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Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson is known for Solo recording artist; lead singer of the Jackson 5 (per Wikipedia contributors).

Known for
Solo recording artist; lead singer of the Jackson 5 (per Wikipedia contributors)[1]
Career start
Lead singer, Jackson 5, from age six[1]
Grammy Awards
13 in total, including 8 for Thriller (as of 2026-09-05)[3]
Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
13 (as of 2026-09-05)[1]
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductions
2 (Jackson 5, 1997; solo, 2001) (per Encyclopaedia Britannica) (as of 2026-09-05)[3]
Final studio album
Invincible (2001)[1]
Died
2009; death ruled a homicide[3]
Official YouTube channel subscribers
Approximately 41.1 million (as of 2026-09-05)[4]

Early life and the Jackson 5

Michael Joseph Jackson worked as an American singer, songwriter, dancer and philanthropist.[1] His professional start came at age six, singing as the Jackson 5's lead vocalist.[1] Motown Records signed the Jackson 5 in 1969.[3]

Solo career

Jackson rose to solo stardom with the album Off the Wall, released in 1979.[1] The follow-up album Thriller, released in 1982, became the best-selling album in history according to the Wikipedia article, while the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame describes it as the best-selling album ever.[1][2]

Coming out in 1987, Bad was the first LP to generate five US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles.[1] Dangerous followed in 1991 and HIStory in 1995, both finding commercial success.[1] Jackson's final studio album, Invincible, was released in 2001 and is described by the Wikipedia article as the costliest LP ever produced.[1]

Accolades

Jackson is reported to have scored 13 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100.[1] According to Wikipedia contributors, the Wikipedia article observes that he is the only artist to land a US top-ten single in six distinct decades.[1] He has earned 13 Grammy wins, 8 of which were linked to Thriller.[3][1]

Two Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductions came Jackson's way: in 1997 alongside the Jackson 5, and again in 2001 on his own.[3] *NSYNC performed the honours during his 2001 solo induction.[2]

Jackson's accolades include 26 American Music Awards, 12 World Music Awards, 8 MTV Video Music Awards, 6 Brit Awards and 3 US presidential honours.[1]

Short films and videos

The official Michael Jackson YouTube channel describes how the short film for Thriller, directed by John Landis, was added to the Library of Congress' National Film Registry.[4] That same channel states the short film for Billie Jean, directed by Steve Barron, marked the first heavy-rotation MTV video by a Black artist.[5] The channel also reports that the Billie Jean short film entered the Music Video Producers Hall of Fame in 1992.[5]

The Thriller channel page shows the single peaked at No. 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[4] The Billie Jean video's channel page logs seven consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in spring 1983, earning a Gold certification from the RIAA on April 4, 1983, and a Platinum one on February 4, 1989.[5] The Thriller video's channel page records that the single earned Gold and Platinum RIAA certification on December 4, 1989.[4]

Sales and influence

The Wikipedia article describes Jackson as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with global solo sales estimated above 500 million records.[1] It also records that his 2009 passing triggered spikes in online traffic and a rise in music sales.[1]

Citing the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the singer shaped artists including BTS, Beyoncé, The Weeknd, Bruno Mars, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Kanye West and Madonna.[2]

The Wikipedia article reports that Jackson was accused in 1993 of sexually abusing a child, with a civil suit resolved out of court.[1]

According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, Jackson faced arrest and child molestation charges in 2003, involving a boy other than the one from the 1993 matter.[3] According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, a 14-week trial led to his acquittal on the 2003 charges in 2005.[3]

Leaving Neverland, a 2019 documentary, laid out further child sexual abuse allegations involving Jackson.[1]

Personal life

Jackson revealed in a 1993 televised interview with Oprah Winfrey that he had vitiligo, which had begun changing his skin in the early 1980s.[3] Jackson's autopsy report, issued after his 2009 death, confirmed that he had vitiligo.[3]

Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley in 1994; they divorced in 1996.[3] Jackson had a third child in 2002 via a surrogate mother.[3]

