint venture between Jackson and Colony Capital LLC. This deal cleared Jackson's debt, and he reportedly even gained an extra $35 million from the venture. At the time of his death, Jackson still owned a stake in Neverland/Sycamore Valley, but it is unknown how large that stake was.^[188]^[189]^[190] In September 2008, Jackson entered negotiations with Julien's Auction House to display and auction a large collection of memorabilia amounting to approximately 1,390 lots. The auction was scheduled to take place between April 22 and April 25.^[191] An exhibition of the lots opened as scheduled on April 14, but the actual auction was eventually cancelled at Jackson's request.^[192]

In March 2009, Jackson held a press conference at London's O₂ Arena and announced a series of comeback concerts titled This Is It. The shows would be Jackson's first major series of concerts since the HIStory World Tour finished in 1997. Jackson suggested possible retirement after the shows; he said it would be his "final curtain call". The initial plan was for 10 concerts in London, followed by shows in Paris, New York City and Mumbai. Randy Phillips, president and chief executive of AEG Live, stated that the first 10 dates alone would earn the singer approximately £50 million.^[193] The London residency was increased to 50 dates after record breaking ticket sales: over one million were sold in less than two hours.^[194] Jackson rehearsed in Los Angeles in the weeks leading up to the tour under the direction of choreographer Kenny Ortega. Most of these rehearsals took place at the Staples Center, which was owned by AEG.^[195] The concerts would have commenced on July 13, 2009, and finished on March 6, 2010. Less than three weeks before the first show was due to begin in London and with all concerts being sold out, Jackson died after suffering cardiac arrest.^[196] Some time before his death, it was widely stated that he was starting a clothing line with Christian Audigier; due to his death, the current status of the label remains unknown.^[197]^[198]

Jackson's first posthumous single was a song entitled "This Is It" which Jackson cowrote in the 1980s with Paul Anka. It was not on the set lists for the concerts, and the recording was based on an old demo tape. The surviving brothers reunited in the studio for the first time since 1989 to record backing vocals. On October 28, 2009, a documentary film about the rehearsals entitled Michael Jackson's This Is It was released.^[199] Even though it ran for a limited two-week engagement, it became the highest grossing documentary or concert movie of all time, with earnings of more than $260 million worldwide.^[200] Jackson's estate received 90% of the profits.^[201] The film was accompanied by a compilation album of the same name. Two versions of the new song appear on the album, which also featured original masters of Jackson's hits in the order in which they appear in the movie, along with a bonus disc with previously unreleased versions of more Jackson hits as well as a spoken word poem entitled "Planet Earth".^[202] At the 2009 American Music Awards Jackson won four posthumous awards, two for him and two for his album Number Ones, bringing his total American Music Awards total to 26.^[203]^[204]

Death and memorial

Main articles: Death of Michael Jackson and Michael Jackson memorial service

Jackson's fans paid tribute to him at his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, shortly after the announcement of his death.

On June 25, 2009, Jackson died in his bed at his rented mansion at 100 North Carolwood Drive in the Holmby Hills district of Los Angeles. Attempts at resuscitating him by Conrad Murray, his personal physician, were unsuccessful.^[205] Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics received a 911 call at 12:22 (PDT, 19:22 UTC), arriving three minutes later at Jackson's location.^[206]^[207] He was reportedly not breathing and CPR was performed.^[208] Resuscitation efforts continued en route to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, and for an hour after arriving there at 1:13 (20:13 UTC). He was pronounced dead at 2:26 local time (21:26 UTC).^[209]^[210] Jackson's death triggered a global outpouring of grief.^[205]

The news spread quickly online, causing websites to slow down and crash from user overload. Both TMZ and the Los Angeles Times suffered outages.^[211] Google initially believed that the input from millions of people searching for "Michael Jackson" meant that the search engine was under attack. Twitter reported a crash, as did Wikipedia at 3:15 p.m. PDT (6:15 p.m. EDT).^[212] The Wikimedia Foundation reported nearly a million visitors to Jackson's biography within one hour, probably the most visitors in a one-hour period to any article in Wikipedia's history.^[213] AOL Instant Messenger collapsed for 40 minutes. AOL called it a "seminal moment in Internet history", adding, "We've never seen anything like it in terms of scope or depth."^[214]

Around 15% of Twitter posts—or 5,000 tweets per minute—reportedly mentioned Jackson after the news broke,^[215]^[216] compared to the 5% recalled as having mentioned the Iranian elections or the flu pandemic that had made headlines earlier in the year.^[216] Overall, web traffic ranged from 11% to at least 20% higher than normal.^[215]^[217] MTV and Black Entertainment Television (BET) aired marathons of Jackson's music videos.^[218] Jackson specials aired on multiple television stations around the world. The British soap opera EastEnders added a last-minute scene, in which one character tells another about the news, to the June 26 episode.^[219] Jackson was the topic of every front-page headline in the daily British tabloid The Sun for about two weeks following his death.^[220] During the same period, the three major U.S. networks' evening newscasts—ABC World News, CBS Evening News, and NBC Nightly News—devoted 34% of their broadcast time to him.^[221] Magazines including Time published commemorative editions.^[222] A scene that had featured Jackson's sister La Toya was cut from the film Brüno out of respect toward Jackson's family.^[223]

Jackson's memorial was held on July 7, 2009, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, preceded by a private family service at Forest Lawn Memorial Park's Hall of Liberty. Jackson's casket was present during the memorial but no information was released about the final disposition of the body. While some unofficial reports claimed a worldwide audience as high as one billion people,^[224]^[225]^[226] the U.S. audience was estimated by Nielsen to be 31.1 million, an amount comparable to the estimated 35.1 million that watched the 2004 burial of former president Ronald Reagan, and the estimated 33.1 million Americans who watched the 1997 funeral for Princess Diana.^[227]

Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, John Mayer, Jennifer Hudson, Usher, Jermaine Jackson, and Shaheen Jafargholi performed at the event. Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson gave eulogies, while Queen Latifah read, "We had him," a poem written for the occasion by Maya Angelou.^[228] The Reverend Al Sharpton received a standing ovation with cheers when he told Jackson's children, "Wasn't nothing strange about your daddy. It was strange what your daddy had to deal with. But he dealt with it anyway."^[229] Jackson's 11-year-old daughter, Paris Katherine, cried as she told the crowd, "Ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine ... I just wanted to say I love him ... so much."^[230] Reverend Lucious Smith provided a closing prayer.^[231] On August 24, several news outlets quoted anonymous sources as stating that the Los Angeles coroner had decided to treat Jackson's death as a homicide; this was later confirmed by the coroner on August 28.^[232]^[233] At the time of death, Jackson had been administered propofol, lorazepam and midazolam.^[234] Law enforcement officials conducted a manslaughter investigation of his personal physician, Conrad Murray.^[235] On February 8, 2010, Murray was charged with involuntary manslaughter by prosecutors in Los Angeles.^[236] Jackson was entombed on September 3, 2009, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.^[237]

Tribute of fans from all over the world in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park on his first anniversary of death

On June 25, 2010, the first anniversary of Jackson's death, fans came to Los Angeles to pay their tribute to him. They visited Jackson’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and his family’s home, as well as Forest Lawn Memorial Park. Many of the fans were carrying sunflowers and other tribute items to drop off at the sites. Members of the Jackson family and close friends arrived to pay their respects.^[238]^[239] Katherine returned to Gary, Indiana to unveil a granite monument constructed in the front yard of the family home. The memorial continued with a candlelight vigil and a special performance of "We Are the World."^[240]^[241] On June 26, there was a protest march in front of the Los Angeles Police Department's Robbery-Homicide Division at the old Parker Center building and a petition with thousands of signatures demanding justice was delivered.^[242]^[243] The Jackson Family Foundation in conjunction with Voiceplate presented "Forever Michael", an event bringing together Jackson family members, celebrities, fans, supporters and the community to celebrate and honor his legacy. A portion of the proceeds were presented to some of Jackson's favorite charities. Katherine also introduced her new book "Never Can Say Goodbye."^[244]^[245]^[246]

Death aftermath

After his death, Jackson became the best-selling artist of 2009 in the United States selling over 8.2 million albums and had sold 35 million albums worldwide in the 12 months that followed his death.^[247]^[248] Following this surge in sales, Sony announced that they had extended their relationship with his material. The distribution rights held by Sony Music were due to expire in 2015.^[249] On March 16, 2010, Sony Music Entertainment, in a move spearheaded by its Columbia/Epic Label Group division, signed a new deal with the Jackson estate to extend their distribution rights to his back catalogue until at least 2017, as well as to obtain permission to release ten new albums with previously unreleased material and new collections of released work. On November 4, 2010 Sony announced the release of Michael, the first posthumous album set to be released on December 14, with the promotional single released to the radios on November 8, entitled "Breaking News".^[250] The deal was unprecedented in the music industry as it is the most expensive music contract pertaining to a single artist in history; it reportedly involved Sony Music paying $250 million for the deal, with the Jackson estate getting the full sum as well as its share of royalties for all works released.^[249]^[251] Video game developer Ubisoft announced it would release a new dancing-and-singing game featuring Michael Jackson for the 2010 holiday season. The game entitled Michael Jackson: The Experience will be among the first to use Kinect and PlayStation Move, the respective motion-detecting camera systems for Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3 due out later that year.^[252] Cirque du Soleil announced on 3 November 2010 that it would launch "Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour" in October 2011 in Montreal, while a permanent show will reside in Las Vegas.^[253] The 90-minute US$57M production will combine Jackson's iconic musical oeuvre and choreography with the Cirque's signature artistry, dance and aerial displays involving 65 artists.^[254] The tour was written and directed by Jamie King^[255] and centers on Jackson's "inspirational Giving Tree - the wellspring of creativity where his love of music and dance, fairy tale and magic, and the fragile beauty of nature are unlocked."^[256]

In April 2011, Jackson's longtime friend and billionaire businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed, chairman of Fulham F.C., unveiled a statue of Jackson outside the club's stadium, Craven Cottage.^[257] Fulham fans were however bemused by the statue and failed to understand the relevance of Jackson to the club. ^[258] Al Fayed however defended the statue and told the fans to 'go to hell' if they didn't appreciate the statue. ^[259]

Artistry

Influences

One of many identical statues, positioned throughout Europe to promote HIStory

Jackson's music took root in R&B, pop and soul. He had been influenced by the work of contemporary musicians such as Little Richard, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, Diana Ross, David Ruffin, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Sammy Davis, Jr., The Isley Brothers, and the Bee Gees.^[260] While Little Richard had a substantial influence on Jackson,^[261] James Brown was Jackson's greatest inspiration. In reference to Brown, Jackson declared: "Ever since I was a small child, no more than like six years old, my mother would wake me no matter what time it was, if I was sleeping, no matter what I was doing, to watch the television to see the master at work. And when I saw him move, I was mesmerized. I had never seen a performer perform like James Brown, and right then and there I knew that was exactly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life because of James Brown."^[262]

The young Michael Jackson owed his vocal technique in large part to Diana Ross. In October 1969, it was decided^[why?]^{[by whom?]} that Jackson would live with Ross. Not only a mother figure to him, she was often observed in rehearsal as an accomplished performer. He later expressed: "I got to know her well. She taught me so much. I used to just sit in the corner and watch the way she moved. She was art in motion. I studied the way she moved, the way she sang – just the way she was." He told her: "I want to be just like you, Diana." She said: "You just be yourself."^[263] But Jackson owed part of his enduring style—especially his use of the oooh interjection—to Ross. From a young age, Jackson often punctuated his verses with a sudden exclamation of oooh. Diana Ross had used this effect on many of the songs recorded with The Supremes.^[264]

Musical themes and genres

Unlike many artists, Jackson did not write his songs on paper. Instead he would dictate into a sound recorder, and when recording he would sing the lyrics from memory.^[265] In most of his songs, such as "Billie Jean", "Who Is It", and "Tabloid Junkie", he would beatbox and imitate the instruments using his voice instead of playing the actual instruments, along with other sounds. Jackson noted that it is easier to sing a drum line, or sing a bass, instead of playing a drum line or a bass with an instrument. Several critics have said that Jackson's distinct voice is able to replace any instrument convincingly. Steve Huey of Allmusic said that, throughout his solo career, Jackson's versatility allowed him to experiment with various themes and genres.^[266] As a musician, he ranged from Motown's dance fare and ballads to techno and house-edged new jack swing to work that incorporates both funk rhythms and hard rock guitar.^[14]

According to Huey, Thriller refined the strengths of Off the Wall; the dance and rock tracks were more aggressive, while the pop tunes and ballads were softer and more soulful.^[266] Notable tracks included the ballads "The Lady in My Life", "Human Nature" and "The Girl Is Mine"; the funk pieces "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"; and the disco set "Baby Be Mine" and "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)".^[266]^[267]^[268]^[269] With Thriller, Christopher Connelly of Rolling Stone commented that Jackson developed his long association with the subliminal theme of paranoia and darker imagery.^[269] Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted this is evident on the songs "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'".^[268] In "Billie Jean", Jackson sings about an obsessive fan who alleges he has fathered a child of hers.^[266] In "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" he argues against gossip and the media.^[269] "Beat It" decried gang violence in an homage to West Side Story, and was Jackson's first successful rock cross-over piece, according to Huey.^[14]^[266] He also observed that the title track "Thriller" began Jackson's interest with the theme of the supernatural, a topic he revisited in subsequent years.^[266] In 1985, Jackson co-wrote the charity anthem "We Are the World"; humanitarian themes later became a recurring theme in his lyrics and public persona.^[266]

"Thriller"

One of Jackson's signature pieces, "Thriller", released as a single in 1984, utilizes cinematic sound effects, horror film motifs and vocal trickery to convey a sense of danger.^[17]

"Smooth Criminal"

A single from the album Bad, released 1988, "Smooth Criminal" features digital drum sounds, keyboard-created bass lines and other percussion elements designed to give the impression of a pulsing heart.^[270]

Problems listening to these files? See media help.

In Bad, Jackson's concept of the predatory lover can be seen on the rock song "Dirty Diana".^[271] The lead single "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" is a traditional love ballad, while "Man in the Mirror" is an anthemic ballad of confession and resolution.^[73] "Smooth Criminal" was an evocation of bloody assault, rape and likely murder.^[73] Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine states that Dangerous presents Jackson as a very paradoxical individual.^[272] He comments the album is more diverse than his previous Bad, as it appeals to an urban audience while also attracting the middle class with anthems like "Heal the World".^[272] The first half of the record is dedicated to new jack swing, including songs like "Jam" and "Remember the Time".^[273] The album is Jackson's first where social ills become a primary theme; "Why You Wanna Trip on Me", for example, protests against world hunger, AIDS, homelessness and drugs.^[273] Dangerous contains sexually charged efforts such as the multifaceted love song, "In the Closet".^[273] The title track continues the theme of the predatory lover and compulsive desire.^[273] The second half includes introspective, pop-gospel anthems such as "Will You Be There", "Heal the World" and "Keep the Faith"; these songs show Jackson opening up about various personal struggles and worries.^[273] In the ballad "Gone Too Soon", Jackson gives tribute to his friend Ryan White and the plight of those with AIDS.^[274]

HIStory creates an atmosphere of paranoia.^[275] Its content focuses on the hardships and public struggles Jackson went through just prior to its production. In the new jack swing-funk-rock efforts "Scream" and "Tabloid Junkie", along with the R&B ballad "You Are Not Alone", Jackson retaliates against the injustice and isolation he feels, and directs much of his anger at the media.^[276] In the introspective ballad "Stranger in Moscow", Jackson laments over his "fall from grace", while songs like "Earth Song", "Childhood", "Little Susie" and "Smile" are all operatic pop pieces.^[275]^[276] In the track "D.S.", Jackson launched a verbal attack against Tom Sneddon. He describes Sneddon as an antisocial, white supremacist who wanted to "get my ass, dead or alive". Of the song, Sneddon said, "I have not—shall we say—done him the honor of listening to it, but I've been told that it ends with the sound of a gunshot".^[277] Invincible found Jackson working heavily with producer Rodney Jerkins.^[266] It is a record made up of urban soul like "Cry" and "The Lost Children", ballads such as "Speechless", "Break of Dawn" and "Butterflies" and mixes Hip-Hop, Pop and R&B in "2000 Watts", "Heartbreaker" and "Invincible".^[278]^[279]

Vocal style

Jackson sang from childhood, and over time his voice and vocal style changed noticeably. Between 1971 and 1975, Jackson's voice descended from boy soprano to high tenor.^[280] Jackson first used a technique called the "vocal hiccup" in 1973, starting with the song "It's Too Late to Change the Time" from The Jackson 5's G.I.T.: Get It Together album.^[281] Jackson did not use the hiccup technique— somewhat like a gulping for air or gasping— fully until the recording of Off the Wall: it can be seen in full force in the "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" promotional video.^[15] With the arrival of Off the Wall in the late 1970s, Jackson's abilities as a vocalist were well regarded. At the time, Rolling Stone compared his vocals to the "breathless, dreamy stutter" of Stevie Wonder. Their analysis was also that "Jackson's feathery-timbred tenor is extraordinarily beautiful. It slides smoothly into a startling falsetto that's used very daringly".^[282]^[283] 1982 saw the release of Thriller, and Rolling Stone was of the opinion that Jackson was then singing in a "fully adult voice" that was "tinged by sadness".^[269]

"Black or White"

The lead single from Dangerous, the danceable hard rock song "Black or White" was one of Jackson's most successful recordings.^[284]^[285]^[286] It contains many features of Jackson's vocal style, including the vocal hiccup he is known for.

