20 Years Later, 20 Things You May Not Have Known About Michael Jackson's HIStory

[Paris78]

http://www.people.com/article/michael-jackson-history-album-20th-anniversary

By Drew Mackie @drewgmackie

06/16/2015 AT 02:00 PM EDT

By 1995, Michael Jackson had people talking more than ever, but not just about his music. The King of Pop had endured a rough stretch since his previous album, 1991's Dangerous, and public scrutiny about his eccentric lifestyle had given way to allegations of sexual abuse starting in 1993.

That historical context makes HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I all the more interesting, because the double album served as both a response to the scandal – the new material is among Jackson's most personal ever – and a reminder of his professional accomplishments prior to the scandal; half of HIStory features hits from "Billie Jean" to "Heal the World."

The album first hit shelves on June 20, 1995, and we have taken the occasion to collect 20 HIStory trivia items that the casual Michael Jackson fan may not know.

1. It's one of the best-selling double albums ever.
[video=youtube;ybPQ4UpLncA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybPQ4UpLncA[/video]

2. There really was a Michael Jackson statue.

[video=youtube;3rBYO8sNoHw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rBYO8sNoHw[/video]
In 2014, artist Diana Walczak posted a video showing the creation of the iconic statue used on the album's cover.

3. "Scream" is reportedly the most expensive music video ever made.
[video=youtube;0P4A1K4lXDo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P4A1K4lXDo[/video]

Guinness World Records named this collaboration with Janet Jackson the most expensive production ever for a music video, and the reputation has consequently stuck. Director Mark Romanek, however, contests that title is unwarranted, telling NPR in 2010 that he knew of other videos of the era that "cost millions more." Nonetheless, a 2014 Forbes post still ranked "Scream" the priciest.

4. It also featured the first-ever profanity in a Michael Jackson song.
"Scream" was Jackson's response to what he claimed was unfair representation in the media, before and after the sex abuse allegations. It features the lyric "Stop pressuring me / Stop pressuring me / Stop f------ with me," which was uncharacteristic for the singer, who had previously sung for an all-ages audience.

5. "Scream" was leaked before its debut.
In May of 1995, Jackson heard "Scream" played on Los Angeles radio station KKBT 13 days before the song was to have been released. KKBT and a San Francisco sister station refused to say how they got the song early, according to The New York Times, and they played the song every hour until served with a cease-and-desist order.

6. You can see a young Jena Malone in the video for "Childhood."
[video=youtube;3lZ3IPVOi6Q]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lZ3IPVOi6Q[/video]

7. "You Are Not Alone" was the first song to debut at No. 1.

No previous song had debuted at the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100, according to Complex. However, only four weeks later, Mariah Carey's "Fantasy" became the second song to do so.

8. The video initially had Jackson appearing completely nude.

The video stirred controversy for showing rather intimate scenes between Jackson and his then-wife, Lisa Marie Presley. However, an early version of the video never released to the public allegedly featured Jackson fully nude – "floating naked in water," according to the New York Daily News – and the offending part had to be edited out digitally from the final cut.

Read more: http://www.people.com/article/michael-jackson-history-album-20th-anniversary

 

[Paris78]

michael bearden ?@MichaelBearden June 16th

#Repost ( I think about MJ a lot around this time of year.) Miss my friend. RIP! M~

On this date in 1995, #MichaelJackson released his first double-album #HIStory, which became the best-selling multiple-album of all-time, with 35 millions copies (70 million copies) sold worldwide. https://instagram.com/p/39twoUk5xe/

 

[reibish]

I think it's cool they mentioned the Sonic music thing. But SIM isn't the only song that is "similar" to the music.

 

[Bubs]

7. "You Are Not Alone" was the first song to debut at No. 1.

8. The video initially had Jackson appearing completely nude.

The video stirred controversy for showing rather intimate scenes between Jackson and his then-wife, Lisa Marie Presley. However, an early version of the video never released to the public allegedly featured Jackson fully nude – "floating naked in water," according to the New York Daily News – and the offending part had to be edited out digitally from the final cut.

I demand to see that version of naked Michael floating in water if there is one hidden somewhere

 

[Deleted member 9375]

Can't believe it's been 20 years since it's release!! I remember buying the album on tape cassette which came in a box to house the booklet also. Mad with myself ever since for selling the tap cassette version a few years later because I needed the cash at the time. Would love a mint condition copy of it on tape cassette again. Incredible album & run of great singles. One of my favourite memories is Earth Song being the Christmas No 1, other great songs in the chart that year were Bjork's It's Oh So Quite, Prince's Gold, The Beatles Free As A Bird, Oasis Wonderwall & of course Janet's The Best Things In Life Are Free. Happy days!!

