Will anyone ever eclipse Michael Jackson?

[1995hoo]

How popular are those singers outside North America? That's really the biggest question. Michael Jackson was globally popular. U2 perhaps approached that in the early 1990s (emphasis on "perhaps approached" because I don't think they equaled the level of universal recognition the Thriller album reached), but has anyone else really reached a global audience in the same way (including Australia, New Zealand, and Japan)?

[Roadgeekteen]

Drake isn't gonna surpass Michael Jackson, he's way too famous and had more of a cultural impact, but all of the boomers in here pretending that Drake isn't internationally known and very successful is kind of crazy. Most of the obscure 1960s and 1970s bands you talk about in other music threads are completely irrelevant now, only the most successful ones of that era survive.

With all due respect, you weren't alive when MJ was at his peak.  I listen to plenty of rap/hip-hop (although less of the poppy stuff that's on the radio admittedly). Drake's popularity here and abroad is NOTHING like Michael Jackson's was.  Hence the boomers (and this late millennial) think the comparison is kind of laughable. I know Drake is famous.  But he's maybe 1/10th as famous as MJ during his apex.

I never said that Drake was MJ level but most people know who he is. The closest artist to Michael Jackson today is probably Taylor Swift but even she falls short.

I'd actually maybe go Justin Timberlake?

Taylor Swift and Drake are both bigger than Justin Timberlake.

Even if you include his NSYNC days?  That kind of fandom is the closest thing we've had since MJ.

NSYNC was 20 years ago.

[JayhawkCO]

Drake isn't gonna surpass Michael Jackson, he's way too famous and had more of a cultural impact, but all of the boomers in here pretending that Drake isn't internationally known and very successful is kind of crazy. Most of the obscure 1960s and 1970s bands you talk about in other music threads are completely irrelevant now, only the most successful ones of that era survive.

With all due respect, you weren't alive when MJ was at his peak.  I listen to plenty of rap/hip-hop (although less of the poppy stuff that's on the radio admittedly). Drake's popularity here and abroad is NOTHING like Michael Jackson's was.  Hence the boomers (and this late millennial) think the comparison is kind of laughable. I know Drake is famous.  But he's maybe 1/10th as famous as MJ during his apex.

I never said that Drake was MJ level but most people know who he is. The closest artist to Michael Jackson today is probably Taylor Swift but even she falls short.

I'd actually maybe go Justin Timberlake?

Taylor Swift and Drake are both bigger than Justin Timberlake.

Even if you include his NSYNC days?  That kind of fandom is the closest thing we've had since MJ.

NSYNC was 20 years ago.

And the majority of people alive remember 20 years ago.

[Max Rockatansky]

Drake isn't gonna surpass Michael Jackson, he's way too famous and had more of a cultural impact, but all of the boomers in here pretending that Drake isn't internationally known and very successful is kind of crazy. Most of the obscure 1960s and 1970s bands you talk about in other music threads are completely irrelevant now, only the most successful ones of that era survive.

With all due respect, you weren't alive when MJ was at his peak.  I listen to plenty of rap/hip-hop (although less of the poppy stuff that's on the radio admittedly). Drake's popularity here and abroad is NOTHING like Michael Jackson's was.  Hence the boomers (and this late millennial) think the comparison is kind of laughable. I know Drake is famous.  But he's maybe 1/10th as famous as MJ during his apex.

I never said that Drake was MJ level but most people know who he is. The closest artist to Michael Jackson today is probably Taylor Swift but even she falls short.

I'd actually maybe go Justin Timberlake?

Taylor Swift and Drake are both bigger than Justin Timberlake.

Even if you include his NSYNC days?  That kind of fandom is the closest thing we've had since MJ.

NSYNC was 20 years ago.

And the majority of people alive remember 20 years ago.

I polled all four of my under 13 nieces just now during breakfast.  All four knew who Justin Timberlake was but only oldest knew who Drake was. 

[hotdogPi]

Regarding Bieber, he's definitely famous, but he's more disliked than liked.

[7/8]

Drake isn't gonna surpass Michael Jackson, he's way too famous and had more of a cultural impact, but all of the boomers in here pretending that Drake isn't internationally known and very successful is kind of crazy. Most of the obscure 1960s and 1970s bands you talk about in other music threads are completely irrelevant now, only the most successful ones of that era survive.

With all due respect, you weren't alive when MJ was at his peak.  I listen to plenty of rap/hip-hop (although less of the poppy stuff that's on the radio admittedly). Drake's popularity here and abroad is NOTHING like Michael Jackson's was.  Hence the boomers (and this late millennial) think the comparison is kind of laughable. I know Drake is famous.  But he's maybe 1/10th as famous as MJ during his apex.

I never said that Drake was MJ level but most people know who he is. The closest artist to Michael Jackson today is probably Taylor Swift but even she falls short.

I'd actually maybe go Justin Timberlake?

Taylor Swift and Drake are both bigger than Justin Timberlake.

Even if you include his NSYNC days?  That kind of fandom is the closest thing we've had since MJ.

