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MJ stripped back performances

Blues_Away2023

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I can't be the only one who has always been disappointed that Michael never performed any stripped back shows or gave a special intimate performance?

This was a missed opportunity by MJ. Watching the Pepsi commercial (I'll be there) with the different arrangement, this is one of my favorite vocals.

Could you imagine MJ singing Smile or Music and Me live and only accompanied by a piano and a few instruments?

He could have done it at Neverland like he did posing at the piano in the photos that were released. It would make a lovely background.

I know the HBO special would have been most like the above but that never happened obviously.
 
Michael Jackson was viewed as a showman, and people who attended his shows expected from him to swagger on stage, to dance energetically, to perform with all these special effects/theatrics (such as, explosions,), and so on.

Also, it appears that even Michael Jackson himself used to consider such stripped back shows very boring and pointless not only for him but also for his fans.

In any case, the singer did give such stripped back shows/special intimate performances every now and then.

For example, his 'Gone Too Soon' performance at Bill Clinton's Inaugural Gala (in 1992), his 'Elizabeth, I Love You' performance (in 1997), his 'You Were There' performance (in 1989) dedicated to Sammy Davis Jr., but these stripped back performances were hardly interesting for most of his fans.
 
A one off unplugged show would not have done him any harm.

We got the same show 3 tours in a row. By History he had lip synced 95% of it - now that's what I call a boring show!!

Some of the best vocal performances I've ever heard have been from an unplugged show. George Michael unplugged as an example.

His career needed to evolve but MJ was using the same formula.

I don't believe for a second that fans would not be interested in hearing Michael sing Smile completely live.
 
Blues_Away2023 said:
A one off unplugged show would not have done him any harm.

We got the same show 3 tours in a row. By History he had lip synced 95% of it - now that's what I call a boring show!!

Some of the best vocal performances I've ever heard have been from an unplugged show. George Michael unplugged as an example.

His career needed to evolve but MJ was using the same formula.

I don't believe for a second that fans would not be interested in hearing Michael sing Smile completely live.
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An one-off unplugged show would have done him harm in the sense that it would have contradicted the public's perception of him as a showman.

Note also that Michael Jackson's voice was not his strong suit, especially from the late '80s onwards.

George Michael was a better vocalist (than Michael Jackson) and he had more strength, stamina, and confidence to perform a fully live, unplugged show.

Michael Jackson used the same formula (for his shows) mainly because that was what his fans liked and expected from him.

Remember when he stated that if he tried to change some dance moves (on stage), his fans would have felt cheated by him (meaning that they paid to watch certain, already known dance moves from him).

Also, the fact that his 'HIStory' concerts were attended by over 4.5 million fans simply proved that these concerts were not boring at all for them.
 
mj_frenzy said:
An one-off unplugged show would have done him harm in the sense that it would have contradicted the public's perception of him as a showman.

Note also that Michael Jackson's voice was not his strong suit, especially from the late '80s onwards.

George Michael was a better vocalist (than Michael Jackson) and he had more strength, stamina, and confidence to perform a fully live, unplugged show.

Michael Jackson used the same formula (for his shows) mainly because that was what his fans liked and expected from him.

Remember when he stated that if he tried to change some dance moves (on stage), his fans would have felt cheated by him (meaning that they paid to watch certain, already known dance moves from him).

Also, the fact that his 'HIStory' concerts were attended by over 4.5 million fans simply proved that these concerts were not boring at all for them.
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Hard to argue with that tbh

I still think though a one off intimate show would have been a success.

The history tour is boring to watch now on YouTube. Being at the concert itself is a completely different ball game of course.
 
I know as he got older, it was difficult to full-on dance and sing fully LIVE, but I think his voice would have been sublime in an intimate performance where the dance and spectacle is not the focus.

He didn't need the huge spectacle, I mean, he was insanely talented of course, so all of that was just extra to me.
 
Maybe so he can appeal to young and old. Because if his performances were all stripped back, then the younger generation would not like it. But if his performances had the cool affects and all of that jazz, then it would capture the younger audience. And then the older generation would catch on and would enjoy it because it's Michael Jackson
 
mj_frenzy said:
Michael Jackson was viewed as a showman, and people who attended his shows expected from him to swagger on stage, to dance energetically, to perform with all these special effects/theatrics (such as, explosions,), and so on.