A distinctive deliberate mispronunciation of "come on", used frequently by Jackson, occasionally spelt "cha'mone" or "shamone", is also a staple in impressions and caricatures of him.^[287] The turn of the 1990s saw the release of the introspective album Dangerous. The New York Times noted that on some tracks, "he gulps for breath, his voice quivers with anxiety or drops to a desperate whisper, hissing through clenched teeth" and he had a "wretched tone".^[273] When singing of brotherhood or self-esteem the musician would return to "smooth" vocals.^[273] When commenting on Invincible, Rolling Stone were of the opinion that—at the age of 43—Jackson still performed "exquisitely voiced rhythm tracks and vibrating vocal harmonies".^[288] Nelson George summed up Jackson's vocals by stating "The grace, the aggression, the growling, the natural boyishness, the falsetto, the smoothness—that combination of elements mark him as a major vocalist".^[270]

Music videos and choreography

Referred to as the King of Music Videos,^[289] Steve Huey of Allmusic observed how Jackson transformed the music video into an art form and a promotional tool through complex story lines, dance routines, special effects and famous cameo appearances; simultaneously breaking down racial barriers.^[266] Before Thriller, Jackson struggled to receive coverage on MTV, allegedly because he was African American.^[290] Pressure from CBS Records persuaded MTV to start showing "Billie Jean" and later "Beat It", leading to a lengthy partnership with Jackson, also helping other black music artists gain recognition.^[291] MTV employees deny any racism in their coverage, or pressure to change their stance. MTV maintains that they played rock music, regardless of race.^[292] The popularity of his videos on MTV helped to put the relatively young channel "on the map"; MTV's focus shifted in favor of pop and R&B.^[291]^[293] His performance on Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever changed the scope of live stage show; "That Jackson lip-synced 'Billie Jean' is, in itself, not extraordinary, but the fact that it did not change the impact of the performance is extraordinary; whether the performance was live or lip-synced made no difference to the audience" thus creating an era in which artists re-create the spectacle of music video imagery on stage.^[294] Short films like Thriller largely remained unique to Jackson, while the group dance sequence in "Beat It" has frequently been imitated.^[295] The choreography in Thriller has become a part of global pop culture, replicated everywhere from Indian films to prisons in the Philippines.^[296] The Thriller short film marked an increase in scale for music videos, and has been named the most successful music video ever by the Guinness World Records.^[88]

In the 19-minute music video for "Bad"—directed by Martin Scorsese—Jackson began using sexual imagery and choreography not previously seen in his work. He occasionally grabbed or touched his chest, torso and crotch. When asked by Oprah in the 1993 interview about why he grabbed his crotch, he replied, "I think it happens subliminally" and he described it as something that was not planned, but rather, as something that was compelled by the music. "Bad" garnered a mixed reception from both fans and critics; Time magazine described it as "infamous". The video also featured Wesley Snipes; in the future Jackson's videos would often feature famous cameo roles.^[66]^[297] For "Smooth Criminal", Jackson experimented with an innovative "anti-gravity lean" in his performances. The maneuver required special shoes for which he was granted U.S. Patent No. 5,255,452.^[298] Although the music video for "Leave Me Alone" was not officially released in the US, in 1989, it was nominated for four Billboard Music Video Awards, winning three; the same year it won a Golden Lion Award for the quality of the special effects used in its production. In 1990, "Leave Me Alone" won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form.^[86]

The MTV Video Vanguard Artist of the Decade Award was given to Jackson to celebrate his accomplishments in the art form in the 1980s; the following year the award was renamed in his honor.^[103] "Black or White" was accompanied by a controversial music video, which, on November 14, 1991, simultaneously premiered in 27 countries with an estimated audience of 500 million people, the largest viewing ever for a music video.^[102] It featured scenes construed as having a sexual nature as well as depictions of violence. The offending scenes in the final half of the 14-minute version were edited out to prevent the video from being banned, and Jackson apologized.^[299] Along with Jackson, it featured Macaulay Culkin, Peggy Lipton and George Wendt. It helped usher in morphing as an important technology in music videos.^[300]

"Remember the Time" was an elaborate production, and became one of his longest videos at over nine minutes. Set in ancient Egypt, it featured groundbreaking visual effects and appearances by Eddie Murphy, Iman and Magic Johnson, along with a distinct complex dance routine.^[301] The video for "In the Closet" was Jackson's most sexually provocative piece. It featured supermodel Naomi Campbell in a courtship dance with Jackson. The video was banned in South Africa because of its imagery.^[103]

The music video for "Scream", directed by Mark Romanek and production designer Tom Foden, is one of Jackson's most critically acclaimed. In 1995, it gained 11 MTV Video Music Award Nominations—more than any other music video—and won "Best Dance Video", "Best Choreography", and "Best Art Direction".^[302] The song and its accompanying video are a response to the backlash Jackson received from the media after being accused of child molestation in 1993.^[303] A year later, it won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form; shortly afterwards Guinness World Records listed it as the most expensive music video ever made at a cost of $7 million.^[140]^[304]

"Earth Song" was accompanied by an expensive and well-received music video that gained a Grammy nomination for Best Music Video, Short Form in 1997. The video had an environmental theme, showing images of animal cruelty, deforestation, pollution and war. Using special effects, time is reversed so that life returns, wars end, and the forests re-grow.^[140]^[305] Released in 1997 and premiering at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival, Michael Jackson's Ghosts was a short film written by Jackson and Stephen King and directed by Stan Winston. The video for Ghosts is over 38 minutes long and holds the Guinness World Record as the world's longest music video.^[140]^[149]^[306]^[307]

Legacy and influence

Jackson's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, set in 1984

Jackson throughout his career transformed the art of the music video and paved the way for modern pop music. Daily Telegraph writer Tom Utley described Jackson in 2003 as "extremely important" and a "genius."^[308] For much of his career, he had an "unparalleled" level of worldwide influence over the younger generation through his musical and humanitarian contributions.^[142] Jackson's music and videos, such as Thriller, fostered racial diversity in MTV's roster, helped to put the relatively new channel into public awareness, and steered the channel's focus from rock to pop music and R&B, shaping the channel into a form that proved enduring. Jackson's work continues to influence numerous hip hop, rock, pop and R&B artists, including Beyoncé,^[309] Mariah Carey,^[310] Usher,^[311] Green Day,^[312] Britney Spears,^[310] Madonna,^[313] Justin Timberlake,^[153] and Ludacris, among others.^[314]

Allmusic's Steve Huey describes Jackson as "an unstoppable juggernaut, possessed of all the skills to dominate the charts seemingly at will: an instantly identifiable voice, eye-popping dance moves, stunning musical versatility and loads of sheer star power".^[266] In the mid-1980s, Time magazine's pop music critic, Jay Cocks, noted "Jackson is the biggest thing since The Beatles. He is the hottest single phenomenon since Elvis Presley. He just may be the most popular black singer ever".^[35] In 1990, Vanity Fair cited Jackson as the most popular artist in the history of show business.^[86] In 2007, Jackson said, "Music has been my outlet, my gift to all of the lovers in this world. Through it, my music, I know I will live forever."^[315]

Shortly after Jackson's death, on June 25, 2009, MTV briefly returned to its original music video format to celebrate and pay tribute to his work.^[316] The channel aired many hours of Jackson's music videos, accompanied by live news specials featuring reactions from MTV personalities and other celebrities. The temporary shift in MTV's programming culminated the following week in the channel's live coverage of Jackson's memorial service.^[317] At the memorial service on July 7, 2009, founder of Motown Records Berry Gordy proclaimed Jackson as "the greatest entertainer that ever lived."^[318]^[319]^[320]

In 2010, two university librarians found that Jackson's influence extended into academia, and was detectable in scholarly literature pertaining to a range of subject matter.^[321]^[322] The two researchers combed through various scholars' writings, and compiled an annotated bibliography of those writings that appeared to meet at least one of several criteria. Among these criteria were appearance in a peer-reviewed journal, and the provision of insight into the nature of "popular icons including Jackson".^[323] The bibliography located references to Jackson in research reports concerning music, popular culture, and an array of other topics. The bibliographers identified as their most peculiar finding an argument that certain aspects of chemistry can be effectively taught by altering and imitating elements of Jackson's singing.^[324] One of the research librarians later reflected that "the fact that someone would take a Michael Jackson song and co-opt it as a means to convey chemistry concepts just shows the pervasiveness of Jackson's influence".^[321]

Honors and awards

Thriller platinum record on display at the Hard Rock Cafe, Hollywood in Universal City, California.

Michael Jackson was inducted onto the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1980 as member of The Jacksons and in 1984 as solo artist. Throughout his career he received numerous honors and awards, including the World Music Awards' Best-Selling Pop Male Artist of the Millennium, the American Music Award's Artist of the Century Award and the Bambi Pop Artist of the Millennium Award.^[154]^[325] He was a double-inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, once as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1997 and later as a solo artist in 2001. Jackson was also inducted in several other hall of fames, including Vocal Group Hall of Fame (as The Jackson 5 member) in 1999, Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002 and Hit Parade Hall of Fame (with his brothers) in 2009.^[154]^[326] In 2010, Jackson was inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame as the first (and currently only) dancer from the world of pop and rock 'n' roll.^[327] His awards include many Guinness World Records (eight in 2006 alone),^[328] 13 Grammy Awards (as well as the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award), 26 American Music Awards (24 only as a solo artist, including the "Artist of the Century", but not the poll of "Artist of the '80s")—more than any artist—, 13 number one singles in the US in his solo career—more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era^[329]—and estimated sales of up to 750 million records worldwide, making him the world's best selling male solo pop artist.^[27]^[88]^[102]^[152]^[203]^[204]^[330]^[331]^[332]^[333]^[334] On December 29, 2009, the American Film Institute recognized Jackson's passing as a "moment of significance" saying, "Michael Jackson's sudden death in June at age 50 was notable for the worldwide outpouring of grief and the unprecedented global eulogy of his posthumous concert rehearsal movie This Is It."^[335] Michael Jackson also received a Doctor of Humane Letters Degree from the United Negro College Fund ^[336] and also an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Fisk University.^[337]

Lifetime earnings

His total lifetime earnings from royalties on his solo recordings and music videos, revenue from concerts and endorsements have been estimated at $500 million; some analysts have speculated that his music catalog holdings could be worth billions of dollars.^[87]^[338] This speculation however is contradicted by financial documents obtained by the Associated Press, which showed that as of March 31, 2007, Jackson's 50 percent stake in the Sony/ATV Music Publishing catalog (his most prized asset) was worth $390.6 million and Michael Jackson's net worth was $236 million.^[339] Billboard has estimated that Jackson has generated at least $1 billion in revenue in the year following his death.^[340]

Discography

Main articles: Michael Jackson albums discography, Michael Jackson singles discography, and Michael Jackson videography

Filmography

Main article: Michael Jackson videography

Year	Film	Role	Director
1978	The Wiz^[341]	Scarecrow	Sidney Lumet
1986	Captain EO^[342]	Captain EO	Francis Ford Coppola
1988	Moonwalker^[343]	Himself	Jerry Kramer
1997	Michael Jackson's Ghosts^[344]	Maestro/Mayor/Ghoul/Skeleton	Stan Winston
2002	Men in Black II^[345]	Agent M (cameo)	Barry Sonnenfeld
2004	Miss Cast Away and the Island Girls^[346]	Agent MJ (cameo)	Bryan Michael Stoller
2009	Michael Jackson's This Is It^[347]	Himself	Kenny Ortega

Tours

Main article: List of concert tours by Michael Jackson and The Jackson 5

Bad World Tour (1987–89)
Dangerous World Tour (1992–93)
HIStory World Tour (1996–97)
This Is It (2009–10) (cancelled)

