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Controversial topic: Did Michael squander his talent in his latter years?

Did MJ waste his talent in his latter years?

  • No, he worked from a kid, he deserved the break.

    Votes: 70 66.7%

  • Yes, although I understand why he wanted to take a break.

    Votes: 26 24.8%

  • Yes, I think he became complacent and lacked motivation.

    Votes: 9 8.6%
  • Total voters
    105
  • Poll closed .
Nope.

Michael was busy bringing up three kids, which is a lot of hard work, plus he did find the odd time to record. Michael was planning to retire as we know because he wanted to make films.

Like people said Michael was quality not quantity which I am thankful for.

There was an album planned for 2005 but as we know due to allegations, it never happened.
 
zpredra5 said:
^^^^
Invincible is an AMAZING , AMAZING album.
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For me the main problem with Invincible was that it has way to many songwriters for it. Michael seemed to rely more on outside songwriters to come in and co-write with him more than any of his previous albums. Michael's best songs are the one's he always wrote and composed by himself. Yes there are exceptions like Man In The Mirror but 95% of the time his best songs were his self written and composed ones.
 
huh? is this even a question? I can't imagine you will find ANY example of another human being at any time in history who has developed their god given talents more fully than Michael. Just watch TII, the proof is in the pudding. It's beyond amazing.
 
No--he was a full-time parent who actually took time to raise his kids to be decent human beings with intelligence and a strong sense of self--unlike the rest of the Hollywood kids. He was also constantly at work and doing relevant work such as speaking at Oxford in 2002. Michael Jackson never rested--he was always up to something, even if the media chose to ignore it.
 
Right to the core, Mikage... He could have just thrown in the towel, but chose to continue to be selfless and focus his love and energy and time on others and his own art.
 
I'm truely astonished that someone would even ask 'that' kind of question or think on those lines, i.e., the topic of this thread!

Michael Jackson DID NOT waste ONE BIT of his talent or his special gifts EVER, and I do not just mean as the most extraordinary, divinely talented, creative genius, but also as one of the greatest, most generous, committed humanitarians and the most beautiful human being that he continued to be TILL THE VERY END!

As a child, Michael realized that he was supremely talented, that "music came out" when he opened his mouth, but he never took this special ability for granted. Even as a little child, he understood that he had a grander purpose than just to use that talent to sell millions of records and make and break many world records along the way. He knew he was here for a far loftier purpose, and he NEVER LET GO of that mighty purpose, even though it cost him his life eventually. Michael Jackson's real and true purpose was to be a messenger of God and His goodness and he took this mission seriously, and inspired many of us from across the world to do the same in our own little ways. He knew his "God-given" talent was to be "trained and cultivated", honed, polished, nurtured for it was the means by which he could accomlish his grand purpose---of uniting people of the world, of helping and healing our palnet and "put some L.O.V.E. back in this world". Throughout his life, his goodness, his graciousness, his innocence was taken advantage of, he knew it, he had that wisdom, and yet he gave ALL he had- His talent, time, resources to make this world a better place, and he did succeed in blessing us and this world in ways no one else has. Millions of people around the world have been inspired by his greatness and goodness both as an exceptional artist and human being, to mould our lives around the virtues he taught us by living them out himself, and by inspiring us to be the best we could be. And we are here to take his message forward to the new generations. We are here now, just as we were here then for him, dedicating ourselves to the L.O.V.E he gave us, and taught us to be.

NONE of us could have survived the endless pain, anguish, heartache he had to suffer almost all his life, and yet he continued to create, L.O.V.E., bless, heal, forgive. He continued to challenge himself, setting milestones, mesmerizing us all and despite being torn apart by the evil in this world over and over and over again, was willing to give this world another chance. He was still willing to give us his all with those O2 performances...he was still willing to hope for this hopeless world that never truly deserved him in the first place...

In the midst of all the darkness that was trying to dim his Light, he continued shining with all his might...all because he continued being true to himself, continued giving us ALL he had, untill he could no more, and God called him Home.

