Even more interesting is that I, personally, can tell the difference in term of vocal performance from from the songs record in 98-00 to the songs recorded in 2001. In all those songs recorded in 01 MJ sounded really strained and overly nasally compared to the more warm,relaxed and lush vocal performances in Break Of Dawn, Rock My World, Cry etc. Compare let's say Unbreakable to Blue Gangsta, both very aggressive songs with an aggressive vocal approach. Blue Gangsta sounds much more balanced and less strained compares to Unbreakable. It sometimes felt like he was just screaming rather than belting, imo of course. I still like those songs
I completely agree. One of the worst examples in my opinion is "Heaven Can Wait," which sounds absolutely atrocious. I believe it was Korgnex who said that there were several takes where Michael's voice cracked because he just couldn't sing that high anymore. I don't know if it was vocal exhaustion, age, poor technique (even though he did daily warmup sessions, I can't imagine the aggressive, gritty style he adopted from 1991 onward didn't do some damage to his vocal cords), or all of the above, but he just didn't sound very good.
Thankfully his voice rebounded by some measures; he sounds fantastic in "Hold My Hand," "Best of Joy," "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008," and
This Is It (though allegedly some of his vocals there were processed).
I think MJ just not actively working on the album is what caused the delays. Didn't he rent out studios and just have people sitting around doing nothing.
Absolutely. I'd say that was the predominant factor. Progress on the album was hugely inconsistent from summer 1999 to spring 2001. On top of fatherhood and escalating drug use, Michael spent most of this time taking impromptu vacations without notifying Sony or his studio personnel, rehearsing for live shows, or establishing new charities. Bruce Swedien showed up in September 2000 to start mixing the album, worked on a handful of songs, and wound up leaving shortly after Christmas after Michael decided to stop attending studio sessions.
I feel as though Michael's passion for music was dissipating by the turn of the millennium. He said that
Invincible (then-untitled) would be his final album in April 1999, and he allegedly produced several songs over the phone.