Notes

^ ^a ^b County of Los Angeles Department of Health Services. (2009). Michael Jackson death certificate.
^ Jackson, Michael (2009) [First published 1988]. Moonwalk. Random House. p. 26. ISBN 0-307-71698-8.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d George, p. 20
^ Taraborrelli, p. 14
^ ^a ^b Michael Jackson's Secret Childhood, VH1, June 20, 2008.
^ Taraborrelli, pp. 20–22
^ ^a ^b Can Michael Jackson's demons be explained?, BBC, June 27, 2009.
^ Jackson interview seen by 14m, BBC News, (February 4, 2003)
^ Daniel Schechter, Erica Willheim (2009). The Effects of Violent Experience and Maltreatment on Infants and Young Children. In Charles H. Zeanah (Ed.). Handbook of Infant Mental Health—3rd Edition. New York: Guilford Press, Inc. pp. 197–214.
^ "Dr. Gabor Maté: "When the Body Says No: Understanding the Stress-Disease Connection"". Democracy Now!. 2010-02-15. Retrieved on 2011-01-18.
^ Taraborrelli, p. 602
^ ^a ^b Lewis, pp. 165–168
^ ^a ^b The Jackson Five, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, accessed May 29, 2007.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Michael Jackson: Biography, Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 14, 2008.
^ ^a ^b ^c George, p. 22
^ Taraborrelli, pp. 138–144
^ ^a ^b George, p. 23
^ ^a ^b Taraborrelli, pp. 205–210
^ ^a ^b George, pp. 37–38
^ "Michael Jackson is born — History.com This Day in History — 8/29/1958". The History Channel. Retrieved 2010-12-26.
^ Michael Jackson: Off the Wall, Virgin Media. Retrieved December 12, 2008.
^ "Donna Summer and Michael Jackson sweep Annual American Music Awards". Lakeland Ledger. (January 20, 1980). Retrieved June 16, 2010.
^ "Donna No. 1, Pop and Soul; Michael Jackson King of Soul". The Afro American. (February 2, 1980). Retrieved June 16, 2010.
^ "Few Surprises In Music Awards". Sarasota Herald. (February 1, 1981). Retrieved June 16, 2010.
^ Taraborrelli, p. 188
^ Taraborrelli, p. 191
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Grammy Awards Past Winners Search, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Retrieved February 14, 2008.
^ "Michael Jackson sweeps American Music Awards". Daily News. (January 17, 1984). Retrieved June 16, 2010.
^ "MICHAEL HE'S NOT JUST THE ROCK STAR OF THE YEAR, HE'S THE ROCK STAR OF THE '80S". Philadelphia Inquirer. (December 20, 1983). Retrieved July 5, 2010.
^ "Cash register's ring sweet music to record industry". Gasden Times. (March 26, 1984). Retrieved July 5, 2010.
^ RIAA Diamond Awards, Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
^ "Michael Jackson Photo Gallery 迈克•杰克逊影集". BBC China. Retrieved July 16, 2009.
^ Lewis, p. 47
^ ^a ^b ^c Grammy Awards Past Winners Search, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Retrieved February 14, 2008.
^ ^a ^b ^c Cocks, Jay (March 19, 1984). "Why He's a Thriller". Time. Retrieved April, 25 2010.
^ Taraborrelli, p. 226
^ "Michael Jackson". CNN. December 30, 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
^ Alex Dobuzinskis (December 30, 2009). "Jackson "Thriller" film picked for U.S. registry". Reuters (Thomas Reuters). Retrieved April 28, 2010.
^ Dave Itzkoff (2009-12-30). "'Thriller' Video Added to U.S. Film Registry". The New York Times. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
^ Pareles, John. Michael Jackson at 25: A Musical Phenomenon, The New York Times, January 14, 1984.
^ Taraborrelli, pp. 238–241
^ Kisselgoff, Anna. Dancing feet of Michael Jackson, The New York Times, March 6, 1988.
^ Story, Louise (December 31, 2007). "Philip B. Dusenberry, 71, Adman, Dies". New York Times. Retrieved July 17, 2009.
^ Taraborrelli, pp. 279–287
^ Taraborrelli, pp. 304–307
^ Taraborrelli, pp. 315–320
^ Grammy Awards Past Winners Search, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Retrieved February 14, 2008.
^ "Bruce shows who's Boss". The Montreal Gazette. (January 28, 1986). Retrieved June 16, 2010.
^ Lisa D. Campbell (1993). Michael Jackson: the King of Pop. Branden Books. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-8283-1957-7. Retrieved June 16, 2010.
^ Taraborrelli, pp. 340–344
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Hilburn, Robert (September 22, 1985). "The long and winding road". Los Angeles Times.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Doyle, Jack (July 7, 2009). "Michael & McCartney, 1990s-2009". The Pop History Dig.
^ ^a ^b ^c Taraborrelli, pp. 333–338
^ ^a ^b ^c "Paul McCartney refused an offer to buy the ATV Catalog for £20 million". Audio & transcript of McCartney at a 1990 press conference. November 13, 2010.
^ ^a ^b "Michael Jackson 1958-2009". Today Tonight. 2009-06-25. Coverage of the sale of ATV Music at 2:36 minutes in. Retrieved on 2011-01-12.
^ ^a ^b ^c Campbell (1995), pp. 14–16
^ Taraborrelli, pp. 434–436
^ "Michael Jackson case report". TMZ.com. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
^ Surgeon: Michael Jackson A 'Nasal Cripple', ABC News, February 8, 2003.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Jackson, pp. 229–230
^ Taraborrelli, pp. 312–313
^ "Michael Jackson Secret Boyfriend Claims Draw Fury". National Ledger. May 8, 2010. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
^ ^a ^b Taraborrelli, pp. 355–361
^ ^a ^b ^c "Music's misunderstood superstar". BBC. June 13, 2005. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
^ Goldberg, 1Michael; Handelman, David (September 24, 1987). "Is Michael Jackson for Real?". Rolling Stone (Wenner Media LLC).
^ ^a ^b Taraborrelli, pp. 370–373
^ "Newswatch Magazine – The Man, His Weird Ways". Newswatchngr.com. July 5, 2009. Retrieved October 24, 2009.
^ Jackson, Michael. Interview with Barbara Walters. 20/20. ABC. September 12, 1997.
^ Taraborrelli, p. vii
^ George, p. 41
^ "Captain EO is Back to Change the World – Movies News at IGN". Movies.ign.com. 2010-02-23. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
^ Ebony, Vol. 42, No. 11, September 1987, and Vol. 45, No. 12, October 1990.
^ ^a ^b ^c Cocks, Jay. The Badder They Come, Time, September 14, 1987.
^ Leopold, Todd (June 6, 2005). "Michael Jackson: A life in the spotlight". CNN. Retrieved May 5, 2008.
^ Savage, Mark. Michael Jackson: Highs and lows, BBC, August 29, 2008.
^ "Michael, Travis top Music Award winners". Lodi News-Sentinel. (January 30, 1989). Retrieved June 16, 2010.
^ "American Music Awards Monday". The Modesto Bee. (January 27, 1989). Retrieved June 18, 2010.
^ Lisa D. Campbell (1993). Michael Jackson: the King of Pop. Branden Books. p. 251. ISBN 978-0-8283-1957-7. Retrieved July 5, 2010.
^ "JACKSON TOUR ON ITS WAY TO U.S.". San Josè Mercury News. (January 12, 1988). Retrieved July 5, 2010.
^ "Winners of American Music Awards". Lodi News-Sentinel. (January 26, 1988). Retrieved June 16, 2010.
^ ^a ^b Lewis, pp. 95–96
^ Harrington, Richard.Jackson to Make First Solo U.S. Tour, The Washington Post, January 12, 1988.
^ Shanahan, Mark and Golstein, Meredith (June 27, 2009). "Remembering Michael". The Boston Globe. Retrieved March 14, 2010.
^ Jackson, pp. 29–31
^ George, p. 42
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e George, pp. 43–44
^ ^a ^b ^c Gunderson,, Edna (February 19, 2007). "For Jackson, scandal could spell financial ruin". USA Today (Gannett Co. Inc). Retrieved March 14, 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Jackson receives his World Records". Yahoo!. (November 14, 2006). Retrieved November 16, 2006.
^ Press references to Jackson as a music "king" appeared as early as 1984 after he swept the Grammy Awards, and "king of pop" appeared as early as 1987. MTV and Fox used the title in joint press releases and ads for the "Black or White" video at Jackson's request, but MTV denied a report that VJs were required to use it on-camera. Writers described the title as self-proclaimed from then on.
^ Arar, Yardena (February 29, 1984). "Michael Jackson coronated latest king of rock 'n' roll". Boca Raton News: p. 7A.
^ Staff writer (July 27, 1987). "Is the thrill gone for singer Michael Jackson?". Sacramento Bee: p. B3.
^ Browne, David (November 29, 1991). "Michael Jackson's Black or White Blues". Entertainment Weekly.
^ Campbell (1993) pp. 260–263
^ Remarks on the Upcoming Summit With President Mikhail Gorbachev of the Soviet Union, April 5, 1990.
^ "Blacks who give back'". Ebony. March 1990. Retrieved March 14, 2010.
^ Taraborrelli, p. 382
^ "Michael Jackson's Life & Legacy: The Eccentric King Of Pop (1986–1999) – News Story | Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV News". Mtv.com. 2009-07-06. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
^ Gray, Chris; Shah, Saeed (October 3, 2002). "Robbie swings historic record deal with EMI". London: The Independent. Retrieved March 24, 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Gold and Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 27, 2008.
^ "Michael Jackson sulla sedia a rotelle". Affari Italiani. August 11, 2008. Retrieved May 10, 2009.
^ Carter, Kelley L. (August 10, 2008). "New jack swing". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "The return of the King of Pop". MSNBC. (November 2, 2006). Retrieved June 8, 2008.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g George, pp. 45–46
^ "Garth Brooks ropes in most Billboard awards". Allegheny Times. December 10, 1992. Retrieved July 4, 2010.
^ Taraborrelli, p. 459
^ Harrington, Richard (February 5, 1992). "Jackson to Tour Overseas". The Washington Post.
^ Taraborrelli, pp. 452–454
^ "Stars line up for Clinton celebration". Daily News of Los Angeles. (January 19, 1993).
^ Smith, Patricia (January 20, 1992). "Facing the music and the masses at the presidential gala". The Boston Globe.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Johnson, Robert (May 1992). "Michael Jackson: crowned in Africa". Ebony. Retrieved July 23, 2008.
^ "Cyrus, Bolton please the fans". Toledo Blade. (January 27, 1993). Retrieved June 16, 2010.
^ ^a ^b "1993: Michael Jackson accused of child abuse". BBC. (February 8, 2003). Retrieved November 11, 2006.
^ Taraborrelli, pp. 485–486
^ ^a ^b ^c Taraborrelli, pp. 477–478
^ Taraborrelli, pp. 496–498
^ ^a ^b Taraborrelli, pp. 534–540
^ "Michael Jackson Never Recovered from 1993 Police Strip Search". Blogspot.com. July 2, 2009.
^ "MJ Autopsy" (PDF).
^ "Photos May Contradict Michael's Accuser USA Today (pre-1997 Fulltext) – McLean, Va. Date: Jan 28, 1994" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-06-25.
^ "Photos May Contradict Michael's Accuser USA Today (pre-1997 Fulltext) – McLean, Va. Date: Jan 28, 1994". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. 1994-01-28. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
^ Campbell (1995), pp. 47–50
^ "Jackson Grand Jury Disbanded – 1994. May 2, 1994" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-10-26.
^ "STATEMENT OF DECLINATION ISSUED JOINTLY BY THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICES OF LOS ANGELES AND SANTA BARABARA COUNTIES. September 21, 1994". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 2005-12-25. Retrieved 2010-10-26.
^ ^a ^b Attorneys for Michael Jackson (March 22, 2005). "Objection to Subpoena of Settlement Document". Superior Court of California.
^ Taraborrelli, pp. 540–545
^ "Michael Jackson's Big Payoff. Agreed to pay $15 million to settle boy's 1993 sex abuse claim. The Smoking Gun, June 16". Thesmokinggun.com. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
^ "Grand Jury to convene in Jackson Case Law: Sources close to the investigation say a panel in Santa Barbara will hear testimony next week about alleged molestation of boy. February 05, 1994|Jim Newton, Times Staff Writer". latimes.com. 1994-02-05. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
^ Taraborrelli, pp. 500–507
^ Gliatto, Tom (1994-08-15). "Neverland Meets Graceland". People.
^ ^a ^b ^c Taraborrelli, pp. 518–520
^ Taraborrelli, p. 510
^ ^a ^b "She's Out Of His Life". CNN. (January 18, 1996). Retrieved July 24, 2008.
^ Taraborrelli, pp. 562–564
^ ^a ^b Taraborrelli, pp. 580–581
^ Lisa Marie Presley Opens Up About Michael Jackson. Oprah.com. 2010-10-21.
^ Michael Jackson sells Beatles songs to Sony, The New York Times, November 8, 1995.
^ ^a ^b Leeds, Jeff (April 13, 2006). "Michael Jackson Bailout Said to Be Close". The New York Times. Retrieved July 23, 2008.
^ "Top 100 Albums (Page 2)". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 16, 2008.
^ Putti, Laura (August 24, 2001). "Il nuovo Michael Jackson fa un tuffo nel passato". La Repubblica. Retrieved May 10, 2009.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h George, pp. 48–50
^ Taraborrelli, pp. 576–577
^ ^a ^b "ADL happy with Michael Jackson decision". Anti-Defamation League. (June 22, 1995). Retrieved July 1, 2008.
^ "Brooks turns down award for favorite artist of the year". Rome News-Tribune. (January 30, 1996). Retrieved June 16, 2010.
^ Taraborrelli, pp. 570–586
^ Taraborrelli, p. 597
^ ^a ^b Taraborrelli, pp. 599–600
^ ^a ^b "Jackson child custody battle ends". BBC News (BBC Online). September 30, 2006. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
^ ^a ^b Rojek, Chris (2007). Cultural Studies. Polity. p. 74. ISBN 0-7456-3683-7.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Taraborrelli, pp. 610–612
^ "Ricky Martin, Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, Others To Join Pavarotti For Benefit". VH1. (May 5, 1999). Retrieved May 30, 2008.
^ "Slash, Scorpions, Others Scheduled For 'Michael Jackson & Friends'". VH1. (May 27, 1999). Retrieved May 30, 2008.
^ ^a ^b "Lauryn Hill, Backstreet Boys, DMX Honored With American Music Awards". MTV. (January 18, 2000). Retrieved June 16, 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Taraborrelli, pp. 614–617
^ ^a ^b ^c George, pp. 50–53
^ Branigan, Tania (September 8, 2001). "Jackson spends £20m to be Invincible". The Guardian (London). Retrieved July 23, 2008.
^ Conniff, Tamara (August 30, 2009). "We Killed Michael Jackson". Huffington Post. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
^ ^a ^b Burkeman, Oliver (July 8, 2002). "Jacko gets tough: but is he a race crusader or just a falling star?". The Guardian (London). Retrieved July 23, 2008.
^ Jackson, Jermaine. Interview with Connie Chung. Interview with Jermaine Jackson. Connie Chung Tonight. (December 31, 2002). Retrieved on July 2, 2008.
^ "Keys, Destiny's Child, McGraw win at American Music Awards". Lodi-News Sentinel. (January 10, 2002). Retrieved June 16, 2010.
^ "Michael Jackson". Daily Mirror. Retrieved May 29, 2009.
^ Vineyard, Jennifer (November 20, 2002). "Michael Jackson Calls Baby-Dangling Incident A 'Terrible Mistake'". MTV. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
^ "BPI Searchable database—Gold and Platinum". British Phonographic Industry.
^ ^a ^b Taraborrelli, p. 640
^ Taraborrelli, p. 661
^ Davis, Matthew (June 6, 2005). "Michael Jackson health concerns". BBC. Retrieved April 14, 2008.
^ "Michael Jackson jury reaches verdict". The Guardian. Associated Press (London). June 13, 2005. Retrieved July 12, 2008.
^ Toumi, Habib (January 23, 2006). "Jackson settles down to his new life in the Persian Gulf". Gulf News. Retrieved November 11, 2006.
^ McNamara, Melissa (March 17, 2006). "Jackson Closes Neverland House". CBS News. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
^ Ackman, Dan (June 14, 2005). "Really Odd Facts About Michael Jackson". Forbes. Retrieved October 7, 2009.
^ "Jackson strikes deal over loans". BBC News (BBC Online). April 14, 2006. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
^ "Michael Jackson Sails With Two Seas". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved April, 25, 2010.
^ ^a ^b "Jackson parts with Bahrain label". BBC News (BBC Online). September 26, 2006. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
^ Friedman, Roger (October 21, 2006). "Who's Funding Jackson's Retreat to Irish Recording Studio?". FOX News. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
^ "2006 World Music Awards". Chiff. Retrieved February 13, 2008.
^ Reid, Shaheem. James Brown Saluted By Michael Jackson at Public Funeral Service, MTV, December 30, 2006.
^ "Michael Jackson buys rights to Eminem tunes and more,". Rolling Stone (Wenner Media LLC). May 31, 2007.
^ ^a ^b Wardrop, Murray (June 27, 2009). "Michael Jackson: the unreleased album". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved March 19, 2010.
^ "Interview With RedOne". HitQuarters. March 23, 2009. Retrieved March 19, 2010.
^ Talmadge, Eric. Michael Jackson 'wouldn't change anything', Associated Press, 2007. Retrieved July 25, 2008.
^ "Will.i.am On Working With Michael Jackson". Rolling Stone (Wenner Media LLC). September 24, 2007.
^ ^a ^b "Zona Musical" (in Spanish) . zm.nu. Archived from the original on March 29, 2008. Retrieved April 5, 2008.
^ "Thriller the best selling album of all time". digitalproducer. (February 20, 2008). Retrieved April 6, 2008.
^ "Michael Jackson Thriller 25". ultratop.be. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
^ Friedman, Roger (May 16, 2008). "Jacko: Neverland East in Upstate New York". Fox News Channel. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
^ "Choose The Tracks On Michael Jackson's 50th Birthday Album!". Sony BMG. (June 20, 2008). Retrieved June 20, 2008.
^ "Michael Jackson—King of Pop". acharts.us. Retrieved September 11, 2008.
^ "King of Pop". www.ultratop.be. Retrieved September 5, 2008.
^ "Neverland peters out for pop's Peter Pan". The Sydney Morning Herald. (November 13, 2008). Retrieved November 20, 2008.
^ "Jacko gives up Neverland ranch deed". Press Association. (November 16, 2008).
^ Adams, Susan (April 14, 2009). "Ten Most Expensive Michael Jackson Collectibles". Forbes. Retrieved April 14, 2009.
^ "Michael Jackson Exhibition – 2009". Juliensauctions.com. April 25, 2009. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
^ "Michael Jackson: The fantastic possessions revealed – Americas, World". The Independent (London). June 26, 2009. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
^ Foster, Patrick (March 6, 2009). "Michael Jackson grand finale curtain-raiser". The Times (London). Retrieved March 24, 2009.
^ Kreps, Daniel (March 12, 2009). "Michael Jackson's "This Is It!" Tour Balloons to 50-Show Run Stretching Into 2010". Rolling Stone (Jann Wenner LLC).
^ "Michael Jackson: The Last Rehearsal". Life. June 29, 2009. Retrieved August 28, 2009.
^ "Michael Jackson dead at 50 after cardiac arrest". CNN. June 25, 2009. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
^ "Christian Audigier Michael Jackson Clothing Collection Confirmed". Popcrunch.com. June 24, 2008. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
^ "Michael Jackson Christian Audigier Clothing Line Was In The Works". Popcrunch.com. July 2, 2009.
^ Joyce Eng (August 10, 2009). "Judge Approves Michael Jackson Film". TV Guide. Retrieved August 10, 2009.
^ "This is It (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 16, 2010.
^ "Judge OKs Jackson performance film deal". MSNBC. Associated Press. 2009-08-10. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
^ Herrera, Monica (September 23, 2009). "New Michael Jackson Song, Album Due In October". Billboard.com. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
^ ^a ^b "Taylor Swift, Michael Jackson dominate American Music Awards nominations (Updated)". Los Angeles Times (Tribune Company). October 13, 2009. Retrieved October 14, 2009.
^ ^a ^b "2009 American Music Awards: Scorecard". Los Angeles Times (Tribune Company). November 22, 2009. Retrieved November 23, 2009.
^ ^a ^b Harvey, Michael (June 26, 2009). "Fans mourn artist for whom it didn't matter if you were black or white". The Times (London). Retrieved June 26, 2009.
^ "Los Angeles Fire Department recording of the emergency phone call made from Michael Jackson's home". BBC. June 26, 2009. Retrieved June 27, 2009.
^ "Transcript of 911 call". Yahoo! News. June 26, 2009.
^ "Singer Michael Jackson dead at 50-Legendary pop star had been preparing for London comeback tour". MSNBC. June 25, 2009. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
^ Moore, Matthew (June 26, 2009). "Michael Jackson, King of Pop, dies of cardiac arrest in Los Angeles". Telegraph.co.uk (London). Retrieved June 27, 2009.
^ Tourtellotte, Bob (June 25, 2009). "King of Pop Michael Jackson is dead: official". Reuters. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
^ Rawlinson, Linnie and Nick Hunt. Jackson Dies, almost takes Internet With Him, CNN, June 27, 2009.
^ Shiels, Maggie. Web slows after Jackson's death, BBC News, June 26, 2009.
^ Phoebe. The King of Pop vs. Wikipedia, The Wikipedia Signpost, June 29, 2009; see October 2009 stats
^ Wood, Daniel B. Outpouring over Michael Jackson unlike anything since Princess Di, Christian Science Monitor, June 27, 2009.
^ ^a ^b Skok, David, Internet stretched to limit as fans flock for Michael Jackson news^{[dead link]}, The Vancouver Sun, June 26, 2009.
^ ^a ^b Wortham, Jenna. Michael Jackson Tops the Charts on Twitter, The New York Times, June 25, 2009.
^ Krazit, Tim and McCullagh, Declan. Debate: Can the Internet handle big breaking news?, cnet.com, June 26, 2009.
^ Stelter, Brian. MTV's Jackson Marathon The New York Times, June 26, 2009.
^ "Jacko news spreads to Eastenders". MSN Entertainment. June 28, 2009.
^ The Sun, July 8, 2009, pp. 10–11.
^ Jacko Telethon: Primetime Broadcast Network Coverage Devotes One Third of All News to Pop Star's Death, newsbusters.org, July 10, 2009.
^ Time Magazine to Publish Special Jackson Issue, People, June 27, 2009.
^ Hill, Catey. Scene with Michael Jackson, LaToya Jackson cut from Sacha Baron Cohen's "Bruno", New York Daily News, June 26, 2009.
^ Bucci, Paul and Wood, Graeme.Michael Jackson RIP: One billion people estimated watching for gold-plated casket at memorial service. The Vancouver Sun, July 7, 2009.
^ Leopold, todd. Jackson spectacle likely a world event. CNN, July 6, 2009.
^ Bucci, Paul and Wood, Graeme. Michael Jackson RIP: One billion people estimated watching for gold-plated casket at memorial service. The Vancouver Sun, July 7, 2009.
^ Scott, Andrew. "Michael Jackson Memorial Earns 31 Million Viewers & More TV News – Inside TV Blog". Television.aol.com. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
^ Allen, Nick. Michael Jackson memorial service: the biggest celebrity send-off of all time, The Daily Telegraph, July 7, 2009.
^ Video of Sharpton's eulogy, Macleans, July 7, 2009.
^ Liveblogging Michael Jackson's funeral and memorial service, The Guardian, July 7, 2009.
^ Interview with Reverend Lucious Smith, one year since the death of Michael Jackson.
^ Burgess, Kaya (August 24, 2009). "LA coroner to treat Michael Jackson's death as a homicide". The Times (London). Retrieved August 24, 2009.
^ "Jackson 'had lethal drug levels'". BBC News. August 25, 2009. Retrieved August 25, 2009.
^ Doheny, Kathleen; Louise Chang, Hector Vila Jr (August 24, 2009). "Propofol Linked to Michael Jackson's Death". WebMD. Retrieved August 25, 2009.
^ "Michael Jackson Homicide Ruling". Retrieved August 24, 2009.
^ "Michael Jackson's doctor charged with manslaughter". BBC News (BBC Online). February 9, 2010. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
^ Coleman, Mark (September 4, 2009). "Michael Jackson finally laid to rest in Los Angeles". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved September 8, 2009.
^ Wells, Jason (June 25, 2010). "One year later: Fans gather to pay tribute to Michael Jackson". Glendale News-Press (Los Angeles). Retrieved June 25, 2010.
^ EFE (June 26, 2010). "Familia y fans de Jackson le recuerdan en el aniversario de su muerte". La Vanguardia (Los Angeles). Retrieved June 26, 2010.
^ Judd, Amy (June 25, 2010). "Gary Indiana Hosts Michael Jackson Tribute June 25, 2010". Glendale News-Press (Gary, Indiana). Retrieved June 25, 2010.
^ Baichwal, Ravi (June 25, 2010). "Fans honor Michael Jackson in Gary, Indiana". WLS (Gary, Ind.). Retrieved June 25, 2010.
^ Mccartney, Anthony (June 23, 2010). "A year after Michael Jackson's death, fan base remains committed to keeping memory alive". Associated Press. Los Angeles. Retrieved June 23, 2010.
^ Romero, Dennis (June 4, 2010). "MJ fans plan to march in downtown L.A. one day after anniversary". LAWeekly (Los Angeles). Retrieved June 5, 2010.
^ Gimenez-Llort, Lydia (June 26, 2010). "M4mj 'forever Michael' 4 For Fans Use Only! from WN". WN (Los Angeles). Retrieved July 20, 2010.
^ "An amazing tribute: The Jackson Family Foundation & VoicePlate Productions presents "Forever Michael."". Michael Jackson Official Site (Los Angeles). June 26, 2010. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
^ "Aniversario de muerte de Michael Jackson pasará sin grandes homenajes". EFE (Los Angeles). June 26, 2010. Retrieved June 23, 2010.
^ Caulfield, Keith (January 6, 2010). "Taylor Swift Edges Susan Boyle for 2009's Top-Selling Album". Billboard.com. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved January 7, 2010.
^ "Jackson sells 35 million albums since death - Entertainment - Access Hollywood - TODAYshow.com". Today.msnbc.msn.com. 2010-06-25. Retrieved 2010-06-30.
^ ^a ^b Smith, Ethan (March 16, 2010). "Sony Places Big Bet on a Fallen 'King'". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
^ "MICHAEL Album Announcement". Breakingnews.michaeljackson.com. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
^ "Michael Jackson in 'record' $200m music deal". BBC News. BBC Online. 2009-03-16. Retrieved 2010-03-17.^{[dead link]}
^ Up for Discussion Jump to Forums (2009-09-14). "Michael Jackson Fans Will Moonwalk In Motion-Sensing Game". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
^ By Tony HicksContra Costa Times. "People: Cirque du Soleil mounting Michael Jackson tour - San Jose Mercury News". Mercurynews.com. Retrieved 2010-11-07.
^ "CBC News - Music - Cirque plans $57M touring Jackson show". Cbc.ca. 2010-11-03. Retrieved 2010-11-07.
^ "Where to see Cirque du Soleil's Michael Jackson tour - News & Advice, Travel". The Independent. Retrieved 2010-11-07.
^ "Michael Jackson 'Immortal' tour opens advance ticket sales - Music, Arts & Entertainment". The Independent. Retrieved 2010-11-07.
^ "English Premier League: Fans can ‘go to hell’, says Fulham owner Mohamed Al Fayed". Sports Haze. 2011-04-04. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
^ Barney Ronay. "Fulham fans cry foul over 'bizarre' Michael Jackson statue". The Guardian. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
^ "Michael Jackson Fulham FC statue defended by Al Fayed". BBC. 2011-04-03. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
^ Michael Jackson, the king of pop ... – Google Books. Books.google.com. 2005. ISBN 978-0-9749779-0-4. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
^ "Michael Jackson saved my life". Scarborough Evening News. Retrieved June 28, 2009.
^ "James Brown – Jackson Attends Brown's Public Funeral – Contactmusic News". Contactmusic.com. January 2, 2007. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
^ Taraborrelli, p. 60
^ Taraborrelli, p. 64
^ Taraborrelli, pp. 209–210
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Huey, Steve. "Michael Jackson—Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved November 11, 2006.
^ Henderson, Eric (2003). "Michael Jackson:Thriller". Slant Magazine. Retrieved June 15, 2008.
^ ^a ^b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Thriller Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved June 15, 2008.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Connelly, Christopher (January 28, 1983). "Michael Jackson: Thriller". Rolling Stone.
^ ^a ^b George, p.24
^ Pareles, Jon (September 3, 1987). "How good is Jackson's Bad?". The New York Times. Retrieved July 23, 2008.
^ ^a ^b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Dangerous Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved June 15, 2008.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Pareles, Jon (November 24, 1991). "Michael Jackson in the Electronic Wilderness". The New York Times. Retrieved July 23, 2008.
^ Harrington, Richard (November 24, 1991). "Jackson's `Dangerous' Departures; Stylistic Shifts Mar His First Album in 4 Years". The Washington Post.
^ ^a ^b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Michael Jackson HIStory Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved June 15, 2008.
^ ^a ^b Hunter, James (August 10, 1995). "Michael Jackson HIStory". Rolling Stone.
^ "Thomas W. (Tom) Sneddon, Jr.". ndaa.org. Archived from the original on 2008-01-02. Retrieved July 12, 2008.
^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Michael Jackson:Invincible". Allmusic. Retrieved September 9, 2007.
^ Beaumont, Mark (November 30, 2001). "Michael Jackson: Invincible". NME. Retrieved July 23, 2008.
^ Brackett, pp. 414
^ The Complete Guide To The Music of Michael Jackson & The Jackson Family by Geoff Brown. 164 pages, Omnibus Press
^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Off the Wall Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved June 15, 2008.
^ Holden, Stephen (November 1, 1979). "Off the Wall: Michael Jackson". Rolling Stone.
^ Sony Music (2001). "Michael Jackson Dangerous Review". Sony Music Entertainment. Archived from the original on December 4, 2005. Retrieved August 27, 2008.
^ Jeans (1993). "Peligroso regreso". Michael Jackson: Un mito indescifrable (in Spanish). Revista Jeans. p. 7. "En "Black or white" Michael Jackson solicitó la participación del guitarrista de Guns N' Roses, Slash, para darle a esta canción de hard rock una línea más agresiva, además cuenta con la participación de Tim Pierce en la guitarra heavy metal; y el resultado es una mezcla de hard rock, dance y rap"
^ Ramage, John D.; Bean, John C.; Johnson, June (2001). Writing arguments: a rhetoric with readings. Allyn and Bacon. p. 491. ISBN 0-205-31745-6. Retrieved July 14, 2009. "'Black or White', described by the record company as 'a rock 'n' roll dance song about racial harmony'"
^ Lewarne, Rory (July 26, 2004). "Pink Grease". Music News. Retrieved August 10, 2008.
^ Hunter, James (December 6, 2001). "Michael Jackson: Invincible". Rolling Stone.
^ Chery, Carl: XXL: Michael Jackson Special Collecters Edition, page 95. American Press.
^ "Michael Jackson, "Billie Jean," directed by Steve Barron, produced by Simon Fields & Paul Flattery,". Blender. October 2005.
^ ^a ^b Gundersen, Edna (August 25, 2005). "Music videos changing places". USA Today. Retrieved July 23, 2008.
^ "Why it took MTV so long to play black music videos | Jet | Find Articles at BNET". Findarticles.com. October 9, 2006. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
^ Robinson, Bryan (February 23, 2005). "Why Are Michael Jackson's Fans So Devoted?". ABC News. Retrieved April 6, 2007.
^ Inglis, Ian (2006). Performance and popular music: history, place and time. Ashgate Publishing. pp. 119, 127. ISBN 978-0-7546-4057-8.
^ Jackson, Michael. Thriller Special Edition Audio.
^ "Philippine jailhouse rocks to Thriller". BBC. (July 27, 2007). Retrieved April 11, 2009.
^ Corliss, Richard (September 6, 1993). "Who's Bad?". Time. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
^ US Michael J. Jackson, Michael L. Bush, Dennis Tompkins: "Method and means for creating anti-gravity illusion", filed June 29, 1992, issued Oct 26, 1993 5255452
^ Michael Jackson Dangerous on Film VHS/DVD
^ Campbell (1993), p. 303
^ Campbell (1993), pp. 313–314
^ Boepple, Leanne (November 1, 1995). Scream: Space Odyssey, Jackson-Style.(video production; Michael and Janet Jackson video). 29. Theatre Crafts International. p. 52. ISSN 1063-9497.
^ Bark, Ed (June 26, 1995). Michael Jackson Interview Raises Questions, Answers. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 06E.
^ Guinness World Records 2006
^ Michael Jackson HIStory on Film volume II VHS/DVD
^ Lewis, pp. 125–126
^ Guinness World Records 2004
^ Utley, Tom (March 8, 2003). "Of course Jackson's odd—but his genius is what matters". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved July 23, 2008.
^ "Beyoncé, Top Stars Tip Their Hats to Michael Jackson". People. June 27, 2009. Retrieved June 27, 2009.
^ ^a ^b Reid, Antonio. "Michael Jackson". Rolling Stone (Jann Wenner LLC).
^ Jean-Louis, Rosemary (November 1, 2004). "Usher, Usher, Usher: The new 'King of Pop'?". CNN. Retrieved March 6, 2007.
^ "Green Day Look Forward To Janet Jackson's VMA Tribute To Michael". MTV. September 13, 2009. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
^ "Michael Jackson Is The Reason". AZcentral. July 4, 2009. Retrieved July 4, 2009.
^ "Ludacris Says Michael Jackson Inspired Him to 'Shoot for the Sky'". MTV. June 27, 2009. Retrieved June 27, 2009.
^ Monroe, Bryan (December 2007). "Michael Jackson in His Own Words" (Print/Magazine). Ebony.
^ Barnes, Brokes (June 25, 2009). "A Star Idolized and Haunted, Michael Jackson Dies at 50". New York Times. Retrieved July 12, 2009.
^ "More adds, loose ends, and lament". The 120 Minutes Archive. July 25, 2009. Retrieved July 26, 2009.
^ "Farewell to a King". People. July 20, 2009.
^ "Berry Gordy-Brings Mourners To Their Feet With Jackson Tribute". Contact Music. July 7, 2009. Retrieved November 26, 2009.
^ "Michael Jackson hailed as greatest entertainer, best dad". Reuters UK. July 8, 2009. Retrieved November 26, 2009.
^ ^a ^b Chandler, Cory. "Librarians Prove Michael Jackson Was a Rock Star in Academic Literature". Texas Tech University. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
^ Hidalgo, Susan and Weiner, Robert G. (2010). "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin': MJ in the Scholarly Literature: A Selected Bibliographic Guide". The Journal of Pan African Studies 3 (7): 14–28.
^ Hidalgo and Weiner (2010), p. 15.
^ Hidalgo and Weiner (2010), p. 25.
^ "Michael Jackson and Halle Berry Pick Up Bambi Awards in Berlin". Hello!. (November 22, 2002). Retrieved July 23, 2008.
^ "Jackson 5 with Michael Jackson". Hit Parade Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 11, 2010.
^ "Photos: Michael Jackson induction ceremony". NewsTimes. 2010-08-15. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
^ "Michael Jackson Named Most Successful Entertainer Of All Time". CityNews. Rogers Broadcasting Limited. November 15, 2006. Retrieved 2010-03-19.
^ "Most No. 1s By Artist (All-Time)". Billboard.com. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
^ "Michael Jackson to add concerts after sellout". Reuters. March 11, 2009. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
^ "Grammy Living Legend Award". Grammy. Retrieved December 11, 2009.
^ "Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award". Grammy. Retrieved December 11, 2009.
^ "List of American Music Awards winners". Sun Journal. (January 18, 2000). Retrieved June 16, 2010.
^ "Santana wins top album honors at American Music Awards". Times Daily. (January 18, 2000). Retrieved June 16, 2010.
^ Serjeant, Jill (December 29, 2009). "Michael Jackson's Death Among 2009's Major Moments". ABC News (The Walt Disney Company).
^ "Michael Jackson Achievements". Michael Jackson. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
^ "Pop Star Michael Jackson Influenced Academics, Received PhD". Discovery.com. Jun 23, 2010. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
^ "Witness: Jacko Lived Way Above Means". Fox News Channel. (May 3, 2005). Retrieved May 30, 2007.
^ "Family: Michael Jackson Had A Will" CBS News (June 30, 2009). Retrieved on July 12, 2009.
^ Christman, Ed, Ann Donahue, Gail Mitchell, Glenn Peoples and Ray Waddell (June 21, 2010). "How Michael Jackson Made $1 Billion Since His Death". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved June 23, 2010.
^ Jones, pp. 229, 259
^ Taraborrelli, pp. 355–356
^ Taraborrelli, pp. 413–414
^ Taraborrelli, p. 610
^ Scott, A. O (July 3, 2002). "Defending Earth, With Worms and a Talking Pug". The New York Times. Retrieved February 7, 2009.
^ Chaney, Jen (July 19, 2005). "'Miss Cast Away': You Know It's Bad". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 7, 2009.
^ Le, Danny (August 11, 2009). "'Michael Jackson's "This Is It," to be Presented In Theaters Around The World". MichaelJackson.com. Retrieved August 11, 2009.

