You can say that again analouge. That's actually how I always describe Michael. Scary talented. It's hard to grasp the enormity of it, and I'm not just saying that because I'm a fan, it's the truth. I always quote my father on this, but he said to me once "Can you even imagine what it's like to have that kind of talent?" And he was referring to Michael. And I said, "No, I can't, actually." When you actually sit down to examine what it is that Michael can do, what he is, it's truly hard to believe. It isn't that he can "do everything", it's that he can "do everything" on the highest level, and that's just bizarr. You can't say anybody is, technically, a better vocalist then he is. Just in terms of range, control, timing, quality, etc... He's the best. And that's not even including his emotive brilliance, which is what makes him an artist vocally alone. He's probably the most emotive singer I've ever heard, and I've heard other none fans say that about him. Then you take him as a dancer, and he isn't just some singer who dances or who can dance relatively well for someone who sings. He's a world class dancer who makes trained professionals look clumsy. I've never seen someone with better, cleaner lines then Michael, while combining it with blinding speed and seamless connection of the steps. He's like Fred Astaire, that's the kind of talent he has as a dancer, just without training. Then as a songwriter, as a composer, he's just absolutely brilliant. I mean, if you listen to his vocal and percussion arrangements alone, it's like "Damn!". And the melody of his music, he has such killer, killer melodies and it makes it absolutely timeless. Plus his music has a totally unique feel and sound to it, and you instantly recognize it as Michael's sound, that's how distinctive it is. But the one quality of Michael's music that I think really defines it as genius is how emotive it is and how visually enducing it is. When you listen to his songs, you actually are painted a picture of what it's about from the sound alone, it creates an atmosphere which allows you to know what emotion the song is supposed to convey, even without hearing the lyrics. Only a genius song writer could do that, and Michael does. Like on "Childhood", for example, the song, lyrically, has elements in which Michael is conveying hope and optomisum, but also points in which Michael is converying meloncholy and just barely defeat. And even without the lyrics, the music itself emotes all of this, all in one piece, from the way the music sours at just the right points to give that feeling of reaching out and grasping for something to the way the music falls and becomes sombre, giving the feeling of lost chances and sadness. It's just incredible.
And of course, Michael's beatboxing is amazing. I mean, he uses it just to build a plateform for the rest of the instrumentation to stand on, but he could compete in beatboxing competitions alone and win. He's got such an eveness to his tone and control of both vocal cords, it's mind blowing.
And last but not least, Micheal's unparralelled charisma and stage command. He's the greatest live performer that ever lived. The way he emotes on stage, emphasizes those emotions with facial expression and movement of his body, the way he works the stage, it's just unreal. I always say that, when Michael performs, what makes him so great is, you cannot look away for fear of missing something spectacular and he makes you, as an audience member, more aware of being alive, more aware of that single moment in time, where you forget about all outside distractions and burdons and simply become consumed by that one moment in which you are watching him, like that's the only thing in the entire world that exsists, and then you actually feel what ever emotion Michael is putting out on stage, his emotion becomes your own.
Like you said analouge, Michael doesn't even show what he's capable of. He holds back. Seth Riggs, his vocal coach, has said this of him, that he purposfully doesn't sing a song to the best of his abilities. John Landis has said Michael frustraites him because he IS Fred Astaire, he is Gene Kelly, but he doesn't allow himself to show what he's capable of as a dancer. And of course, we've heard how he writes classical compositions, but doesn't release them for public consumption.
I think he's afraid of scaring people. If he really showed what he's capable of, people probably wouldn't even try to compete.
But as you said, if more people understood the extent of Michael's talent, they wouldn't be making comparisons to him with the high school level acts of Chris Brown, Ne-Yo and Justin Timberlake.