Also, it appears that even Michael Jackson himself used to consider such stripped back shows very boring and pointless not only for him but also for his fans.

In any case, the singer did give such stripped back shows/special intimate performances every now and then.

For example, his 'Gone Too Soon' performance at Bill Clinton's Inaugural Gala (in 1992), his 'Elizabeth, I Love You' performance (in 1997), his 'You Were There' performance (in 1989) dedicated to Sammy Davis Jr., but these stripped back performances were hardly interesting for most of his fans.
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He might have thought that but I definitely disagree; I think the fans would have loved more variation!
An MTV Unplugged show would have been great for instance! He could still dance away on his videos and tours. Less explosions/illusions/light effects at his tours would not have been a bad thing too imo. But yeah MJ liked spectacle, wanted to be a some kind of wizard and believed the audience wanted that. Like he also insisted the 'live' songs to sound the same as the recorded versions, with even go as far as lip-syncing. He thought the public wanted that, but I definitely don't agree with that either. I can understand it though, from an entertainer side
 
Blues_Away2023 said:
I can't be the only one who has always been disappointed that Michael never performed any stripped back shows or gave a special intimate performance?

This was a missed opportunity by MJ.
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Missed opportunity is the understatement of the century.

I would consider trading limbs and organs for the chance to see MJ in an intimate setting, LIVE VOCALS ON ALL SONGS, with only a small audience and intimate seating - possibly only a few hundred people.

Then I buy the thing on Blu-Ray / DVD, whatever. The big lip-synched shows were endlessly boring to me in the 90s. It amazes me that MJ didn't make this a priority after his first failed attempt.
 
Blues_Away2023 said:
I can't be the only one who has always been disappointed that Michael never performed any stripped back shows or gave a special intimate performance?
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YANA! :ROFLMAO:

There's been quite a few convos on this. I understand the reasons why he didn't do it but it's frustrating.

xam said:
I would consider trading limbs and organs for the chance to see MJ in an intimate setting, LIVE VOCALS ON ALL SONGS, with only a small audience and intimate seating - possibly only a few hundred people.
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I'd be happy with 2, 000 - 3, 000. A theatre venue. That number of people would qualify as 'intimate' for Michael since he would normally be in front of 70,000 people or more. I don't know how you would handle the logistics - disappointed fans congregating outside the theatre, for example - but since this can only ever be an unrealised fantasy I don't worry about those type of details, lol. In my mind, it's perfect.

I don't want the show to be longer than 90 minutes. No costume changes, dance routines or fancy stage effects, magic tricks etc. I'd like a section of the show to be just Michael's voice and a piano. The rest can be piano and a small chamber orchestra, maybe? Or his regular band - it doesn't have to be an unplugged thing, imo - but doing more low-key stuff. A decent number of ballads and mid-tempo things so his voice isn't overstretched. I haven't worked out all the details (bc it's pointless, lol) so I'm not seeking feedback here. Just saying, Michael was not just a showman, he was also a consummate vocalist and performer and he could easily - imo! - have designed a different kind of show. Clearly he didn't want to. But it's a shame.

xam said:
Then I buy the thing on Blu-Ray / DVD, whatever.
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Exactly! It would be a beautiful thing. For some people, this would not be a 'Michael Jackson' show but for me it absolutely would be.

"I like ballads because you get a chance to really hear what's going on ... everything is soft and slow and you get a chance to understand the lyrics."

Michael singing ODIYL - Live in Mexico 1975

4m 27s

 
@mjfanatic777 said:
Maybe so he can appeal to young and old. Because if his performances were all stripped back, then the younger generation would not like it. But if his performances had the cool affects and all of that jazz, then it would capture the younger audience. And then the older generation would catch on and would enjoy it because it's Michael Jackson
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We'll have to respectfully agree to disagree on this one, mj7. I'm not saying your points are invalid - not at all - but I see it differently. The type of show I have in mind would only be 80 - 90 mins in length. Not bc I think Michael's younger fans couldn't cope with a longer show. The notion that today's younger people have the attention span of a fruit fly is ... well, I'm not convinced. Taylor Swift is currently doing shows that last more than 3 hours and her fans seem to be coping just fine.

