Michael Jackson

== Legacy ==
{{Main article|Cultural impact of Michael Jackson}}
{{See also|List of Michael Jackson records and achievements}}
Jackson has been referred to as the "[[Honorific nicknames in popular music|King of Pop]]" for having transformed the art of music videos and paving the way for modern pop music. For much of Jackson's career, he had an unparalleled worldwide influence over the younger generation.<ref name="ADL">{{cite web |date=June 22, 1995 |title=ADL Welcomes Michael Jackson's Decision to Remove Anti-Semitic Lyrics from Song |url=https://www.adl.org/PresRele/ASUS_12/2471_12.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001053852/https://www.adl.org/PresRele/ASUS_12/2471_12.asp |archive-date=October 1, 2012 |access-date=May 31, 2015 |publisher=[[Anti-Defamation League]]}}</ref> His influence extended beyond the music industry; he impacted dance, led fashion trends, and raised awareness for global affairs.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Michael Jackson's music had impact around the globe |work=[[Reuters]] |date=July 4, 2009 |access-date= March 27, 2020 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-jackson-global-sb-idUSTRE5624OT20090704}}</ref> Jackson's music and videos fostered racial diversity in MTV's roster and steered its focus from rock to pop music and R&B, shaping the channel into a form that proved enduring.{{sfn|Young|2009|p=25}}

In songs such as "[[Man in the Mirror]]", "[[Black or White]]", "[[Heal the World]]", "[[Earth Song]]" and "[[They Don't Care About Us]]", Jackson's music emphasized [[racial integration]] and environmentalism and protested injustice.<ref>{{cite news |first=Joseph |last=Vogel |title=Black and White: how Dangerous kicked off Michael Jackson's race paradox |newspaper=The Guardian |date=March 17, 2018 |access-date= January 13, 2020 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/mar/17/black-and-white-how-dangerous-kicked-off-michael-jacksons-race-paradox}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Why Michael Jackson's songs on climate change and racial inequality need to be youth anthems now |work=[[India Today (TV channel)|India Today]] |date=August 29, 2018 |access-date= January 13, 2020 |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/why-michael-jackson-s-songs-on-climate-change-and-racial-inequality-need-to-be-youth-anthems-now-1326217-2018-08-29}}</ref> He is recognized as the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time by ''[[Guinness World Records]]''.<ref name="CityNews">{{cite news |title=Michael Jackson Named Most Successful Entertainer Of All Time |work=[[CityNews]] |date=November 15, 2006 |access-date= May 31, 2015 |url=https://www.citynews.ca/2006/11/15/michael-jackson-named-most-successful-entertainer-of-all-time/}}</ref><ref name="Ditzian">{{cite news |first=Eric |last=Ditzian |title=Michael Jackson's Groundbreaking Career, by the Numbers |publisher=MTV |date=June 26, 2009 |access-date= March 2, 2016 |url=https://www.mtv.com/news/1614815/michael-jacksons-groundbreaking-career-by-the-numbers/}}</ref> Jackson has also appeared on ''[[Rolling Stone]]''{{'}}s lists of the Greatest Singers of All Time.<ref name="100 Greatest" /><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=January 1, 2023 |title=The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-singers-all-time-1234642307/michael-jackson-21-1234643068/|access-date=June 23, 2023 |magazine=Rolling Stone}}</ref> He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century,<ref>{{cite web |first=Howard |last=Dodson |title=Michael Jackson: Icon |publisher=[[New York Public Library]] |date=July 7, 2009 |access-date= November 26, 2018 |url=https://www.nypl.org/blog/2009/07/07/michael-jackson-icon}}</ref> and his contributions to music, dance, and fashion, along with his publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades.<ref>{{cite news |first=Kasmin |last=Fernandes |title=Why Michael Jackson was a style icon |newspaper=[[The Times of India]] |date=June 25, 2014 |access-date= March 11, 2016 |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/fashion/style-guide/Why-Michael-Jackson-was-a-style-icon/articleshow/37175580.cms?from=mdr}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |first=Don |last=Lemon |title=Michael Jackson's style influence lives on |publisher=[[CNN]] |date=June 23, 2010 |access-date= March 11, 2016 |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/06/23/michael.jackson.fashion/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Jocelyn |last=Vena |title=Michael Jackson's Style Legacy, From Military Jackets to One Glove |publisher=MTV News |date=June 26, 2009 |access-date= March 11, 2016 |url=https://www.mtv.com/news/1614819/michael-jacksons-style-legacy-from-military-jackets-to-one-glove/}}</ref>{{blockquote|Trying to trace Michael Jackson's influence on the pop stars that followed him is like trying to trace the influence of oxygen and gravity. So vast, far-reaching and was his impact—particularly in the wake of ''[[Thriller (album)|Thriller]]''{{'}}s colossal and heretofore unmatched commercial success—that there weren't a whole lot of artists who ''weren't'' trying to mimic some of the Jackson formula.|J. Edward Keyes of ''[[Rolling Stone]]''<ref>{{cite magazine |first=J. Edward |last=Keyes |title=Michael Jackson's, Indelible Pop Legacy |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=July 7, 2009 |access-date= July 5, 2020 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/michael-jacksons-indelible-pop-legacy-105243/}}</ref>}} [[Danyel Smith]], chief content officer of Vibe Media Group and the editor-in-chief of ''[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]],'' described Jackson as "the greatest star".<ref>{{cite press release |first=Danyel |last=Smith |title=Commentary: Michael Jackson, the greatest star |publisher=CNN |date=June 26, 2009 |access-date= July 4, 2020 |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/06/26/smith.jackson.appreciation/}}</ref> Steve Huey of AllMusic called him "an unstoppable juggernaut, possessed of all the skills to dominate the charts seemingly at will: an instantly identifiable voice, eye-popping dance moves, stunning musical versatility and loads of sheer star power".<ref name="allmusic" /> BET said Jackson was "quite simply the greatest entertainer of all time" whose "sound, style, movement and legacy continues to inspire artists of all genres".<ref>{{cite web |title=Michael Jackson |publisher=[[BET]] |access-date= May 31, 2015 |url=https://www.bet.com/topics/m/michael-jackson.html}}</ref>