I couldn't believe it that MJ came back with an album this good at the time, completely mind-blowing, & to have Janet on the first single!! Wow thinking back now it was awesome!!

 

[CrazyVegasMJ]

My fav MJ album...

 

[HIStory]

I demand to see that version of naked Michael floating in water if there is one hidden somewhere

I guess they mean the raw, unedited version of this.

 

[HIStory]

Another HIStory 20 article:

It’s The 20th Anniversary Of Michael Jackson’s Most Controversial, Savvy, And Personal Album: ‘HIStory’
BY MICHAEL DEPLAND • 06.16.15
TWEET
| LIKE699


VEVO/EPIC




In 1995, Michael Jackson was the biggest celebrity in the world, but not in the same way he was in 1985, or 1975. Mainly, because of this:






Michael had always been engaged in battles with the press, but when the accusation emerged that he had sexually abused a child, public perception shifted from him being eccentric to something far more sinister. The 1990s also brought the scrutiny of the 24-hour news cycle, intensifying the scrutiny of a megastar like Jackson tenfold.


Combining this with his codependency on painkillers, the Michael Jackson that most knew and loved almost became a memory. Knowing that his next album could make or break his entire career and livelihood, he decided to create the biggest album he possibly could. These are the origins of his ninth studio album, HIStory, released 20 years ago this week.


The first, and perhaps smartest, move he made was deciding to make HIStory a double album: The first disc a greatest hits collection from his 20 year-career, the second composed of new material. This shrewd decision is what would put butts in the seats to listen to the defiant, fiery missives aimed at all he felt attacked or abandoned him.


Right out of the gate, Michael made a huge splash with the most expensive video of all-time to this day in “Scream.” The duet with his sister Janet Jackson seemed to be a screed against injustice, but the truth is that it was the soft introduction to this album, a huge kissoff to the press, the police, and his new assumed identity as public victim.






HIStory is filled with these combative songs, like “D.S.,” in which he calls out the Santa Barbara District Attorney nearly by name (he changes it from Tom Sneddon to Dom Sheldon, not exactly a riddle); “Money,” which indirectly targets the parents who he settled out of court with for millions of dollars, calling calls them liars; and “Tabloid Junkie,” aimed at the press.


But none of these potential lightning rods were singles. The entry to these “iron fist”-like album cuts were the polished “velvet glove” singles like “Scream,” “You Are Not Alone,” and “Earth Song.” However, Michael’s most controversial song, “They Don’t Care About Us,” was released as a single in the spring of 1996, and it nearly took down his career.






The original pressings of the album featured a version of the song containing the lyrics “Jew me, sue me, everybody do me/ Kick me, **** me, don’t you black or white me.” Michael described the song as a outcry against racism, but charges of him being anti-Semitic immediately plagued the album’s release, and he spoke with the New York Times to squash the accusations of bigotry:


The idea that these lyrics could be deemed objectionable is extremely hurtful to me, and misleading. The song in fact is about the pain of prejudice and hate and is a way to draw attention to social and political problems. I am the voice of the accused and the attacked. I am the voice of everyone. I am the skinhead, I am the Jew, I am the black man, I am the white man. I am not the one who was attacking. It is about the injustices to young people and how the system can wrongfully accuse them. I am angry and outraged that I could be so misinterpreted.


Though the album had already shipped 2 million copies, he promised the slurs would be scrubbed from future copies. Jackson, trying to clarify his original intent with the song, filmed a second video staged in a prison to hammer home an “injustice” angle, with footage of KKK burnings and war crimes, but it was effectively banned for its violence. Fighting this, he accused Sony of being racist and battled with them until his next release, Invincible, in 2001.


HIStory truly was his last stand as an artist. Following all of the money spent on the album, emotional toil, and controversy, Michael fell back into painkiller abuse. He grew weaker and, without new music, became even more of a punchline. His last official studio album, Invincible, was financed in majority by Michael and notably underpromoted by Sony — so much so that Michael took his private war with them public, calling them “racist” and “devilish.” And his second child abuse trial, despite the “not guilty” verdict, would eventually bankrupt him and tarnish his career for good.