I have said this before, and I shall say this again..
Michael,
You did the best you could, you lived the best you could my darling...and your absolute goodness, resilience, compassion, graciousness, courage, honesty, integrity are a shining example for all of us! Future generations will love, honour and thank you for being the Light that you've always been, and continue to be for all times...

Thankyou forever for your beautiful life sweetest one...we are and shall forever be proud of you!
 
No, I don't think that Michael squander his talent in the latter years.His talent was always there but, as Alma says in her post, his perfectionism grew with time.
He himself said often that he was never satisfied with anything, even when the whole world was ecstatic towards his achievements, he wasn't pleased.

He said too that he never stopped making music.Why we didn't see more of his latter creation?My guess is that he lost his courage and his confidence after all those terrible things happened to him.His soul must have been torn apart.

I wonder if he ever knew that we, the fans, we were satisfied from one point, only by knowing he is happy and healthy, and we didn't ask for more music and concerts.
I hope he knew that we are grateful for all that he gave us.
 
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Squander his talent? Not possible. Michael's talent shone through no matter what. Natural-born.
 
Ok obviously im going to be delicate here because i believe that he did waste time because of lack of motivation, using the kids is not an excuse, he released Invincible while raising kids, he WAS going to go on tour... then 9/11 happened and he cancelled, KO said in the TII special features that Michael didn't want to come back unless there was a really important reason too, i think that he just got too caught up in the aftermath of the 2005 trial and lost motivation
 
MattyJam said:
I wouldn't go that far. It's definately a step down in quality compared to his 79-95 output.
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I respect your OPINION, but I don't, necessarily feel that way.

Either way, I think that of all people MJ deserved a huge break since he had been working since he was a child. While most of the people who are on here going "I think he wasted his time and used his children as in excuse" were picking their noses and pissing on themselves in kindergarten MJ was out there working really hard with the rest of his brothers. Artists are different. He would have come back when he was ready, which he seemed to have been I guess, but, unfortunately, that didn't work out.
 
I really don't understand how taking some downtime or focusing one's energy on other things is equivalent to "squandering talent." For one thing, we don't really know how much music Michael was writing in the past decade. He may not have recorded as much, but that does not mean that his brain wasn't constantly coming up with ideas for new music. That doesn't seem like wasting talent to me.

Secondly, even if he wasn't as involved with songwriting/recording, so what? The man had been working for over 30 years. He had every right to take as much time off as he wanted or needed. It's not as if he was just sitting around on his butt all day.

He did value quality over quantity, which is why he wasn't just churning out albums year after year. I'd much rather have what he left us than albums of filler material or B-side quality music.

He accomplished more in his life than the majority of us ever will in ours, yet we're going to judge him anyway? I don't get it.
 
Just wanna add that he should've been less selfless. Yeah, because when you think of the many people that were expecting him to return with a new album, a tour and everything and were fussy and whiney and bratty about it, if one had 2-3 tickets to This Is It, it was never enough, they wanted more, or those that waited for him to enter/exit Klein's office, not even letting him breathe, some of them asking him to tour in this and that country, or when others would hear that the new album wasn't ready, or he had postponed 2 concerts, they cussed him out and were ready to throw him away like a hot potato. The examples are many. Michael was not your / our father, or blood-related person or friend, he had done more than enough in the entertainment world, he could've quit considering the fans altogether and focus on his life alone, but that wasn't in him, of course.

This ungratefulness and whininess and all that.. like what in the world? How is that not a stupid thing, I don't know. He's dead, what's the purpose behind ganging on more negativity? More controversy, aren't some of you over-saturated by it courtesy of the media and other 'lovely' characters out there, that continue to mutilate his character?

....
 
Alma said:
What's your argumentation for this answer?
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I shouldn't need to support my opinion, I can think whatever I want without having to explain myself to anyone on here.

No, he didn't.
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This is a thread were you share your opinion. I shared my opinion so there is no reason for you to care. You have your opinion and I have mine - end of.

