This article is about the album. You may have been looking for the song.
Invincible is the tenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson, released through Epic Records on October 30, 2001, and recorded between October 20th, 1997 and September 2001. It was the final album released by Jackson before his death eight years later.
The record featured what's considered Michael's most experimental work, delving into musical styles the singer hadn't explored before e.g. being credited for including early examples of dubstep. Invincible ultimately sold over 10 million copies worldwide, making it less successful than Jackson's previous releases, but still an achievement. Despite of the album's lacking promotion, it was dubbed the best album of the 2000s by online readers of Billboard, and is often regarded by fans as Michael Jackson's hidden gem.
Background[]
Five days after the HIStory World Tour ended on October 15th, 1997, Jackson immediately began recoring a new album with Brad Buxer and Michael Prince. For his comeback, the King of Pop wanted to lean towards the current sound of R&B, adapting to the late-1990s/early 2000's sound. Throughout its four year gestation, Jackson spent $30 million on various studios, musicians, and photoshoots, making it the most expensive album ever created.[1]
Michael Jackson and Rodney Jerkins in the studio
Jackson was eventually joined by more personnel, such as Dr. Freeze, who penned tracks like "Break of Dawn", "Blue Gangsta" and "A Place with No Name". In March of 1998, Michael participated in his first collaboration with Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, who he properly met through Carole Bayer Sager, but was initially introduced to four years prior.[2] Alongside Jerkins' team (consisting of Fred Jerkins III and LaShawn Daniels), the King of Pop worked on a song for Brandy, "You Don't Love Me", which eventually became "Angel in Disguise". Initially, Jackson wasn't completely satisfied with Jerkins sound, as he was aiming for a fresh sound and taking the listeners "somewhere they’ve never been sonically". Cory Rooney, who worked with Jackson on another project, advised Jerkins, regarding the direction Michael was aiming for. In time, Darkchild and his team adapted to such, leaving Michael satisfied and working with them for the next three years.[3]
In February of 1999, Jackson was given a thumbs up from Sony executives for continuing to go in such a direction. Following the approval, Michael would craft a vast amount of new content. Teddy Riley returned to collaborate with the artist, having recorded songs like "Heaven Can Wait", initially meant for Blackstreet, and "2000 Watts", which was one of his most experimental tracks. Darkchild and Jackson had made around ten recordings, most notably "Unbreakable", "You Rock My World" and "Get Your Weight Off of Me". Buxer and Jackson crafted multiple songs as well, such as "Hollywood Tonight", "Beautiful Girl" or "The Way You Love Me", although none of them made the cut. The King of Pop wrote and produced only two songs by himself, which would become "Speechless" and "The Lost Children". The album was initially slated by Sony Music for a November 1999 release, however it had to be delayed indefinitely.[4]
As the new decade approached, so did more collaborators. Pharrell Williams offered Jackson multiple songs as well, although he was told by John McClain, that "Michael don't want that shit". Jerkins later also revealed, that the King of Pop simply thought they were too "generic" for him, and he wanted to invent new sounds with this record.[5] These demos, including "Rock Your Body" and "Señorita" later went on to be released on Justin Timberlake's 2002 album, Justified.[6]
While making the album, Jackson expressed interest in once again including rap artists in his songs but insisted on featuring someone who wasn't well-known. His spokesperson suggested Fats, a New Jersey-based rapper, who was brought in to work on the album's title track, "Invincible", as well as "Heartbreaker". The opening track, "Unbreakable" features a posthumous feature from The Notorious B.I.G. who passed away shortly before its creation. It also serves as a tribute to the rapper. Unlike the previous release, Invincible didn't include a vast amount of feature guests on leads, rather keeping focus on Michael himself.