For those who didn’t live through it, it almost sounds far-fetched, but Michael Jackson was truly the biggest and most beloved thing on Earth. Despite all of the controversy, HIStory sold 30 million copies, making it the highest-selling multi-disc album of all-time. It’s almost ironic that the cover of the album is a giant, nearly megalomaniac monument of the King of Pop. Following its release, that “statue” would essentially come tumbling down. It would be the last time in history that he truly ruled the music world.

http://uproxx.com/music/2015/06/michael-jackson-history-20th-anniversary/

 

[Paris78]

Spotify USA ?@SpotifyUSA June 16th
20 years ago, this @michaeljackson's double album cemented his place as the King of Pop: http://spoti.fi/1QC807d

 

[barbee0715]

Another HIStory 20 article:



http://uproxx.com/music/2015/06/michael-jackson-history-20th-anniversary/

I made a comment on their site last night that it baffled and still baffles my mind that those lyrics could be so misconstrued as anti Semitic and the only possible solution is that it was deliberately misconstrued.

My favorite line in this, though, is "for people who didn't live through it, it sounds far fetched." And isn't that the absolute truth. The whole story sounds like a......story. Not real life. It's a nightmare or a horror movie. Not somebody's life.

 

[Paris78]

How Michael managed the soldiers/dancers in HIStory by LaVelle Smith Jr.

From http://espacomichaeljackson.blogspot.pt/…/history-teaser.ht…
By LaVelle Smith Jr.

(auto translation thru Bing)

Michael Jackson loved the precision of a military March. Since my first creation of the military style Allen Screw in ' jam ", We always we discussed very the military movements percussivos. The 'History Teaser' was the perfect opportunity to explore and discover the military movements.

The feeling in this production with Michael, was that something colossal was happening and I was part of that. Selecionámos 20 dancers from us and we work with real soldiers from all over the world. Also we use the 20 dancers as captains, we have taught us the the dance, then we saw the lesson of the soldiers by the dancers. The most difficult thing was to keep the queues perfectly straight.

I remember that the original Allen Screw was very difficult for the soldiers, Michael said that he loved it, but that was too complicated for anyone who was not a dancer. He has been simplified and carefully taught to between 3 and 5 thousand people. We have had long days, but the weather was consistently happy. Marching on the bridge at dusk, Marching in the street in a parade of confetti, seeing the statue of Michael to float on the river, everything has conspired to create a epic and historic event of life.

http://espacomichaeljackson.blogspot.pt/…/history-teaser.ht…

 

[ILoveHIStory]

Diana Walczak sculpting Michael Jackson HIStory Statue - http://www.mjjcommunity.com/forum/t...czak-sculpting-Michael-Jackson-HIStory-Statue

Video footage edited in 1994 of Diana Walczak sculpting the original Michael Jackson HIStory statue as well as digitizing it and creating the album cover image.

PLUS

 

[maja]

8. The video initially had Jackson appearing completely nude.

That would be a nice HIStory 25 celebration treat, don't you think?

I'm dreaming of a huge HIStory 25 exlusive box set anyway.. a concert, behind the scenes footage, maybe some unreleased tracks/demos. I was hoping for that for the 20th anniversary but I guess they wait until HIStory 25. *keeping fingers crossed* :wild::yes:

 

[ChrisC]

Woah. What's the gold statue colour stills from? A video?

 

[ILoveHIStory]

“The Jackson Statues”1995 | The Pop History Dig
http://www.pophistorydig.com/topics/“the-jackson-statues”1995/

One of Michael Jackson’s 9 ‘HIStory’ promo statues being floated on the Thames River in London, June 1995.

One of the Jackson statues being positioned by crane in Berlin, June 26, 1995.

Six-foot Michael Jackson cardboard replicas of the statue were also used.

Another view of one of the Michael Jackson statues built to promote his ‘HIStory’ album, displayed at Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

Another of the Jackson statues that appears to be in a park. Note young boy near base. Location unknown.

+ MJJC archive - http://www.mjjcommunity.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-52322.html?

Michael Jackson HIStory Statue - London River Thames (BBC News Report)
<iframe width="640" height="390" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/t6JAGA7W-DI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


In 1995, music pop star Michael Jackson and his record label, Sony Music, were preparing for the release of a new album &#8212; what would become Jackson&#8217;s HIStory: Past, Present & Future, Book 1. The project would become one of the most expensive music product promotions ever. Part of the plan for promoting this album came from Jackson himself. Reportedly, when record executives asked him what he thought might be done, Jackson told the Sony executives &#8220;build a statue of me.&#8221; Not only did Sony build one statue of Jackson &#8212; they built nine of them, each about 32 feet tall, constructed with steel and fibreglass. These Jackson statues &#8212; with Michael cast in military garb, bandolier across his chest, fists clenched at his side, gazing off into the distance &#8212; were placed strategically in European cities in June 1995. They became center pieces in an elaborate $30 million campaign to promote Jackson and his new album.

