Michael in the Media - Thread for Miscellaneous Articles

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Madonna and Michael Jackson had a unique friendship. At first, it seemed like the two were a match made in music heaven and would be the best of friends for many years to come. But after a failed attempt at collaborating on a song, disagreements over where to socialize, and expressing opposing views on fashion, Madonna and Jackson’s friendship came to a sudden end.

Madonna almost collaborated with Michael Jackson on his song ‘In The Closet’

Madonna and Jackson first crossed paths in the early ’80s. At the time, Jackson was already an established artist, thanks to his stint as a member of the Jackson 5. On the other hand, Madonna was an up-and-coming singer who had just made waves in the music industry following the release of her 1982 album, Like A Virgin.

Even though both were dominating the music charts, Madonna was still starstruck when she met MJ, who she was introduced to by her manager, Freddy DeMann.

“I met him in the early ’80s, when I first started working with my manager, Freddy DeMann, who at the time was managing Michael Jackson. I saw him play at Madison Square Garden, and I was blown away,” the “Vogue” singer said during a 2009 interview with Rolling Stone, per MTV News. “He was flawless. There was a party at the Helmsley Palace Hotel. He was very shy, but it was a thrill for me.”

After that, the two realized that they had a great deal in common and soon became friends.

In addition to attending the 1991 Academy Awards together, the pair also attempted collaborating on a song but ultimately never did.

“There was a period of time when we hung out,” Madonna told the outlet. “He wanted to work with me, I think he wanted to get to know me, and I wanted to do the same. When you write with somebody, it’s a weird experience, you feel vulnerable and shy.”

Madonna and Michael Jackson’s plans to join forces fell apart

Though Madonna and Jackson had made plans to collaborate on his song “In the Closet” off his 1992 album Dangerous, the pair never got a chance to record together in the studio.

According to Madonna, the King of Pop had asked her to write some new lyrics for the song based on its title. But while Madge wanted the track to be provocative, Jackson wasn’t a fan of her ideas.

“I started writing words and getting ideas and stuff and I presented them to him and he didn’t like them,” Madonna said during her Rolling Stone interview. “I think all he wanted was a provocative title, and ultimately he didn’t want the content of the song to… sort of, live up to the title.”

While not seeing eye to eye on song lyrics played a part in Jackson and Madonna not working together, it turns out that that’s not the only reason their potential collaboration never came to fruition.

During an April 2020 VERZUZ Battle with fellow record producer Teddy Riley, singer/ songwriter Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds revealed that Madonna wanted Jackson to “dress like a girl” for the “In The Closet” music video, which he was very upset by.

Edmonds recalled Jackson telling him, “‘Babyface, can you believe she wants me to dress like a girl?’ He was like, ‘I’d never do that.’ He said, ‘She was trying to change it all up. It was crazy’… He was really mad about it.”

Jackson would go on to release the track as a solo record, accompanied by a music video starring supermodel Naomi Campbell.

https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertain...ic-video.html/

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Turns out Kim Kardashian West was rubbing elbows with the rich and famous long before she was introduced to the rest of the world on Keeping Up With the Kardashians. She actually had a birthday party at Michael Jackson‘s Neverland Ranch when she was a teenager.

Here’s why the KKW Beauty founder got to celebrate there and what she said about being at the late entertainer’s home.

Kardashian West used to date Michael Jackson’s nephew

Kardashian West has had some high-profile relationships over the years but pre-fame she dated the “Thriller” singer’s nephew T.J. Jackson.

The reality star’s former nanny, Pam Behan, remembered meeting T.J. when the two were dating.

“I really liked T.J.,” Behan told Scandal Made Me Famous (per People). “He was kind of on the quiet, shy side, always very nice and polite. A good-looking kid, and as far as I could ever see, he treated Kim with great respect.”

She celebrated her 14th birthday at Neverland Ranch

Dating a Jackson family member had its perks as Kardashian found out when she got to celebrate her 14th birthday at T.J.’s uncle’s Neverland Ranch.

“That was the most magical place on earth,” she recalled to People. “When you drove up, there were baby elephants and chimpanzees in overalls, and there [were] all the rides. It was everything you can possibly imagine. The memories I have from that place will last for the rest of my life.”

She added: “I had my birthday at Neverland Ranch. Who else can say that?… It was just me and my friends. It was something I’ll never forget.”

