The week following Michael's death, he sold a massive amount of records - about 2.6 million. The album that sold the most was Thriller, his most perfect musical masterpiece. His public popularity waned after the accusations of child molestation and as time went on, his musical output decreased. It's unfortunate that the world was seemingly "reminded" of his musical genius only after his death...
With that being said, I would like to take this opportunity to highlight another phenomenal music entertainer who Michael himself had great respect for (I've been watching those MJ exclusives and found out that tidbit). This artist is none other than Prince Rogers Nelson, known to the world simply as "Prince" and briefly as "The Artist, formally known as..." during his epic beef with Warner Brothers Music Group over the copyright ownership of his stage name. The "Prince Rogers" part of his name was actually his father's stage name with the "Prince Rogers Trio", a local Jazz ensemble. Michael was going to have Prince dance with him in the "Bad" video but Prince respectfully declined as he felt that the video would be incredible without him...and he was right.
I'd like to note that I do not personally feel either of them can be fully compared to the other. In their own rights they are unparalleled talents, individually fulfilling specific niches in entertainment and music history. Comparisons are often made between them but at the end of the day, their styles, personas, and music were held in their own distinct categories to fans around the world. I'd play Thriller and Purple Rain back to back, alternating which one I played first each time.
Most of you have been refamiliarizing yourselves with Thriller I'm sure. I would encourage you to do the same with Purple Rain, especially if you've never heard it. There really isn't a single track on it that's not fire. Click on the links to listen to the songs. If you don't have imeem, don't be lazy and take 30 seconds to register.
