“I’m interested in making a path rather than following a trail. That’s what I want to do in life—in everything I do,” said Michael Jackson in 1979.
This week marks the 16th anniversary of the death of the King of Pop. Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009, at the age of 50, from cardiac arrest caused by an overdose of the sedative propofol and other drugs.
The King of Pop still reigns in the music streaming era as fans celebrate his legacy and a new generation discovers his rich catalogue. In an extraordinary career, Jackson transformed pop culture through his impact on music, dance and visual art.
This month is also the 30th anniversary of the release of HIStory- Past, Present and Future – Book 1, his widely acclaimed album that raised awareness on environmental degradation, social injustice and other contemporary issues.
The cultural impact and artistic influence of Jackson has grown phenomenally in the years after his death, along with a deeper appreciation for his genius.
The perfectionist
The film This Is It released four months after his death exposed fans to Jackson’s exacting demands on his crew of musicians and dancers, by revealing the behind-the-scenes rehearsals for the tour that was cancelled after his death.
Today, artistes allow their followers to have a peep at what happens in the background of their lives and careers through social media. MJ was a superstar in a pre-social media era.
His work ethic was evident in his meticulous rehearsals for stage and in the studio, as seen in the 2024 documentary The Greatest Night in Pop, on the making of the 1985 charity single We are the World. Jackson said, a perfectionist, “shapes, molds and sculpts that thing until its perfect. He can’t let go before he is satisfied, he can’t”
Posthumous career
In the year after his death, MJ was honoured with a posthumous Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement, adding to his previous 15 Grammys.
Since his death in 2009, Michael Jackson has sold approximately 35 million albums, and his unreleased material has been heard on the albums Michael in 2010 and Xscape in 2014.
The former included the hit single Hold My Hand featuring Akon, which incidentally, was originally intended for Whitney Houston. The Broadway production MJ the Musical, a story set during rehearsals for Jackson’s Dangerous World Tour, has won multiple Tony Awards and been a commercial success.
As of May 2025, the musical production has reportedly sold more than four million tickets worldwide since its premiere in 2021.
Records
In the week following his death, Michael became the first artiste to sell over one million digital tracks in a week. He sold 2.6 million tracks, according to American music publication Billboard, and two weeks later, became the first to have six of the 10 best-selling albums in the US.
US pop star Michael Jackson performs during his “HIStory World Tour” concert in Vienna on July 2, 1997.
Photo credit: Reuters
In 2021 Michael became the only solo artiste to have a Top 20 hit on the US music charts across six consecutive decades, from the 1970s to the 2020s. Thriller hit the top 20 on Billboard’s Hot 100 in November 2021, its highest chart position since it was first released in 1984 and peaked at No 4 on the charts
Influence
“Michael taught me that sometimes you have to forget technique, forget what you have on,” says Beyonce. “If you feel silly, you have to go from the gut just let it go.”
Just as MJ was the dominant artiste in the world at his peak transcending music and dance into style and fashion, so too Beyonce is the preeminent star of the digital era, pushing the boundaries of creativity and innovation.
Michael Jackson’s vocal style, iconic dance moves and video aesthetics have influenced Usher, Justin Timberlake, Bruno Mars, Ne-Yo, The Weeknd, Chris Brown and other contemporary acts. Korean (K-Pop) artistes, especially Jung Kook of the group BTS, have channeled Jackson’s style in their repertoire.
Money-spinner
The Michael Jackson brand generates substantial revenue that has offset the debts that he left behind at the time of his death. His estate is now valued conservatively at over $2 billion and since 2010 he has topped the annual Forbes magazine list of world’s highest-paid dead celebrities 12 times, including in 2024 with earnings of $600 million.
His streaming figures are huge: 40 million monthly listeners on Spotify alone, Billie Jean has been streamed 2.1 billion times while Beat It has racked in 1.4 billion streams on Spotify alone.
In 2024, Sony Music Group paid $600 million to buy part of Michael’s catalog in what industry analysts called the biggest-ever deal for the work of a solo musician.
A jacket that Jackson wore while shooting a series of TV commercial in the 1980s sold at an auction in London for $306,000 in 2013. These adverts for soft drinks giant Pepsi are remembered for the incident in which Jackson suffered serious burns after his hair caught fire.