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Anyways, I read the question wrong. I don't think he squandered his talent, I just don't agree with him on some of the things he did. Not paying his bills, not recording albums that he promised, numerous lawsuits, ect. all tarnished his name and made him look like a has-been and a careless guy who was wasting his talent.

ALSO: This person started a controversial topic! Do you guys expect everyone to say yes? Do you really think that everyone was going to agree wholeheartedly?
 
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thread cleaned please do not attack / insults other members
 
"No, he worked from a kid, he deserved the break."

I know he was constantly working during the whole time, as he said, but when it comes down to dealing with the industry and promoting and touring, etc., it was the first and one last time ever in his life that he took a real break.

And I think, by taking his time out, he consciously chose to respect his talent, not squander it. He was on a level where he could afford to do whatever and whenever he pleases and make success out of it. Few artists can have that privilege becuz they've earned it a long time ago paying their dues. So, why would have he chosen to keep putting out songs and albums when he felt the time ain't right.
Also, I heard that (cuz I've never been a parent myself) time just flies when you raise kids.
 
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smoothcriminal12 said:
This is a thread were you share your opinion. I shared my opinion so there is no reason for you to care. You have your opinion and I have mine - end of.
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And I have mine. I just shared mine in the same manner that you shared yours. =3
 
How can he squander his talent if he was working till the day he died?
 
Sophielo said:
Michael went through an awful lot in the last decade of his life, things that would have tipped a lot of people over the edge but he still kept going. He had three children to raise and with Michael it was always quality over quantity. Michael owed us nothing at the end of the day.
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^Totally. I haven't read the whole thread yet, but I want to say that we have to remember that his "latter years" were not exactly free and easy to just do with as he pleased. Not only was there the trial, but the time leading up to it. Imagine the mental and emotional anguish of knowing this was looming in your immediate future and living with that for well over a year beforehand, not to mention all the meetings with legal teams and so forth. And prior to November 2003 there had been LWMJ and the ensuing media frenzy afterwards with the allegations, not knowing if he'd be charged or what would happen. And then after the trial... my God, how does one recover from something like that and just LIVE again? I remember thinking as he left for Bahrain that I wouldn't blame him one bit if he just found a quiet place to raise his children and retired for good. And yet, through all those years, somehow Michael kept working. Who knows what all he would have gifted the world with between Invincible & 2009 if things had been different. Something(s) amazing, you can bet.

And it wasn't even a matter of him just stepping up to the plate during some of those years. You recall how many in the industry failed to stick up for him during the dark days. It's one thing to be accused of something like infidelity or shoplifting like other celebrities, but the accusations Michael had to endure are on a whole other level. It's not as easy to pursue your dreams when you're made into a pariah by the media and people declare you're a legend and then under their breath bow out of association. (Not everyone, of course, but many.) :cry: Sorry, I don't mean to be so 'grrrr' and depressive, it's just that I get really annoyed when I hear folks on TV say things like Michael "didn't do much anyway" in his last years. It's like, yeah, well let's see how well YOUR career does in the midst of a child molestation trial and how well things go immediately afterwards, under similar conditions. Know what I mean? Respect to you, Michael. So much respect. :angel:So no, I don't think he squandered anything. I just think circumstances were not in his favor.
 
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Well, we don't really know how much stuff he did post-Invincible, do we? It appears that he was as motivated and committed as ever during the Invincible sessions, but since then we're aware of Hollywood Tonight, HMH and Best Of Joy as songs that he definitely worked on after 2001... I think. And that's it. Well okay, there's also all the recording he did according to Will.I.Am and the like from '05 to '09 to count. Plus all the preparation for This Is It and the disruption the Trial caused.

So no, I don't think so at all. The man had to slow down at some point. He had children to raise. His life purely between '65ish - whenever he joined the J5 - and the Thriller period was obviously insanely intense! He'd already given us so much.
 
I voted for the 'no' option, but do not completely agree with it. I don't think he just decided to 'take a break'. He supposedly had an album ready in 2003, which of course could not be released for obvious reasons.