NSYNC was 20 years ago.

And the majority of people alive remember 20 years ago.

I polled all four of my under 13 nieces just now during breakfast.  All four knew who Justin Timberlake was but only oldest knew who Drake was.

Wow, I'm pretty surprised. I would've thought Justin Timberlake was more relevant to the >20 crowd. I'm also surprised how few people in this thread know Drake. I can't say I know much of his songs, but I certainly know his name and face. Maybe because I'm from near Toronto?

[Roadgeekteen]

Drake isn't gonna surpass Michael Jackson, he's way too famous and had more of a cultural impact, but all of the boomers in here pretending that Drake isn't internationally known and very successful is kind of crazy. Most of the obscure 1960s and 1970s bands you talk about in other music threads are completely irrelevant now, only the most successful ones of that era survive.

With all due respect, you weren't alive when MJ was at his peak.  I listen to plenty of rap/hip-hop (although less of the poppy stuff that's on the radio admittedly). Drake's popularity here and abroad is NOTHING like Michael Jackson's was.  Hence the boomers (and this late millennial) think the comparison is kind of laughable. I know Drake is famous.  But he's maybe 1/10th as famous as MJ during his apex.

I never said that Drake was MJ level but most people know who he is. The closest artist to Michael Jackson today is probably Taylor Swift but even she falls short.

I'd actually maybe go Justin Timberlake?

Taylor Swift and Drake are both bigger than Justin Timberlake.

Even if you include his NSYNC days?  That kind of fandom is the closest thing we've had since MJ.

NSYNC was 20 years ago.

And the majority of people alive remember 20 years ago.

I polled all four of my under 13 nieces just now during breakfast.  All four knew who Justin Timberlake was but only oldest knew who Drake was.

I'm suprised. Most people my age know both.

[ErmineNotyours]

How popular are those singers outside North America? That's really the biggest question. Michael Jackson was globally popular. U2 perhaps approached that in the early 1990s (emphasis on "perhaps approached" because I don't think they equaled the level of universal recognition the Thriller album reached), but has anyone else really reached a global audience in the same way (including Australia, New Zealand, and Japan)?

Apple did release that U2 album to all iTunes users, so it may have gotten wide release by default.  The idea was not very popular.

[kenarmy]

Y'all please. Justin Timberlake shouldn't have even been mentioned in this thread. Britney's fandom was (is) larger than NStink's.

[Rothman]

Britney is free.

[JayhawkCO]

Y'all please. Justin Timberlake shouldn't have even been mentioned in this thread. Britney's fandom was (is) larger than NStink's.

I don't care at all about pop music, but this has to be false.  She hasn't had a single anyone cared about in 18 years or so.  JT has been in movies, had #1 hits, etc.

[Roadgeekteen]

Y'all please. Justin Timberlake shouldn't have even been mentioned in this thread. Britney's fandom was (is) larger than NStink's.

I don't care at all about pop music, but this has to be false.  She hasn't had a single anyone cared about in 18 years or so.  JT has been in movies, had #1 hits, etc.

Britney Spears has had top 5 singles as recently as 9 years ago. She is also in the news a lot more now so she might be more well known.

[Max Rockatansky]

Y'all please. Justin Timberlake shouldn't have even been mentioned in this thread. Britney's fandom was (is) larger than NStink's.

I don't care at all about pop music, but this has to be false.  She hasn't had a single anyone cared about in 18 years or so.  JT has been in movies, had #1 hits, etc.

Britney Spears has had top 5 singles as recently as 9 years ago. She is also in the news a lot more now so she might be more well known.

Britney Spears was impossible to divorce from the MUTE symbol on my TV during her heyday.  Her music ain't my bag and is heavily auto tuned.  She was probably just as appealing to guys as Boy Bands were to girls. 

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

Y'all please. Justin Timberlake shouldn't have even been mentioned in this thread. Britney's fandom was (is) larger than NStink's.

I do want thank kenarmy for being the only person, in this thread, so far, to name a Drake song.
All these teeny-boppers (well, all two of them) trying to convince us as to Drake's popularity and unwilling to offer us "old-timers" something by the guy, just so we can see if we can recognize the part-owner (or is it "super-fan") of the Toronto Raptors.

[Rothman]

Y'all please. Justin Timberlake shouldn't have even been mentioned in this thread. Britney's fandom was (is) larger than NStink's.

I do want thank kenarmy for being the only person, in this thread, so far, to name a Drake song.
All these teeny-boppers (well, all two of them) trying to convince us as to Drake's popularity and unwilling to offer us "old-timers" something by the guy, just so we can see if we can recognize the part-owner (or is it "super-fan") of the Toronto Raptors.

Pfft.  If old-timers stopped listening to Top 40 stations, then they wouldn't know what's popular nowadays anyway.  Selection bias...

Drake's #1 hit "God's Plan" befuddled me, as does the concept of mumble rap in general.  But, I can't deny its popularity just because I don't like it.

[hbelkins]

Britney is free.