But still, a quieter, more low-key show might not seem instantly attractive but the show is going to be a short one so no-one has time to get bored or confused or whatever. I'm convinced that there are probably loads of Michael's fans who would have loved a stripped back show from him, they just aren't so vocal as the people who prefer the big stadium shows. There is also the fact that, sometimes an artist needs to give the audience something a little different, something a little bit unexpected.

And he wouldn't have needed to do hundreds of these low-key shows, necessarily. Bc once it's filmed and released on DVD / BluRay it's there for ever.

Who knows why Michael didn't want to do this type of show. Maybe he just wasn't feeling it. But I think it would have worked.
 
zinniabooklover said:
Who knows why Michael didn't want to do this type of show. Maybe he just wasn't feeling it. But I think it would have worked.
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Well that was basically the plan for the HBO One Night Only special in 1995. I remember how heartbreaking it was to arrive in nyc right as the news broke that he was taken by ambulance to the hospital.
 
Bogdan said:
Well that was basically the plan for the HBO One Night Only special in 1995. I remember how heartbreaking it was to arrive in nyc right as the news broke that he was taken by ambulance to the hospital.
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Did you have a ticket for the HBO special ? 😲
 
I remember when that HBO special was announced. I was 13 and thinking “wow, this show would be something totally different for him!” And I thought maybe, just maybe, I’d be able to go since the last time he was that close to/in Ontario, Canada I was 2 years old lol

But alas, it never came to be.
 
zinniabooklover said:
But still, a quieter, more low-key show might not seem instantly attractive but the show is going to be a short one so no-one has time to get bored or confused or whatever.
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ohhhh that's the part I did not get. I though it would be his normal length show ohhhhh sorry my bad!
 
zinniabooklover said:
We'll have to respectfully agree to disagree on this one, mj7. I'm not saying your points are invalid - not at all - but I see it differently. The type of show I have in mind would only be 80 - 90 mins in length. Not bc I think Michael's younger fans couldn't cope with a longer show. The notion that today's younger people have the attention span of a fruit fly is ... well, I'm not convinced. Taylor Swift is currently doing shows that last more than 3 hours and her fans seem to be coping just fine.

But still, a quieter, more low-key show might not seem instantly attractive but the show is going to be a short one so no-one has time to get bored or confused or whatever. I'm convinced that there are probably loads of Michael's fans who would have loved a stripped back show from him, they just aren't so vocal as the people who prefer the big stadium shows. There is also the fact that, sometimes an artist needs to give the audience something a little different, something a little bit unexpected.

And he wouldn't have needed to do hundreds of these low-key shows, necessarily. Bc once it's filmed and released on DVD / BluRay it's there for ever.

Who knows why Michael didn't want to do this type of show. Maybe he just wasn't feeling it. But I think it would have worked.
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Thank you for your thoughts, though!
 
Bogdan said:
Well that was basically the plan for the HBO One Night Only special in 1995. I remember how heartbreaking it was to arrive in nyc right as the news broke that he was taken by ambulance to the hospital.
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Was it really? I remember seeing and reading about the HBO show and thinking that it was basically the same show as others; less audience yes but not necissarily 'stripped down'..?
 
@mjfanatic777 said:
ohhhh that's the part I did not get. I though it would be his normal length show ohhhhh sorry my bad!
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omigosh, no! This is my fantasy, you understand, and I'm not having Michael doing 2.5 hrs or whatever. Precisely bc this is my fantasy I can organise these 'unplugged' gigs (or just low-key, they don't have to be unplugged) just however I want. They are going to be 90 mins max. They are short, intimate performances which showcase his wonderful vocal ability. Lots of ballads and mid-tempo stuff. New arrangements of songs like the jazzy start to TWYMMF in This Is It (or the 1988 Grammy's - turns out he'd been doing it for years but I didn't realise, lol). I think he'd be great doing some jazzy arrangements of his well-known songs although I want the shows to be much more about the songs that never made it onto the set list for BWT / DWT / HWT.

I could go on and on but I think I've made my point. :ROFLMAO:
 
These stripped down moments exist in the form of Jackson 5 concerts. In 1977 he does awesome versions of one day in your life and happy with a live band backing him in Venezuela for a tv show.

He did the same in 1976 for a concert in Manila. That show near the end he does 4 slow songs in a row I'll be there/happy/music and me and one day in your life.
His 1976 shows were great, he did shows in Manila and Quezon City and the setlist was not fixed. The slow songs he did in Manila were not part of the setlist in Quezon City a couple of days later.
 
