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Michael Jackson

By Andrew Huang

Biography

Introduction

Michael Jackson, commonly referred to as the “King of Pop,” was one of the first black pop stars to gain popularity starting in the late 1970s to early 1980s in a largely white dominated music industry at the time. According to an article on Britannica written by Rickey Vincent, Jackson began his career in 1964 as the lead singer of the Jackson 5 with his four brothers directed by his father, Joseph Jackson. The Jackson 5 were recruited by Motown Records in 1969, and from there, they grew immensely popular, scoring four consecutive number one pop hits, some of which include “ABC” and “I’ll Be There.” However this would not last, as in the mid 1970s, tensions rose between the Jackson 5 and Motown, and Jackson 5 left Motown in favor of contracting with Epic Records as the Jacksons, who Jackson would eventually publish many albums with.

Michael Jackson’s Solo Career

Jackson remained affiliated with the Jacksons, however, he began to start placing emphasis on his solo career starting in 1978, where he performed in the musical film The Wiz, a reimagining of The Wizard of Oz featuring primarily black actors, with Diana Ross, earning him his first Grammy nomination for a performance that did not include his brothers. In 1979, his first solo album for Epic Records, Off the Wall, became the best selling album of the year, selling around 20 million copies and showing off his “energetic style and... contemporary disco movement,” both which would aid in boosting his popularity (Vincent). Following this, three years later, in 1982, Jackson’s most popular and best-selling album of all time at over 65 million copies sold, Thriller, was released, breaking racial barriers on MTV, where the popular R&B album was aired on radio that had primarily been dominated by white artists (Payne). In particular, the moonwalk dance in his song “Billie Jean” established Jackson as a pop culture icon. By 1984, Jackson had earned his moniker as “King of Pop” through his solo artist success and became renown world-wide, releasing album after album, such as Bad, Dangerous, and Invincible, that solidified his dominance in the pop music industry.

The Fall of Michael Jackson

Jackson’s troubles began when he was accused of child molestation starting in 1993. According to an article written by Anastasia Tsioulcas, the Los Angeles police department (LAPD) began investigating Jackson on allegations that he possibly molested four different boys, one of which whose family filed a lawsuit against him, which he settled with over $20 million as uncovered by Court TV. This, combined with news of his marriage and consequential divorce of Lisa Marie Presley and Debbie Rowe, negatively impacted Jackson’s reputation in the US, though he remained an international superstar (Vincent). However, this was not the end of Jackson’s troubles, as in 2003, he was arrested by Santa Barbara County’s Sheriff Department under charges of child molestation of a different young boy named Gavin Arvizo. Following additional charges that year, Jackson was put to trial in 2005 and was eventually acquitted due to the testification of actor Macaulay Culkin and Wade Robson, but the damage to his reputation had already been done (Tsioulcas). Due to these events, Jackson faced massive financial difficulties, especially of many of his assets like the Neverland Ranch, which had been subject to his child molestation accusations. He had prepared a series of large profile concerts that he hoped would help spark a comeback but suddenly died of cardiac arrest on June 25, 2009 (Vincent).

Voices Through Song

Although Jackson’s life ended on a bitter note, the impact of his albums cannot be denied and can still be felt today. Here, I will be discussing some of Jackson’s songs that gave insight into what he stood for.

Music artists often express their voices through their songs and albums, and Michael Jackson was no different. In his songs, he covered topics to raise social awareness to issues such as racial inequality and environmental damage as well as aspects of his personal life, particularly the troubles that came with being an international superstar and near the end of his life when accusations of child molestation ran rampant.

“They Don’t Care About Us” (1996)

Jackson grew up in a largely segregated society, which extended to the music industry. Racial inequality was a large part of his identity, which he covers in this song that was recorded in Brazil. In the song, he keeps repeating the phrase “All I wanna say is they don’t really care about us,” with “us” referring to groups that have been subject to prejudice and discrimination throughout the years, revealing the sad reality that there are groups of people that are categorized as sub-human by others. He brings attentions to a variety of discriminated groups, such as skinheads, Jews, and black people in the phrases “skinhead, deadhead,” “Jew me, sue me,” and “Black man, black mail/Throw the brother in the jail.” In his song, Jackson also provides examples of how these groups are discriminated against in the phrases “Bang-bang, shock dead” and “I’m a victim of police brutality, now,” which show how violence, such as gun violence, and police brutality are rampant against marginalized groups. He further elaborates on the concept of a sub-class by saying “They’re throwing me in a class with a bad name,” showing his personal experience of being classified as lesser simply because of the skin he was born with. He shows his distaste for the current state of affairs in the phrase “I can’t believe this is land from which I came,” criticizing the situation and need for change. He also calls for a need of change by saying how if Roosevelt or Martin Luther Jr. were still alive, they “wouldn’t let this be” and in the phrase “Don’t you wrong or right me,” indicating that he finds the current situation deplorable and that there needs to be more people like MLK that are willing to put the effort in to change the world for the better by stopping the discrimination.

“Black or White” (1991)

In this song, Jackson calls for racial unity and the stop of racial segregation. For instance, throughout the song, he sings “It don’t matter if you’re black or white, hoo,” which is a nod towards not basing your ideas of a person or relationships with other people based on their skin color. He also nods towards interracial relationships through the phrase “Boy, is that girl with you?/Yes, we’re one and the same” as to say you don’t need to have the same skin color to love another. According to Hopper on American Songwriter, Jackson himself was involved in a number of interracial relationships, so this could also be seen as a way of Jackson expressing his voice about his personal engagements. In the song, L.T.B. mentions “I’m not gonna spend my life living a color,” which further draws attention to the importance of not confining your life to choices based on skin tone as well as the need for society to make it acceptable for racial equality.