The works would finish in mid-2001. As of June, the track list would be ready for release. Among other songwriters and producers who joined the singer along the way were Andre Harris and Marsha Ambrosius (of Floetry, "Butterflies") and R. Kelly ("Cry"), with the latter returning to work with the King of Pop after the two previously crafted a massive hit, "You Are Not Alone". In September of that year, last-minute changes were being made, as Jackson wrote one more song, "You Are My Life", in dedication to his children; Prince and Paris. Babyface was invited to produce it, having the track ultimately replace "Shout".[7]
Artwork[]
According to Karen Faye, Michael wanted to recreate the 1992 photograph, The Golden Boy by Albert Watson. Jackson had his make-up and hair painted in gold, with Watson himself behind the shoot. The initial, golden incarnation of the cover appeared on the earliest 1999 acetates of the album. Sony executives decided heavy alterations had to be made, having the final result look more distorted and digitalized, symbolizing the King of Pop entering the modern era of music.[8]
Upon the release of Invincible, five different versions of the LP were put out, featuring the cover in various colors: gray (original), orange, blue, red, and green. It was a reference to the portraits of Jackson made by Andy Warhol in 1984.[8] The general idea came to the singer's mind, as he reportedly insisted, that it would be "fun" for fans to collect different versions of the album. Additionally, an alternate version of the artwork was also used for promotion purposes, most notably in the earliest versions of the michaeljackson.com website. In this version, way more details, including Jackson's neck are visible.[9] In 2009, Invincible would get a re-release, now featuring slightly different coloring.
- Main article: 1999 Albert Watson Photoshoot
Track list[]
| Standard edition | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Unbreakable" (featuring The Notorious B.I.G.) | 6:25 |
| 2. | "Heartbreaker" (featuring Fats) | 5:09 |
| 3. | "Invincible" (featuring Fats) | 4:45 |
| 4. | "Break of Dawn" | 5:31 |
| 5. | "Heaven Can Wait" | 4:48 |
| 6. | "You Rock My World" | 5:37 |
| 7. | "Butterflies" | 4:39 |
| 8. | "Speechless" | 3:18 |
| 9. | "2000 Watts" | 4:24 |
| 10. | "You Are My Life" | 4:33 |
| 11. | "Privacy" | 5:04 |
| 12. | "Don't Walk Away" | 4:24 |
| 13. | "Cry" | 5:00 |
| 14. | "The Lost Children" | 3:58 |
| 15. | "Whatever Happens" (featuring Carlos Santana) | 4:55 |
| 16. | "Threatened" | 4:18 |
| Total length: | 1:17:01 | |
Singles[]
Promotional singles[]
May 6, 2001
February 18, 2002
Cut songs[]
Promotion[]
On September 7-10, 2001 Michael organized the 30th Anniversary Celebration show at Madison Square Garden in New York City, not only to commemorate the artist's legacy but to promote the release of his major hit, "You Rock My World", as well as the then-upcoming Invincible. According to Michael Prince, after the shows finished Jackson told his team to expect a call in upcoming weeks, as they'd be going on tour. Unfortunately, the morning after the shows the September 11 attacks occured. While they kept on hoping for the tour to happen, by early 2002 many major world tours were being cancelled, and the same happened in Michael's case.[10]
Michael Jackson during the signing event at Times Square (November 7, 2001)
On November 7, 2001, a massive signing event took place at the Virgin Megastore in Times Square, New York. The album's artwork was featured on the iconic LED screens. The event was so big, that it blocked the traffic, and hundreds of fans attended it. Additionally, Jackson was interviewed by MTV.
By the end of the year, three singles were released: "You Rock My World", "Butterflies" and "Cry", only two of which received music videos, with the latter not even including Jackson in it. Initially, Michael wanted to have "Unbreakable" be the lead single, and put out other songs as such, however, due to time and budget reasons, Sony insisted on releasing "You Rock My World" instead. It was later promised for an early 2002 release, but these plans were canceled when Sony gutted the album's promotion.
Conflict with Sony[]
Beginning in the late 1990s, Tommy Mottola, the then-CEO of Sony Music, wanted complete creative control over Jackson's work, including which songs would be released as singles and any music videos that were made from them.