On June 15th, 1995, one of the giant Jacksons was floated on a barge through London, England down the Thames River. London&#8217;s Tower Bridge was raised to let the giant Jackson pass through. The statue was then moored near the Tower of London for a week before &#8220;touring the country.&#8221; About a week later, on June 29th, another of the Jackson statues was put into its promotional position in Berlin, Germany, lowered there by a giant construction crane at Alexanderplatz. Photos of the Jackson statue were also used variously on the covers of concert tickets, CDs, and DVDs serving as an image theme throughout the HIStory campaign.

Jackson&#8217;s &#8220;HIStory&#8221;

HIStory was Michael Jackson&#8217;s ninth studio album. It was a double disc set, a combination of past hits and new material. Recording started in September 1994 and continued through early spring 1995. Some of the songs Jackson wrote attacked the press and tabloids for their criticism of him. By this time in his career, Jackson had begun facing criticism and there had been one 1993 charge of sexual abuse charges from a 13 year old boy &#8212; a case that was later settled out of court. Still, Jackson had a huge global following and he became personally invested in the success of his HIStory album and its related activities. He was heavily involved in the production of the album and its promotion. He also made an extravagant &#8220;teaser&#8221; video to promote the album that would run on MTV, in movie theaters and elsewhere. In the video, Jackson is shown in full military garb, striding amid hundreds of Eastern Bloc-type soldiers past delirious fans. He shot the video in Hungary and hired Hungarian soldiers to march in it. The video cost some $4 million to make. &#8220;When they were shooting this thing in Hungary,&#8221; said Dan Beck, a senior marketing executive who worked on the video, &#8220;the production company would call me in the middle of the night and say, &#8216;Michael wants more troops&#8217;.&#8221; Beck, relaying this tale to the New York Times years later, added of Jackson: &#8220;He dreamed the big dream. It was P. T. Barnum.&#8221;

Prior to the release of the album, Jackson &#8212; then married to Lisa Marie Presley &#8212; appeared on U.S. television. On June 14th, he and Lisa Marie appeared together on the American TV show, Prime Time Live, for the full hour in an interview with Diane Sawyer. On the show Jackson and Lisa Marie revealed some details of their marriage and Jackson discussed his music and career. The program was seen by some 60 million viewers and was one of the most watched programs that year. The following day in London (Friday, June 16, 1995), Sony floated the huge Michael Jackson statue down the River Thames to publicize the next day&#8217;s release of the HIStory album. This statue, and eight others, were each 32-feet tall, weighed about 4,625- pounds, built with a steel truss frame and fibreglass surface. According to one report, it took a team of at least 30 people to build the statues over a three-month period, and additional expense and manpower to put them into position. There were also 6-foot cardboard versions of the statue as part of the promotion.

HIStory, meanwhile, was released for worldwide sale on June 18th, 1995. The two-disc album was a compilation of old and new material. The first disc featured 15 Jackson hits from 1979-1991 period. The second featured 15 new tracks, some collaborations, including those with rappers Shaquille O&#8217;Neill and Notorious B.I.G, singers Boyz II Men, and guitarist Slash. A few of Jackson&#8217;s songs struck some reviewers as angry and defensive, as Jackson used some of his song lyrics to fight back against the bad press he was then getting. The album/CD also came with a 52-page color booklet with photos, lyrics, and artwork, featuring Jackson as a popular and beloved figure with endorsements from Stephen Spielberg and Elizabeth Taylor. The booklet also listed Jackson&#8217;s various music awards and showed him in photographs with U.S. Presidents and surrounded by adoring children.

