How MJ's Public Appearances Influenced His Career

[Michaels Lover]

I can't find the source right now but I remember Michael saying that he's not a comedian and he wouldn't want to go on stage and have people laugh just because he's Michael Jackson when he knows in his heart that he's not funny.

that was in Moonwalk he wrote that

 

[KOPV]

rash or not he could have just put on his usual surgical mask over the tape if those were needed for some reason... to go out like that for people to see has t be intentional.. Same with hi Zarro mask... can't forget to mention how he cleverly carried a burnt CD to get people wondering

 

[#MJforever57]

The key word here is unique Michael was that he did make good choice and bad choice but we all do that nobody is perfect not even a superstar. To me 93 play a big part in Michael career he was now seen as not normal he was a mystery and when he came out in public there was always questions Michael life was now a opening book what he did back in the pass was over shadow by 93 events to me the world saw Michael in a different light their were so quick to judge him now and the media did not make it any better like the the pictures here in this thread Michael with the post notes on his face and to the world that was not normal and that was sad to see.

I have always really wonder what Michael life would have been like if 93 never happen what would his career be like today?

 

[Antwort]

Just because Michael was a genius and a larger than life figure doesn't mean he wasn't human and beyond his claims to have rhyno skin, I'm sure he was very hurt by people's erroneous and terrible perceptions of him. I don't think he would have lost much of his mystique if he had let the walls down a bit more and showed the world how truly brilliant and funny he was, and yeah I do believe he could be a very funny guy. The danger with opening up of course is that people will feel entitled to know everything. I am however sure a balance could have been struck between clearing up some misconceptions whilst preserving a healthy dose of mystery and above all protecting a certain sacred part of life which ought not be shared with world.

I don't think people here want to “normalize” Michael because obviously that would be impossible. Anyone who cannot comprehend that a musical genius & a man child growing up under the eyes of the world cannot and does not have the social skills of an average Joe is more naïve than Michael ever was or was confused as such. I believe what some of the people in this thread are trying to say is that he could have done a bit more to remove the scales of injustice surrounding his image without caving into the mentality of the mob or the terror of the media always in search of the ratings, sales and sensational headlines.

The world will never fully understand the enigma of Michael Jackson and it should not, but I'm convinced there were some awesome and beautiful layers to his personality the world could have discovered. And maybe then they could have actually paid more attention to the messages in his songs, the ones which were made for the world. The man had incredible things to say on record, but people were far too busy focusing on the wrong issues to notice what was right there in plain sight and underneath their very noses.

The king of pop, rock and troll!!

:lol: It's THIS !
I agree with most of these posts. He so knew what he was doing The cheeky little bugger x haha This is a good thread
I love Mike I miss him

Some of these silly episodes may very well be signs of his crooked sense of humor.I think we can safely call him Mr. Trollson. Didn't he lose a contest of look-alikes once? If only he could have done a cover of Limp Bizkit's Rollin' and turn it into Trollin Just kiddin' everyone, just kiddin'. And btw of that Zorro stuff already posted, here's Mike's message to Zorro.......

P.S. Great thread indeed, one of the most interesting conversations here in a while, differences of perspective included.

 

[SheilaMJFan4Ever]

Re: The problems with Invincible

if he/you/me don't give a rat called Ben's ass what people think

 

[Michaels Lover]

I don't remember MJ putting out PT Barnum stories of himself in the media in the 90s like he did in the 80s. So that did change.

I don't think MJ was the SNL kind of person either. I also do not think it was ALL an act - I mean his persona, eccentricities, call it whatever. He REALLY was very different than your average person, or even your average celebrity. You either like it or not, you can either accept it or not, but his mind did not tick the same way as the average person's. You can already see that very early on, in those OTW era interviews as well. So to me if he had tried to change into some "normal person" (whatever that is by the average person's perception) THAT would have probably not been the real him. And I would not want him to not be the real him or conform to average, boring people's expectations. Even the price of him being him is being attacked or misunderstood. Well, he is not the first, not the last genius that "normal people" ridicule and don't get. That's just the fate of many geniuses.

I'm not saying he did not make mistakes that would and should have been avoidable. I'm not saying at times he did not overdo stuff. He was stubborn. He also liked to troll the public, yes (before that was even a word, LOL). But he was never a "normal person" (that I feel some here would have liked him to turn into) - and I don't think that's a bad thing.

exactly! he was different, but not by choice. and to say he did this and that to create this and that, or that his whole life was an act? I think someone even said that his life has been an act for 40 years. that's since he was 10 years old (assuming, of course, they meant when he died) :huh: there's no need for such exaggeration. come on, you can't be serious?