In response to the September 11 attacks, Jackson recorded a charity single called " What More Can I Give" with several other celebrities under the banner of "The All-Stars". When Sony refused to support it due to Jackson's refusal to tour, Jackson organized a benefit concert on October 21, 2001, entitled "United We Stand: What More Can I Give", which lasted roughly twelve hours and featured appearances from other singers.
Michael Jackson protesting against Sony (2002)
Michael and Sony also clashed over the former's recording contract. Jackson had expected the rights to the masters from all of his past album releases to revert to him by the early 2000s. The label however extended the copyright instead. The singer decided he wanted to leave Sony, to manage everything by himself without having to pay them a bigger part of the benefits. Following Jackson notifying Mottola about ending the deal, Sony Music backed out of most projects planned for Invincible's promo, including music videos, and singles. Due to this, projects for "Unbreakable" or "Threatened" were ultimately canceled. Additionally, as it turned out, Michael's lawyer worked with Sony, which Jackson was unaware of.[11]
Not even a year after the release of Invincible, Sony Music cut any kind of promotion for the project. Jackson became furious, issuing a public statement in July of 2002, stating the label was trying to sabotage his album and adding that Tommy Mottola was racist and "devilish".[12] Following the singer's departure, Sony did not renew Michael's contract, only releasing the greatest hits album Number Ones in 2003 and the box set The Ultimate Collection in 2004, as they were the last projects Jackson "owed" them.
Trivia[]
- Invincible is seen as Jackson's "comeback" in his career. At over six years, it marks the longest period without him releasing a studio album.
- Months before the production of Invincible beginning, Jackson released Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix. However, this release is considered a remix album, and not a part of the mainline series of Michael's discography.
- Diana Ross' 2006 album, Blue, features an artwork bearing a resemblance to the blue cover of Invincible. However, there's no proof Diana's album cover was inspired by it.
- To make some of the characteristic sounds featured on Invincible, Jackson told Rodney Jerkins to "go to the junkyard and hit on things and make sounds".[13]
- In the 2007 book Michael Jackson: For the Record by Chris Cadman and Craig Halstead, it was revealed, that among the songs which were meant to have international single releases, were "Whatever Happens", "Break of Dawn", and "Speechless". The latter was the only one to have gotten any kind of release, serving as a promotional single in 2002.
- During an interview with Rolling Stone in 2001, Michael himself expressed his excitement about a supposed short film for "Threatened", suggesting that the song was considered for the single release, as well.[14]
- The album is the only one to have two songs released as promotional singles for it.
References[]
- ↑ https://www.kennysmusic.co.uk/news/the-7-most-expensive-albums-of-all-time/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOgLHx0nhmc
- ↑ https://www.damienshields.com/she-was-loving-me/
- ↑ https://www.damienshields.com/she-was-loving-me/
- ↑ https://www.mjvibe.com/rodney-jerkins-speaks-about-michael-in-new-interview/
- ↑ https://www.okayplayer.com/music/pharrell-michael-jackson-nore.html
- ↑ https://gottahaverockandroll.com/Michael_Jackson__Invincible__Alternate_Unreleased_-LOT26991.aspx
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 https://www.artofdesignonline.com/invincible/invincible
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20020119201735/http://michaeljackson.com/
- ↑ https://bricenajar.com/en/interview-with-michael-durham-prince/
- ↑ https://luckyluxcifer.wixsite.com/website/en/post/michael-jackson-vs-sony-la-lucha-de-titanes-que-rompi%C3%B3-al-rey-del-pop-1
- ↑ https://www.mtv.com/news/icekba/michael-jackson-shocks-al-sharpton-by-calling-tommy-mottola-a-racist
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_WH7L8xKKD/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
- ↑ https://youtu.be/96kZmNsLESQ?si=V0xIxTIA2GtsKx1x