analogue;4273399 said:
Not only did the songs he played got predictable but also the order in which they were played were also predictable. The first song was always Wanna Be Startin Somethin or the first track from the new album at the time (JAM/Scream), then it would be followed up with a ballad like Human Nature or Stranger In Moscow, Then Smooth Criminal, then the J5 Medley, Then Thriller, Billie Jean and Beat It, And then Black Or White, Earth Song, Heal The World and finally Man In The Mirror. The order of the songs were changed a little bit but it was nothing too drastic
Why not open a show with BAD or Don't Stop Til You Get Enough? Why not put Smooth Criminal in the second half of the show and put Black Or White in the first half? Keep the fans guessing as to what song is coming next.
Because when it comes generally to tours that are produced and staged on such a large scale (like Michael Jackson’s tours), most of the time the songs but also the order of the songs (that are performed) allow very little changes.
Such large-scale tours involve a lot of technical parameters (which were planned from the tour’s very start) that cannot really change while the tour is in progress.
Look at any artist who performs such big, large-scale concerts and you realize that the changes that take place (of the songs and of their order) are not drastic, but minor.
Also, Michael Jackson wanted to play it safe with his songs and the songs’ order that were performed during his tours.
He knew what his fans that came to his concerts expected to see from him, so he did not want to mess things up by changing the performed songs but also their order.
There was also the theme/cohesion factor in Michael Jackson’s songs and in their order that were performed during his tours.
For example for the Dangerous Tour, ‘She’s Out Of My Life’ comes right after ‘I Just Can't Stop Loving You’, or for the BAD Tour ‘Wanna Be Startin' Somethin’ is a song that only fits to the start of the tour rather than being placed anywhere else in the set list of that tour.
Also, a ballad helps when it is placed right after an energetic song because this allows the performer and his/her backup dancers to take a breath for a while (that applied also to Michael Jackson’s tours).