Thriller

Michael Jackson was possibly the king of pop music, and his music is possibly the most well know in the world. My issue is not with his talent, which is undeniable, my concern is the individual himself. I am aware that it might seem distasteful to criticize someone who has passed away, but criticism is not my intention. I want to look at the effects success had on Michael Jackson.

Forget your Justin Bieber's and Lady Gaga's, Michael was the biggest and the richest musician that has ever lived, he was also the most famous, this is not mere opinion as it has been recognised by the guinness book of world records. This man has contribute more to dance, fashion and music then any other individual dead or alive and this is why he saw such success.

Sadly however Michael Jackson was not perfect, his huge wealth led to the development of an addiction to spending; Michael was infamous for spending literally millions per binge and this led to his financial demise. By the end of his career he had sold 750 million records and won more awards then any other artist in history but he was tainted from constant negative press and his addiction to spending money. Michael received huge media attention when it came out that he had been having medical assistance to change the colour of his skin, and although he denied this to start of with, it became clear pretty soon that he had in fact had his skin bleached; this was an act that lost him a great many supporters, particularly in the African-american community. Such was his overall popularity that any amount of negative press would not dent the millions of fans he had over the world. Another scandle that tainted his reputation was that of Child molesting, and although nothing was ever proved, it didn't help his wavering supporters.

The addiction to spending money was the result of what was reported to be a $900 million fortune, some even claim that his bank balance alone reached levels close to this which would have made him the first billionaire musician if you take into consideration his assets and the music catalogue he owned, including all of the Beatles tracks which he reportedly paid $46 million for;however much of this was rough estimation and speculation. There was also another side to Michael; by the end of his life in 2009, he had donated £300 million to charity's across the world and although he had received so much negative media attention over his career, he funeral in 2009 was the most high profile in history, with over 1 billion viewers across the world.

To summarise: Although flawed, Michael Jackson was and is the Most successful and most loved musician ever and he has donated more money then any other celebrity. Arguably money corrupted him slightly and at times his fame hindered him, but over all he was a man that standards are now set by and that is a feat to which all can strive for.

Justin Bieber

Justin Bieber, possibly the most famous person on the face of the planet right now. Justin has sold millions of records and his music video for his hit single "baby" has over  700 million views, but why is he so popular?


Personally i don't like Justin Bieber, because i feel that he is a representation of the corporate nature of pop music. Justin does not write his own music, nor does he produce any of his own material. The same can be said about what he wears and what he says to journalists, all of these things are or-castrated by his huge entourage. When Justin finishes singing his lyrics in the studio, a team of experts tunes his voice digitally to give the listeners the impression that this young music star has the perfect voice, which is of course not true.


It is a illusion created by a corporation, he has talent and he is a good looking guy, but he has been moulded and altered in every conceivable way to appear to be perfect. Although you cannot deny his success, if you take into consideration the amount of money and help that he has received it really is no surprise. 


I make a point of avoiding most chart music, because i am not a fan of what i call the "auto-tune generation", i prefer artists who not only write there own material, but wear what they want and are not mere puppets for a large music label, artists such as Ed Sheeran. Ed spent his early career touring around pubs and clubs getting any gig he could, and a few years ago he made his break by featuring on the YouTube music channel "SB.TV", and since then has seen global success. Ed's voice is genuine talent, he writes his own music and lyrics and always has huge involvement in the theme and creation of his music videos. 


Maybe it would be harsh to blame Justin for what he is, maybe it is the fault of the large record labels and the corporate nature of the music business?