Thanks to MJJHistory for this. In the new book for "Thriller 25" it says: "Today, Michael Jackson enjoys an awareness level of more than 97.2% worldwide, only surpassed by Coca-Cola and the pope".
Thanks to MJJHistory for this. In the new book for "Thriller 25" it says: "Today, Michael Jackson enjoys an awareness level of more than 97.2% worldwide, only surpassed by Coca-Cola and the pope".
And ya'll know Coke and the Pope don't count. Coke is a product, not a person, and the Pope is a symbol of Christianity, not really recocnizable for himself but for what he represents. On top of which who the Pope is isn't constant, there's every so often a new one. Like I said before in this thread, most people wouldn't recognize him if he walked down the street in regular cloths, but everyone would recognize Michael if he walked down the street in regular cloths.
Now you know there's no one in the world today or in the past who has ever achieved that level of recognition. I mean, THINK of what that means. Over 97% of the world's population knows who Michael is, that's billions upon billions of people. Don't say Jesus, same deal as the Pope and nobody even knows what the dude really looked like.
:clapping::clapping::clapping: You are so right about Elvis. There was never an Elvis hysteria. He was never mobbed in the streets. People didn't mob celebs in Elvis's days. I doubt they even know what they looked like, as they had no tv or media to see them with. Elvis's music was huge in the dance halls and juke boxes but people did not flock to buy music. They had nothing to play it with. Radio was their only means oif entertainment.i honestly aint read the previous respsonses but here is mine...
people can argue all day about who WAS the biggest, MJ, Elvis, Beatles.. I'll tell you now it was NOT Elvis... his popularity was restricted to Amercia, and he never actually toured outside the states. His record sales are not what they myth surrounding them makes them sound like, and his talents were limited in reality. Beatles were massive and caused mobs and hysteria and sold hundreds of millions of records, but their fame was shortlived as a performing group. Splits, relationships and deaths. They didnt dance and to me, they just bore me - not an entertainment package, just a group of alright singers and great songwriters. Michael Jackson was a star from 1970 until NOW.. 38 years of being one of the worlds most demanded entertainers!...he is STILL in demand... even when he is doing nothing, people are still excited at the mention of his name. Even now, when he arrives at an airport, he is mobbed. Even now, he has fans following him globally and camping outside his hotels. This is without even having released musc in years! And this adoration is GLOBAL! People in Japan, Germany, UK, everywhere FLOCK for Michael Jackson.
Bein the MJ fan I am of course I believe Michael WAS the biggest (in the past) and will REMAIN unbeaten in that sense.
I dont believe the word "superstar" exists anymore.
I dont see anyone setting the world on fire, causing mass hysteria, doing incredible things musically or entertainment wise.
Maybe Michael can get back in the region of superstar once more, but anyone else, nope, i cannot see it... I dont think the public will accept another artist as a superstar because like, when you are following up on someone, you get compared... like "wow Elvis cool" .. "wow James Brown so cool".. "wow Beatles so cool" then "wow Michael Jackson even cooler" and now no one can compare to Michael Jackson. Its like, a talent like that comes once in a lifetime. That talent has come, and is still with us, but once its gone I dont expect to see it EVER again. (not just saying that coz im a MJ fan, thats actually for real. He is the ultimate entertainment package)
I don't care. I didn't say Jesus didn't exsist, I just said nobody here knows what he looks like. Mechi, that's what it says in an official released publication directly related to Michael and since the percentage is so exact, I assume they must have come to the number through research. Apparently, nothing will satisfy you and you are simply arguing the point for arguments sake. If you have to have every single reason for why a certain conclusion was reached mapped out for you, then I'm afraid you're going to be dissatisfied with most things in life. You can go on believeing that there isn't sufficient enough evidence that Michael is the most famous person on the planet, but you're in the minority in arguing that fact, because it is widely recognized that he indeed is and several, three that I'm aware of, study's have shown that he is, study's which DID conduct research. Just because we don't see it doesn't mean they didn't used some sort of equation or method to reach the answer. Just because we don't have them on hand doesn't mean we're lying about them. They HAD to have used research to reach such a specific number and just because you don't see it doesn't mean it's not legit.
Well you had Prince, Boy George, George Michael, Bobby Brown, Lionel Richie, Billy Joel, Phil Collins, etc... Michael was and is unique in what he had to offer though, on top of which he has an enigmatic personality, and those factors, combined with the timing is what led to his success. Michael is special.
