I’ve come to feel that
Invincible was ultimately a victim of circumstance. The years immediately preceding its release were an onslaught of emotional/mental and career-oriented stress.
- The Chandler accusations and settlement significantly kneecapped MJ’s public image, and there was no opportunity for repair because he proceeded to make extraordinarily terrible decisions in the immediate aftermath (e.g., using anti-Semitic slurs in a song, admitting on national television that he would continue holding sleepovers with children).
- Press outlets and journalists turned the sensationalism up to 11. By the turn of the millennium, MJ was effectively seen as the industry punching bag.
- His chronic insomnia throughout the HIStory tour and injuries sustained during the 1999 MJ & Friends bridge collapse led him to relapse on prescription medication.
- The seeds of the Mottola/Sony fallout had been planted during the HIStory era and worsened gradually with each new single, performance (or lack thereof), and contract review.
- Prince and Paris were born in a single 14-month period. Single parenthood can crumble even the most resilient people, much less a twice-divorced cultural juggernaut who had been vocal about his desire to have a complete family.
HIStory made it out alive because it was born in the immediate reverberation of the accusations: the criminal investigation shuttered, MJ was newly married and rehabilitated, and the world had (by all accounts) forgiven and forgotten. The cracks started to appear almost immediately thereafter, and by the time of
Invincible, MJ’s place in pop culture was far different than it had been.
I feel that the various tribulations MJ had endured, or was enduring, ultimately distorted his perspective and caused him to put forward a sloppy piece of work. It’s not as though he lost his musical capabilities—listen to the outtakes! I envision a man who was so tired of industry conflicts, so worn down by the media and his so-called “friends,” so exhausted by his personal fatigue and mental strain, that he was not in the right headspace to put together a quality product.