Bibliography

Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Fireside. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
Campbell, Lisa (1993). Michael Jackson: The King of Pop. Branden. ISBN 0-8283-1957-X.
Campbell, Lisa (1995). Michael Jackson: The King of Pop's Darkest Hour. Branden. ISBN 0-8283-2003-9.
George, Nelson (2004). Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection booklet. Sony BMG.
Guinness World Records (2003). Guinness World Records 2004. Guinness. ISBN 1-892051-20-6.
Guinness World Records (2005). Guinness World Records 2006. Guinness. ISBN 1-904994-02-4.
Jackson, Michael (2009) [First published 1988]. Moonwalk. Random House. ISBN 9780307716989.
Jones, Jel (2005). Michael Jackson, the King of Pop: The Big Picture: the Music! the Man! the Legend! the Interviews!. Amber Books Publishing. ISBN 0-9749779-0-X.
Ramage, John D.; Bean, John C.; Johnson, June (2001). Writing arguments: a rhetoric with readings. Allyn and Bacon. ISBN 0-205-31745-6.
Taraborrelli, J. Randy (2009). Michael Jackson: The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story, 1958–2009. Terra Alta, WV: Grand Central Publishing, 2009. ISBN 0-446-56474-5, 9780446564748.

External links

Find more about Michael Jackson on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Images and media from Commons
	News stories from Wikinews
	Quotations from Wikiquote

Official website
Michael Jackson at the Open Directory Project
Michael Jackson discography at Discogs
Michael Jackson at the Internet Movie Database
Michael Jackson at Allmusic
Michael Jackson Hip Hop influence & samples
Michael Jackson Live: Best Pics - slideshow by Life magazine
Michael Jackson sample map, depicting the influence Jackson's work has had on other users.
Michael Jackson at MTV

[show] Michael Jackson related articles

Authority control: PND: 118711083 | LCCN: n83133203 | VIAF: 27092134

Interaction

Toolbox

Print/export

Languages

Brithney Speares biography

Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album ...Baby One More Time in 1999. During her first decade within the music industry, she became a prominent figure in mainstream popular music and popular culture, followed by a much-publicized personal life. Her first two albums established her as a pop icon and broke sales records, while title tracks "...Baby One More Time" and "Oops!... I Did It Again" became international number-one hits. Spears was credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s.

In 2001, she released her third studio album Britney and expanded her brand, playing the starring role in the film Crossroads. She assumed creative control of her fourth studio album, In the Zone released in 2003, which yielded chart-topping singles "Me Against the Music", "Toxic" and "Everytime". After the release of two compilation albums, Spears experienced personal struggles and her career went under hiatus. Her fifth studio album, Blackout, was released in 2007 and despite receiving little promotion, it spawned hits "Gimme More" and "Piece of Me". In 2008, her erratic behaviour and hospitalizations caused her to be placed in a conservatorship. The same year, her sixth studio album Circus was released, with the global chart-topping lead single "Womanizer". After embarking on The Circus Starring Britney Spears, she released greatest hits The Singles Collection, which featured U.S. and Canadian number-one single "3". In 2011, Spears returned with her seventh studio album, titled Femme Fatale, which was released on March 29, 2011, including the lead single "Hold It Against Me" which has become Spears' fourth U.S. number-one single.^[1]^[2] The album debuted at #1 on Billboard 200.^[3] This made Spears the only female artist ever to have six number one debut albums, and have seven albums debut in the top two spots.

Spears has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists in the history of contemporary music.^[4] According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), she is the eighth top-selling female artist in the United States, with 32 million certified albums.^[5] Spears is also recognized as the best-selling female artist of the first decade of the 21st century, as well as the fifth overall.^[6] She was ranked the 8th Artist of the 2000s by Billboard.^[7] In June 2010, Spears was ranked sixth on Forbes list of the 100 Most Powerful and Influential celebrities in the world; she is also the third most mentioned musician on the internet, according to Forbes.^[8]

[hide]

[edit] Biography

[edit] 1981–97: Early life and career beginnings

Britney Jean Spears was born on December 2, 1981, the second child of Lynne Irene (née Bridges) and James Parnell Spears. She is of English heritage through her maternal grandmother, who was born in London, and of distant Maltese descent.^[9]^[10] Her siblings are Bryan James and Jamie Lynn.^[11] At age three, she started to attend dance lessons in her hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana, and was selected to perform a solo at the annual recital. During her childhood, she also attended gymnastics and voice lessons, and won many state-level competitions and children's talent shows.^[12]^[13]^[14] Spears made her local stage debut at age five, singing "What Child Is This?" at her kindergarten graduation. She said about her ambition as a child, "I was in my own world, [...] I found out what I'm supposed to do at an early age".^[13] At age eight, Spears and her mother Lynne traveled to Atlanta for an audition in the 1990s revival of The Mickey Mouse Club. Casting director Matt Cassella rejected her for being too young to join the series at the time, but introduced her to Nancy Carson, a New York City talent agent. Carson was impressed with Spears's vocals and suggested enrolling her at the Professional Performing Arts School; shortly after, Lynne and her daughters moved to a sublet apartment in New York. Spears was hired for her first professional role, as the understudy for the lead role of Tina Denmark in the Off-Broadway musical Ruthless!. She also appeared as a contestant on the popular television show Star Search, as well as being cast in a number of commercials.^[15]^[16] In December 1992, she was finally cast in The Mickey Mouse Club, but returned to Kentwood after the show was cancelled. She enrolled at Parklane Academy in nearby McComb, Mississippi. Although she made friends with most of her classmates, she compared the school to "the opening scene in Clueless with all the cliques. [...] I was so bored. I was the point guard on the basketball team. I had my boyfriend, and I went to homecoming and Christmas formal. But I wanted more."^[13]^[17]

In June 1997, Spears was in talks with manager Lou Pearlman to join female pop group Innosense. Lynne asked family friend and entertainment lawyer Larry Rudolph for his opinion and submitted a tape of Spears singing over a Whitney Houston karaoke song along with some pictures. Rudolph decided he wanted to pitch her to record labels, therefore she needed a professional demo. He sent Spears an unused song from Toni Braxton; she rehearsed for a week and recorded her vocals in a studio with a sound engineer. Spears travelled to New York with the demo and met with executives from four labels, returning to Kentwood the same day. Three of the labels rejected her, arguing audiences wanted pop bands such as the Backstreet Boys and the Spice Girls, and "there wasn't going to be another Madonna, another Debbie Gibson, or another Tiffany." Two weeks later, executives from Jive Records returned calls to Rudolph.^[18] Senior vice president of A&R Jeff Fenster stated about Spears's audition that "It's very rare to hear someone that age who can deliver emotional content and commercial appeal. [...] For any artist, the motivation—the 'eye of the tiger'— is extremely important. And Britney had that."^[13] They appointed her to work with producer Eric Foster White for a month, who reportedly shaped her voice from "lower and less poppy" delivery to "distinctively, unmistakably Britney."^[19] After hearing the recorded material, president Clive Calder ordered a full album. Spears had originally envisioned "Sheryl Crow music, but younger more adult contemporary" but felt alright with her label's appointment of producers, since "It made more sense to go pop, because I can dance to it—it's more me." She flew to Cheiron Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, where half of the album was recorded from March to April 1998, with producers Max Martin, Denniz Pop and Rami, among others.^[13]

[edit] 1998–2000: ...Baby One More Time and Oops!... I Did It Again

Spears performing at the ...Baby One More Time Tour in 1999

After Spears returned to the United States, Spears embarked on a shopping mall promotional tour to promote her forthcoming album. Her show was a four song set and she was accompanied by two back up dancers. Her first concert tour followed, as an opening act for 'N Sync.^[20] Her debut album, ...Baby One More Time, was released on January 1999. It debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and was certified two-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America after a month. Worldwide, the album topped the charts in fifteen countries and sold over ten million copies in a year.^[21] It became the biggest selling album ever by a teenage artist.^[14] The title track was released as the lead single from the album. Originally, Jive Records wanted its music video to be animated; however, Spears rejected it, and suggested the final idea of a Catholic schoolgirl.^[19] The single sold 500,000 copies on its first day, and peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, topping the chart for two consecutive weeks.^[22]^[23] "...Baby One More Time" later received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.^[24] The title track also topped the singles chart for two weeks in the United Kingdom, and became the fastest-selling single ever by a female artist, shipping over 460,000 copies.^[25] It would later become the 25th most successful song of all time in British chart history.^[26] Spears is also the youngest female artist to have a million seller in the country.^[27] "(You Drive Me) Crazy" was released as the third single from the album. It became a top-ten hit worldwide and propelled ...Baby One More Time to sell 26 million copies.^[28] The April 1999 cover of Rolling Stone featured Spears laying on her bed, clad with a bra, shorts and an open top. The American Family Association (AFA) referred to the shoot as "a disturbing mix of childhood innocence and adult sexuality" and called to "God-loving Americans to boycott stores selling Britney's albums." Spears responded to the outcry commenting, "What's the big deal? I have strong morals. [...] I'd do it again. I thought the pictures were fine. And I was tired of being compared to Debbie Gibson and all of this bubblegum pop all the time."^[29] Shortly before, Spears had announced publicly she would remain a virgin until marriage.^[14]

On June 28, 1999, Spears began her first headlining ...Baby One More Time Tour in North America, which was positively received by critics,^[30] but generated some controversy due to her racy outfits.^[31] An extension of the tour, titled Crazy 2k, followed in March 2000. Spears premiered songs from her upcoming second album during the show.^[17] Oops!... I Did It Again, her second studio album, was released in May 2000. It debuted at number one in the US, selling 1,3 million copies, breaking the SoundScan record for the highest debut sales by any solo artist.^[32] The album sold over 20 million copies worldwide.^[33] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone said that "the great thing about Oops! – under the cheese surface, Britney's demand for satisfaction is complex, fierce and downright scary, making her a true child of rock & roll tradition."^[34] The album's lead single, "Oops!... I Did It Again", peaked at the top of the charts in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and many other European nations.^[27]^[35] The album as well as the title track received Grammy nominations for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, respectively.^[36] The same year, Spears embarked on the Oops!... I Did It Again World Tour, which grossed $40.5 million; she also released her first book, Britney Spears' Heart-to-Heart, co-written with her mother.^[14]^[37] On September 7, 2000, Spears performed at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. Halfway through the performance, she ripped of her black suit to reveal a sequined flesh-colored bodysuit, followed by heavy dance routine. It is noted by critics as the moment that Spears showed signs of becoming a more provocative performer.^[38] Amidst media speculation, Spears confirmed she was dating 'N Sync member Justin Timberlake.^[14]