You have a greater slew of young, male solo acts today, that's true, but they're quality as compared to back then is far lower. It's quantity over quality these days and there is an oversaturation of the market, one act offering basically the same thing as the next. Which, as you pointed out, leads to lower sales and interest. You don't have artists that stand out now a days. When Michael was in his early 20s, every artist had something to offer which seperated them from the rest of the pack, and they had legitimate talent. Michael stood out completely because he had the unique combination of world class vocal and dance talent, and that combination is still unique today. The industry tries to make it seem common with acts like Usher and Chris Brown, but it's not the same and anyone who knows anything about singing and dancing knows that. It's just imitation of the real thing. Which is why you see Michael still outselling todays top acts. "Invincible", with practically zero marketing, sold as many copies as Justin's first solo record, which in contrast had heavy promotion. And Michael, in this decade, with only one album release and a slew of greatest hits packages, has outsold every artist in the world except Eminem. It's because he's unique and people know it. There's more choice today, but there's less quality and it's more then likely that todays top acts would have been lucky to land a record contract back in the 80s. The competition today is a lot less steep, over all, and it's easier to get a foot hold in such a weak playing field.
i honestly aint read the previous respsonses but here is mine...
people can argue all day about who WAS the biggest, MJ, Elvis, Beatles.. I'll tell you now it was NOT Elvis... his popularity was restricted to Amercia, and he never actually toured outside the states. His record sales are not what they myth surrounding them makes them sound like, and his talents were limited in reality. Beatles were massive and caused mobs and hysteria and sold hundreds of millions of records, but their fame was shortlived as a performing group. Splits, relationships and deaths. They didnt dance and to me, they just bore me - not an entertainment package, just a group of alright singers and great songwriters. Michael Jackson was a star from 1970 until NOW.. 38 years of being one of the worlds most demanded entertainers!...he is STILL in demand... even when he is doing nothing, people are still excited at the mention of his name. Even now, when he arrives at an airport, he is mobbed. Even now, he has fans following him globally and camping outside his hotels. This is without even having released musc in years! And this adoration is GLOBAL! People in Japan, Germany, UK, everywhere FLOCK for Michael Jackson.
Bein the MJ fan I am of course I believe Michael WAS the biggest (in the past) and will REMAIN unbeaten in that sense.
I dont believe the word "superstar" exists anymore.
I dont see anyone setting the world on fire, causing mass hysteria, doing incredible things musically or entertainment wise.
Maybe Michael can get back in the region of superstar once more, but anyone else, nope, i cannot see it... I dont think the public will accept another artist as a superstar because like, when you are following up on someone, you get compared... like "wow Elvis cool" .. "wow James Brown so cool".. "wow Beatles so cool" then "wow Michael Jackson even cooler" and now no one can compare to Michael Jackson. Its like, a talent like that comes once in a lifetime. That talent has come, and is still with us, but once its gone I dont expect to see it EVER again. (not just saying that coz im a MJ fan, thats actually for real. He is the ultimate entertainment package)
I understand what you're saying LovelyOne, but I think that it must also be understood that the likelihood for someone in the future to be as great as Michael Jackson, and impact the world as he has done, is INCREDIBLY UNLIKELY. If music was the way it was back then, right now, then I can see there being an opening in the future for more musical greats like the era MJ came out of. But this world we live in now is sooo different than back then. Popular music is nowhere near the quality of what it once was, and the people that are considered the "greats" are a far fetch from the real greats from back in the day. These people today have become popular based much more on their appearance and personalities than actual talent, and I consider them to actually be "dumbing down" the real art of music, instead of taking it to new heights. They are cocky, and for no damn good reason. If you believe, like I believe, that people are mainly products of their environment, then it's gonna be real tough for someone to come out with the artistic talents of a Michael or Stevie, or Elton when they have grown up hearing Timbaland, Pussycat Dolls, and Rihanna. It's not gonna happen.
And music now sucks, period. If you can't see that, then don't talk to me.
i completely understand what you mean but when people say "music today sucks", they obviously refer to the mainstream side of it since this is what the masses are getting.dammmm i hate it when someone says this.
there is some great stuff out there, it's just not in the charts anymore, sadly
to sum music today up as 'it sucks' is an insult to all those talented muscian out there, who just dont get a chance.
dammmm i hate it when someone says this.
there is some great stuff out there, it's just not in the charts anymore, sadly
to sum music today up as 'it sucks' is an insult to all those talented muscian out there, who just dont get a chance.