I hope she has someone responsible watching over her life and finances now that her father has been removed from his oversight as her conservator. Otherwise she'll probably be broke in six months and in who knows what kind of personal distress. She's lucky she's had someone to watch out for her all these years.

[Roadgeekteen]

Y'all please. Justin Timberlake shouldn't have even been mentioned in this thread. Britney's fandom was (is) larger than NStink's.

I do want thank kenarmy for being the only person, in this thread, so far, to name a Drake song.
All these teeny-boppers (well, all two of them) trying to convince us as to Drake's popularity and unwilling to offer us "old-timers" something by the guy, just so we can see if we can recognize the part-owner (or is it "super-fan") of the Toronto Raptors.

Lots of Drake's new album, such as Way 2 Sexy and Knife Talk, is very popular on Tiktok. The old-timers don't really use it but it's very popular with Gen Z.

[Rothman]

Britney is free.

I hope she has someone responsible watching over her life and finances now that her father has been removed from his oversight as her conservator. Otherwise she'll probably be broke in six months and in who knows what kind of personal distress. She's lucky she's had someone to watch out for her all these years.

Pfft.  Given her treatment by her father, I am surprised she wasn't more out of whack.

Leave Britney alone.

[kenarmy]

Y'all please. Justin Timberlake shouldn't have even been mentioned in this thread. Britney's fandom was (is) larger than NStink's.

I don't care at all about pop music, but this has to be false.  She hasn't had a single anyone cared about in 18 years or so.  JT has been in movies, had #1 hits, etc.

Britney Spears has had top 5 singles as recently as 9 years ago. She is also in the news a lot more now so she might be more well known.

Exactly. And even though she hasn't released any singles or albums in the last few years she is still very popular and has a HUGE fanbase. Otherwise, the freebritney movement would not have been so huge. JT hasn't done anything to even make noise recently except for his lackluster superbowl performance.

Britney is free.

I hope she has someone responsible watching over her life and finances now that her father has been removed from his oversight as her conservator. Otherwise she'll probably be broke in six months and in who knows what kind of personal distress. She's lucky she's had someone to watch out for her all these years.

Pfft.  Given her treatment by her father, I am surprised she wasn't more out of whack.

Leave Britney alone.

Are you really defending the conservatorship?? She has never had monetary problems except when her FAMILY stole it under the c-ship and continue to mooch off of it. Not to mention her losing basic human rights such as being alone and driving her car. And the custody of her children was reduced because her FATHER tried to attack her son.

[hbelkins]

Are you really defending the conservatorship??

Yes. I've never been consumed with Britney Spears news, but there for awhile it was omnipresent. You couldn't escape it. I can't remember exactly what dumb decisions she made, but she made a bunch of them at one time.

We'll see what her personal and financial situation is in a year or so. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it will be worse.

[hotdogPi]

Are you really defending the conservatorship??

I've never been consumed with Britney Spears news, but there for awhile it was omnipresent. You couldn't escape it.

I still have no idea what has happened. Maybe I did escape it?

[Rothman]

Are you really defending the conservatorship??

Yes. I've never been consumed with Britney Spears news, but there for awhile it was omnipresent. You couldn't escape it. I can't remember exactly what dumb decisions she made, but she made a bunch of them at one time.

We'll see what her personal and financial situation is in a year or so. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it will be worse.

HB aspires to be the father that Britney's father was...

[kenarmy]

Are you really defending the conservatorship??

Yes. I've never been consumed with Britney Spears news, but there for awhile it was omnipresent. You couldn't escape it. I can't remember exactly what dumb decisions she made, but she made a bunch of them at one time.

We'll see what her personal and financial situation is in a year or so. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it will be worse.

HB aspires to be the father that Britney's father was...

Yeah and that's quite disgusting. Forget the money. She earned and it she doesn't owe any of it to her family. But if drugging a 39 y.o. mother, forcing her to perform for years, monitoring her 24/7, and making her use an IUD seems fine to you then sure bud  .

[hbelkins]

Are you really defending the conservatorship??

Yes. I've never been consumed with Britney Spears news, but there for awhile it was omnipresent. You couldn't escape it. I can't remember exactly what dumb decisions she made, but she made a bunch of them at one time.

We'll see what her personal and financial situation is in a year or so. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it will be worse.

HB aspires to be the father that Britney's father was...

Sometimes I wish I'd had the father that she had. Maybe he could have kept me from doing some really dumb and costly stuff over the years.

[JayhawkCO]

Are you really defending the conservatorship??

Yes. I've never been consumed with Britney Spears news, but there for awhile it was omnipresent. You couldn't escape it. I can't remember exactly what dumb decisions she made, but she made a bunch of them at one time.

We'll see what her personal and financial situation is in a year or so. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it will be worse.

HB aspires to be the father that Britney's father was...

Sometimes I wish I'd had the father that she had. Maybe he could have kept me from doing some really dumb and costly stuff over the years.

You want a forced vasectomy?  That's essentially what happened with Britney.