"I don't think people understand the other side that comes with [fame]. they're so quick to call you strange and weird but it's almost like you're forced to be different, because it's not normal, life…." Michael Jackson

I don't think people here want to “normalize” Michael because obviously that would be impossible. Anyone who cannot comprehend that a musical genius & a man child growing up under the eyes of the world cannot and does not have the social skills of an average Joe is more naïve than Michael ever was or was confused as such.

and with that, this one comes to mind: "when you grow up, like I did, in front of 100 million people since the age of 5, you're automatically different." Michael Jackson

yeah, he was different, I have never claimed otherwise. I've always been aware of that, and in no way was it my intention to "normalize" him earlier in my long post. but (as usual), my post were being misunderstood

 

[Bringing Brighter Days]

Re: The problems with Invincible

I think he just loved the drama and performance of it all. There was a great and very telling outtake from the Bashir documentary where MJ is talking about how he is always performing even offstage and Bashir says "this is a performance right now, isn't it?" and Michael grins.

the entire shopping scene in the Bashir Documentary was stage right along w/that giving tree

he didn't buy one item out that antique store...not one

 

[Michaels Lover]

Re: The problems with Invincible

the entire shopping scene in the Bashir Documentary was stage right along w/that giving tree

he didn't buy one item out that antique store...not one

And you know this how?

 

[KOPV]

For those who dont think michael did not play his fair share of publicity stunts is trippin'.. he for sure created an image with design and id think that would be very clear by this point... not aaying that all things he did was staged but he was a showman on and off stage... he def. Took influence from pt barnum, howard hughes and others to create a mysterious and larger than life image...

Pt barnum is on the dangerous album for gods sake lol... him and the little man that pt barnum had.. which michael also had public apperance with.... and howard hughes went out.in public with a sergical mask far before mj...


Just to name a couple things..

Lets not forget michael was a true student of history and learned what drove people, attracted people, and what made people believe they are bugger than life... from everyone from pt barnum to hitler...

That doesnt mean he tried to be these ppl, but he studied everything to become something larger....

 

[Bringing Brighter Days]

Re: The problems with Invincible

And you know this how?

he set that whole scene up to guarantee shock value

why would he need to sit up in a tree to be inspired to write songs when he's written a lifeworks worth of songs before Neverland ever came into existence

he did not buy one thing in that antique shop, he did that to play up to the cameras

 

[HIStory]

Re: The problems with Invincible

Some of these silly episodes may very well be signs of his crooked sense of humor.I think we can safely call him Mr. Trollson. Didn't he lose a contest of look-alikes once? .

I don't know about that, but I remember this:

 

[Michaels Lover]

Re: The problems with Invincible

I don't know about that, but I remember this:

I remember that mummy thing they showed at the end! wow, I haven't seen it in like 10-20 years? that was so weird to see it again. I don't remember exactly what it was about, I just remember seeing the pictures, and being confused about it

 

[Daryll748]

Awesome post above! Thanks Respect for sharing! :clap:

See, you still learn something everyday hey! Michael must have really enjoyed himself there. Too BAD he didn't won though!

 

[Antwort]

Re: The problems with Invincible

I don't know about that, but I remember this:

LOLOL @ that. Don't remember this particular story, but I'm not surprised one bit. He most definitely was the king of disguises I'm sure he's been within inches of people all masked up countless times without folks having the slightest clue. I actually find his passion for disguise one of the funniest and coolest things about him. I bet it would have been fun to go around in all kinds of disguises with him and people not even realizing who is right there among them.

 

[Michaels Lover]

Re: The problems with Invincible

LOLOL @ that. Don't remember this particular story, but I'm not surprised one bit. He most definitely was the king of disguises I'm sure he's been within inches of people all masked up countless times without folks having the slightest clue. I actually find his passion for disguise one of the funniest and coolest things about him. I bet it would have been fun to go around in all kinds of disguises with him and people not even realizing who is right there among them.

yeah, he went out in the public a lot in disguises, he's said. and he also said that he could even fool his own mother

 

[Michaels Lover]

I think it's brilliant this forum even has this smiley :bluemj
:lol:

 

[Antwort]

I think it's brilliant this forum even has this smiley :bluemj
:lol:

I agree. It's hilarious :lol:

 

[KOPV]

Michael was very methodical with creating an out of this world image... He understood that a true showman had to be that on and off stage to truly create the mystique..



