It does not require much introduction when it comes to speaking about the world’s uncrowned king of pop Michael Jackson who has a recording Discography like others. A career that started at the age of 5 and spanned over five decades as the pop icon includes classics such as Thriller, “Moonwalk”, ABC and many more. From the list, it is very difficult to single out the magnum opus of this musical ace. However, there are some more MJ compositions that could be well counted among his best performances ever:
1. Michael Jackson – You Rock My World
The song featured in the tenth and final album called invisible bye Michael Jackson which was released on August 22, 2001. Apart from MJ, the lyrics of this song was jointly composed by Fred Jerkins III, LaShawn Daniels, Rodney Jerkins, and Nora Payne. “You Rock My World” was performed by Jackson at the Madison Square Garden in New York City in order to commemorate his 30th year of a glorious musical journey. The music video of this song was directed by Paul hunter featuring Marlon Brando and Chris Tucker as star-artists. The song was nominated for the prestigious Grammy Award as the best vocal performance by a male singer in its 44th ceremony.
2. Michael Jackosn – Ghost
One of the lesser-known gems of Michael Jackson’s video albums is Ghost. The 40-minute short film was released in 1997 and was replete with some of the best dance moves and special effects of Jackson. The storyline of the music video was co-authored by Jackson’s friend Stephen King. Jackson’s turbulent personal life played a pivotal role in the obstructed production of the video. The best part of the video is the twist at its ending which is strikingly different from the sinister turn we can see at the concluding part of the Thriller.
3. Michael Jackson – Tabloid Junkie
The 4 minutes 32 seconds long song was composed by Michael Jackson James Harris and Jerry Lewis. Tabloid Junkie is a “funk rock song” which received mixed reviews from contemporary music critics. While Deepika Reedy of The Daily Collegian used phrases as “rust in the songs” on the other hand Jim Farber of the New York Daily News stated that the song sounded much like “virtual satires.” Jackson used the song as a tool to criticize journalists with whom he was at loggerheads at that time. In his words “with your pen you torture men” he expressed his views on reporters who use sensitive words to show people on poor light.
4. Michael Jackson – Carousel
The song features Michael Jackson’s album Thriller which was released in October 2001. Michael Sembello wrote the lyrics of the song which is also known as the circus girl originally the song was recorded in the album thriller in 1982 by Michael Jackson. But eventually, “Carousel” could not make its place in the final tracklist as another song “Human Nature” was selected instead.
5. Micahel Jackson – Stranger In Moscow
Like many other Jackson songs stranger in Moscow was his static response to the chain of events happening in personal life. It was released worldwide on November 4, 1996, as one of the songs from his album History. The lyrics of a “Stranger in Moscow” are based on a poem written by Jackson himself in which he used Russian symbolism to evoke a sense of desolation and eeriness in the minds of the audiences. As stated by James Hunter of Rolling Stone, “Stranger in Moscow” is a “swift and sudden fall from grace.” The music video of the song was directed by Nick Brandt featuring 6 people who are strangers to each other living in a desolate urban life who could see the world around them moving slowly. The sixth of them is MJ himself.
6. Michael Jackson – Whatever Happens
The song featured in the 15th track of Jackson’s last album Invincible which was released just before Jackson’s death in 2009. The music video featured another great musician and guitarist Carlos Santana. The cost of making this album was approximately 30 million dollars which was the most expensive album ever made by Jackson in his career. The album was a tribute to a 15 year-old-boy named Benjamin Hermansen also known as “Benny” who was of Afro Norwegian origin. He was killed by a group of neo-Nazis in Oslo, Norway.
7. Michael Jackson – Baby Be Mine
The 4 minutes 20 seconds song features in Michael Jackson’s album Thriller and written by Rod Temperton. The latter will be remembered for his collaboration with the pop icon Michael Jackson for whom he wrote some of the everlasting pop songs. The song was never played as a single out of the album.
8. Michael Jackson – This is it
The documentary concert film is all about some behind the scene footage of Jackson’s concerts. The footage one can see in the documentary included costume designs, film direction, dance auditions, and all the other particulars needed to make a great concert. The album made a landslide sale of over 373,000 in the very first week of its release and successfully claimed the first place in the Billboard 200 album chart.
9. Michael Jackson – Unbreakable
The 6 minutes 25 seconds long music track featured in Jackson’s last album Invincible. According to some critics, it is one of the most powerful songs ever recorded by Michael Jackson. One of the most striking features of the song is its aggressive melodic hook that runs through the fabric of the song
10. Michael Jackson – Say, Say, Say
The song “Say Say Say” was written and sung by Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney which released back in 1983. According to Ray Coleman, the biographer of McCartney the lyrics of this song mostly composed by Michael Jackson and its track was orchestrated by George Martin. The recording of the song started in London in May 1981 when McCartney was busy recording his solo album Tug of War after breaking away from his group Wings. With 116 dance beats per minute and heart-rending lyrics of that of a love song, MJ’s “Say Say Say” made its place in the seventh position among the best 10 hits of 1983 for six consecutive weeks.