[edit] 2001–03: Britney, Crossroads, and In the Zone

In February 2001, Spears signed a $7–8 million promotional deal with Pepsi, and released another book co-written with her mother, entitled A Mother’s Gift.^[14] Her third studio album, Britney, was released in November 2001. While on tour, she felt inspired by hip hop artists such as Jay-Z and The Neptunes and wanted to create a record with a funkier sound.^[39] The album debuted at number one in the Billboard 200 and reached top five positions in Australia, the United Kingdom and mainland Europe and sold over 12 million copies worldwide.^[27]^[40]^[41] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic called Britney "the record where she strives to deepen her persona, making it more adult while still recognizably Britney. [...] It does sound like the work of a star who has now found and refined her voice, resulting in her best record yet."^[42] The album was honored with two Grammy nominations—Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Overprotected"— and was listed in 2008 as one of Entertainment Weekly's "100 Best Albums from the Past 25 Years".^[43]^[44] The album's first single, "I'm a Slave 4 U", became a top-ten hit worldwide.^[45] Spears's performance of the single at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards featured a caged tiger and a large albino python draped over her shoulders. It was harshly received by animal rights organization PETA, who claimed the animals were mistreated and scrapped plans for an anti-fur billboard that was to feature Spears.^[38] To support the album, Spears embarked on the Dream Within a Dream Tour. The show was critically praised for its technical innovations, the pièce de résistance being a water screen that pumped two tons of water into the stage.^[46]^[47] The tour grossed $43.7 million, becoming the second highest grossing tour of 2002 by a female artist, behind Cher's Farewell Tour.^[48] Her career success was highlighted by Forbes in 2002, as Spears was ranked the world's most powerful celebrity.^[49] Spears also landed her first starring role in Crossroads, released in February 2002. Although the film was largely panned, most critics actually praised Spears's acting.^[50]^[51]^[52] Crossroads, which had a $11 million budget, went on to gross over $57 million worldwide.^[52]

Spears performing "Me Against the Music" at the NFL Kickoff Live 2003

In June 2002, Spears opened her first restaurant, Nyla, in New York City, but terminated her relationship in November, citing mismanagement and "management's failure to keep her fully apprised".^[53] In July 2002, Spears announced she would take a six month break from her career; however, she went back into the studio in October to record her new album.^[54] Spears's relationship with Justin Timberlake ended after three years. In December 2002, Timberlake released the song "Cry Me a River" as the second single from his solo debut album. The music video featured a Spears look-alike and fueled the rumors that she had been unfaithful to him.^[55]^[56] As a response, Spears wrote the ballad "Everytime" with her backing vocalist and friend Annet Artani.^[57] The same year, Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst confirmed that he was in a relationship with Spears, only to deny it later. In a 2009 interview, he explained that "I just guess at the time it was taboo for a guy like me to be associated with a gal like her."^[58] Spears opened the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards with Christina Aguilera, performing "Like a Virgin". Halfway through they were joined by Madonna, with whom they both kissed. The incident was highly publicized.^[52] Spears released her fourth studio album, In the Zone, in November 2003. She assumed more creative control by writing and co-producing most of the material.^[14] Vibe called it "A supremely confident dance record that also illustrates Spears's development as a songwriter."^[59] NPR listed the album as one of "The 50 Most Important Recording of the Decade", adding that "the decade's history of impeccably crafted pop is written on her body of work."^[60] In the Zone sold over 609,000 copies in the United States and debuted at the top of the charts, making Spears the first female artist in the SoundScan era to have her first four studio albums to debut at number one.^[14] It also debuted at the top of the charts in France and the top ten in Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands.^[61] In the Zone sold over 10 million copies worldwide.^[62] The album produced the hit singles: "Me Against the Music", a collaboration with Madonna; "Toxic"—which won a Grammy for Best Dance Recording; "Everytime" and "Outrageous".^[14]

[edit] 2004–07: Compilation albums, motherhood, personal struggles, and Blackout

On January 3, 2004, Spears married childhood friend Jason Allen Alexander at The Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada. The marriage was annulled 55 hours later, stating that Spears "lacked understanding of her actions".^[63] She began The Onyx Hotel Tour in support of In the Zone in March 2004.^[64] On June 8, 2004, Spears fell and injured her left knee during the music video shoot for "Outrageous". She was taken immediately to a local hospital, where doctors performed an MRI scan and found floating cartilage. The following day, Spears underwent arthroscopic surgery. She was forced to remain six weeks with a thigh brace, followed by eight to twelve weeks of rehabilitation, which caused The Onyx Hotel Tour to be canceled.^[65] During 2004, Spears became involved in the Kabbalah Centre through her friendship with Madonna.^[66] In July 2004, she announced her engagement to American dancer Kevin Federline, whom she had met three months before. The romance received intense attention from the media, since Federline had recently broken up with actress Shar Jackson, who was still pregnant with their second child at the time.^[14] The initial stages of their relationship were chronicled in Spears's first reality show Britney & Kevin: Chaotic. They held a wedding ceremony on September 18, 2004, but were not legally married until three weeks later on October 6 due to a delay finalizing the couple's prenuptial agreement.^[67] Shortly after, she released her first fragrance with Elizabeth Arden, Curious, which broke the company's first-week gross for a perfume.^[14] In October 2004, Spears announced she would be taking another career break to start a family.^[68] Greatest Hits: My Prerogative, her first greatest hits compilation album, was released in November 2004.^[69] Spears's cover version of Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative" was released as the lead single from the album, reaching the top of the charts in Finland, Ireland, Italy and Norway.^[70] The second single, "Do Somethin'", was a top ten hit in Australia, the United Kingdom and other countries of mainland Europe.^[71]^[72] Worldwide, Greatest Hits: My Prerogative sold over 5 million copies.^[73] In late 2004, Spears went on KIIS-FM radio in Los Angeles, CA to play a new demo titled "Mona Lisa." The demo was to be the first single from an upcoming album called the "Original Doll." However, Spears' label later cancelled the album for unknown reasons.^[74]^[75] Spears gave birth to her first child, Sean Preston Federline, on September 14, 2005.^[76]

In November 2005, she released her first remix compilation, B in the Mix: The Remixes, which consists of eleven remixes.^[77] In February 2006, pictures surfaced of Spears driving with her son Sean, on her lap instead of in a car seat. Child advocates were horrified by the photos of her holding the wheel with one hand and Sean with the other. Spears claimed that the situation happened because of a frightening encounter with paparazzi, and that it was a mistake on her part.^[14] The following month, she guest-starred on the Will & Grace episode "Buy, Buy Baby" as closeted lesbian Amber Louise.^[78] She publicly announced she no longer studied Kabbalah in June 2006, explaining, "my baby is my religion."^[66] Two months later, Spears posed nude for the cover of Harper's Bazaar. The picture was heavily compared to Demi Moore's August 1991 Vanity Fair cover.^[14] She gave birth to her second child, Jayden James Federline, on September 12, 2006.^[79] On November 7, 2006, Spears filed for divorce from Federline, citing irreconcilable differences.^[80] Their divorce was finalized in July 2007, when the couple reached a global settlement and agreed to share joint custody of their children.^[81] Spears's aunt Sandra Bridges Covington, with whom she had been very close, died of ovarian cancer in January.^[82] On February 16, 2007, Spears stayed in a drug rehabilitation facility in Antigua for less than a day. The following night, she shaved her head with electric clippers at a hair salon in Tarzana, Los Angeles. She admitted herself to other treatment facilities during the following weeks.^[83] After completing a month-long program at Promises, she wrote on her website, "I truly hit rock bottom. Till this day I don't think that it was alcohol or depression. [...] was like a bad kid running around with ADD."^[14] In May 2007, she produced a series of promotional concerts at House of Blues venues, titled The M+M's Tour.^[84] Spears lost physical custody of her children to Federline on October 1, 2007. The reasons of the court ruling were not revealed to the public.^[85]

Her fifth studio album, Blackout, was released in October 2007. It debuted at the top of charts in Canada and Ireland, number two in the U.S. Billboard 200,—held off from the top spot by Eagles's Long Road out of Eden— France, Japan, Mexico and the United Kingdom and the top ten in Australia, Korea, New Zealand and many European nations. In the United States, Spears became the only female artist to have her first five studio albums debut at the two top slots of the chart.^[86] Blackout sold over 3.1 million copies worldwide.^[87] Peter Robinson of The Observer said that "Britney has delivered the best album of her career, raising the bar for modern pop music with an incendiary mix of Timbaland's Shock Value and her own back catalogue."^[88] Dennis Lim of Blender commented, "Spears’s fifth studio album is her most consistent, a seamlessly entertaining collection of bright, brash electropop."^[89] Blackout won Album of the Year at MTV Europe Music Awards 2008 and was listed as the fifth Best Pop Album of the Decade by The Times.^[90]^[91] Spears performed the lead single "Gimme More" at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. The performance was panned by many critics. David Willis of BBC stated her performance would "go down in the history books as being one of the worst to grace the MTV Awards".^[92] Despite the backlash, the single rocketed to worldwide success, peaking at number one in Canada and the top ten in almost every country it charted.^[93]^[94] The second single "Piece of Me" reached the top of the charts in Ireland and reached the top five in Australia, Canada, Denmark, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The third single "Break the Ice" was released the following year and had moderate success due to Spears not being able to promote it properly.^[95]^[96]^[97] In December 2007, Spears began a relationship with paparazzi Adnan Ghalib.^[98]

[edit] 2008–10: Conservatorship, Circus, and The Circus Starring Britney Spears

Spears at the album release party of Circus and her 27th birthday party.

On January 3, 2008, Spears refused to relinquish custody of her sons to Federline's representatives. She was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, after police that arrived at her house noted she appeared to be under the influence of an illicit substance. The following day, Spears's visitation rights were suspended at an emergency court hearing, and Federline was given sole physical and legal custody of the children. On January 31, 2008, Spears was committed to the psychiatric ward of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and put on 5150 involuntary psychiatric hold. The court placed her under temporary conservatorship of her father James Spears and attorney Andrew Wallet, giving them complete control of her assets.^[14] Spears was released on February 6, 2008. Her parents expressed disappointment and concern at the decision to release her.^[99] The following month, she guest-starred on the How I Met Your Mother episode "Ten Sessions" as receptionist Abby. She received positive reviews for her performance, as well as bringing the series highest ratings ever.^[100]^[101] In July 2008, Spears regained some visitation rights after coming to an agreement with Federline and his counsel.^[102] On September 7, 2008, Spears opened the MTV Video Music Awards with a pre-taped comedy sketch with Jonah Hill and an introduction speech. She won Best Female Video, Best Pop Video and Video Of The Year for "Piece of Me".^[103]

A 60-minute introspective documentary, Britney: For the Record, was produced to chronicle Spears' return to the recording industry. Directed by Phil Griffin, For the Record was entirely shot in Beverly Hills, Hollywood, and New York City during the third quarter of 2008.^[104] Main shooting began on September 5, 2008, two days before Spears' appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards. For the Record was broadcast on MTV on November 30, 2008 to 5.6 million viewers for the two airings on the premiere night. MTV reported that Spears' documentary garnered on average, the highest rating in its' Sunday night timeslot, in the network's history.^[105]

Her sixth studio album Circus, was released in December 2008. It received positive reviews from critics; according to the music review aggregation of Metacritic, it garnered an average score of 64/100.^[106] Circus debuted at number one in Canada, Czech Republic and the United States, and inside the top in many European nations.^[94]^[107] In the United States, Spears became the youngest female artist to have five albums debut at number one, earning a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.^[108] She also became the only act in the Soundscan era to have four albums debut with 500,000 or more copies sold.^[107] Circus became one of the fastest-selling albums of the year,^[109] and has sold 4 million copies worldwide.^[110]^[111] Its lead single, "Womanizer", became her first number one in the Billboard Hot 100 since "...Baby One More Time" and topped the charts in countries such as Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Norway and Sweden.^[112]^[113] It was also nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Dance Recording.^[114] In January 2009, Spears and her father James obtained a restraining order against her former manager Sam Lufti, ex-boyfriend Adnan Ghalib and attorney Jon Eardley—all of whom, court documents claim, had been conspiring to gain control of Spears's affairs. The restraining order forbids Lutfi and Ghalib from contacting Spears or coming within 250 yards of her, her property or family members.^[115] Spears embarked on The Circus Starring Britney Spears in March 2009. With a gross of U.S. $131.8 million, it became the fifth highest grossing tour of the year.^[116]

She released her second greatest hits album, The Singles Collection in November 2009. "3" became her third number one single in the US, and was the first song to debut at the top of the charts in three years.^[117] Later that month, she released an application for iPhone and iPod Touch titled "It's Britney!".^[118] In May 2010, Spears's representatives confirmed she was dating her agent Jason Trawick, and that they had decided to end their professional relationship to focus on their personal relationship.^[119] Spears designed a limited edition clothing line for Candie's, which was released in stores in July 2010.^[120] On September 28, 2010, she made a cameo appearance on a Spears-themed tribute episode of American TV show Glee, titled "Britney/Brittany". Spears approved of the episode, although her appearances received mixed reviews from critics.^[121]^[122] The episode drew Glee's second largest audience, as well as the show's highest ratings ever.^[123]^[124]

[edit] 2011–present: Femme Fatale

In March 2011, Spears released her seventh studio album Femme Fatale.^[125] Max Martin and Dr. Luke executive produced the album and the album's first single "Hold It Against Me". The single debuted at number-one on the Billboard Hot 100. This gave Spears her fourth number-one single on the chart, and made her only the second artist in history to have two consecutive singles debut at number-one, after Mariah Carey.^[126] The album peaked at number one in the United States, Canada, and Australia and peaked inside the top ten on every other chart. The album's peak in the United States ties Britney for the third-most number ones among women with Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson.^[127] In April 2011, Spears appeared in a remix to the song "S&M" by Rihanna after Rihanna asked her fans via Twitter who they wanted her to collaborate with.^[128] The song reached number one in the US in mid-April 2011, giving Britney her fifth number one on the chart.^[129]

[edit] Musical style and performance

Spears performing in 2009's world tour The Circus Starring Britney Spears

Following her debut, Spears was credited with leading the revival of teen pop in the late 1990s. The Daily Yomiuri reported that "[m]usic critics have hailed her as the most gifted teenage pop idol for many years, but Spears has set her sights a little higher-she is aiming for the level of superstardom that has been achieved by Madonna and Janet Jackson."^[130] Rolling Stone wrote: "Britney Spears carries on the classic archetype of the rock & roll teen queen, the dungaree doll, the angel baby who just has to make a scene."^[131] Rami Yacoub who co-produced Spears's debut album with lyricist Max Martin, commented, "I know from Denniz Pop and Max's previous productions, when we do songs, there's kind of a nasal thing. With N' Sync and the Backstreet Boys, we had to push for that mid-nasal voice. When Britney did that, she got this kind of raspy, sexy voice."^[132] Following the release of her debut album, Chuck Taylor of Billboard observed, "Spears has become a consummate performer, with snappy dance moves, a clearly real-albeit young-and funkdified voice ... "(You Drive Me) Crazy", her third single ... demonstrates Spears's own development, proving that the 17-year-old is finding her own vocal personality after so many months of steadfast practice."^[133] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic referred to her music as a "blend of infectious, rap-inflected dance-pop and smooth balladry."^[134] Spears later commented, "With ...Baby One More Time, I didn't get to show my voice off. The songs were great, but they weren't very challenging".^[135]

Oops!...I Did It Again and subsequent albums saw Spears working with several contemporary R&B producers, leading to "a combination of bubblegum, urban soul, and raga."^[136] Her third studio album, Britney derived from the teen pop niche, "[r]hythmically and melodically ... sharper, tougher than what came before. What used to be unabashedly frothy has some disco grit, underpinned by Spears' spunky self-determination that helps sell hooks that are already catchier, by and large, than those that populated her previous two albums."^[137] Guy Blackman of The Age wrote that while few would care to listen to an entire Spears album, "[t]he thing about Spears, though, is that her biggest songs, no matter how committee-created or impossibly polished, have always been convincing because of her delivery, her commitment and her presence. For her mostly teenage fans, Spears expresses perfectly the conflicting urges of adolescence, the tension between chastity and sexual experience, between hedonism and responsibility, between confidence and vulnerability."^[138]

Her vocal ability has also been criticized, often drawing unfavorable comparison to her pop rival, Christina Aguilera^[139] Critic Allan Raible derides her overdependence in Circus on digital effects and the robotic effect it creates. "She’s never been a strong vocalist..." writes Raible, "Could she handle these songs with stripped down arrangements and no vocal effects? More importantly, would anyone want to hear her attempt such a performance? Does it matter? No. The focus is still image over substance."^[140] Her image and persona are also often contrasted to Christina Aguilera. David Browne of Entertainment Weekly observed "Christina Aguilera may flash skin and belly button, but in her music and manner, she's too eager not to offend — she's a good girl pretending to be bad. Spears, however, comes across as a bad girl acting good ... Spears' artificial-sweetener voice is much less interesting than the settings, yet that blandness is actually a relief compared with Aguilera's numbing vocal gymnastics.^[141] In contrast, Allmusic comments: "Like her peer Christina Aguilera, Britney equates maturity with transparent sexuality and the pounding sounds of nightclubs ... Where Christina comes across like a natural-born skank, Britney is the girl next door cutting loose at college, drinking and smoking and dancing and sexing just a little too recklessly, since this is the first time she can indulge herself.^[142] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine notes, "The disparity between Aguilera and Spears can't be measured solely by the timbre and octave range of their voices ... [Aguilera's] popularity has never reached the fever pitch of Britney's."^[143]

While writing the review for Femme Fatale in 2011, Adam Markovitz of Entertainment Weekly commented on the cultural significance of Spears' voice and music. "We don't ask a whole lot from Britney Spears as an entertainer...we'll still send her straight up the charts simply because she's Britney. She's an American institution, as deeply sacred and messed up as pro wrestling or the filibuster. Musically, though, Spears will always have to measure up to her own gold standards of pop euphony: the operatic slither of 2004's "Toxic" and the candied funk of 2000's "Oops!...I Did It Again." Spears is no technical singer, that's for sure. But backed by Martin and Dr. Luke's wall of pound, her vocals melt into a mix of babytalk coo and coital panting that is, in its own overprocessed way, just as iconic and propulsive as Michael Jackson's yips or Eminem's snarls."^[144]

Like other dance-oriented pop stars, it has been widely reported that Spears lip-syncs in concert. Author Gary Giddins wrote in his book Natural selection: Gary Giddins on comedy, film, music, and books (2006) that "among many other performers accused of moving their lips while a machine does the labor are Britney Spears, Luciano Pavarotti, Shania Twain, Beyoncé, and Madonna."^[145] Rashod D. Ollison of The Baltimore Sun observes: "Many pop stars ... feel they have no choice but to seek vocal enhancement. Since the advent of MTV and other video music channels, pop audiences have been fed elaborate videos thick with jaw-dropping effects, awesome choreography, fabulous clothes, marvelous bodies. And the same level of perfection is expected to extend beyond the video set to the concert stage. So if Britney Spears, Janet Jackson or Madonna sounds shrill and flat without a backing track, fans won't pay up to $300 for a concert ticket."^[146] Giddins adds, "it was reported Britney Spears fans prefer her to lip-sync—despite her denials of doing so (contradicted by her own director)—because they expect flawless digitalization when they pay serious money for a concert."^[145] In Australia, NSW Fair Trading Minister Virginia Judge has advised disclaimers be printed on any ticket for concerts which contain any prerecorded vocals. She commented: "There could have been some instances where people actually go and purchase a ticket thinking that they're going to have a live performance ... for some people that means that everything is live, it's fresh, it happens instantaneously, it's not something that's been pre-recorded. You want to make sure that they're actually paying for what they think they're getting."^[147] Noting on the prevalence of lip-syncing, Los Angeles Daily News reported "in the context of a Britney Spears concert, does it really matter? Like a Vegas revue show, you don't go to hear the music, you go for the somewhat-ridiculous spectacle of it all".^[148] Similarly, Aline Mendelsohn of the Orlando Sentinel remarked: "Let's get one thing straight: A Britney Spears concert is not about the music ... you have to remember that it's about the sight, not the sound."^[149] Critic Glenn Gamboa comments her concert tours are "like her life—a massive money-making venture designed to play up her talents and distract from her shortcomings with a mix of techno-tinged sex appeal and disco-flavored flash. And, like her life, it is, more or less, a success.^[150]