The show goes on!
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_-kul1MqSXZ8/SnHWVvSKTqI/AAAAAAAADvM/WNT5CBW0QKY/s400/Tom+Pulgar.jpg

http://live-imagecollect.s3.amazonaws.com/preview/560/67ac4c389612678

 

[TinnyandOdd]

I always found the lack of public conversation before he died about the Jackson 5 days interesting? That is to say, that grown adults were totally cool with being obsessed with a children's "boyband", and particularly Mike who was singing and dancing, touring, doing strip shows, club circuits, talk-shows, performing at people's houses in Motown for parties, and essentially being treated as a factory worker, to the point that adults made him lie about his age and say he was younger just to get more attention and so on and so fourth, but when the kid grew into a man and decided to hang with kids because he actually wanted to give them the care and attention he felt he didn't get when he was a kid, or thought they needed a positive influence in their life, or saw kids being neglected, or didn't actually want them for profit, he was labeled a creep. Usher found Justin Bieber on YouTube in the middle of the night when he was like 14? They still hang out but no one thinks that's weird? I mean, it's a bit of a stretch, because I do think MJ pushed the limits in terms of making people side eye him, it's just interesting.

 

[bluemoon7]

Wow, I like this thread ... so much amazing input!

I think Michael´s "love" for dressing up or showing up /acting in public in certain ways is really multifaceted.

There is Michael the prankster who loved to play tricks and "fool" the public / others. Not only because he had a childlike side he wanted to act out, but also because he had great fun doing this as a grown man.

Of course he knew that he could manipulate the public by his appearances, but he must have known VERY well that some of those appearances could get back at him so to say (thru the media / tabloids).

Michael was a very smart man, but most of the public, journalists and music critics do not perceive Michael as a highly intelligent artist.

His song "Is It Scary" says so much about his situation:

[...]

I'm gonna be
Exactly what you wanna see
It's you whose haunting me
Your warning me
To be the stranger
In your life

Am I amusing you
Or just confusing you
Am I the beast
You visualised
And if you wanna to see
Eccentrialities
I'll be grotesque
Before your eyes

Let them all materialise !!!

[...]

I'm gonna be
Exactly what you gonna see
So did you come to me
To see your fantasies
Performed before your very eyes

[...]

This song describes Michael as being trapped in his role(s), and also in his role of the little boy he once was, who had to do like Motown and his father dictated. In some ways he never got out of this trap - wishing to please others. And this song IMO is one of his most angry and sad ones.

The text is very rich and I keep discovering new aspects of it.

Michael and his appearances ...
Let´s not forget that Michael supposedly was a brilliant actor - as we could get a glimpse of in Ghosts, for example.

 

[bluemoon7]

^^

lyrics source: azlyrics.com (if you spot a mistake, it wasn´t me

 

[LindavG]

^^

lyrics source: azlyrics.com (if you spot a mistake, it wasn´t me

I did see some mistakes. It's "it's you who's taunting me, because you're wanting me to be the stranger in your life". Also, "eccentrialities" is not a real word, I think he says "eccentric oddities". For some reason, the lyrics to this song are misquoted a lot (also in lyrics videos) which is a shame because it takes away some of the meaning of the song. I think Is It Scary is one of his most autobiographical songs.

 

[bluemoon7]

I did see some mistakes. It's "it's you who's taunting me, because you're wanting me to be the stranger in your life". Also, "eccentrialities" is not a real word, I think he says "eccentric oddities". For some reason, the lyrics to this song are misquoted a lot (also in lyrics videos) which is a shame because it takes away some of the meaning of the song. I think Is It Scary is one of his most autobiographical songs.

Thank you! :blush:

"eccentrialities" seemed strange to me, too ...

 

[wendijane]

Michael was very methodical with creating an out of this world image... He understood that a true showman had to be that on and off stage to truly create the mystique..



The show goes on!
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_-kul1MqSXZ8/SnHWVvSKTqI/AAAAAAAADvM/WNT5CBW0QKY/s400/Tom+Pulgar.jpg

http://live-imagecollect.s3.amazonaws.com/preview/560/67ac4c389612678

Also, could Michael have used this method as entertainment nowadays ? i truly believe the internet and in an era , and how everything is so open , so open. blew the lid off michael's style to entertain. i kind of hate the way internet killed the video star. (yet, genius beyond the grave , because they took it back to the stage think ONE , hologram performance etc ) But .....
could michael's phenomenal mystic persona and privacy values have survived the internet age. Could the internet era appreciate that ?

 

[MoeJack]

Also, could Michael have used this method as entertainment nowadays ? i truly believe the internet and in an era , and how everything is so open , so open. blew the lid off michael's style to entertain. i kind of hate the way internet killed the video star. (yet, genius beyond the grave , because they took it back to the stage think ONE , hologram performance etc ) But .....
could michael's phenomenal mystic persona and privacy values have survived the internet age. Could the internet era appreciate that ?