Kanye West wanted to buy the late pop star’s estate for his wife

On May 24, 2014, Kardashian became Mrs. West when she married rapper Kanye West. The Mirror reported that Yeezy wanted to buy the late pop star’s estate as a gift to his wife when it was for sale a few years back. However, he didn’t agree with how much it was selling for.

“Kanye is desperate to own the Neverland [Ranch] but he’s not prepared to pay the price they want,” a source said.

Reuters noted that the property was sold to the Pittsburgh Penguins co-owner Ron Burkle. The billionaire purchased it for $22 million in 2020. Burkle, who is a friend of the Jackson family, “saw the investment as a land banking opportunity.”

The sprawling estate, which was renamed Sycamore Valley Ranch, includes a 12,598-square-foot main residence, two guest houses, a lake, a 14-foot lagoon-style pool, a movie theater, a dance studio, and a Disney-themed train station.

The “Billie Jean” hitmaker lived at the residence until the end of 2005.

https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertain...o-buy-it.html/

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In honor of Black History Month, Pollstar is spotlighting seminal live performances by black artists every day throughout February. With a deep, rich tradition of transcendent and powerful performers across genres and the ages, we are well aware that we can only scratch the surface of so many thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, brilliant Black performances. In fact, any one genre by itself, be it Jazz, Soul, R&B, Hip-Hop, Blues, Rock, Classical, House, Techno, Country, Reggae and more, could easily fill this one list. Therefore, in this series, we aim to hit on a variety of music from different periods and sounds to help put into perspective the depth and range of so much incredible Black music performances that have infinitely enriched our culture and lives.

On an already incredible night of music that saw James Brown performing with the blues legend B.B. King at L.A.'s Beverly Theater, The Godfather of Soul brought out two unexpected surprise superstar guests to make the night legendary. It came towards the end of the night during an extended jam of “It's A Man’s Man’s Man’s World” when Brown, much to the audience's shock and awe, called Michael Jackson up to the stage from the audience.

Michael Jackson, in his Thriller prime, took the stage, sang a couple of pitch perfect “I love yous" and then pow! The JB’s amped up the tempo and lit into “Hustle!!! (Dead On It).” as The King of Pop exploded into several of his classic dance moves: the quadruple spin, the Thriller knee band and gravity-defying moon walk. On his way off stage Jackson whispered something into Brown’s ear.

“He just insisted that I introduce Prince!" Brown says calling Prince Rogers Nelson to the stage. Of course, if you’re Prince, you make your stage entrance riding piggyback on a large bearded man while pulling off your spangled gloves with your teeth. Prince then straps on a guitar, tosses off a couple of mostly rhythmic licks before squatting down, placing the guitar between his legs and thrusting. Seemingly caught up in the moment, Prince removes his guitar, then his shirt and does a couple of mic stand kicks before leaving exiting and knocking over a prop lamp. It's a shame the two guests didn’t perform longer, with each other and/or with Brown., but perhaps no stage could handle that much star power at once.

https://www.pollstar.com/article/hon...-prince-147270

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Few musical artists in history can compare with Michael Jackson. After all, the King of Pop had not only the biggest-selling album of all time in Thriller. He also influenced and shaped generations of fans and fellow performers. Among those whom Jackson‘s career affected? None other than “Weird Al” Yankovic.

Michael Jackson let ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic parody his songs

Of course, Jackson and Yankovic are connected through their music. Yankovic has famously always sought permission from any artists whose work he is looking to parody. And early on in his career, Yankovic gained Jackson’s blessing to turn the latter’s hit “Beat It” into the food-focused “Eat It.” Yankovic’s version became a breakout hit and remains one of his biggest.

“Michael Jackson wasn’t just cool about my parody of ‘Beat It,’” Yankovic told People in 2016. “But he also loved my version of ‘Bad,’ which was ‘Fat.’ He even let me use the actual ‘Bad’ subway set for the ‘Fat’ video. He was very supportive, which was huge with opening the doors with other artists. Because if Michael Jackson signed on, you couldn’t really say no.”

The King of Pop eventually rejected one of Yankovic’s ideas

However, for as much help as Jackson was early on, the King of Pop eventually rejected a Yankovic parody idea. At one point in the early 1990s, Yankovic hoped to make a parody of Jackson’s 1991 hit “Black or White.” However, due to the song’s racially charged message, Jackson denied permission to poke fun at his work. Yankovic told Wired in 2011 he believes this decision essentially saved his career.

