I have posted a picture on Instagram just this week that may or may not have intrigued you, as I did have a lengthy caption to accompany it. It was basically about the album Invincible by Michael Jackson and how fans are streaming and buying it again 19 years after its debut. You may be wondering 'Michael Jackson is Michael Jackson. It already has earned enough attention. Why are they bringing this back again?'
As what has been mentioned, Invincible was released 19 years ago - on October 30, 2001. It had just been the turn of a new decade and a new century and times have passed since Michael Jackson's last album release which was Blood On The Dance Floor: HIStory In The Mix in 1997. During that break, Michael was actually working on his next release which would be Invincible. Upon its release, it debuted number one on the Billboard 200 due to fans' massive anticipation. However, as far as his albums released under Epic are concerned, Invincible was noticeably weaker sales-wise as it only amassed 13 million units sold. With 16 cutting-edge tracks that were able to keep up with the times, yet, were sonically timeless as well and considerably coming from such a massive artist like Michael Jackson, why did this not sell as expected?
Michael, being signed to Sony Music Entertainment at that time, had conflicts due to a contract that was signed back 1991 regarding the rights to the masters of Michael's previous releases that turned out would revert back to him much later than what was agreed upon. Michael had also learned that time that the lawyer he worked with for this contract was also working for Sony, revealing that there was a conflict of interest. Michael would leave Sony shortly after the album's release and Sony did not go forth with much promotions for this album. They did have the 30th Anniversary special which would mark Michael's first and last performance of the single 'You Rock My World', short films to accompany singles 'You Rock My World' and 'Cry', and releasing 'Butterflies' to only be promoted on radio, but that is basically it. A tour did not come through as Michael backed out of this idea. Sony would say that they have done what they could with the album. But to Michael and millions of fans around the world, they would say Invincible should have been promoted more.
Michael Jackson's short film for 'You Rock My World' that was released in 2001.
Just last week, Janet Jackson's 'Control' album and Mariah Carey's 'E=MC2' album had been brought on top of the charts decades after their release and this gave the Michael Jackson fans hope that Invincible will be given the attention and respect that it deserved. Fans all over the world have then come together to buy and stream the album in hopes that people would see the brilliance of Michael Jackson in this album and in this new era. Hashtags #JusticeForInvincible and #StreamInvincibleAlbum were created and used on tweets and Instagram posts to promote this event and to bring in people to check out the album and rediscover Michael Jackson in that period of time. And as someone who only became a fan in 2009, I want for the masses to see and hear Michael's unwavering artistry and innovation in this album.
To close off this blog post, of course as a fan I urge you, my readers, to rediscover Invincible or if you have not listened to this album, to give the album a shot! You may check out the links below to stream the album. And I would love to hear what you think of the album!
Stream the album:
Spotify
Apple Music
References:
Chan, Tim. 'How a Connecticut Teen Propelled a 12-Year-Old Mariah Carey Album Back to the Top of the Charts'. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/mariah-carey-emc2-itunes-991334/
Harris, Jonathan. 'Michael Jackson's 'Invincible': 18 Years Later, a Full Review'. https://medium.com/@JonathanTSDM/michael-jacksons-invincible-is-all-grown-up-18-years-later-a-track-by-track-review-cdbbf7ae92de
Holloway, Lynette and Holson, Laura. 'Sony and Its Star Go to War Over the Promotion of Album'. https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/10/business/sony-and-its-star-go-to-war-over-the-promotion-of-album.html
Magnocavallo, Fabio. 'Janet Jackson’s ‘Control’ Album Enters The Top 5 iTunes Chart 34 Years After Its Original Release'. https://www.inquisitr.com/6024287/janet-jackson-control-itunes-top-5/
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