[edit] Influences

Throughout her career, Spears has drawn frequent comparisons to Madonna and Janet Jackson, in terms of vocals, choreography and stage presence, citing both as influences in her work. She has also named Michael Jackson as a source of inspiration.^[151] According to Spears: "I know when I was younger, I looked up to people... like, you know, Janet Jackson and Madonna. And they were major inspirations for me. But I also had my own identity and I knew who I was, you know."^[152] In the 2002 book Madonnastyle by Carol Clerk, she is quoted saying: "I have been a huge fan of Madonna since I was a little girl. She's the person that I've really looked up to. I would really, really like to be a legend like Madonna."^[153]

Many critics have argued that Spears should not be considered in the same league of talent as Jackson or Madonna. Journalists Erika Montalvo and Jackie Sheppard of the Rocky Mountain Collegian observed "[s]ome may argue that Spears is not only a good recording artist but also an important cultural icon."^[154] However, in examining her level of skill as an artist, it is questioned that "[a]lthough she has been classified among female elites such as Janet Jackson and Madonna, what does Ms. Spears really have in common with these divas of rock?"^[154] Joan Anderman of The Boston Globe remarked that "[t]hirteen costume changes in 90 minutes won't bless her with Madonna's intelligence or cultural barometer. An army of cutting-edge R&B producers won't supply her with Janet Jackson's sense of humor or sincere smile ... Britney's heroes aren't great singers. But they're real singers. Spears sounds robotic, nearly inhuman, on her records, so processed is her voice by digital pitch-shifters and synthesizers."^[155]

Reporter Ed Bumgardner commented her transition from teen pop start to adult sex symbol with her third studio album Britney "takes its cues from two other successful performers—Madonna and Janet Jackson—both of whom she brazenly rips off and both of whom, like Spears, are passable singers, at best."^[156] Critic Shane Harrison wrote: "From the minimalist thump and "Nasty" feel of "I'm a Slave 4 U" to the scattered quotes in "Boys", [Britney] feels like [Spears's] attempt at 'Control'."^[151] Citing Jackson's resolve to incorporate personal and social issues into her work and Madonna's ability to constantly redefine the boundaries of socially acceptable material in the industry, Spears's catalog ultimately pales in comparison, because "[w]hile Jackson and Madonna wrote their own music about subjects of importance, [Spears's] music sounds like an upbeat version of either, 'I want to grow up but the media won't let me,' or 'Here kitty, kitty, I'm wearing my underwear outside of my leather pants'-type ballads."^[154] In contrast, Guy Blackman argues that although "no one would argue that Spears is some kind of pioneering pop auteur, there’s still a lot to like about her back catalogue. During her world-conquering peak, she was just about as cutting edge as you could get in the world of global pop superstardom. Spears didn’t just work with big names, she gave big names their names, and maintained her high currency in the world’s most fickle industry for years, when most aspiring starlets are lucky to manage months."^[138]

After meeting Spears face to face, Janet Jackson stated: "she said to me, 'I'm such a big fan; I really admire you.' That's so flattering. Everyone gets inspiration from some place. And it's awesome to see someone else coming up who's dancing and singing, and seeing how all these kids relate to her. A lot of people put it down, but what she does is a positive thing."^[157] Madonna's respect for Spears has also been a subject of observation. Santiago Fouz-Hernández and Freya Jarman-Ivens, authors of Madonna's drowned worlds: new approaches to her cultural transformations, 1983-2003 (2004) note that the most well known cross-generational relationship exists between Spears and Madonna in which "the entertainment newsmedia almost became obsessed with their relationship of mutual admiration."^[158] The biographers also report "[s]ome observers of popular culture, however, feel that the comparisons between the two artist are meaningless and fail to recognize Madonna's unique contribution: Madonna was never 'just another pop star' whereas Britney can more easily be seen as a standard manufactured pop act."^[158]

[edit] Legacy

Spears's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Spears became an international pop culture icon immediately after launching her recording career. Rolling Stone magazine wrote: "One of the most controversial and successful female vocalists of the 21st century," she "spearheaded the rise of post-millennial teen pop ... Spears early on cultivated a mixture of innocence and experience that broke the bank".^[159] She is listed by the Guinness World Records as having the "Best-selling album by a teenage solo artist" for her debut album ...Baby One More Time which sold over thirteen million copies in the United States.^[160] Melissa Ruggieri of the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported, "She's also marked for being the best-selling teenage artist. Before she turned 20 in 2001, Spears sold more than 37 million albums worldwide".^[161]

Barbara Ellen of The Observer has reported: "Spears is famously one of the 'oldest' teenagers pop has ever produced, almost middle aged in terms of focus and determination. Many 19-year-olds haven't even started working by that age, whereas Britney, a former Mouseketeer, was that most unusual and volatile of American phenomena — a child with a full-time career. While other little girls were putting posters on their walls, Britney was wanting to be the poster on the wall. Whereas other children develop at their own pace, Britney was developing at a pace set by the ferociously competitive American entertainment industry".^[162] 'Britney Spears' was Yahoo!'s most popular search term between 2005 and 2008, and has been in a total of seven different years.^[163] Spears was named as Most Searched Person in the Guinness World Records book edition 2007 and 2009. Spears has also become a major influence among many new artists, including Kristinia DeBarge,^[164] Lady Gaga,^[165] Little Boots,^[166] Selena Gomez & the Scene,^[167] Pixie Lott^[168] and Miley Cyrus who has cited Spears as one of her biggest inspirations and has also referenced Spears in her hit song "Party in the U.S.A.".^[169]^[170]

Bebo Norman wrote a song about Spears, called "Britney", which was released as a single. Boy band Busted also wrote a song about Spears called "Britney", which was on their debut album.^[171] She is also mentioned in P!nk's song "Don't Let Me Get Me". She was cited as the inspiration of Gwyneth Paltrow's character in the 2010 film Country Strong. ^[172]. Richard Cheese called Britney Spears "a remarkable recording artist" and also went on to say that she was "versatile" and what the industry calls an "artist". People magazine and MTV reported that October 1, 2008, the Bronx's John Philip Sousa Middle School, named their music studio in honor of Britney Spears.^[173] Spears herself was present during the ceremony and donated $10,000 to the school's music program.^[174]

[edit] Discography

Main articles: Britney Spears discography and Britney Spears videography

...Baby One More Time (1999)
Oops!... I Did It Again (2000)
Britney (2001)
In the Zone (2003)
Blackout (2007)
Circus (2008)
Femme Fatale (2011)

[edit] Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Britney Spears

[edit] See also

	Britney Spears portal
	Louisiana portal
	Mississippi portal

[edit] Notes

^ "Spears announces new album title on Twitter". 2011-02-02. Retrieved 2011-02-02.
^ Sanger, Gary T. "Britney Spears' Hold It Against Me Debuts Atop Hot 100", Billboard, January, 19 2011, accessed January 19, 2011.
^ "Britney Spears Snares Sixth No. 1 on Billboard 200 with 'Femme Fatale'". 2011-04-06. Retrieved 2011-04-06.
^ Serjeant, Jill (2010-09-29). "Britney Spears praises "Glee" tribute". Reuters (Thomson Reuters). Retrieved 2010-10-23.
^ "RIAA - Gold & Platinum - May 03, 2010". Recording Industry Association of America. Mitch Bainwol. 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
^ Grein, Paul (2009-05-29). "Chart Watch Extra: The Top 20 Album Sellers Of The 2000s". Yahoo! Music. Yahoo!. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
^ Staff, Billboard (2010). "Artists of the Decade". Billboard. Nielsen Company. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
^ "Celeb 100 FAQ: Yes, Britney Spears Really Made $64 Million Last Year. Here’s How. " The Biz Blog". Blogs.forbes.com. 2010-07-01. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
^ Thomas, Liz (2008-09-17). "Exclusive: First photos of Britney Spears' newly-discovered British family". Daily Mail. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
^ Spears & Craker 2008, p. 4
^ Spears & Craker 2008, p. 211
^ Spears & Craker 2008, p. 56
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Daly, Steven (1999-04-15). "Cover Story: Britney Spears: Britney Spears : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone (Jann Wenner). ISSN 0035-791X.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o Reporter, Staff (2008-07-31). "Britney Spears' Biography - Celebrity Gossip". Fox News Channel. News Corporation. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ Spears & Craker 2008, p. 75
^ Laufenberg 2005, p. 616
^ ^a ^b Mundy, Chris (2000-05-25). "Cover Story: The Girl Can't Help It : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone (Jann Wenner). ISSN 0035-791X.
^ Hughes 2005, p. 145
^ ^a ^b Hughes 2005, p. 147
^ Blandford 2002, p. 28
^ Blandford 2002, p. 30
^ Blandford 2002, p. 29
^ Bronson 2003, p. 377
^ "Rock On The Net: 42nd Annual Grammy Awards - 2000". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. RockOntheNet.com. 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
^ "Record-Breakers and Trivia - everyHit.com". Everyhit.com. 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
^ "everyHit.com - Best Selling Singles Of All Time". Everyhit.com. 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Britney Spears - The Official Charts Company". Theofficialcharts.com. The Official Charts Company. 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
^ Petridis, Alexis (November 27, 2008). "Britney Spears: Circus". The Guardian (London).
^ Blandford 2002, p. 36
^ Stevenson, Jane (1999-07-10). "Spears takes aim at fame". Jam!. Quebecor Inc.. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
^ Blandford 2002, p. 38
^ Skanse, Richard (2000-05-25). "Oops!...She Sold 1.3 Million Albums: Britney Spears : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone (Jann Wenner). ISSN 0035-791X.
^ Staff, Michael (2010-05-20). "Oops! Week: 10 Fun Facts - BRITNEY SPEARS". BritneySpears.com. Brandcasting Unlimited. Retrieved 2010-06-05.^{[dead link]}
^ Sheffield, Rob (2000-06-08). "Britney Spears: Oops!...I Did It Again : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone (Jann Wenner). ISSN 0035-791X.
^ "ultratop.be - Britney Spears - Oops!... I Did It Again:". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
^ "Rock On The Net: 43nd Annual Grammy Awards - 2001". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. RockOntheNet.com. 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ "Britney Spears on 100 Top Celebrities". Forbes.com. Forbes. 2000. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
^ ^a ^b Montgomery, James (2007-09-06). "Britney Spears' Greatest VMA Hits: Barely There Costumes, Giant Snakes And A Scandalous Lip-Lock". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
^ Moss, Corey (2001-10-25). "Britney Says Britney Reflects Who Britney Is". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
^ "Britney sold over 12 million copies worldwide". Live Nation. 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
^ "ultratop.be - Britney Spears - Britney". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2001). "Britney > Overview". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
^ "Rock On The Net: 45nd Annual Grammy Awards - 2001". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. RockOntheNet.com. 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ "The New Classics: Music". Entertainment Weekly. Time Warner. 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ "ultratop.be - Britney Spears - I'm a Slave 4 U". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ McHugh, Catherine (2002-07-01). "Britney's Big Splash". Live Design. Penton Media. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ Singlerland, Amy L. (2002-08-01). "Singin' in the Rain". Live Design. Penton Media. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ Billboard, Reporter (2002). "McCartney Notches Year's Highest-Grossing Tour". Billboard. Nielsen Company. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
^ "Forbes Celebrity 100 2002". Forbes.com. Forbes. 2002. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ "Crossroads Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. 2002. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ "Crossroads Film Review - Crossroads Film Pictures, Crossroads Film Trailer". View London. 2 View Group Ltd.. 2002-04-02. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ ^a ^b ^c Hughes 2005, p. 152
^ Moss, Corey (2002-11-27). "Britney Spears Bails On Her New York Restaurant, Nyla". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ Moss, Corey (2002-11-05). "Britney Spears' Hiatus Is History". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ Sanchez, Rowena Joy A. (2009-10-04). "'This one’s for you': Ex-music couples sing of their love woes". Manila Bulletin. Manila Bulletin Publishing Corp.. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ Sawyer, Diane (2003-11-23). "Britney revealed". ninemsn. PBL Media / Microsoft. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ Stern, Bradley (2010-02). "Annet Artani: From "Everytime" to "Alive"". MuuMuse.com. Bradley Stern. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ Jacks, Brian (2009-03-19). "Fred Durst Looks Back At His Relationship With Britney Spears". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ "In The Zone reviews at Metacritic.com:". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. 2003. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ "The 50 Most Important Recordings: S-Z : NPR". NPR.com. National Public Radio. 2009-11-16. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ "ultratop.be - Britney Spears - In the Zone". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ "In the Zone sold over 10 million copies worldwide". Live Nation. 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
^ Staff, Associated Press (2004-04-06). "Judge dissolves Britney's 'joke' wedding - Music". msnbc.com. NBC Universal / Microsoft. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
^ Vineyard, Jennifer (2004-03-02). "Britney Checking Into Onyx Hotel Wearing Rubberlike Outfit". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
^ Silverman, Stephen M. (2004-06-16). "Britney Cancels Tour Due to Bad Knee". People. Time Warner. Retrieved 2009-12-27.
^ ^a ^b Walls, Jeannette (2004-06-01). "Forget Kabbalah, Britney's baby is her religion - Entertainment - msnbc.com". msnbc.com. NBC Universal / Microsoft. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
^ Heller 2007, p. 80
^ Vineyard, Jennifer (2004-10-16). "Britney Spears Announces She's Taking A Break From Her Career". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
^ Vineyard, Jennifer (2004-08-13). "Britney Covers Bobby Brown's 'My Prerogative' For Forthcoming LP". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
^ "Britney Spears - My Prerogative (song)". Ultratop. Hung Medien. 2004. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
^ "UK Singles Chart". The Official Charts Company. acharts.us. 2005-03-07. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
^ "Britney Spears – Do Somethin' (song)". Ultratop. Hung Medien. 2005. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
^ "Biography". Britney.com. Jive. 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-05.^{[dead link]}
^ "Don't Call Me Britney ... Or Mariah, Or Eminem...". MTV. 2004. Retrieved 2010-9-28.
^ "So Much For 'Taking Time Off' Britney Previews New Song On L.A. Radio Station". MTV. 1/3/2005. Retrieved 10/1/10.
^ Staff, People (2005-09-21). "Britney Welcomes Home Sean Preston". People. Time Warner. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
^ Vineyard, Jennifer (2010-10-06). "Surprise: Britney's Releasing An Album In Just Two Weeks". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2005-11-08.
^ Thomas, Karen (2010-10-06). "USATODAY.com - Britney maybe one more time". USA Today (Gannett Company). Retrieved 2006-03-29.
^ Staff, People (2006-10-24). "Britney's Baby Name: Jayden James Federline - Britney Spears : People.com". People. Time Warner. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
^ Staff, People (2006-11-07). "Britney Spears Files for Divorce - Divorced, Britney Spears, Kevin Federline : People.com". People. Time Warner. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
^ Hall, Sarah (2007-07-30). "Britney, Kevin Back to Being Single - E! Online". E! Online. E!. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
^ Staff, People (2008-01-05). "Lynne Spears Visits Sister's Grave Amid Crisis - Britney Spears, Lynne Spears : People.com". People. Time Warner. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
^ Marikar, Sheila (2007-02-19). "Bald and Broken: Inside Britney's Shaved Head - ABC News". ABC News. American Broadcasting Company. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
^ Van Horn, Teri (2007-05-02). "Britney's Back! Spears Returns To The Stage With Five-Song Dirty Dance Party". MTV (MTV Networks). Retrieved 2010-06-10.
^ Staff, CNN (2007-10-02). "Spears will lose custody of children - CNN.com". CNN (Time Warner). Retrieved 2010-06-11.
^ Staff, CNN (2007-11-08). "Britney Spears Debuts #1 on European Albums Chart and Debuts #1 on... -- re> NEW YORK, Nov. 8 /PRNewswire/ --:". PR Newswire. Retrieved 2010-06-11.
^ Petridis, Alexis (2008-11-28). "CD review: Britney Spears: Circus". The Guardian (London: Guardian Media Group). Retrieved 2010-06-11.
^ Robinson, Peter (2007-11-11). "CDs: Britney Spears, Blackout and Kylie Minogue, X". The Observer (London: Guardian Media Group). Retrieved 2010-06-11.
^ Lim, Dennis (2007-10-30). "Blackout - Blender". Blender. Alpha Media Group. Retrieved 2010-06-11.^{[dead link]}
^ Lyons, Bev; Sutherland, Laura (2008-11-07). "Britney Spears seals comeback with two gongs at MTV Europe Music Awards - The Daily Record". Daily Record. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 2010-06-11.
^ Staff, Times Online (2009-11-21). "The 100 best pop albums of the Noughties - Times Online". The Times (London: News Corporation). Retrieved 2010-06-11.
^ Willis, David (2007-09-10). "Britney's MTV comeback falls flat". BBC Online (BBC). Retrieved 2010-02-24.
^ "Canada Singles Top 100". Billboard. acharts.us. 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2010-02-23.
^ ^a ^b "Britney Spears – Gimme More (song)". Ultratop. Hung Medien. 2007. Retrieved 2010-02-23.
^ "Australian Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. acharts.us. 2008-03-01. Retrieved 2010-02-06.
^ "UK Singles Chart". The Official Charts Company. acharts.us. 2007-12-23. Retrieved 2010-02-10.
^ "Britney Spears – Piece of Me(song)". Ultratop 50. Hung Medien. 2008. Retrieved 2010-02-10.
^ Staff, People (2008-01-03). "Britney Pap-Happy with Her New Guy - Britney Spears : People.com". People. Time Warner. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
^ Blankstein, Andrew; Winton, Richard (2008-02-07). "Spears is released from UCLA hospital psychiatric ward - Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times (Tribune Company). Retrieved 2010-06-12.
^ Hinckley, D. (2008-03-25). "Britney Spears begins rehab of image with wacky cameo on CBS sitcom". Daily News. Mortimer Zuckerman. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
^ Hibberd, James (2008-03-25). "Spears delivers 'Mother's' highest ratings". The Hollywood Reporter. e5 Global Media. Archived from the original on 2008-06-06. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
^ Lee, Ken (2008-07-18). "It's Over: Britney & Kevin Reach a Custody Settlement - Scandals & Feuds, Britney Spears, Kevin Federline : People.com". People. Time Warner. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
^ "MTV Video Music Awards". MTV. MTV Networks. 2008. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
^ Vena, Jocelyn (2008-10-09). "Britney Spears 'Sets The Record Straight' In Documentary Airing November 30 On MTV". MTV. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
^ ""Britney: For the Record" scores staggering 3.54 P12–34 rating in Sunday debut on MTVh". MTV. 2008-12-02. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
^ "Circus reviews at Metacritic.com". Metacritic. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
^ ^a ^b Hasty, Katie (2008-12-10). "Britney's 'Circus' Debuts Atop Album Chart". Billboard. Nielsen Company. Retrieved 2010-06-12.^{[dead link]}
^ Reporter, Staff (2009-09-27). "Britney Earns (Another) Guinness World Record". Britney.com. Jive. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
^ Reporter, Staff (2009-03-06). "#13 Britney Spears - The 2009 Celebrity 100". Forbes.com. Forbes. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
^ "Britney Spears' Singles Collection". HMV Store Japan. 2010-06-01. Retrieved 2010-06-01.
^ "Britney Spears' Singles Collection". HMV Store Japan (Yahoo! Translation). 2010-01-12. Retrieved 2010-01-12.
^ Reporter, Billboard (2008-10-15). "Spears Scores Record-Setting Hot 100 Jump". Billboard (Nielsen Company). Retrieved 2010-06-12.
^ "Britney Spears - Womanizer (song)". Ultratop. Hung Medien. 2008. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
^ "Nominees list for the 52nd Grammy Awards". Los Angeles Times (National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences). 2009-12-02. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
^ Mitovich, Matt (2009-01-31). "Britney Gets Restraining Order Against Former Manager, Ex-Beau and Attorney - Today's News: Our Take". TV Guide. OpenGate Capital. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
^ "2009 Year End Top 50 Worldwide Concert Tours". Pollstar. 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
^ Pietroluongo, Silvio (2009-10-14). "'3' To 1: Britney Beats Odds To Debut Atop Hot 100". Billboard (Nielsen Company). Retrieved 2010-01-04.
^ Staff, Lauren (2009-11-16). ""IT'S BRITNEY!" APP FOR iPHONE and iPOD TOUCH GOES LIVE - BRITNEY SPEARS". BritneySpears.com (Brandcasting Unlimited). Retrieved 2010-07-03.^{[dead link]}
^ Jordan, Julie (2010-05-11). "Britney Spears and Jason Trawick Split – Professionally - Britney Spears : People.com". People. Time Warner. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
^ Reporter, Staff (2010-06-29). "Affordable celebrity wear: Britney Spears for Candie's". FashionUnited.com. FashionUnited Group. Retrieved 2010-07-01.^{[dead link]}
^ Semigran, Aly (September 29, 2010). "Britney Spears And Hayley Williams React To Last Night's 'Glee' In Today's Tweet Dreams". MTV. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
^ VanDerWerff, Todd (September 29, 2010). "Britney/Brittany". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
^ Porter, Rick (September 29, 2010). "'Glee' ratings: Britney is bigger than Madonna". Zap2it. Tribune Media Services. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
^ Gorman, Bill (September 29, 2010). "Tuesday Finals: Glee, No Ordinary Family, NCIS, Dancing Up; Raising Hope, Detroit 1-8-7, Running Wilde Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
^ "7th Britney Spears Album "Femme Fatale" Set for March 29th Release". Jive Records. 2011-08-02. Retrieved 2011-03-06.
^ http://www.billboard.com/#/news/britney-spears-hold-it-against-me-single-1004138395.story
^ "Britney Spears Snares Sixth No. 1 on Billboard 200 with 'Femme Fatale'". Billboard.com. 2009-09-14. Retrieved 2011-04-24.
^ Vena, Jocelyn (2011-04-11). "Rihanna Says Britney Spears' 'S&M' Remix 'Had To Be Major'". MTV. Retrieved 2011-04-24.
^ http://www.billboard.com/#/news/rihanna-s-s-m-reigns-on-hot-100-lady-gaga-1005144922.story
^ "Teen pop idols stage comeback". The Daily Yomiuri: p. 1. November 25, 1999
^ Oops!...I Did It Again. Rolling Stone Australia. 2000. Retrieved October 8, 2009^{[dead link]}
^ Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard book of number 1 hits. Billboard Books. p. 377. ISBN 9780823076772.
^ Taylor, Chuck (August 28, 1999). "Britney Spears: (You Drive Me) Crazy". Billboard 111 (35): p. 27
^ Erlewine, Stephen (1999). "...Baby One More Time". Retrieved October 8, 2009
^ "'One more time' for Spears". San Antonio Express-News: pp. 4F. December 16, 1999
^ Erlewine, Stephen (2000). "Oops!...I Did It Again". Retrieved October 8, 2009
^ Erlewine, Stephen (2001). "Britney". Retrieved October 8, 2009
^ ^a ^b Blackman, Guy (August 25, 2009). "Musical Spears". The Age (Melbourne). Retrieved November 21, 2009
^ Cinquemani, Sal (October 23, 2007). ""Blackout" review". Slant magazine. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
^ Allan Raible (2009-01-16). "Review: Britney Spears’ "Circus" - On the Record". Blogs.abcnews.com. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
^ "Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 17, 2009.
^ Erlewine, Stephen (2004). "In the Zone". Retrieved October 8, 2009
^ Cinquemani, Sal (October 23, 2007). Blackout. Slant Magazine
^ Markovitz, Adam (March 23, 2011). "Music Review: Femme Fatale". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 24, 2011
^ ^a ^b Giddins, Gary (2006). Natural selection: Gary Giddins on comedy, film, music, and books. Oxford University Press. p. 288. ISBN 9780195179514
^ Ollison, Rashod (October 26, 2004). "The pressure to be perfect singing live ; Audiences expect CD-quality sound; Observation". The Baltimore Sun: p. 1.C. ISSN 19308965
^ NSW: Fans deserve to know if concerts are mimed - minister. AAP General News Wire. November 6, 2009
^ "The Hype; Navel Maneuvers; Britney Spears, Fronting Her Own Career Now, Gives The Pond A Bellyful". Los Angeles Daily News: pp. L.5. November 22, 2001
^ Mendelsohn, Aline (March 31, 2004). "BRITNEY SPEARS' CONCERT ABOUT SIGHTS, NOT SOUND". Orlando Sentinel: p. E.1
^ Gamboa, Glenn (March 12, 2009). Britney Spears rocks Nassau Coliseum on 'Circus' tour. Tribune Business News
^ ^a ^b Harrison, Shane (November 6, 2001). "'Britney' strengthens claim to pop tiara". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: p. C.1
^ Masley, Ed (November 2, 2001). "The State of Britneydom: Teen-pop Queen declares 'I'm on the verge of being a woman'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: p. W.22. ISSN 1068624X
^ Clerk, Carol (2002). Madonnastyle. Omnibus Press. p. 56. ISBN 9780711988743.
^ ^a ^b ^c Montalvo, Erika; Sheppard, Jackie (November 16, 2001). "CONCERT REVIEW: Pop's princess still reigns ... for now". Rocky Mountain Collegian (UWIRE)
^ Anderman, Joan (December 7, 2001). "BENEATH HER SEXY GROWLS, A GIRLHOOD INTERRUPTED". Boston Globe: p. D.1. ISSN 07431791
^ Bumgardner, Ed (November 9, 2001). "CONFUSED: WOMAN OR A GIRL? SPEARS CAN'T DECIDE". Winston-Salem Journal: p. 1
^ Elysa Gardner (2000-07-28), "Luscious Jackson", USA Today: 1.E, ISSN 07347456
^ ^a ^b Hernández, Santiago; Freya Jarman-Ivens (2004). Madonna's drowned worlds: new approaches to her cultural transformations, 1983-2003. Ashgate Publishing. p. 162. ISBN 9780754633723
^ "Britney Spears: Biography: Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. 2008. Retrieved August 9, 2008.^{[dead link]}
^ Folkard, Claire (2003). Guinness World Records 2003. Bantam Books. p. 288. ISBN 9780553586367.
^ Ruggieri, Melissa (December 19, 2000). "Music Notes". Richmond Times-Dispatch: pp. D.13
^ Ellen, Barbara (December 10, 2000). "Comment: Britney Spears: Growing up is hard to do: America's apple- pie cheerleader is feeling the pressure as she tries to break free from her clean teen image. So is it all proving too much for Britney Inc, as she pulls out of tonight's Smash Hits Poll Winners' party and takes to her bed: The Observer Profile: Britney Spears". The Observer: p. 27. ISSN 00297712
^ "Britney Spears tops Yahoo searches". Associated Press. 2008. Retrieved December 2, 2008.^{[dead link]}
^ "Kristinia DeBarge - Rhapsody Music". Rhapsody.com. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
^ "Britney's Celebrity Wall Post". BritneySpears.com. Retrieved 2011-03-03.^{[dead link]}
^ "Artist to Watch 2009: Little Boots: Little Boots". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved 2010-08-14.^{[dead link]}
^ "Selena Gomez". oceanUP.com. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
^ Pixie Lott (August 27, 2009). "Pixie Lott's diary: 'After the single hit No 1, it went crazy'". London: Guardian. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
^ Vena, Jocelyn (2009-08-11). "Miley Cyrus On Britney Spears: 'I'm Proud Of Her'". Mtv.com. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
^ "Miley Cyrus - Party in the USA - Review of Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus". Top40.about.com. 2010-06-19. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
^ "STORY BEHIND THE SONG: Bebo Norman’s "Britney"". Ccmmagazine.com. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
^ Ziegbe, Mawuse (2010-12-16). "Britney Spears Inspired 'Country Strong' Lead, Director Says". MTV. Retrieved 2011-04-24.
^ "Britney Spears Gets Bronx Middle School Music Studio Named In Her Honor". Newsroom.mtv.com. 2008-10-02. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
^ Bartolomeo, Joey (2008-10-01). "Britney Spears Goes Back to School – for a Cause". People.com. Retrieved 2010-08-14.