“Frankly, my wanting to do Michael Jackson a third time was a pure act of desperation. I was feeling pretty down after UHF came out and didn’t do that well commercially and I was kind of feeling like, ‘Oh, man, maybe my career is over.’ And I was grasping for that last straw. But thankfully he said ‘no’ because I ended up doing Nirvana, which ended up revitalizing my career. Michael had always been very supportive and part of me wants to think that in his heart he knew what was best for me.”

Truly, a third Jackson parody might have been pushing it. “Eat It” and “Fat” were big successes. But at that critical point in his career, Yankovic would likely not experienced a resurgence. Rather than looking to his own musical past for inspiration, he focused on the future in the form of “Smells Like Nirvana.”

‘Weird Al’ Yankovic has continued to release hit albums ever since

Yankovic’s 1992 album Off the Deep End, in fact, kicked off a whole new era of hits. Throughout the 1990s, the singer would release fan-favorite tracks like “You Don’t Love Me Anymore,” “Jurassic Park,” “Amish Paradise,” and “The Saga Begins.”

In fact, Yankovic’s success only increased over time. In 2014, bolstered by a week of daily music video releases, he landed his first number one album. Mandatory Fun — which features parodies of Pharrell Williams, Iggy Azalea, and others — cemented his status as a living legend.

https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertain...ly-1990s.html/

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Awesome performance. sad what happen a few months after.

Before the King of Pop took the stage at the Rose Bowl for Super Bowl XXVII, the halftime show was mostly an afterthought where fading celebs and Up With People tended to be the main entertainment.
The modern communal pop extravaganza known as the Super Bowl halftime show can trace its roots to Jan. 31, 1993, when Michael Jackson took the stage at the Rose Bowl for Super Bowl XXVII, where the Dallas Cowboys would trample the Buffalo Bills, 52-17.

Before that, the halftime show was mostly an afterthought, occupied by college marching bands, Up With People and fading acts like Mickey Rooney (XXI) and Chubby Checker (XXII).

In 1992, Fox lured 22 percent of the audience from NBC by counterprogramming a special episode of In Living Color during halftime, and the NFL realized it had to up its game. It turned to Radio City Productions to mount something spectacular, which in turn offered the slot to Jackson. He asked for $1 million, a seeming bargain, but the NFL did not pay its halftime performers, a policy that remains. (Still, Justin Timberlake saw a 534 percent jump in song sales after he performed for an audience of 100 million at 2018's Super Bowl LII; Lady Gaga's sales increased tenfold the year prior.)

In the end, the league partnered with Frito-Lay to offer a $100,000 donation plus a 30-second TV spot to Jackson's Heal the World Foundation, founded a year earlier to "improve conditions for children throughout the world."

In a dramatic start to his set, Jackson was ejected onto the stage from below and stood frozen for 90 seconds. He then launched into a medley of "Jam," "Billie Jean" (complete with moonwalk) and "Black or White" before concluding with the mushy "We Are the World" and the single "Heal the World," surrounded by 3,500 L.A.-area kids. With 133 million tuning in, it remains the most watched halftime show and one of the highest-rated telecasts of all time.

Seven months later, Jackson would face his first accusations of child sexual abuse.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ne...aganza-in-1993

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13. Michael Jackson (1993)

Michael Jackson has never failed to deliver when it comes to fabulous attire.



https://www.buzzfeed.com/andriamoore...r-bowl-outfits

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Although his heyday was in the 1980s, Michael Jackson continues to inspire artists to this day. For example, The Weeknd cited one of the King of Pop’s No. 1 hits as the blueprint for his music. Here’s a look at the creation of the song — and why Jackson means so much to The Weeknd.

Michael Jackson crafted this No. 1 hit with Billy Idol’s guitarist

It all starts with Steve Stevens. Stevens was Billy Idol’s guitarist. During an interview with Billboard, he recalled what it was like to work with Jackson.

“My whole thing is working with the artist, that’s why I picked up a guitar — I saw Elvis and Scotty Moore on TV and I went, ‘Oh, look, it’s a singer and a guitar player,'” Stevens recalled. “And that’s the way it’s always been for me. And then I got a call about another record, and the artist wasn’t there, and I was like, “Woah, really?” It was just me and the engineer, and it’s just not for me. There’s no joy in that. So of course, my question was, “Will Michael be there? Quincy kind of laughed and said, ‘Yeah, it’s his record.’ He thought it would be an odd thing for him not to be there. I guess Michael is one of those guys that no matter what went down on the record, even if it was a miniscule little percussion part, he was there for every note. And that’s the way it should be.’”

