Michael G Long Bea Jackson Popular Books

Michael G Long Bea Jackson Biography & Facts

Invincible is the tenth and final studio album by the American singer Michael Jackson, released on October 30, 2001, by Epic Records. It was Jackson's last album before his death in 2009. It features appearances from Carlos Santana, the Notorious B.I.G., and Slash. It incorporates R&B, pop and soul, and similarly to Jackson's previous material, the album explores themes such as love, romance, isolation, media criticism, and social issues. The album's creation was expensive and laborious, featuring the work of ten record producers and over 100 musicians. Jackson started the multi-genre production in 1997 and did not finish until eight weeks before the album's release. It was reported that it cost $30 million to record; as of March 2024, it remains the most expensive album ever made. Jackson refused to tour to support it, adding to the growing rift between him and Sony Music Entertainment. In July 2002, following Sony's decision to abruptly end promotion for the album, Jackson alleged that the CEO of Sony Music, Tommy Mottola, was a "devil" and a racist who used his African American artists only for personal gain. Invincible debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart in the United States and in ten other countries worldwide. It was certified double platinum in the US in January 2002 and has sold more than eight million copies worldwide. The lead single, "You Rock My World", reached number ten on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 2002 Grammy Awards. "Cry" and "Butterflies" were also released as singles, and "Speechless" was released as a promotional single. Invincible received mixed reviews and became Jackson's most critically derided album. Retrospective reviews have been more positive, and it has been credited as featuring early examples of dubstep. In 2009, it was voted by online readers of Billboard as the best album of the 2000s decade. Production Prior to the release of Invincible, Jackson had not released any new material since the remix album Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix in 1997. His last studio album was HIStory (1995). Invincible was therefore viewed as Jackson's "career comeback". Jackson began recording new material in October 1997, and finished with "You Are My Life" being recorded only eight weeks before the album's release in October 2001 – the most extensive recording of Jackson's career. The tracks with Rodney Jerkins were recorded at the Hit Factory in Miami, Florida. Jackson had shown interest in including a rapper on at least one song, and had said that he did not want a "known rapper". Jackson's spokesperson suggested a New Jersey rapper named Fats; after Jackson heard the finished product of the song, the two agreed to record another song together for the album. Rodney Jerkins stated that Jackson was looking to record material in a different musical direction than his previous work, describing the new direction as "edgier". Jackson received credit for both writing and producing a majority of the songs on Invincible. Aside from Jackson, the album features productions by Jerkins, Teddy Riley, Andre Harris, Andraeo "Fanatic" Heard, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, R. Kelly and Dr. Freeze Bill Gray and writing credits from Kelly, Fred Jerkins III, LaShawn Daniels, Nora Payne and Robert Smith. The album is the third collaboration between Jackson and Riley, the other two being Dangerous and Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix. Invincible is Jackson's tenth and final studio album to have been recorded and released during his lifetime. It was reported that it cost thirty million dollars to make the album, making it the most expensive album ever made. Invincible was dedicated to the fifteen-year-old Afro-Norwegian boy Benjamin "Benny" Hermansen who was stabbed to death by a group of neo-Nazis in Oslo, Norway, in January 2001. The reason for this tribute was partly due to the fact that another Oslo youth, Omer Bhatti, Jackson's friend, was also a good friend of Hermansen. The dedication in the album reads, "Michael Jackson gives 'special thanks': This album is dedicated to Benjamin 'Benny' Hermansen. May we continue to remember not to judge a man by the color of his skin, but the content of his character. Benjamin ... we love you ... may you rest in peace." The album is also dedicated to Nicholette Sottile and Jackson's parents, Joseph and Katherine Jackson. Music and lyrics Invincible is an R&B, pop and soul record. The album's full length lasts over 77 minutes and contains 16 songs – fourteen of which were written (or co-written) by Jackson. It was noted that the album shifts between aggressive songs and ballads. Invincible opens with "Unbreakable"; the last line in the first verse recites the lyrics, "With all that I've been through/I'm still around". In a 2002 interview with the magazine Vibe, Jackson commented on his inspiration for writing "Speechless", saying: "You'll be surprised. I was with these kids in Germany, and we had a big water-balloon fight – I'm serious – and I was so happy after the fight that I ran upstairs in their house and wrote "Speechless". Fun inspires me. I hate to say that because it's such a romantic song. But it was the fight that did it. I was happy, and I wrote it in it's [sic] entirety right there. I felt it would be good enough for the album. Out of the bliss comes magic, wonderment, and creativity." "Privacy", a reflection on Jackson's own personal experiences, is about media invasions and tabloid inaccuracies. "The Lost Children" is about imperiled children. Jackson sings in a third person in "Whatever Happens". The song's lyrics, described by Rolling Stone magazine as having a "jagged intensity", narrate the story of two people involved in an unnamed threatening situation. Invincible features four ballads: "You Are My Life", "Butterflies", "Don't Walk Away" and "Cry". "Cry", similar to Jackson's "Man in the Mirror", is about healing the world together. The lyrics to "Butterflies" and "Break of Dawn" were viewed as "glaringly banal" and it was implied that they could have been written by anyone. "Threatened" was viewed as being a storyteller. The song was viewed as a "Thriller redux". The song "You Are My Life" is about Jackson's two children at the time, Prince and Paris. The song features Jackson singing, "You are the sun, you make me shine, more like the stars." Singles The album spawned three official singles ("You Rock My World", "Cry" and "Butterflies") and a promotional single in South Korea ("Speechless"), although all were given limited releases. "You Rock My World" was only released to radio airplay in the United States, consequently only peaking at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100. Internationally, where it was released as a commercial single, it reached number one in France, number two in Norway, Finland, Denmark, Belgium, and the United Kingdom, number three in Italy, number four in Australia, and five .... Discover the Michael G Long Bea Jackson popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Michael G Long Bea Jackson books.