Michael Jackson is widely considered one of if not the most famous person of all time. His name is instantly recognised in every corner of the globe. Even in my mother’s rural village in Kenya, the radio played his hits and people waited for his latest videos to be released. Who else can we really say that for? Historical figures and world leaders have come and gone, but MJ was globally famous for a quarter of a century. When he died, the whole world stopped. So just how did one person cultivate this level of fame before the internet took off, and why hasn’t anyone matched it since?
It goes without saying that Michael Jackson was uniquely talented to an incredible degree. He encapsulated a blend of skills never before been seen in a single performer. From his distinct, emotive singing style to his groundbreaking moonwalk, crotch-grab and anti-gravity lean, his visual performance was captivating and almost superhuman. But perhaps he also benefitted by emerging at a particular ‘pre-digital’ moment in history. Before the internet, mass media had global reach, but consumers weren’t overloaded with choice, algorithms, echo chambers and subcultures. Only a small number of artists were played on radio and MTV, so cultural consumption was much more centralised. For instance, when Thriller was released, it wasn’t just the best-selling album of all time (and still is), but it was a global cultural event experienced simultaneously by millions across the globe. So the historical moment in which Jackson emerged facilitated his world domination. The planet could unite around one star. But why was he that star?
An obvious area to examine is his cultural reach. He was really the first artist to gain cultural appeal across so many diverse cultural groups, from white urban elites to rural non-English speaking communities around the world. At his peak, two-thirds of humanity knew his name. Kids in rural India would copy his moonwalk and try to be compared to him. His dance moves became a cultural reference point that transcended class, race and geography. And when Jackson visited the Ivory Coast in 1992, he was crowned King of the Sanwi, a traditional Ivorian Kingdom.
Not only was he idolised, he was also deeply respected. On his world tours and international visits, cities would declare official holidays for his arrival. He was frequently welcomed by heads of state, including Nelson Mandela in 1996. This highlights his cultural legitimacy across continents, especially in non-western countries, which was highly uncommon for American artists. But I think that’s what made MJ so different – he was one of the first big celebrities to truly connect with local communities in less developed countries. He toured regions that most Western artists would skip, and his music videos reflected other cultures and social problems. For instance, “They Don’t Care About Us” was filmed in favelas in Brazil, while “Remember The Time” included African imagery, encapsulating this visual representation that he was for everyone.
Jackson’s fame also had structural significance. He was revered for breaking racial barriers, combining rock, soul, r&b, pop and funk to create his unique sound, unifying audiences from all racial backgrounds and resulting in crossover commercial success. Jackson made global audiences comfortable idolising a black artist, which paved the way for the future success of artists like Prince, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson and Beyoncé. In South Africa alone, he sold over 2 million albums and was the first artist to be played on both white and black radio stations, highlighting his power to unify races in the most divided of nations. And within the music industry, his influence was direct. When white-dominated MTV refused to air the “Billie Jean” video, his label threatened to pull their white artists from the channel. MTV gave in, and the release of this iconic video became a pivotal moment for black artists as it paved the way for them to be played on a mainstream broadcasting channel that had previously excluded them.
You can’t talk about Michael Jackson without remembering his astonishing commitment to philanthropy, which further contributed to the idea of him as a mythical superhuman figure. His Heal the World Foundation raised millions for children’s causes across the world, including immunisation programmes, medical supplies to those affected by war and poverty, and even paid for a life-saving liver transplant for a Hungarian child. Jackson constantly promoted unity in his songs, from “Heal the World” to “Earth Song”, to “Black or White”. Particularly memorable is “We Are The World”, co-written with Lionel Richie, which raised millions for famine relief in Ethiopia and ushered in an era of celebrity philanthropy. We should of course not overlook the controversies surrounding his life, primarily related to allegations of child sexual abuse. He was acquitted of all charges in a high-profile 2005 trial, but the allegations and subsequent media scrutiny significantly impacted his career and public image.
But all of this contributed to an image of a figure who felt larger than life; an icon whose influence was felt in all aspects of cultural and political life.
It is a tall order to match this, especially because the world Jackson dominated just doesn’t exist anymore. The emergence of the internet democratised fame, but also fragmented it, making it more accessible but at a far smaller scale. Today’s MJs simply don’t exist because only a certain subgroup regards them as their favourite artist. In Jackson’s era, his fanbase was 4.8 billion people. But today, artists that may be incredibly well known in their home regions often lack the same kind of global cultural influence. Audiences in the digital world are divided into niche subcultures and fanbases, driven by algorithms. So while Beyoncé fans of course know who Taylor Swift is, she has no cultural impact on their lives; their digital push is towards Beyonce’s content. Fame today is abundant, but it’s not deep.
While there is no denying Michael Jackson’s self-cultivated talent, he emerged at the end of an era where the world still behaved like a single audience. This irreplicable alignment made him the last person able to unite the world in awe, and is why his level of fame remains untouchable.