“Scream” (1995)

Jackson released this song in response to accusations of child molestation covered by media channels at the time, showing his disdain for the lies and scandals that were being spread about him. Throughout the song, his key phrase was “Stop pressurin’ me/Make me wanna scream,” indicating his growing frustration of people trying to accuse him of something he didn’t do. He says “Your lies are disgusting” and “The whole system sucks, damn it,” which also shows his frustration of people accusing him but also of his powerlessness to stop them from brutalizing his image. He further shows his disgust for the lies of media in the phrases “Tired of you tellin’ the story your way” and “Oh my God, can’t believe what I saw as I turned on the TV/This evening, I was disgusted by all the injustice.” He then claims the moral high ground as seen in the verse “You’re selling out souls, but I, I care about mine,” claiming that media channels spread lies in order to gain attention for themselves and that he isn’t lying about his innocence.

“Stranger in Moscow” (1996)

Similarly to “Scream,” this song addresses Jackson’s feelings about being falsely accused of child molestation. Instead of expressing his frustration towards the lies people spread about him, this song focuses on the sense of isolation Jackson felt in face of child molestation accusations. As seen in the verses “When you’re alone/And you’re cold inside” and “I’m livin’ lonely baby/A stranger in Moscow,” Jackson shows how he feels all alone in his struggle against the accusations with no one to support him. He describes the impact of the accusations as a “Swift and sudden fall from grace/Sunny days seem far away,” which shows his depressed mindset at the time of the song’s release, which is a very drastic shift from around a decade ago when he was still being held in high regard. He also says “Here abandoned in my fame,” which supports the idea that he believed no one was on his side despite all he had done and achieved throughout the years.

“This Time Around” (2000)

In this song, Jackson speaks about the problems of being famous and of stardom he had gained over the years. He brings attention to how there are always people trying to use him for their own gain and then abandon him once he’s of no further use. For instance, in the verse “They really wanna use me/And then falsely accuse me,” he shows how many of the people he knew were only interested in him because of how famous he was and wouldn’t hesitate to throw him under the bus if it meant they’d get a fraction of that fame. This could be tied to his child molestation accusations because it could potentially mean that he sees them as liars trying to capitalize on his fame to bring attention to themselves or rip off money from him like the court case in 1993. A modern day example of this is the 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland where Wade Robson and James Safechuck accuse Jackson of sexually abusing them when they were 10 years old despite it being a decade since his death and all charges being acquitted by the release of the film. Rather than coming out with their allegations when Jackson was still alive during the height of the accusations, they waited until just recently to accuse him of child molestation most likely to draw attention to their film due to controversy, which Jackson is now powerless to defend himself against due to his death. Jackson’s estate continues to deny their claims, calling the film a “posthumous character assassination” (Tsioulcas). Capitalizing on Jackson’s name, they even released a sequel called Leaving Neverland 2: Surviving Michael Jackson this year, 2025, on March 18, potentially in it to make a quick buck by creating a cash grab of a documentary to milk their story, whether it’s actually true or not, for all its worth. Going back to the song, in the verses sang by Biggie, Jackson says that things in his house would be stolen by his “friends” and how if he was broke he’d “probably be on his lonesome” as well as precautions he has to take in order to stay safe like having to watch his back and staying away from strangers, showing the state of paranoia he constantly needed to have just to protect himself.

“Earth Song” (1995)

In this foreboding song, Jackson calls for environmental awareness by talking about the destruction humans have caused to the world through various wars and wiping out animal populations. He showcases the horrors of war through the verse “Have you ever stopped to notice/All the children dead from war?” and mentions various times throughout the song “Did you ever stop to notice/This crying Earth, these weeping shores?” to call for awareness about the bad state the world is in due to the impact of mankind. About 4:13 into the song, Jackson begins asking questions that highlight the issues that need attention brought to them, such as damaged seas, skies, nature, animal kingdoms, crying children, and the common man, that are all affected by the damage done to the Earth.

“Man in the Mirror” (1987)

In this song, Jackson shows his opinion that change starts from yourself, aka the man in the mirror, and that to make the world a better place, you have to “Take a look at yourself and then make a change” before you’re able to fully able to comprehend the struggles of others. He calls for people to stop pretending to not see others in need, such as “the kids in the street/With not enough to eat” and “some with no home/Not a nickel to loan.” By depicting such imagery of poverty, hunger, and oppression, Jackson encourages listeners to better themselves so that they can help others get through rough times and not be so self-centered.

“Heal the World” (1991)

This song holds a similar message to “Man in the Mirror” because in it, Jackson calls for action to make the world a better place for mankind. The chorus “Heal the world/Make it a better place/For you and for me and the entire human race/There are people dying/If you care enough for the living/Make a better place for you and for me” is repeated many times throughout the song, which hammers in the point that it is essential to fix the wrongs in the world to make it a better place to live in. In the last few verses, “Save it for our children” is repeated several times with the imagery of children holding candles in the music video, with “it” being the world, placing emphasis on fixing the world so that future generations will have better lives than we do.

“Beat It” (1982)

In this song, Jackson calls for non-violent confrontation and to walk away from violence, opting to run away from trouble rather than fight it, breaking the chain of ever increasing violence. This places emphasis on peace and Jackson’s overall message of decreasing violence in general. Jackson says throughout the song that “It doesn’t matter who’s wrong or right,” meaning that even if you know what you’re fighting for is correct, violence is never the answer and that you should just “beat it” or find some alternative way to reach a conclusion to a conflict. This can be seen in the music video for “Beat It” where rival gangs are about to fight each other, but Jackson resolves their conflict not through violence, but through music and dance, leading to a peaceful resolution.

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