I would absolutely love it
zinniabooklover said:
YANA! :ROFLMAO:

There's been quite a few convos on this. I understand the reasons why he didn't do it but it's frustrating.


I'd be happy with 2, 000 - 3, 000. A theatre venue. That number of people would qualify as 'intimate' for Michael since he would normally be in front of 70,000 people or more. I don't know how you would handle the logistics - disappointed fans congregating outside the theatre, for example - but since this can only ever be an unrealised fantasy I don't worry about those type of details, lol. In my mind, it's perfect.

I don't want the show to be longer than 90 minutes. No costume changes, dance routines or fancy stage effects, magic tricks etc. I'd like a section of the show to be just Michael's voice and a piano. The rest can be piano and a small chamber orchestra, maybe? Or his regular band - it doesn't have to be an unplugged thing, imo - but doing more low-key stuff. A decent number of ballads and mid-tempo things so his voice isn't overstretched. I haven't worked out all the details (bc it's pointless, lol) so I'm not seeking feedback here. Just saying, Michael was not just a showman, he was also a consummate vocalist and performer and he could easily - imo! - have designed a different kind of show. Clearly he didn't want to. But it's a shame.


Exactly! It would be a beautiful thing. For some people, this would not be a 'Michael Jackson' show but for me it absolutely would be.

"I like ballads because you get a chance to really hear what's going on ... everything is soft and slow and you get a chance to understand the lyrics."

Michael singing ODIYL - Live in Mexico 1975

4m 27s

Click to expand...
I would absolutely love it.

One day in your live with Michael's mature voice would be sublime , Smile at the piano , just pure live vocals.

The Pepsi commercial of I'll be there, imagine a special show with this type of arrangement.

I find it crazy that some fans wouldn't be up for that. It's nuts , they would rather he lip synced his way through the OTW medley like on History tour rather than this.

Clearly the younger generation who don't appreciate a beautiful live voice.

Adele is doing that right now in Vegas
 
Victorious said:
Was it really? I remember seeing and reading about the HBO show and thinking that it was basically the same show as others; less audience yes but not necissarily 'stripped down'..?
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The 'HBO One Night Only' shows were meant to be stripped down.

One example is his 'Dangerous' planned performance, which was meant to be stripped down, and thus very different compared to the usual, energetic one.

The singer intentionally chose such an intimate venue (Beacon Theater) because he wanted to get closer to his American fans.

According to press reports, the show would have included a 6-piece band, a 40-piece orchestra and 32 dancers.

Michael Jackson would perform only his classic hits on the first show, and he would perform only certain new songs from his 'HIStory' album (second disc) on the second show.

Michael Jackson was feeling unwell several days before his collapse.
zinniabooklover said:
Who knows why Michael didn't want to do this type of show. Maybe he just wasn't feeling it. But I think it would have worked.
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It seems that Michael Jackson did not really want to do this type of show.

If he really wanted to, he would have easily rescheduled it for a future date.

After all, everything was pretty much done (music, mixes, orchestrations, dance choreographies, and so on).
 
mj_frenzy said:
It seems that Michael Jackson did not really want to do this type of show.
If he really wanted to, he would have easily rescheduled it for a future date.
After all, everything was pretty much done (music, mixes, orchestrations, dance choreographies, and so on).
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I wasn't actually talking about the HBO thing. I was talking in general terms.
 
no, I’m glad that michael was an overall entertainer and visual artist. I can’t imagine him not dancing. that’s a large reason I became a fan in the first place. it’s part of what made him special. I don’t like ballads for the most part (with the exception of ‘human nature’).

 
83magic said:
no, I’m glad that michael was an overall entertainer and visual artist. I can’t imagine him not dancing. that’s a large reason I became a fan in the first place. it’s part of what made him special. I don’t like ballads for the most part (with the exception of ‘human nature’).
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But by doing an intimate show it would have really been a platform for MJ to show off his vocal talent.

He had a beautiful singing voice (when not out of breath)

We all loved watching the leaked footage of him recording childhood and how perfect his voice was. It would have been amazing to hear him just sing. No smoke and mirrors and no dance routines.

A one off show would have been brilliant.
 
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