I do think that Michael might have lost some of the hunger he had in the earlier stages of his life after 98. Not so much the hunger to create, but to finish and release music. That's no wonder given the fact that he was raising three kids. But I'm sure that without the second set of allegations, we would have heard more music this past decade.
 
Sometimes I wonder if people expected him to be standing on stage at the age of 80, grabbing his crotch?
I know that Michael Jackson would have been the last person on the planet to be sitting on a bar stool, accompanied of pictures of the Dangerous and HIStory tour.

I've heard a lot of commentators assume and project a 'fear of age' on him- but a lot of people didn't exactly help that, did they? Always digging up pictures of Thriller times. Always bemoaning 'how much' he changed- yet when he did change, a lot of people seemed to have issues with it. How often did he have to say that he wanted to move into movies? How many people are mentally stuck on "Thriller" and "sold copies", as if this number of sales (that of course is phenomenal) was the only measurement of creativity and talent.

Seems to me like certain people have more issues with their own expectations, than with him actually. He wanted ballet lessons with his daughter, signed up for art history courses, wanted to do movies. His creativity always found outlets. An artist doesn't have an 'obligation to the world', only an obligation to himself/herself to be who they truly are. And if anyone dared to be himself, it's Michael Jackson. His 50% are other people's 200%.

I find it rather patronizing to speak about Michael squandering his talent- the guy accomplished so much in 50 years, that other people don't accomplish in 3 lives. I would like to ask anyone who thinks he 'squandered' his talent to please write just a few melodies that are not only recognized all over this planet, but that are also much beloved.

Then please overcome a few physical ailments and all the adversity he faced.

I'll stop because I get rather upset how somebody would accuse Michael (of all people!!) to have wasted his talent.
 
Pace said:
Sometimes I wonder if people expected him to be standing on stage at the age of 80, grabbing his crotch?
I know that Michael Jackson would have been the last person on the planet to be sitting on a bar stool, accompanied of pictures of the Dangerous and HIStory tour.

I've heard a lot of commentators assume and project a 'fear of age' on him- but a lot of people didn't exactly help that, did they? Always digging up pictures of Thriller times. Always bemoaning 'how much' he changed- yet when he did change, a lot of people seemed to have issues with it. How often did he have to say that he wanted to move into movies? How many people are mentally stuck on "Thriller" and "sold copies", as if this number of sales (that of course is phenomenal) was the only measurement of creativity and talent.

Seems to me like certain people have more issues with their own expectations, than with him actually. He wanted ballet lessons with his daughter, signed up for art history courses, wanted to do movies. His creativity always found outlets. An artist doesn't have an 'obligation to the world', only an obligation to himself/herself to be who they truly are. And if anyone dared to be himself, it's Michael Jackson. His 50% are other people's 200%.

I find it rather patronizing to speak about Michael squandering his talent- the guy accomplished so much in 50 years, that other people don't accomplish in 3 lives. I would like to ask anyone who thinks he 'squandered' his talent to please write just a few melodies that are not only recognized all over this planet, but that are also much beloved.

Then please overcome a few physical ailments and all the adversity he faced.

I'll stop because I get rather upset how somebody would accuse Michael (of all people!!) to have wasted his talent.
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Brilliant post...:clapping::clapping::clapping:..thank you.
 
Pace said:
Seems to me like certain people have more issues with their own expectations, than with him actually. He wanted ballet lessons with his daughter, signed up for art history courses, wanted to do movies. His creativity always found outlets. An artist doesn't have an 'obligation to the world', only an obligation to himself/herself to be who they truly are. And if anyone dared to be himself, it's Michael Jackson. His 50% are other people's 200%.

I find it rather patronizing to speak about Michael squandering his talent- the guy accomplished so much in 50 years, that other people don't accomplish in 3 lives. I would like to ask anyone who thinks he 'squandered' his talent to please write just a few melodies that are not only recognized all over this planet, but that are also much beloved.

Then please overcome a few physical ailments and all the adversity he faced.

I'll stop because I get rather upset how somebody would accuse Michael (of all people!!) to have wasted his talent.
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THANK you!!
 
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