[[File:Michael Jackson.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Jackson's ''Bad'' era wax figure at [[Madame Tussauds]], London in 1992]]
In 1984, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' pop critic [[Jay Cocks]] wrote that "Jackson is the biggest thing since the Beatles. He is the hottest single phenomenon since Elvis Presley. He just may be the most popular black singer ever." He described Jackson as a "star of records, radio, rock video. A one-man rescue team for the music business. A songwriter who sets the beat for a decade. A dancer with the fanciest feet on the street. A singer who cuts across all boundaries of taste and style, and color too."<ref name="Time" /> In 2003, ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' writer [[Tom Utley]] described Jackson as "extremely important" and a "genius".<ref>{{cite news |first=Tom |last=Utley |author-link= Tom Utley |title=Of course Jackson's odd—but his genius is what matters |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=February 7, 2003 |access-date= May 31, 2015 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/3587259/Of-course-Jackson%27s-odd---but-his-genius-is-what-matters.html |archive-date= January 26, 2009 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090126081344/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/3587259/Of-course-Jackson%27s-odd---but-his-genius-is-what-matters.html}}</ref> At Jackson's memorial service on July 7, 2009, Motown founder Berry Gordy called Jackson "the greatest entertainer that ever lived".<ref>{{cite web |title=Gordy Brings Mourners to Their Feet with Jackson Tribute |date=July 7, 2009 |access-date= May 31, 2015 |url=https://www.contactmusic.com/news/gordy-brings-mourners-to-their-feet-with-jackson-tribute_1108973}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |first=Bob |last=Tourtellotte |title=Michael Jackson hailed as greatest entertainer, best dad |agency=Reuters UK |date=July 8, 2009 |access-date= May 31, 2015 |url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-jackson-idUKTRE5615KN20090708}}</ref> In a June 28, 2009 ''[[Baltimore Sun]]'' article, Jill Rosen wrote that Jackson's legacy influenced fields including sound, dance, fashion, music videos and celebrity.<ref>{{cite news |first=Jill |last=Rosen |title=7 Ways Michael Jackson Changed the World |date=June 28, 2009 |access-date= April 24, 2016 |newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |url=https://articles.baltimoresun.com/2009-06-28/news/0906260178_1_michael-jackson-jackson-changed-jackson-five |archive-date= May 2, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160502182350/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2009-06-28/news/0906260178_1_michael-jackson-jackson-changed-jackson-five |url-status= dead}}</ref>

Pop critic [[Robert Christgau]] wrote that Jackson's work from the 1970s to the early 1990s showed "immense originality, adaptability, and ambition" with "genius beats, hooks, arrangements, and vocals (though not lyrics)", music that "will stand forever as a reproach to the puritanical notion that pop music is slick or shallow and that's the end of it". During the 1990s, as Jackson lost control of his "troubling life", his music suffered and began to shape "an arc not merely of promise fulfilled and outlived, but of something approaching tragedy: a phenomenally ebullient child star tops himself like none before, only to transmute audibly into a lost weirdo".<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Robert |last=Christgau |author-link= Robert Christgau |title=Michael Jackson: 'The Ultimate Collection' |magazine=[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]] |date=December 2004 |access-date= March 12, 2019 |url=https://robertchristgau.com/xg/cdrev/jackson,m-ble.php}}</ref> In the 2000s, Christgau wrote: "Jackson's obsession with fame, his grotesque life magnified by his grotesque wealth, are such an offense to rock aesthetes that the fact that he's a great musician is now often forgotten".<ref>{{cite news |first=Robert |last=Christgau |title=Consumer Guide: Popstakes |newspaper=[[The Village Voice]] |date=January 15, 2002 |access-date= March 12, 2019 |url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv102-02.php}}</ref>