Together, Stevens and Jackson helped create one of Jackson’s most famous songs: “Dirty Diana.” “Dirty Diana” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Aside from “Beat It,” “Dirty Diana” might be Jackson’s most famous rock song.

The ways ‘Dirty Diana’ impacted The Weeknd

Millions of people around the world are fans of Jackson, however, Rolling Stone reports he has a very special place in The Weeknd’s heart. The Weeknd is from an Ethiopian family and he was very moved by “We Are the World” because it was a charity single for Ethiopia. He said when he wasn’t listening to Ethiopian music at home, he was usually listening to Jackson’s songs.

In addition, The Weeknd told Variety that “Dirty Diana” served as the blueprint for his music. After all, “Dirty Diana” is a song that’s both dark and sexual, much like many of The Weeknd’s songs, from “In the Night” to “The Hills” to “False Alarm.” In addition, The Weeknd released his own version of “Dirty Diana” which features electronic flourishes that weren’t in the original.

The Weeknd included his rendition of the song on his mixtape Echoes of Silence under the title “D.D.” Comparing his cover to the original, it’s shocking how similar The Weeknd’s singing style is to Jackson’s. The King of Pop had a massive influence on many pop and R&B artists — and The Weeknd is no exception.

https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertain...is-music.html/

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Michael Jackson didn’t often duet with major singers, however, when he did, they were usually major celebrities like Paul McCartney and Eddie Murphy. Despite this, he decided to perform a duet with an unknown artist that reached No. 1 on the charts. Here is the story of that song.

Michael Jackson had a sweet surprise for the writer of one of his most iconic hits

Firstly, some background. In 1982, Jackson released his most famous album: Thriller. He took five years to release a follow-up. His next album, Bad, was almost certain to be a hit because of the success of Thriller.

While working on Bad, Jackson worked with a number of proven hitmakers, including Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, and Glen Ballard. However, he also worked with Siedah Garret, who co-wrote his power ballad “Man in the Mirror.”

According to Billboard, Jackson introduced Garrett to his song “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You.” So of course, he just casually called over his shoulder, ‘Hey Sid, you like this song?’” Garrett recalled “And I kind of said, ‘Yeah, I like it.’ He said, ‘Well, can you sing it?’” I didn’t seem to dawn on Garrett what was about to happen next.

“So I get up to go into the vocal booth to record this song, and as I’m going out of the studio door I hear Quincy say, ‘Michael, go on in there.’ And so Michael is following me to this vocal booth, and I’m going to myself, ‘Oh my god.’ It wasn’t until I walked into the vocal area and there were two music stands, two microphones, two lyric sheets… The music stands were facing each other, and the microphones were facing each other, and the lyrics sheet said, ‘I Just Can’t Stop Loving You’: First verse, Michael, second verse Siedah.’ And it was in that moment that I realized, “Oh my god. I’m singing a duet with the King of Pop, the biggest recording artist on the planet!’” Jones commented that Jackson “loved” Garrett, so this could be why he gave her the opportunity.

How Quincy Jones reacted to Michael Jackson working with Siedah Garrett

According to The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits, Garrett believes Jackson mimicked her vocal stylings when he performed on the song. Because of this, Jones couldn’t tell who was singing when he closed his eyes. Garrett didn’t realize how similar their voices sounded until after she and Jackson finished recording it.

How the world reacted to ‘I Just Can’t Stop Loving You’

Upon release, “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a week in 1987. It did well considering it’s one of Jackson’s hit singles that was not accompanied by one of his signature high-concept music videos. In fact, it doesn’t have a music video at all. While Garrett didn’t become a pop star, Jackson helped her reach the top of the charts.

https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertain...cy-jones.html/

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Being compared to Michael Jackson wouldn’t be easy for any singer. But it happens a lot to The Weeknd. He previously responded to the comparison and explained why he doesn’t like it. He also revealed the meaning behind his Super Bowl costume that also reminded fans of the icon.

Does The Weeknd sound like Michael Jackson?

The Weeknd’s music and style has led to some people comparing him to Jackson. He has no problem with talking about how the legend did influence in his own art.

He told Variety that the 1987 song, “Dirty Diana” inspired a lot of his music. Jackson sings about trying to resist temptation for something or someone that won’t be good for him.

This theme is often explored in The Weeknd’s music. His hit “Can’t Feel My Face” is a less subtle dive into drug use. But his follow-up songs have creatively played with storytelling like Jackson’s song.

