Maps of Music

Michael (2010)

Where the lyrics of Michael take you, and where it was really made.

Three songs were pulled from this album in 2022 after a long dispute over whether Jackson actually sang them.

Key places

Where "Hold My Hand" was recorded (2010)

Recording site Palms Casino Resort — The first official single, "Hold My Hand", was a duet with Akon recorded in late December 2007 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The song was still unfinished at that time. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Where "Breaking News" was recorded (2010)

Recording site Eddie Cascio home studio, Franklin Lakes — According to Sony, "Breaking News" was recorded in late 2007 in the home studio of Jackson family friend Eddie Cascio in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey. The point marks the town only, not the exact house. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Michael: posthumous compilation album by Michael Jackson
• Released 10 December 2010 by Epic Records and Sony Music Entertainment
• First release of all-new Jackson material since Invincible (2001)
• Seventh release overall since Jackson's death in 2009
• Produced by Theron "Neff-U" Feemster, John McClain, Giorgio Tuinfort, Teddy Riley and Brad Buxer, among others
• Guest performances by Akon and Lenny Kravitz

Background

• Announced 12 November 2010, initially with 10 tracks
• "Breaking News" was the first song released, made available for radio airplay
• Sony said "Breaking News" was recorded in late 2007 in the home studio of Eddie Cascio in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey
• "Hold My Hand" was a duet with Akon recorded in late December 2007 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas
• Before release, a lawyer for Jackson's father said Jackson would never have wanted his unfinished material released

Recording

• Most songs were written and recorded from the Invincible era through the This Is It era
• "Behind the Mask" and "Much Too Soon" were written during the Thriller era
• "Much Too Soon" features Tommy Emmanuel on guitar
• "Best of Joy" was rewritten and recorded in November 2008 at the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles

Cover

• Cover artwork is a 2009 commissioned oil painting by Kadir Nelson
• It shows two putti placing a crown on Jackson's head in front of a mural of his career

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• Born August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana; eighth of ten children in the Jackson family.
• Debuted at age six as lead singer of the Jackson 5; the group signed with Motown in 1968 and had early number-one hits such as "I Want You Back".
• Moved to Epic Records in 1975 as the Jacksons, and began a solo career with Off the Wall (1979).
• Thriller (1982) became the best-selling album of all time, with an estimated 70 million copies sold.
• Bad (1987) was the first album to produce five US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles.
• Known as the "King of Pop"; credited with transforming music videos and popularizing the moonwalk.
• Died June 25, 2009 from a propofol overdose; a posthumous catalog continued to sell strongly.

Philanthropy

• Founded the Heal the World Foundation in 1992.
• Estimated to have donated over $500 million to charities over his life.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Michael received mixed reviews from most music critics.
• Metacritic average 54 out of 100 from 19 reviews, meaning mixed or average
• Joseph Vogel of The Huffington Post wrote that the album contains some very impressive new material
• Dan Martin of NME called it kind of enjoyable but warned that things would get ugly if it was the best of the bunch
• Neil McCormick of The Telegraph called it a fine album, far better than anyone expected
• Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone said it was not a Michael Jackson album but still compelling
• Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly said it was no great affront to his name
• Kitty Empire of The Observer praised "(I Like) The Way That You Love Me" and "Hollywood Tonight"
• Nima Baniamer of Contactmusic.com gave 4 stars out of 5

Reappraisal

• Reviews largely found the album better than expected despite media skepticism
• Authenticity of three vocal tracks has been disputed since release

Records

• Billboard 200 debut at number three with first-week sales of 228,000 copies
• Number one in Austria, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden
• Germany: biggest debut of the year, 85,000 copies in the first week
• UK opening at number four with 113,000 copies
• Over 434,000 copies sold in the US in its first five weeks
• RIAA platinum certification for shipping over a million copies

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The cover painting was commissioned in 2009 from Kadir Nelson, and the project was revived that year by estate executor John McClain.
• The original Sony publicity release of the cover showed the Prince symbol in a bubble, which was removed after Prince's camp said no permission was granted.
• A 29,070-square-foot poster of the album artwork was erected at the Rectory Farm in Middlesex, breaking a Guinness world record for the largest poster.
• In 2022 the album was reissued with "Keep Your Head Up", "Monster" and "Breaking News" removed.
• Dave Grohl is credited with drums on "(I Can't Make It) Another Day", but he said he does not appear on the album; Lenny Kravitz played the drums on the finished song.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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