&#8220;From its packaging to its songs,&#8221; wrote the New York Times&#8217; Jon Pareles in June 1995, &#8220;HIStory is a psychobiographer&#8217;s playground. Everything is on a gargantuan scale&#8230;&#8221; Pareles especially noted the military and statue-related scenes in Jackson&#8217;s video teaser released to promote the album. Chris Willman of the Los Angeles Times, also reviewing the album and its video promo, noted the &#8220;King of Pop&#8221; placards placed among the admiring throngs in the video, and also a well-placed child calling out, &#8220;I love you, Michael!&#8221; Willman concluded: &#8220;The clip doesn&#8217;t just stop at representing previously known levels of Michael mania, it goes well beyond the bounds of self-congratulation to become perhaps the most baldly vainglorious self-deification a pop singer has yet deigned to share with his public, at least with a straight face.&#8221;


Sales Boom
HIStory broke sales records in its first week on the charts. In the U.K. it sold 100,000 copies in just two days and in Australia the advance order of 130,000 copies was the largest initial shipment in Sony Australia&#8217;s history. Similar sales figures were witnessed all over Europe. In the U.S. and 18 other countries, the album went to No. 1. In the U.S. and 18 other countries, the album went to No. 1. Sales would eventually surpass 15 million copies. Sony reported in August 1995, that sales at its two music subsidiaries in Japan and the U.S. rose 2.2 percent largely because of Jackson&#8217;s HIStory album. Sony added in its report that the album had sold six million copies worldwide. Sales would eventually surpass 15 million copies. In addition, five singles from the album were also released. &#8220;You Are Not Alone,&#8221; for example, broke a world record becoming the first-ever single to debut at No.1 on the Billboard music charts. In the year following the album&#8217;s release, a HIStory World Tour began on September 7, 1996. Jackson performed 82 concerts in 58 cities covering 35 countries on five continents. More than 4.5 million fans saw the show, and the tour became one of Jackson&#8217;s most successful in terms of total audience. The tour ended on October 15, 1997; it grossed a total of $163.5 million.

Financial Straits
Jackson by this time appears to have needed every bit of money he could make from the sale of the HIStory album and his HIStory World Tour. By November 1995, for example, Jackson had sold a 50 percent stake in the Beatles song catalog he owned for more than $100 million, which one adviser at the time said would help shore up Jackson&#8217;s wobbling accounts.
As for the nine, giant Michael Jackson statues, it is not known what their final disposition was in every case. Although built with substantial materials as noted above, these statues, as far as is known, were not intended for permanent installation anywhere. However, it appears that some of the statues have been placed in parks and other locations more or less permanently. In the photo at left, for example, this Michael Jackson statue from the 1995 promotion is found in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, according to Wikipedia, and may be a permanent installation there. It is quite possible that the remaining Jackson statues have also been placed in other locations following their use in the promotion. Others may have been destroyed, acquired by collectors, or perhaps are stored in a Sony Music warehouse somewhere.

It is known, however, that at the time of their use in 1995, there was a fair amount of criticism of Jackson and Sony for the initiative, some calling it &#8220;excessive,&#8221; &#8220;over the top,&#8221; and worse. But hey, Michael Jackson was a showman; this is what he did in life, all the world was his stage. He was also a businessman and an entertainment marketer. In any case, many of Jackson&#8217;s fans in 1995, despite his critics, were excited by, and enthusiastic supporters of, his HIStory promotion gig, however overblown it may have seemed to others.

 

[ILoveHIStory]

Michael Jackson at the Geneva Festival 2010, Switzerland: A Fireworks Rock Concert for all ages



Incredible Geneva Festival 2010 Fireworks show on Lake Geneva, Aug.7.
Filmed in front of the memorial statue of non other than Michael Jackson, King of Pop.
Note the appearance of the famous fountain of Lake Geneva. The drama of the fireworks display befits Michael Jackson's dramatic stage performances. Feels like I am watching his concert. You have to see till the end and you will understand why.
Lucky to catch the moment of light. Michael still lives indeed.

 

[Bubs]

It is known, however, that at the time of their use in 1995, there was a fair amount of criticism of Jackson and Sony for the initiative, some calling it &#8220;excessive,&#8221; &#8220;over the top,&#8221; and worse. But hey, Michael Jackson was a showman; this is what he did in life, all the world was his stage. He was also a businessman and an entertainment marketer. In any case, many of Jackson&#8217;s fans in 1995, despite his critics, were excited by, and enthusiastic supporters of, his HIStory promotion gig, however overblown it may have seemed to others.

Thank God for Michael and other people like him that went with "Think Big". World would have been a lot more boring place if there weren't people like Michael. I absolutely love everything about History, it is big, it is bold and most definitely in your face. I think Michael was figuratively showing his middle finger to certain naysayers:clapping:

 

[TinnyandOdd]

I've always been curious what happened to these statues now in 2015? I know one of them is in a McDonald's parking lot in the Holland I believe? I believe I posted that photo in the topic about the MJ Tourist book?

 

[ILoveHIStory]

I've always been curious what happened to these statues now in 2015? I know one of them is in a McDonald's parking lot in the Holland I believe? I believe I posted that photo in the topic about the MJ Tourist book?