The Weeknd recently performed at the Super Bowl in a red coat and gloves, which again drew comparisons. But this is part of his After Hours, his fourth studio album, costume and he explained the meaning behind his song,”Blinding Lights,” which has a similar message to “Dirty Diana”. He told Esquire it’s about:

How you want to see someone at night, and you’re intoxicated, and you’re driving to this person and you’re just blinded by streetlights, but nothing could stop you from trying to go see that person, because you’re so lonely. I don’t want to ever promote drunk driving, but that’s what the dark undertone is. -The Weekend, Esquire

The Weeknd spoke out against comparisons to Michael Jackson

Blogs have previously compared the singer to the music legend due to his songs like “The Hills”. He addressed this publicly in 2020.

“There was like a backhanded thing [to the comment] that didn’t feel genuine,” he told Esquire. “It felt like they were setting me up for disaster, I wanted to transcend. I wanted the music to transcend.”

After the Super Bowl, fans are still tying the two public figures together. But The Weeknd has made an effort to explain his performance.

The Weeknd said the costumes call out Hollywood celebrity

His backup dancers were seen with bandages over their faces. He explained what those costumes meant along with his character.

“The significance of the entire head bandages is reflecting on the absurd culture of Hollywood celebrity and people manipulating themselves for superficial reasons to please and be validated,” he told Variety.

The Weekend then further explained the performance with, “It’s all a progression and we watch The Character’s storyline hit heightened levels of danger and absurdity as his tale goes on.”

It looks like fans are picking up on the influence Jackson had on the newer singer’s music. But some of the references in his music and costumes are more commentary on celebrity than trying to replicate it.



https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertain...p-coming.html/

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Michael Jackson didn’t act in movies often, however, he wanted a major role in a famous action movie. In addition, he created the character he wanted to play in his head. Here’s what Wesley Snipes had to say about all this.

The useless advice Michael Jackson gave to Wesley Snipes

Jackson and Snipes famously worked together on the music video for “Bad.” Snipes told Billboard that Jackson tried to give him advice while shooting the video. Specifically, he said Snipes should commit to becoming an actor. By the point Snipes appeared in the “Bad” video, he’d already appeared on television and the silver screen.

“He was like, ‘Coz you’re really good, you should really consider doing this. You could be good,” Snipes recalled. He responded “‘Mike, what are you talking about? You know… I’m an actor!’ He says, ‘Oh, you’ve taken an acting class before?’ ‘No Mike! I’ve been studying this sh*t all my life!’” For context, Snipes was not yet a superstar when he appeared in the video.

Wesley Snipes laughed at the thought of working with Michael Jackson on this movie

One of Snipes’ most iconic films is Blade. That movie was a smash, so a sequel was a logical next step. Jackson had some ideas for what the sequel should be like.

“I’ve had some interesting conversations with Michael, the grandmaster Michael,” Snipes recalled. “Michael actually asked me if he could be in Blade II. The great Michael wanted to be in one of the Blade movies, to be a tough guy. I was like, ‘Mike, which one you gonna do? You wanna play one of the vampires?’ He was like, ‘No! I wanna be like Blade’s friend — I wanna fight with you!’ I said, ‘Oh Mike, you got jokes.’ He was like, ‘No, I’m serious!’ It’s very hard to imagine how people would have managed seeing Michael Jackson in the Blade movie. I don’t know. [Laughs.]”

Ultimately, Blade II had nothing to do with Jackson. Jackson’s interest in the Blade series is part of a larger trend in his career. Blade is a horror franchise and Jackson often worked horror themes into his work, most famously in “Thriller” but also in “Ghosts” and “Is It Scary?”

How ‘Blade II’ performed without the King of Pop

This raises an interesting question: Did Jackson’s absence hurt the film at the box office? According to Box Office Mojo, Blade II earned over $155 million. For comparison, Box Office Mojo reports the original Blade earned merely $132 million.

Blade II was successful enough to inspire a sequel called Blade: Trinity and a spin-off television show called Blade: The Series. While Jackson’s music appeared on the soundtracks of films like Free Willy and Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home, he didn’t contribute music to any of the Blade soundtracks. Jackson certainly liked the idea of being part of the Blade franchise — it just never happened.

https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertain...on-movie.html/

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In addition to the Powell High School dance team’s recent successful performance at the State Spirit Competition, dancers had another neat experience last fall.

Marcea Lane — one of the lead dancers in the music video for Michael Jackson’s hit song “Thriller” — visited Victoria’s School of Dance south of Powell for a Sept. 25 workshop. Victoria Danovsky, the head of the program, described the experience as “unforgettable.”