[edit] References

Blandford, James R. (2002). Britney. Music Sales Group. ISBN 9780711994195.
Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard book of number 1 hits. Billboard Books. ISBN 9780823076772.
Hughes, Mark (2005). Buzzmarketing: get people to talk about your stuff. Penguin Group. ISBN 9781591840923.
Laufenberg, Norbert B. (2005). Entertainment Celebrities. Trafford Publishing. ISBN 9781412053358.
Spears, Lynne; Craker, Lorilee (2008). Through the Storm: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World. Thomas Nelson Inc. ISBN 9781595551566.

[edit] Further reading

Dennis, Steve (2009). Britney: Inside the Dream. Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0007317516.
Peters, Beth (1999). True Brit: The Story of Singing Sensation Britney Spears. Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0345436870.
Scott, Kieran (2001). I was a Mouseketeer!. Disney Press. ISBN 978-0786844708.
Smith, Sean (2006). Britney The Unauthorized Biography of Britney Spears. Pan Macmillan. ISBN 978-0330440776.
Spears, Britney (2000). Britney Spears's Heart to Heart. Three Rivers Press. ISBN 978-0609807019.
Stevens, Amanda (2001). Britney Spears: the illustrated story. Billboard Books. ISBN 978-0823078677.

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Britney Spears

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Britney Spears

Britney Spears at the Internet Movie Database
Britney Spears at Allmovie
Britney Spears at Allmusic
Works by or about Britney Spears in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

[show]v · d · eBritney Spears

[show]v · d · eBritney Spears singles

Interaction

Toolbox

Print/export

Languages

Enrique Iglessias Biography

Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (born May 8, 1975), better known as Enrique Iglesias, is a Spanish pop music singer-songwriter. Iglesias started his musical career on Mexican label Fonovisa. This helped turn him into one of the most popular artists in Latin America and in the Hispanic or Latino market in the United States, and the biggest seller of Spanish language albums of that decade. Before the turn of the millennium, he made a crossover into the mainstream English language market, signing a unique multi-album deal with Universal Music Group for an unprecedented US$48,000,000, with Universal Music Latino to release his Spanish albums and Interscope to release English albums. In 2010, he parted with Interscope and signed with another Universal Music Group label, Universal Republic.

Iglesias has had five Billboard Hot 100 top five singles including two #1s, and holds the record for producing 22 number 1 Spanish-language singles on the Billboard's Hot Latin Tracks. Up until the release of his latest album, Euphoria, in 2010, he had sold more than 55 million albums in both English and Spanish.^[1] He has also had eight #1 songs on Billboard's Dance charts, more than any other single male artist. Altogether Iglesias has amassed 52 #1 hits on the various Billboard charts.

Iglesias was born in Madrid, Spain,^[2] the third and youngest child of singer Julio Iglesias and socialite and magazine journalist Isabel Preysler. His mother is a Filipino of partial Spanish/Basque descent,^{[citation needed]} and his father is of Galician Spanish ancestry and once claimed to be partially Jewish.^[3] His parents divorced in 1988, and the following year Julio moved to Miami, Florida, in the U.S. to continue with his musical career.

In 1985, Enrique Iglesias' grandfather, Dr. Julio Iglesias Puga was kidnapped by the terrorist group ETA. For their safety, Enrique and his brother Julio Iglesias Jr. were sent to live with their father in Miami.^[4] He also lived in Belgrade, Serbia, for one year with his mother, who worked as a journalist.^[5] As his father's career kept him on the road, the young Iglesias was raised by the family nanny. He attended Gulliver Preparatory School^[6] and went on to study business at the University of Miami.^[7]

Iglesias did not want his father to know about his plans for a musical career and did not want his famous surname to help advance his career. He borrowed money from his family nanny and he recorded a demo cassette tape which consisted of a Spanish song and two English songs. Approaching his father's former publicist, Fernan Martinez, the two promoted the songs under the stage name 'Enrique Martinez' with the backstory of being an unknown singer from Guatemala. Iglesias was signed by a record label called Fonovisa. After dropping out of college, he went to Toronto to record his first album.^[8]

On July 12, 1995, Iglesias released his first album titled Enrique Iglesias, a collection of light rock ballads, including such mega-hits as "Si Tú Te Vas", "Experiencia Religiosa", and others. The record sold half a million copies in its first week, a rare accomplishment then for an album recorded in a language other than English.

His song " Por Amarte" was included in Televisa's telenovela Marisol, but with a twist: instead of Por amarte daría mi vida (To love you, I'd give my life), the words were Por amarte Marisol, moriría (To love you, Marisol, I'd die). The CD also yielded Italian and Portuguese editions of the album, with most of the songs translated into those languages.

Five singles released from this album, such as "Por Amarte", "No Llores Por Mí", and "Trapecista" topped the Latin charts. The album went on to win Iglesias a Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Performance.

In 1997, Iglesias' star continued to rise with the release of Vivir (To Live), which put him up with other English language music superstars in sales for that year. The album also included a cover version of the Yazoo song "Only You", translated into Spanish as "Solo en Tí".

Insisting on stadiums, that summer, Enrique, backed by sidemen for Elton John, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel, played to sold-out audiences in sixteen countries. Beginning the tour in Odessa, Texas the tour went on to three consecutive nights in Mexico's Plaza de Toros, two consecutive nights at Monterrey's Auditorio Coca Cola and two at the Estadio River Plate in Buenos Aires, Argentina to over 130,000 people as well as 19 arenas in the U.S.^[9]

Three singles released from Vivir ("Enamorado Por Primera Vez", "Sólo en Ti" and "Miente") topped the Latin singles chart as well as those in several Spanish-speaking countries. Along with his father and Luis Miguel, Iglesias was nominated for an American Music Award in the first-ever awarded category of Favorite Latin Artist. It was said beforehand that the elder Iglesias would walk out if he did not win the award. Iglesias lost out to his father, but did perform the song "Lluvia Cae" at the event.

1998-99: Cosas Del Amor

Iglesias with Ronald McDonald in 1999, his Cosas del Amor tour was sponsored by McDonald's.

In 1998, Iglesias released his third album, Cosas del Amor (Things of Love). Taking a more mature musical direction, the album, aided by the popular singles "Esperanza" and "Nunca Te Olvidaré", both of which topped the Latin singles chart, helped cement his status in the Latin music scene.

Iglesias did a short tour of smaller venues to accompany the release of the album, with one show being televised from Acapulco, Mexico. This was followed by a larger world tour of over eighty shows in even bigger venues. The Cosas del Amor Tour was the first ever concert tour sponsored by McDonald's.

He won an American Music Award in the category of Favorite Latin Artist against Ricky Martin and Los Tigres del Norte. The song "Nunca te Olvidaré" was also used as the theme music for a Spanish soap opera of the same name and he sang the song himself on the last episode of the series.

1999-2000: Enrique

By 1999, Iglesias had begun a successful crossover career into the English language music market. Thanks to other successful crossover acts, most notably that of Ricky Martin and Selena, Latino artists and music had a great surge in popularity in mainstream music. Iglesias' contribution to the soundtrack of Will Smith's movie Wild Wild West, "Bailamos" became a number one hit in the US.

After the success of "Bailamos", several mainstream record labels were eager to sign Enrique. Signing a multi-album deal after weeks of negotiations with Interscope, Iglesias recorded and released his first full CD in English, Enrique. The pop album, with some Latin influences, took two months to complete and contained a duet with Whitney Houston called "Could I Have This Kiss Forever" and a cover of the Bruce Springsteen song "Sad Eyes". The album's third single, "Be With You", became his second number one.

The final single from the album was the song "You're My #1", re-recorded and released in selected territories as a duet with local acts – Alsou in Russia, Sandy & Junior in Brazil and Valen Hsu in Asia.

2001-02: Escape

In 2001 Iglesias released the album Escape. Where most of the Latin crossover acts of the previous year experienced some difficulty matching the record sales of their first English language albums, Iglesias actually went on to sell even more. The album's first single, "Hero", became a number one hit in the United Kingdom, and in many other countries. The entire album was co-written by Iglesias.

Escape is his biggest commercial success to date. The singles "Escape" and "Don't Turn Off The Lights" became radio staples, fairing well and placing highly or topping various charts both in North America and elsewhere. A second edition of the album was released internationally and contained a new version of one of Enrique's favorite tracks, "Maybe", as well as a duet with Lionel Richie called "To Love a Woman".

Iglesias capitalized on the album's success with his "One-Night Stand World Tour" consisting of 50 sold-out shows in 16 countries. Including Radio City Music Hall and three consecutive nights in London's Royal Albert Hall, the tour ended with a big show at Stadium National Lia Manoliu in Bucharest, Romania. The concert launched MTV Romania, with the video for "Love to See You Cry" being the first to be shown on the channel.

The second leg of the tour, "Don't Turn Off The Lights", was completed in the summer of 2002, with two sold-out nights in Madison Square Garden and another two in Mexico's National Auditorium. The tour finished with a single show in the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

2002–04: Quizás & 7

In 2002, Iglesias chose to release a fourth Spanish-language album titled Quizás (Perhaps). A more polished musical production than his previous Spanish albums and containing more introspective songs, the album's title track is a song about the strained relationship Iglesias has with his famous father.

The album debuted at number 12 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, the highest placement of a Spanish language album on the chart at the time. Quizás sold a million copies in a week, making it the fastest-selling album in Spanish in 5 years. The three singles released from the album all ended up topping the Latin chart, giving Iglesias a total of 16 number ones on the chart. He currently holds the record for the most number one singles on Billboard's Latin Chart. His last single from the album, "Para Que la Vida", reached a million spins on U.S. radio, the only Spanish language song to do so.^[10]

The video to the song "Quizás" was the first Spanish language music video to be added to the selection on MTV's popular show Total Request Live. Iglesias performed the song on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, becoming the first to sing a Spanish song on the show, and opening doors for other artists such as Ricky Martin, Juanes and Jorge Drexler to perform their Spanish material. Iglesias included songs from Quizás in his "Don't Turn Off the Lights Tour", and the album went on to win a Latin Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album.

By 2003 Iglesias released his seventh album, which he called 7, the second to be co-written by Iglesias. Among its more 1980s-inspired material, it features the song "Roamer", which he wrote with his friend and longtime guitarist, Tony Bruno. The CD also contained the song "Be Yourself", a song about independence (the chorus talks about how Iglesias' own parents did not believe he'd ever succeed in his singing career). The first single was the song "Addicted", and was followed closely by a remix of the song "Not in Love", featuring Kelis.

With this album, Iglesias went on his biggest world tour to date. The highly publicised tour started with twelve shows in the United States ending with Iglesias playing at Houston Rodeo and continued on to several countries, most of which he'd never previously visited playing to sold-out arenas and stadiums in Australia, India, Egypt and Singapore before ending his tour in South Africa.

2007–08: Insomniac

Iglesias performing in Tel Aviv, Israel on August 29, 2007.