Honestly, I don't think so because that was a big part of his public persona (the mystery). I mean I think he would've been in a similar position to Prince, still creating music and doing other artistic endeavors, but not really in the spotlight. I think Michael is a 20th century artist through and through. You could even sense it way back in 2001. The way he was talking about the new generation of artists (like Britney Spears, NSync, Usher) made it seem like he was past his prime in a way, regardless of whether or not it was true. If you look back, that was the first time he started to feel that way, especially after turning 40. Even in the early 1990s before Dangerous came out, many speculated that Michael would become a has-been and that his sound would be stuck in the 80s, but he came out swinging with a fresh new style and reinvented himself for a new generation. But by the early 2000s, it was clear that he was ready to take a backseat. I know your initial point was that the internet and social media would have been the hurdles to his mystical persona (which they certainly would have), but somehow I find that around that time due to a multitude of factors, he was already over that type of image -- or more precisely, that image was beyond him.

 

[KOPV]

Also, could Michael have used this method as entertainment nowadays ? i truly believe the internet and in an era , and how everything is so open , so open. blew the lid off michael's style to entertain. i kind of hate the way internet killed the video star. (yet, genius beyond the grave , because they took it back to the stage think ONE , hologram performance etc ) But .....
could michael's phenomenal mystic persona and privacy values have survived the internet age. Could the internet era appreciate that ?

I'd say elements of what he used can be used now but definitely would have to be regenerated.. I mean take Beyoncé for example.. She has taken a play out of the book of MJ and has found a balance of reclusively (to create a demand) while still managing a level of relevance.

Also, todays age is more open to 'oddities', in a world that is more open to various differences - would be more accepting to Michael Jackson than lets say the 90s..


His biggest potential issue today would be being too recluse, so much so that people would not think he's relevant even if he's 100% capable of smashing the artistic challenge out there. Simply taking advantage of social media in a smart way would resolve that.. People want to feel they can touch a celebrity, they demand a sense of FEELING the person.. That's why now days all these artists name there fans, simply to feel like a part of the group..

 

[Mikky Dee]

I believe he was in a bookstore with the kids at the time.

Some people were saying these are post-it notes......they are way too small for that.....I think they are just tape or band-aids.
The bodyguards mentioned tape and said that MJ stated he was disguised as a burn victim, on this occasion.

Also, todays age is more open to 'oddities', in a world that is more open to various differences - would be more accepting to Michael Jackson than lets say the 90s..

I'm thinking it would have been wonderful if Michael had experienced a whole new level of acceptance, during his life-time.

 

[mj_frenzy]

MJ liked to disguise a lot.

But on one occasion he almost got in troubles by his particular habit.

In May (1989), MJ arrived in full disguise at Zales Jewelers store in Simi Valley (California) in order for him to simply buy things without being mobbed.

But one employee of the store became a bit suspicious of that customer who was constantly adjusting his mustache. A security guard was immediately called & approached the mysterious man.

The security guard asked the mysterious man to step outside. At the location even arrived three squad police cars.

But soon the mystery was solved. It was MJ who was that man behind that disguise (false mustache, baseball cap, sunglasses, etc) because he simply wanted to get unnoticed by fans/people.

In the end, MJ signed autographs for everyone there (employees, policemen, etc) & left.

Some people were saying these are post-it notes......they are way too small for that.....I think they are just tape or band-aids.
The bodyguards mentioned tape and said that MJ stated he was disguised as a burn victim, on this occasion.

They are of course way too small for being post-it notes.

In fact, they are small surgical plasters which were part of his disguise on that particular occasion in 2007.

 

[Erandi]

Honestly, I don't think so because that was a big part of his public persona (the mystery). I mean I think he would've been in a similar position to Prince, still creating music and doing other artistic endeavors, but not really in the spotlight. I think Michael is a 20th century artist through and through. You could even sense it way back in 2001. The way he was talking about the new generation of artists (like Britney Spears, NSync, Usher) made it seem like he was past his prime in a way, regardless of whether or not it was true. If you look back, that was the first time he started to feel that way, especially after turning 40. Even in the early 1990s before Dangerous came out, many speculated that Michael would become a has-been and that his sound would be stuck in the 80s, but he came out swinging with a fresh new style and reinvented himself for a new generation. But by the early 2000s, it was clear that he was ready to take a backseat. I know your initial point was that the internet and social media would have been the hurdles to his mystical persona (which they certainly would have), but somehow I find that around that time due to a multitude of factors, he was already over that type of image -- or more precisely, that image was beyond him.

I don't agree with the fact that Michael was ready to take a backseat in his 40's. If you'll watch the 45th Birthday Party put together by fans, you'll hear one of the longest and most honest speeches of him. You can feel he's talking straight from the heart to his "family everywhere". There, he's talking about the future and his plans and says that life's beautiful, he's young and he still had a lot to show. He wanted the fans to always be proud of him (also future!) and also planned a more direct contact to the fans. So, no, I don't think he would have retired, had it not been for the infamous 2003 allegations that ruined all that...