Danovsky met Lane at a dance workshop years ago, and the two instantly formed a bond. Lane had never visited Wyoming before, so she decided to come to Powell and host a clinic.

“It was really cool,” Danovsky said. “I wanted to give the kids a feel of what it’s like to have someone like that come in and dance. It was a pretty neat deal.”

Lane taught the junior and senior teams the legendary “Thriller” dance, as well as other routines. She also awarded two of Danovsky’s students — Demi Danovsky and Anna Smith — with scholarships to attend a dance convention called Revive.

Danovsky said she plans to make the workshop with Lane an annual occurrence every fall.

“She is an amazing and talented woman, and we were lucky to have her,” Danovsky said.

https://www.powelltribune.com/storie...e-studio,29257

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Michael Jackson was famous for making elaborate music videos, however, he refused to appear in the video for one of his No. 1 hits. He made that decision for a very specific reason. Here’s a look at the thought process behind the video for his song.

A director had permission to do whatever he wanted for this Michael Jackson video

Firstly, a little background. In 1987, Jackson released one of his most famous albums: Bad. Bad included some huge, memorable singles, such as the title song, “The Way You Make Me Feel,” and “Smooth Criminal.” Each of those songs has a memorable music video. However, Jackson sometimes paired his songs with music videos that were a little more low-key.

During an interview with Billboard, Epic Records executive Larry Stessel recalled the creation of one of his videos. “We’re in [Frank DiLeo’s] study and Michael says ‘I want you to make a video for ‘Man in the Mirror’ and I will not be in it.’ He was getting ready for the tour and rehearsing. He didn’t want to make another video. They wanted to keep the costs down because Michael paid for all the studios. It wasn’t so much the money, it was more like, “You know what, we’ve made big videos, this is just… I don’t know what I want, so I want you to make the video. You do whatever you want.”

Don Wilson’s unusual idea for the video for Michael Jackson’s ‘Man in the Mirror’

Stessel discussed picking the music video’s director. “I called a friend of mine, his name is Don Wilson, who is primarily a video editor. He did some commercials and stuff and some small things…. So we started throwing around some ideas and he said, “How about we use all these images of things that relate to the song and we’ll edit them together and let’s see what we have?’”

The video for “Man in the Mirror” features clips of many historical figures known for their roles in movements for equality, including Mahatma Gandhi, the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Robert F. Kennedy, and John F. Kennedy. In addition, the video includes people who represent the sort of hatred the aforementioned figures stood against, such as Nazis and Klansmen.

How the world reacted to ‘Man in the Mirror’

While the video for “Man in the Mirror” is not as complex as other Jackson videos, it’s a lot more socially conscious than the famous videos for “Thriller” and “Beat It.” So did this more serious approach work for Jackson? According to The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits, “Man in the Mirror” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in 1988. Perhaps the politically-charged video especially resonated in 1988, which was an election year in the United States. Regardless, Jackson proved he didn’t need to appear in a video for his music to sell.

https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertain...e-mirror.html/

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It's the dream of Ziiad, 8, who lives in Denain, near Valenciennes (North): to buy Neverland for his mother. Michael Jackson's former property has been up for sale since 2015.

Buying the Neverland Ranch in California, formerly owned by Michael Jackson,is the crazy dream of eight-year-old Ziiad. In Denain, near Valenciennes (North),the boy already has a whole plan in mind to give this gift to his mother, a fan of the King of Pop,and to "all the children of the world".

Fan of the first hour

With a mom who is a fan of Michael Jackson, Ziiad has always been lulled by the artist's music. "I listen to it all the time at home," says Allison Depaepe. "Early on, Ziiad started singing his songs, and then he started dancing, trying to imitate him as much as possible. He's become a fan! »

In his corner, the boy begins to learn about the singer, discovers videos... and the existence of the Neverland Ranch and its sale. "We haven't always been able to afford to go out or afford a lot of things. I think it has marked him, he wants to offer happiness to everyone. »

One morning, he woke up and told me like, "Mom, I'm going to buy Neverland!"

Allison Depaepe
Ziiad's mom

Initially surprised by her son's project, Allison is convinced. "He's such a good kid: he wants to reopen the park for children around the world, without discrimination, but also to create jobs and continue Michael Jackson's dream."

A $31 million dream

But the dream has a price: $31 million. Although it has only fallen since the king of pop's death in May 2015, from $100 million to $31 million, the amount requested is substantial, not counting the annual charges amounting to $4 million.

