Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Legacy and influence

Jackson transformed the art of the music video and paved the way for modern pop music in his own country. Jackson's work, distinctive musical sound and vocal style have influenced scores of hip hop, pop and R&B artists, including Mariah Carey,[221] Usher,[222] Britney Spears,[221] Justin Timberlake[109] and R. Kelly.[179] For much of his career, he had an "unparalleled" level of worldwide influence over the younger generation through his musical and humanitarian contributions.[223]

Michael Jackson was inducted onto the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1984. Throughout his career he received numerous honors and awards, including the World Music Awards' Best-Selling Pop Male Artist of the Millennium, the American Music Award's Artist of the Century Award and the Bambi Pop Artist of the Millennium Award.[111][224] He was a double-inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, once as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1997 and later as a solo artist in 2001. Jackson was also an inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002.[111] His awards include multiple Guinness World Records (eight in 2006 alone), 13 Grammy Awards, 13 number one singles in his solo career—more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era—and the sale of between 350 and 750 million records worldwide, making him the world's best selling male solo pop artist.[22][62][74][225][226][227]

Queues for a Michael Jackson concert in West Berlin in June 1988

He was characterized as "an unstoppable juggernaut, possessed of all the tools to dominate the charts seemingly at will: an instantly identifiable voice, eye-popping dance moves, stunning musical versatility and loads of sheer star power".[172] In the mid-1980s, Time described Jackson as "the hottest single phenomenon since Elvis Presley".[26] By 1990, Vanity Fair had already cited Jackson as the most popular artist in the history of show business.[60] Daily Telegraph writer Tom Utley called him an "extremely important figure in the history of popular culture" and a "genius".[228] In late 2007, Jackson said the following of his work and future influence, "Music has been my outlet, my gift to all of the lovers in this world. Through it, my music, I know I will live forever."[229]

His total lifetime earnings from royalties on his solo recordings and music videos, revenue from concerts and endorsements have been estimated at $500 million; some analysts have speculated that his music catalog holdings could be worth billions of dollars.[61][230] This speculation however is contradicted by financial documents obtained by the Associated Press, which showed that as of March 31, 2007, Jackson's 50 percent stake in the Sony/ATV Music Publishing catalog (his most prized asset) was worth $390.6 million and Michael Jackson’s net worth was $236 million.[1] As one of the world's most famous men, Jackson's highly publicized personal life, coupled with his successful career, made him a part of popular culture for four decades.

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