Death

Jackson was preparing for the This Is It concert series when he died in 2009.[1] Britannica reports that his death was caused by cardiac arrest attributed to a combination of sedatives and the anaesthetic propofol, and was ruled a homicide.[3] According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, Jackson's personal physician, Conrad Murray, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in 2011.[3]

Posthumous releases

Following his death, the 2009 documentary Michael Jackson's This Is It was released, then the LPs Michael (2010) and Xscape (2014).[1] The 2026 biopic Michael, helmed by Antoine Fuqua, casts Jaafar Jackson in the lead.[3]

Online presence

According to the Thriller video's official YouTube channel, the official 4K upload of the Thriller music video had been viewed more than 1.19 billion times.[4] According to the Billie Jean video's channel page, the official Billie Jean video had been viewed more than 2.3 billion times.[5] According to the Beat It video's channel page, the official Beat It video had been viewed more than 1.48 billion times.[6] According to the same Thriller channel page, the official Michael Jackson YouTube channel had approximately 41.1 million subscribers.[4]

Thriller (1983 music video) The official music video for Thriller, on the estate's channel, cited in the discography and short-film sections.

Billie Jean (1983 music video) The official music video for Billie Jean, on the estate's channel, cited in the short-film and certification sections.

Beat It (1983 music video) The official music video for Beat It, on the estate's channel, cited in the online-presence section.

Timeline

  1. The Jackson 5 signed with Motown Records.[3]
  2. According to Wikipedia contributors, Release of the solo album Off the Wall.[1]
  3. According to Wikipedia contributors, Release of Thriller.[1]
  4. According to michaeljacksonVEVO, Billie Jean spent seven consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in spring 1983.[5]
  5. Billie Jean certified Gold by the RIAA.[5]
  6. According to Wikipedia contributors, Release of Bad.[1]
  7. According to Wikipedia contributors, Release of Dangerous.[1]
  8. According to michaeljacksonVEVO, the Billie Jean short film inducted into the Music Video Producers Hall of Fame.[5]
  9. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, Jackson publicly discussed his vitiligo in a televised interview with Oprah Winfrey.[3]
  10. According to Wikipedia contributors, Release of HIStory.[1]
  11. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Jackson 5.[3]
  12. According to Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist by *NSYNC; release of Invincible.[2]
  13. According to Wikipedia contributors, Died of cardiac arrest while preparing for the This Is It concert series.[1]
  14. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, Conrad Murray found guilty of involuntary manslaughter.[3]
  15. According to Wikipedia contributors, Release of the documentary Leaving Neverland.[1]
  16. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, Release of the biopic Michael, directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Jaafar Jackson.[3]

Moments

  1. Thriller (1983 music video) The official video, on the estate's channel. The article's discography section refers to it.
  2. Billie Jean (1983 music video) The official video, on the estate's channel.
  3. Beat It (1983 music video) The official video, on the estate's channel.

References

  1. Wikipedia: Michael Jackson, Wikipedia contributors (accessed 2026-09-05)user_generated
  2. Michael Jackson, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (accessed 2026-09-05)primary
  3. Michael Jackson, Encyclopaedia Britannica (accessed 2026-09-05)press
  4. Michael Jackson — Thriller (Official Video) (video), michaeljacksonVEVO, 2009-10-02 (accessed 2026-09-05)self
  5. Michael Jackson — Billie Jean (Official Video) (video), michaeljacksonVEVO, 2009-10-02 (accessed 2026-09-05)self
  6. Michael Jackson — Beat It (Official Video) (video), michaeljacksonVEVO, 2011-04-11 (accessed 2026-09-05)self

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Drafted by
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Status
Published and revised continuously; this version is the one described here.
Published
6 September 2026
Last updated
6 September 2026 — see what changed
Sources
Rewritten by Heartipedia’s AI from a cited fact sheet of the Wikipedia article “Michael Jackson”, as it stood on 2026-09-05, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; substantially modified. The link goes to the live article, which is the version Wikipedia asks readers to use.
Licence
Text CC BY-SA 4.0; embedded videos and thumbnails remain their uploaders’ property, shown under YouTube’s Terms of Service; quotations excluded. Details

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