Ziiad, in addition to having his heart on his hand, has his head on his shoulders. At the age of 8, there is no shortage of ideas: lives Tik Tok and Facebook; letter to French President Emmanuel Macron and former US President Donald Trump; launch of a participatory prize pool..."At the moment, we haven't had an answer. And for the prize pool, it will soon be online. In any case, even if the project does not succeed, all donations raised will be donated to charities. »

Gaining notoriety

In addition to political figures and associations, Ziiad and his mother try to contact other public figures, such as Cyril Hanouna or Michael Youn. "He would like to make a song, like We are the world,but with his own words, to collect donations."

Little by little, their dream begins to become known. So much so that Babyland Park in Belgium has contacted them, to offer to help them, if their project holds up.

But Allison would like this dream to cross the Atlantic, directly in the United States and California. "The language barrier is a big problem... We would like to contact a lot of people there, but English is very difficult for us, we are looking for a translator. »

By July 2021, mother and son plan to go directly to the site, to try to achieve their dream. "It's crazy, but we want to believe it!"

https://actu.fr/hauts-de-france/dena..._38214181.html

A 7 years old fan from Denain, North of France wants to use his pocket money to buy Neverland Ranch for his mom.

Alison Depaepe is a single mon of Ziiad and also a huge MJ fan, she shares her passion of the King of Pop with her only son.

Ziiad wants to buy Neverland to please is mom as she talks often about Michael Jackson, how she wanted to see him live and visit the Ranch.

Ziiad decided to send a letter to the US president to ask if his pocket money was enough to purchase the property currently at $31 million.

Very sweet story and seeing that Michael Jackson inspire all generation.

https://www.lavoixdunord.fr/853857/a...Hl6QUueXf28VkE

Do you remember Ziiad, a 8 years old Michael Jackson fan from France who was doing everything he could to buy Neverland Ranch for his mother, also a Michael Jackson fan?

Last December, just before the announcement of Ron Burkle purchasing the ranch, Ziiad told that he was doing everything he could to buy the ranch for his mother.

They even put a business plan in place and trying to find lawyers and translators to go in California to visit and plan the purchase.

After the announcement of the purchase by Burkle, Ziiad said: “My dream was to buy the Neverland park and we even managed to put €200,000 aside with my mom”

“Mr Burkle stole my dream but I will work harder at school to buy it back from him. I will not let it go!”

https://www.dhnet.be/lifestyle/peopl...78e2610a9f1b3a

[NatureCriminal7896]

"Detective Chinatown 3" director Chen Sicheng has revealed that he paid a hefty licensing fee for an iconic Michael Jackson song to put at end of the film. The movie had made a staggering $575 million by Thursday at China's box offices.

The song Chen paid for was "Heal the World," from Jackson's 1991 "Dangerous" album, one of the best-selling albums of all time having sold more than 32 million copies worldwide. The humanitarian song has been popular among Chinese listeners for years due to its beautiful melody and connotations.

Chen wanted a song to deliver a message of world harmony during the ending scene when he was writing the screenplay, and someone suggested "Heal the World." He listened to it repeatedly during the creative process and felt strongly that the song was the right choice.

"We felt really good about the song, but we thought it would be difficult to get the license. I never dreamed of really getting this song, and Michael Jackson's estate is very strict about using his music," he said to film critic Tan Fei in an interview published on Thursday.

Through Sony/ATV Music Publishing (Beijing) and Sony Music Entertainment China, Chen sent over his full screenplay to the Jackson estate for them to determine whether the film was appropriate for the song. "At last, they decided 'Detective Chinatown 3' could use the song, and came back to offer the song for a $1 million licensing fee."

Chen hesitated. "This was a very high price. In China, $1 million can make a small-budget commercial film. Therefore, we tried other different songs to fill that part of the film, but they never worked. The emotional vibe of 'Heal the World' perfectly fit the film."

Finally, Chen decided to pay for the song. "There was no other suitable replacement. This was it. I think the era of Michael Jackson was a special historical period. You could really feel something like a global community coming together during that time. It felt like a time when humans could unite in an unprecedented way. But in recent years, music has divided, interests have divided, and people are pursuing individualization and entertainment in the internet era. There are fewer and fewer great songs to reflect the entire human race."

The end scenes of "Detective Chinatown 3" shows Chinese, Japanese and Thai detectives enjoying fireworks on a Tokyo bridge after working together to solve a case. Under the fireworks, the director shot many people of different races and nationalities who were present, laughing and enjoying the fireworks, celebrating peace and love.