Iglesias released his new album Insomniac on June 12, 2007. The album was so named due to it being recorded mainly at night. The album contained a more contemporary pop style than that of previous albums. The album's highlights include "Push", with rapper Lil' Wayne, as well as "Ring My Bells", and a cover of Ringside's "Tired of Being Sorry".

The first single Do You Know? (The Ping Pong Song) was released on April 10, 2007. It was the Iglesias's highest charting song on the Hot 100 since "Escape" it was also a hit throughout Europe peaking in the top 10 in many countries and the Spanish version entitled "Dímelo" was #1 on Hot Latin Tracks for 12 weeks becoming his second best performing song on that chart.

Iglesias followed up with the ballad "Somebody's Me", which was released as a single in the American continent. The song was played extensively on AC radio and peaked high on Billboard's Hot AC, where the Spanish version also performed well. In Europe, the second single was "Tired of Being Sorry", which performed well in many countries; he recorded a version of the song with French singer Nâdiya which was #1 in France for eleven weeks.

On July 4, Enrique Iglesias became the first Western artist to play a concert in Syria in three decades when he performed for a sold-out crowd of 10,000 in the capital city of Damascus and in the same week performed on Live Earth.

The Insomniac World Tour was launched at the Dome in Johannesburg, South Africa, the same venue he ended his last world Tour and took him to sold out arenas throughout Europe. It was his first arena tour of the UK with him playing venues such as Manchester's MEN Arena and Wembley Arena. The tour ended with Iglesias performing at newly opened L.A. Live. A second leg of the tour has taken him throughout Latin America from Mexico to Argentina.

A solo version of "Push" was added to the soundtrack of the movie Step Up 2 the Streets. The song was regarded as the third single from the album. A music video was shot which features the film's lead actors. Despite never being officially added to radio the song has charted in several countries and is one of his most highly rated songs amongst fans.

Enrique's song "Can You Hear Me" has been chosen as the official song of the UEFA Euro 2008 football tournament.^[11] He performed the song live at the June 29, 2008 final in Vienna, Austria.^[12] The song featured on a re-issue of the Insomniac album being released in certain countries.

2008-09: Greatest Hits Albums

Enrique released a Spanish Greatest Hits album on 25 March 2008 which included his seventeen #1 songs on Hot Latin Tracks chart, plus two new songs. The first single was the song "Dónde Están Corazón", which is written by Argentine star Coti and became Iglesias's 18th #1 single on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs. The album debuted at #1 on Billboard's Latin Album Charts and #18 on Billboards top 200 Album chart. It was Enrique's second Spanish Album to debut in the top 20 Billboards Top 200 Albums (Quizás debuted at 12 in 2002). The album has been recently certified double platinum in the U.S.and in some Latin American countries.

The album's second single Lloro Por Ti had an official remix featuring Wisin y Yandel which also reached #1. Iglesias did a tour of the US. Beginning in Laredo, Texas and ending at the Izod Center in New Jersey he was accompanied though most of the tour with Bachata band Aventura who also performed "Lloro Por Ti" with him at the Premios Juventud.

Iglesias was a surprise performer at the Lo Nuestro Awards, opening the show with a medley of "Dónde Están Corazón" and "Dimelo". He also performed at the Billboard Latin Music Awards, where he received a special award.

After the success of his Spanish Greatest Hits compilation, Iglesias released a compilation of his English language hits on November 11. The album includes "Can You Hear Me" as well two new songs. The first single is entitled "Away" ft Sean Garrett and was followed by "Takin' Back My Love" ft Ciara.^[13]

The compilation includes English hit songs such as "Bailamos", "Hero", "Be With You", "Not In Love" and "Escape" which have topped the various Billboard Charts (two of which on Hot 100) as well as songs such as Rhythm Divine, Tired Of Being Sorry and Do You Know (The ping pong song) which have also topped charts in Europe.

After the successful collaboration with Nadiya Iglesias has recorded a second duet with her called "Miss You" which featured on a delux edition of the album.

The album debuted at #3 on The Official Uk Album Chart and sold over 80,000 copies in its first 2 weeks alone.

Enrique was the winner for two World Music Awards in the categories of "World's Best Selling Latin Performer" and "World's Best Selling Spanish Artist", in the ceremony held in Monaco on November 9, 2008.

2010–present: Euphoria

On July 5, 2010, Iglesias released his ninth studio album, Euphoria, his first work to be released under his new label, Universal Republic. The album is Iglesias's first bilingual album with seven original English songs and six original Spanish songs.^[14]

Iglesias worked with three producers whom he has worked with before; RedOne, Mark Taylor and Carlos Paucer. The album features collaborations with Akon, Usher, Nicole Scherzinger, Pitbull, Juan Luis Guerra and his third duet with Wisin y Yandel. In a joint venture with Universal Latino Iglesias will release different singles in both languages simultaneously to different formats.

The first English single from the album, "I Like It", which features the rapper Pitbull, was released on May 3, 2010 in the U.S. and became a success, reaching number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. After weeks on the chart, it reached to #1 on the Billboard Hot/Dance Club Play, making it Enrique's 7th number one song on that chart and also making him the male singer with most number-ones tying with Prince & Michael Jackson.^[15]^[16]

"Cuando Me Enamoro" was released as the lead Spanish single from the album. The song debuted at number 8 and number 25 on U.S Latin Pop Songs and U.S. Hot Latin Songs, respectively. The song became his 25th top 10 single on the U.S. Billboard Hot Latin Songs & after 4 weeks of its release date it became his 21st No.1 song on this chart.^[17]^[18]

As of January 2011 "Tonight (I'm Lovin' You)" broke into the top 10 on the Billboard charts becoming no 4.^[19] The song was released only for digital download in the U.S., at first it was included on the French Limited Edition of Euphoria in late 2010, then was included on the New Edition of "Euphoria" in Europe and some Asian areas in 2011. The song peaked to #1 on the Billboard Hot/Dance Club Play chart, which became his 8th number one song on the chart, making him the only male single artist to have 8 number one songs on the chart, passing Prince and Michael Jackson.^[20] As of March 3, 2011 the song has peaked to #1 on the US Pop Songs Chart, marking it his first score on the chart.^[21] The song has also peaked to number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay (Radio Songs).^[22]

Songwriting, producing, and acting

Iglesias on June 6, 2010.

Iglesias has collaborated with songwriter Guy Chambers to write "Un Nuovo Giorno", the lead single from Andrea Bocelli's first pop album. The song was later translated into English as "First Day of My Life" and recorded by Spice Girl Melanie C. The song has since gone to become a huge hit throughout Europe, and peaked in the number one spot in numerous countries. Iglesias also wrote the single "The Way" for American Idol runner up Clay Aiken. Four songs co-written by Iglesias appear on the UK band The Hollies' current album. Many times Iglesias has said that should he ever retire, he wants to write and produce songs for other artists. In 2010 Idol Allstars 2010 (Swedish Idol Series) released a song "All I Need Is You" co-written by Iglesias with Andreas Carlsson, Kalle Engström and Kristian Lundin. It went straight to I-Tunes #1.

In 2000, Iglesias co-produced an off Broadway musical called Four Guys Named Jose and Una Mujer Named Maria. In the musical, four Americans of Latin heritage possess a common interest in music and meet and decide to put on a show. The show contained many references and allusions to many classic and contemporary Latin and pop songs by the likes of Carmen Miranda, Selena, Richie Valens, Santana, Ricky Martin and Iglesias himself.

Iglesias also developed an interest in acting, starring alongside Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek and Johnny Depp in the Robert Rodriguez film Once Upon a Time in Mexico, in which he played the foul-mouthed gun-wielding Lorenzo. In 2007, he had guest starred in the TV comedy Two and a Half Men as a carpenter/handyman. He says that he would act again if given small roles that he could fit in between his musical commitments.

He also guest starred as Gael, an Argentinean guitar playing/surfer/massage therapist love interest on the CBS hit TV show How I Met Your Mother.

Iglesias also played the part of an evil Roman emperor in an ambitious TV commercial for Pepsi, which sponsored his last world tour. He starred alongside Britney Spears, Beyoncé and Pink, who turn the tables on him in the commercial. He's also starred in commercials for Doritos and for Viceroy watches.

Personal life

Iglesias started dating Russian tennis star Anna Kournikova in late 2001 (she appeared in his video, "Escape"), and rumors that the couple had secretly married circulated in 2003 and again in 2005. Kournikova herself has consistently refused to directly confirm or deny the status of her personal relationships. But in May 2007, Iglesias was (mistakenly, as he would clarify later) quoted in the New York Sun that he had no intention of marrying Kournikova and settling down because they had split up. The singer would later deny these rumors of "divorce" or simply separation. In June 2008, Iglesias told the Daily Star that he had married Kournikova the previous year and that they are currently separated.^[23] Enrique has stated in interviews after that it was simply a joke,^[24] and they are still very much together. In an interview with Graham Norton in 2010, Kournikova confirmed that she and Iglesias have been together for over eight years but have no plans to marry in the near future.

Discography

Main article: Enrique Iglesias discography

Spanish Studio albums

Enrique Iglesias (1995)
Vivir (1997)
Cosas del Amor (1998)
Quizás (2002)

English studio albums

Enrique (1999)
Escape (2001)
7 (2003)
Insomniac (2007)

Bilingual studio albums

Euphoria (2010)

Awards and nominations

Enrique Iglesias is one of the best Latin Artist Of all time. He has won 11 awards in Billboard Latin Music Awards .He has won 5 American Music Awards and 2 Grammy Awards and 6 World Music Awards. He has also won an award for Best International Act in MTV India Awards .He was also name "King Of Latin Pop".He has won 10 Premio Lo Nuestro Awards.In 2001, He was also awarded as Most Fashionable Artist in VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards.

He is currently nominated for 14 nominations in Billboard Latin Music Awards which will held on April 28, 2011.

He is also nominated for 3 nominations in Billboard Music Awards 2011 which will held on May 22, 2011.

References

^ According to Universal Music
^ "Enrique Iglesias". www.IMDb.com.
^ Blondy, Brian (2009-09-09). "Julio Iglesias charms in Tel Aviv". Jerusalem Post.
^ Levin, Jordan (1997-11-23). "He Never Sang for His Father". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
^ "Enrique kao dijete živio u Beogradu, a sada bi upoznavao Beograđanke – Showbiz – XMag – Index.hr". www.index.hr. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
^ Merrill, Elizabeth (2007-12-02). "In life, and in death, Taylor was a natural mystery". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
^ "Enrique Iglesias". MTV Networks. Retrieved 1 October 2009.
^ Khatib, Salma (2004-04-23). "Seven Up!". Screen Weekly. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
^ "Enrique Iglesias begins his worldwide tour Vivir". Ondanet. 2008-05-31.
^ "Enrique Sets Billboard Record". Geffen. 2008-05-31.
^ "Iglesias to Star at UEFA Euro 2008". UEFA Euro 2008. 2008-05-22.
^ "Enrique Iglesias to Sing to Soccer Fans". A Socialite's Life. 2008-05-20.
^ "New Song and Greatest Hits!". Enriqueiglesias.com. 2008-09-05.
^ Levine, Nick (2010-01-15). "Enrique announces new album details". Digitalspy. Retrieved 2010-05-10.
^ [1]^{[dead link]}
^ Chart Beat: Best Of 2010: Part 3 – Chart Beat. Billboard.com. Retrieved on 2011-03-24.
^ Cuando Me Enamoro top the Latin Songs Billboard Retrieved 2010-06-02
^ "Enrique – U.S Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2010-05-10.
^ Music – News – Katy Perry regains US singles chart lead. Digital Spy (2011-01-07). Retrieved on 2011-03-24.
^ Gary Trust Weekly Chart Notes: Enrique Iglesias, Bruno Mars, Decemberists, billboard.com, January 27, 2011
^ Enrique Iglesias Scores First Pop Songs No. 1 – Chart Beat. Billboard.com. Retrieved on 2011-03-24.
^ Billboard radio-song charts
^ "Iglesias: 'Anna and I were married'". Digital Spy.
^ Iglesias says he was married to Kournikova

External links

Lady Gaga's Biography

The Lady Gaga is an American singer and songwriter. Her real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, while the artistic nickname, which became known, a reference to the Queen song "Radio Ga-Ga". [1] In music influenced by rock artists like David Bowie and Queen, as well as pop singers like Michael Jackson and Madonna. He has won five Grammy.
Born on March 28, 1986 in New York and her father is of Italian origin. [2] [3] [4] At the age of 11 enrolled in school, Roman Catholic nuns (Convent of the Sacred Heart). [5] Playing piano from age 4 years, which he learned headphones, and made his musical studies in New York (Tisch School of the Arts).
At age 20 he started working as a songwriter to Interscope Records for individual singers like Akon, the Britney Spears, that Fergie, as well as groups such as the Pussycat Dolls. [6]

In 2008 Lady Gaga released her first album titled The Fame, which she explained is for anyone seeking fame. [7] The album has achieved huge success with songs like "Just Dance" reached the top of American and British charts and "Poker Face", which won the top in Britain, the U.S. billboard, as well as dozens of other countries. The first song was nominated for a Grammy Award for best dance music [8].

Originally signed a contract with Def Jam and then with Interscope Records in January 2008. The singer Akon has elapsed so that Lady Gaga to sign a contract with his company Konlive Records. Also, record companies and Streamline Records Cherrytree Radio Recordings have helped too by signing the relevant contracts. Her second album titled The Fame Monster contains singles like Bad Romance, TelephonekaiAlejandroeno some specific issues including past hits from The Fame.

On May 23, 2011 will release a new album titled Born This Way. The same Lady Gaga described this as the best album of her career. The first single of the album bearing its name, ie Born This Way was released on February 11, 2011, and within hours was no1 in all charts of the world. The second singles of the album, Judas was released on April 15.
The singer won two Grammy Awards in 2010 and three in 2011 and has proposed a total of twelve times for this award. [9] In particular with The Fame won the Grammy in the category Best Recording dance music album and best electronic dance music for Bad Romance won the Grammy for Best female pop interpretation on The Fame Monster Grammy best pop album and best music video end (Best Short Form Music Video) for video clips of Vad Romanpse.

In February 2010 he was awarded the British music awards (international emerging artists, international singer of the year and best album for The Fame-an international artist) [10].

In September 2010 the Lady Gaga won the MTV Video Music Awards he won 8 awards from 13 nominations (more than any other artist in the history of the awards in the same year) had. In 8 of these awards and was the prize for best video of the year, won the video clip Bad Romance.

Ke$ha's biography

Kesha Rose Sebert (born March 1, 1987), better known by the mononym Kesha (pronunciation: /ˈkɛʃə/ KESH-ə, stylized Ke$ha), is an American pop singer-songwriter. In 2005, at 18, Kesha was signed to Dr. Luke's record label, Kemosabe Entertainment, and publishing company. Although an active musician since then, singing background vocals and writing songs for other artists, her breakthrough only came in early 2009 after appearing on Flo Rida's number one single, "Right Round."

Her debut single, "Tik Tok", released in late 2009, reached number one in 11 countries. Her debut album, Animal, was released in January 2010 and debuted at number one in the US, Canada and Greece. By September, Kesha had sold two million albums worldwide and released three more top ten singles from Animal.^[2] The album was re-released with a companion extended play, Cannibal, in November, preceded by the chart-topping lead single "We R Who We R".

Kesha has cited artists such as Madonna, Debbie Harry, Queen, Johnny Cash, Aaron Neville, Bob Dylan and Beastie Boys as musical influences. Her music incorporates elements of dance-pop, and she uses a spoken word rapping style on many songs.

1987–2004: Childhood and youth

Kesha was born Kesha Rose Sebert in Los Angeles, California. Her mother, Pebe Sebert, is a singer and songwriter who co-wrote the 1980 single, "Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You" with Hugh Moffatt for Dolly Parton. Kesha's younger brother Louis was born shortly after. Pebe, a single mother, struggled financially while supporting herself, Kesha and her older brother, Lagan, at the time. They had to rely on welfare payments and food stamps to get by.^[3] When Kesha was an infant, Pebe would often have to look after her onstage while performing.^[4]

Pebe moved the family to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1991 after securing a new publishing deal for her songwriting. Pebe frequently brought Kesha and her brothers along to recording studios and encouraged Kesha to sing.^[3] Pebe also taught Kesha how to write songs, and they would often write together when she returned home from school.^[3]^[5] However, she dropped out of school at seventeen and earned her GED after.^[6] The Seberts were featured in an episode of The Simple Life as the host family to Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie in 2005.^[7]

Kesha attended Franklin High School and Brentwood High School,^[8] she described herself in an interview as being "very studious" in school.^[5] Producers Dr. Luke and Max Martin had received Kesha's demo after Pebe passed it to Samantha Cox, senior director of writer/publisher relations at Broadcast Music Incorporated, and were impressed. They then convinced Kesha to return to Los Angeles to pursue a music career.

Two of the demos were described in a cover story for Billboard, the first "a gorgeously sung, self-penned country ballad" and the second "a gobsmackingly awful trip-hop track" where Kesha raps ad lib for a minute when she runs out of lyrics near the end. Dr. Luke stated in an interview for the story that it was the latter track that caught his attention, saying "[w]hen you're listening to 100 CDs, that kind of bravado and chutzpah stand out."^[9]

2005–09: Career beginnings

In 2005, at 18, Kesha was signed to Dr. Luke's label, Kemosabe Entertainment, and his music publishing company, Prescription Songs.^[9] Kesha later sang background vocals for Paris Hilton's single, "Nothing in This World".^[10] Dr. Luke became preoccupied with other incoming projects, having enjoyed success writing and producing for Kelly Clarkson's album, Breakaway. Kesha then signed with David Sonenberg's
management company, DAS Communications Inc., in 2006, hardly interacting with Dr. Luke after that. DAS was tasked with obtaining a major label record deal for Kesha in a year’s time in exchange for 20 percent of her music income, with her having the option of ending the relationship if they failed.^[11] She worked with several writers and producers while at the company and ended up co-writing The Veronicas' single, "This Love" alongside Toby Gad.^[9]^[12] While furthering her career in studio, Kesha earned her living as a waitress.^[3] Two years after arriving in Los Angeles, she decided that she wanted Prince to produce her music and located his home; soon thereafter she trespassed on his property. Once she was discovered, she was thrown out, but not before she left her demo with him.^[3] She appeared in the video for Katy Perry's single, "I Kissed a Girl" and sang background vocals for the Dr. Luke produced song, "Lace and Leather" by Britney Spears in 2008.^[13] DAS soon attracted the attention of Kara DioGuardi, who wanted to sign Kesha to Warner Bros. Records. The deal fell through due to her existing contract with Dr. Luke's label. Soon after, she terminated her contract with DAS, reuniting with Dr. Luke.^[9]^[11]

Kesha gained exposure in the mainstream media in early 2009 after appearing on Flo Rida's number one single, "Right Round".^[14] The collaboration was called "an accident" by Kesha; she had walked into a recording session with Flo Rida and Dr. Luke.^[15] Flo Rida wanted a female voice for the song; Dr. Luke then suggested Kesha for the part. Flo Rida liked the end result so much that they did two more tracks.^[16] However, she is not credited for her feature on the US release of "Right Round" and did not collect any money for the part.^[9]^[14] She also refused to appear in the video; she explained in an interview that, "if you want to be a legitimate artist, it’s more important what you say no to. I knew he would want me to be some sexpot, shake my booty, and whatever."^[17] Soon after, Kesha signed a multi-album deal with RCA Records through Dr. Luke's imprint, after negotiations with Lava Records and Flo Rida's record label, Atlantic Records as well.^[9]

Top Singers

Τρίτη 26 Απριλίου 2011

Top 10 sngers in the world...

Contents

Contents