Iam not sure what exactly is written in the tourist guide book, but there was a thread about the statues in 2008, in the MJJC archive - http://www.mjjcommunity.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-52322.html?

But here are the pics of the statues from past.

Here are some of the best pics:

 

[ILoveHIStory]

MICHAEL JACKSON - HIStory
The Statue - Thursday, 15th June 1995

On 15th June 1995, Michael Jackson - 'The Statue' - will be sailing down the River Thames on a barge, towed along by a tug.

THE STATUE

Height:
10 metres.

Weight:
2,100 kilos with plinth.

Material:
A steel truss frame with fibreglass cladding.

Construction:
The statue took a team of 30 people working around the clock three months to build.

The Making Of:
The statues were built in Hertfordshire by the sculptor, Derek Haworth. Derek designed the statues by looking at photographs of Michael Jackson.

Number of Statues:
There are nine statues in total throughout Europe - London, Milan, Paris, Madrid, Prague, Zurich, Berlin, Vienna and Holland.

Route of Statue:
Down the River Thames.

Location:
The London statue will be moored by Tower Bridge. After seven days it will go on tour.

 

[TinnyandOdd]

Oh I remember the topic from 2008 - 2010 I was just saying I wonder where they are now since it's been 5-7 years since the last post. A lot happens in 5 years I'm assuming they got destroyed, which is kind of a shame, but they were also fairly huge, and only meant as promo. Imagine if one popped up on eBay. Haha. Now that would be expensive shipping

 

[Tony R]

Everything about History was fantastic as in the music & short films.

But the statue & cover are horrible. Pompous & self-agrandising.

Totally uneccessary & undermined the quality of the material.

 

[SmoothMJ]

Everything about History was fantastic as in the music & short films.

But the statue & cover are horrible. Pompous & self-agrandising.

Totally uneccessary & undermined the quality of the material.

Agree with the first part, but not the rest.

But then, my opinion has never been formed, or affected, by what the UK media say.

It got MJ the publicity he wanted. The 'negative' media reports would have come whatever. Without the statues to whine about, they would have found something else.

 

[barbee0715]

Everything about History was fantastic as in the music & short films.

But the statue & cover are horrible. Pompous & self-agrandising.

Totally uneccessary & undermined the quality of the material.

There are songs and short films in History that I don't care for, but that's my personal taste.

BUT, I thought the statue, cover, and History teaser were absolutely the most creative, brilliant ideas ever. The title HIStory with its double meaning for an autobiographical album was inspired. And the statue/teaser were only "pompous and self-aggrandizing" if a person really thought he did it with a "straight face." Which I didn't.

He's a master at promotion-and gets people talking-whether they like the music or not. And I took it like I took "Leave Me Alone"-a giant laugh out loud to his critics.

 

[Prince Of Pop]

I personally didn't care for the statue or album cover. It would have been a better cover with MJ doing that pose himself from one of his concert appearances, and having the fireworks falling behind him.

 

[Tony R]

Agree with the first part, but not the rest.

But then, my opinion has never been formed, or affected, by what the UK media say.

It got MJ the publicity he wanted. The 'negative' media reports would have come whatever. Without the statues to whine about, they would have found something else.

Where as my opinion is totally moulded by UK critics, hence me being a fan for 30+ years & supporting him without fail throughout 1993 & 2005.

 

[MJInnocent]

I love HIStory,it's quite possibly my favourite MJ album,Stranger in Moscow is up there with my all time fave tracks,I thought the promo stuff was great and the videos for the songs were fantastic,I think Scream would have done better in the UK charts had the video been released at the same time instead of being delayed,that shouldn't have been allowed to happen and I wish Michael hadn't given in and dropped the lyrics to TDCAU but overall an underrated album which is top drawer in my opinion.

 

[Annita]

The Best of Internet ?@TheBestofMJJ 13 Std.Vor 13 Stunden

Today's itunes chart - Michael Jackson's HIStory album
#1 Chile
#1 Ecuador
#1 Mexico
#1 Peru
#2 Argentina

 

[barbee0715]

If I could change one thing, I'd pick a still from the march with the soldiers for the album cover. They have great shots of that.

And yes, I think they should change the lyrics back in TDCAU.

 

[Paris78]

Joe Vogel retweetete
Steven James ?@TheLaunchMag June 20th
20 years ago today, Michael Jackson drops "HIStory" featuring #1 single "Scream" w/ his sister Janet