"These people in film were not our actors, but real tourists from all over the world. They came together in harmony, like a big global family," Chen revealed. Chinese audiences have applauded Chen for this part of the film which has been said to elevate the spiritual level of the film.

"Detective Chinatown 3" was originally set for release during last year's Spring Festival, but due to the sudden COVID-19 outbreak, theaters were shut down for months, and Chen had to delay the film to this year.

"At that time when the film was made, I never imagined there would be the coronavirus. So, when I look back in hindsight, the song has a different meaning now," he added. "No other songs could replace this song and its meaning. Although Michael is not here anymore, he will always be a great artist. I felt honored to have my film interact with his song like this."

"Heal the World" is not the only classic song in Chen's soundtrack. "Mama Do You Remember" (a.k.a. "Straw Hat") by Joe Yamanaka, originally from Japanese film "Proof of The Man," Teresa Teng's "Don't Pick the Roadside Flowers," Johnny Yip's "The Great Wall Never Falls Down" and Andy Lau's "Kung Hei Fat Choy" also feature in the movie. Besides the hilarious detective story, Chen added a lot of nostalgic elements to the film, including the casting of veteran Japanese actor Tomokazu Miura ("Akai Giwaku") and actress Honami Suzuki ("Tokyo Love Story").

"Detective Chinatown 3" launched as the most-anticipated Chinese New Year release. The film made 1 billion yuan in presales alone and within three days after its debut, had grossed nearly 2.6 billion yuan, the equivalent of $398 million -- not only making it the biggest opener in Chinese film history but also the biggest ever single opening weekend for a film in a single market, overtaking "Avengers: Endgame" total of $357 million in the North American market in April 2019.

But the director remains worried about the Chinese cultural industry. "We have been a big cultural country since ancient times. Nowadays, we have internet giants like Tencent and Alibaba Group, high-tech enterprises like Huawei, and many other Chinese companies in the world's top 500 companies. But we are too far behind in the cultural sector. Disney has a market cap of hundreds of billions of dollars, but the market value of all our film companies in China is less than 6% of Disney."

He continued, "What kind of story should we tell Chinese audiences? How can we enrich China's film industrialization? How can we create our stories well enough so that more foreign audiences can accept them too? I think our generation bears a big responsibility, and if we do not advance, we will be left behind."

http://www.china.org.cn/arts/2021-02...t_77228346.htm

[NatureCriminal7896]

HY Runners have been keeping busy in lockdown by trying to cover the distance it would take to get around the Equator.

The challenge has been named #Hyrunstheworld and the distance target is 24,910 miles, the idea being that all runners tally up their miles in a bid to raise £10,000 for St Michael’s Hospice. They've not completed the mileage - but the fundraising target was passed two days ago (Thursday).

In the style of Phileas Fogg, the club initially aimed to complete the huge running task in 80 days, but they have had so much participation from members that they look likely to complete the mission in half the time.

They have now raised £10k for the hospice and in an attempt to push the figure higher, four members have produced and recorded a song.

Kit and Jessica Willard, Riz Mazlen and Jemma May O’Gorman have rewritten Michael Jackson’s Heal The World and renamed it as Run The World.

The girls had great fun making the record while Darren Ribs Rogers uploaded images of the runners pounding the streets.

The club has been overwhelmed with the support they’ve had from the public and have thanked sponsors Kileys Carpets, Hastings Direct, The Pier, PCM Estate agents and Dr Hannah Hughes.

The challenge should be completed any day now and competition prize winner Laura Dearsley will run the last mile to complete the challenge along with St Michael’s Hospice chief fundraiser Rebecca Futrall.

Rebecca has told how fundraising has been hit over the past year by Covid and the lockdown meaning major fundraising events such as the Hastings Half Marathon have been cancelled.

Rebecca said everyone involved at the hospice was overwhelmed at the efforts shown by HY Runners and said the money raised would go a long way to helping.

Club head coach Terry Skelton said: “Making the record has been a great bit of fun for the girls and their voices and timings are fantastic – we knew they were good but never dreamed the record could have come out so well.”

HY have been boosted by the participation of gold medal-winning Paralympian David Weir while Hastings MP Sally-Ann Hart joined the challenge by donning the famous red jersey and contributing some good miles.

Stewart Ide from the club said: “It has been great to have Sally on board.

https://justgiving.com/crowdfunding/hy-runtheworld

https://www.hastingsobserver.co.uk/s...ackson-3139206