Songbird sings the music of the legend, Michael Jackson..
Songbird Musical Variety Show (Week 2- May 22, 2008)
Regine Velasquez and mon1enararauno's tribute to the KING OF POP (part 2)
One of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records, including one for "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time." He has won 13 Grammy Awards, charted 13 number one singles in his solo career—more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era—and posted sales of over 750 million records worldwide, making him, according to the World Music Awards, the best selling solo artist of all time.
THRILLER
Thriller is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. The album was released on November 30, 1982 by Epic Records as the follow-up to Jackson's critically and commercially successful 1979 album Off the Wall. Thriller explores similar genres to those of Off the Wall, including funk, disco, soul, soft rock, R&B, and pop. Thriller's lyrics deal with themes including paranoia and the supernatural.
With a production budget of $750,000, recording sessions took place between April and November 1982 at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California.[9] Assisted by producer Quincy Jones, Jackson wrote four of Thriller's nine tracks. Following the release of the album's first single "The Girl Is Mine", some observers assumed Thriller would only be a minor hit record. With the release of the second single "Billie Jean", the album topped the charts in many countries. At its peak, the album was selling a million copies a week worldwide. In just over a year, Thriller became—and currently remains—the best-selling album of all time. Sales are estimated to be between 47–109 million copies sold worldwide. Seven of the album's nine songs were released as singles, and all reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album won a record-breaking eight Grammy Awards at the 1984 Grammys.
Thriller cemented Jackson's status as one of the predominant pop stars of the late 20th century, and enabled him to break down racial barriers via his appearances on MTV and meetings with President Ronald Reagan at the White House. The album was one of the first to use music videos as successful promotional tools—the videos for "Thriller", "Billie Jean" and "Beat It" all received regular rotation on MTV. In 2001, a special edition issue of the album was released, which contains additional audio interviews, a demo recording and the song "Someone In the Dark", which was a Grammy-winning track from the E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial storybook. In 2008, the album was reissued again as Thriller 25, containing re-mixes that feature contemporary artists, a previously unreleased song and a DVD.
Thriller ranked number 20 on Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list in 2003, and was listed by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers at number three in its Definitive 200 Albums of All Time. Thriller was preserved by the Library of Congress to the National Recording Registry, as it was deemed "culturally significant".
THRILLER 25
Thriller 25 is a 25th Anniversary special edition reissue of the Michael Jackson album Thriller, the world's best selling album. The prospect of a "second chapter" to Thriller was first publicly discussed on Access Hollywood in late 2006. Jackson said he would discuss the idea with collaborator will.i.am. It was released in Australia on February 8, 2008, then internationally on February 11, 2008 and the following day in the United States.
Thriller 25 was released by Sony BMG's re-issue division, Legacy Recordings. In the United Kingdom, the BBFC gave it a '15' Certificate because it included "Thriller". It is the first Jackson album with an age certificate. Along with the original material, the reissue contained remixes, new material, a DVD and collaborations with several contemporary artists.
Two singles, "The Girl Is Mine 2008" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008" were released from the album to moderate success and a number of the other remixes charted, despite no physical release. The reissue was a commercial success, selling 3 million copies worldwide in 12 weeks and was generally well received among critics, despite their view that the new material was not as inspiring as the original.
BEN
"Ben" is a number-one hit song written by Don Black and Walter Scharf and recorded by the teenaged Michael Jackson for the Motown label in 1972. Originally written for Donny Osmond, "Ben" was offered to Jackson as Osmond was on tour at the time and unavailable for recording. The single, theme of a 1972 film of the same name (the sequel to the 1971 killer rat movie Willard), spent one week at the top of the U.S. pop chart.[1] It also reached number-one on the Australian pop chart, spending eight weeks at the top spot.[1] The song also later reached a peak of number seven on the British pop chart.[1].
The song became the first of 13 number-one pop hits for Jackson in the United States and his first number-one as a solo artist.
Later included on Jackson's album of the same name, "Ben" won a Golden Globe for Best Song and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
ONE DAY IN YOUR LIFE
One Day in Your Life, though not an official solo release, was issued as a "lost" solo album from Michael Jackson upon its release by Motown Records in 1981. Some called the album a "studio" release, while others call it a compilation of Jackson's mid-1970s recordings when he was between the ages of 15 and 17. In fact, some of the songs were taken from Jackson 5 releases to pad the album's running time. Motown later admitted that the album was a quick cash boost generating from the success of Jackson's Off the Wall album. The title track became a worldwide hit, especially in the United Kingdom.
ROCK WITH YOU
"Rock with You" was released on November 3, 1979, as the second single from Michael Jackson's fifth solo LP and breakthrough album, Off the Wall. Written by Heatwave group member and songwriter Rod Temperton, the song helped Jackson score one of the first Billboard number-one singles in the 1980s, as well as one of the last big hits of the disco era. It reached number one on both the pop and R&B singles chart and became one of Jackson's most-loved songs. A video for the song shows a smiling Jackson dancing in a sequined suit against a background laser. According to Billboard, the song was the fourth biggest single of 1980.[1]
It was re-released as a single on February 27, 2006, as part of the Visionary: The Video Singles box set.
SOMEONE IN THE DARK
In 1982, Jackson contributed the song "Someone In the Dark" to the storybook for the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial; the record won a Grammy for Best Album for Children.
I JUST CAN"T STOP LOVING YOU
"I Just Can't Stop Loving You" is a popular ballad by singers Michael Jackson and Siedah Garrett. Written and composed by Jackson, it was originally intended to be a duet between Jackson and his woman of choice: either Barbra Streisand or Whitney Houston. Even Aretha Franklin and Agnetha Fältskog (formerly of ABBA) were offered the song, but all four had other obligations.
However, songwriter and Quincy Jones protege Garrett, who wrote Jackson's memorable "Man in the Mirror", volunteered to sing with Jackson thus giving Garrett her first hit since Dennis Edwards' 1984 hit, "Don't Look Any Further". Garrett is quoted in The Billboard Book of Number One Hits by Fred Bronson that she was unaware she would be singing the song - although she had received a tape of it - until the day of the recording session, when Jones told her to step up to the microphone and sing it with Jackson.
The song became the first of five consecutive number-one Billboard Hot 100 singles from Jackson's Bad album. It also reached number one on the Billboard R&B and adult contemporary charts. It was Jackson's second number-one song on the AC chart (his first, coincidentally, had also been a duet: 1982's "The Girl Is Mine" with Paul McCartney).It was released without an accompanying music video.
Originally, the album version featured a spoken intro by Jackson backed with a longer version of the opening music. This intro was mixed out on future releases of the album.
BLACK OR WHITE
"Black or White" was the first single taken from Michael Jackson's Dangerous album, released on November 1991. The single is considered the biggest selling rock song of the 1990s. "Black or White" is a mix of hard rock, dance and rap, but basically it is a hard rock song like "Beat It".
Written, composed, and arranged by Jackson with the rap lyrics by Bill Bottrell, it is a song that promotes racial unity. The song's introduction and main riff, reminiscent of that of "Hurts So Good" by John Mellencamp are performed by guitarist Slash and Bill Bottrell.
The song peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart, as well as in 18 other countries.
SHE'S OUT OF MY LIFE
"She's Out of My Life" is a song written by musical artist Tom Bahler. He wrote the song about Karen Carpenter, who broke up with Bahler after discovering he had fathered a child with another woman. The song has been covered by a variety of artists, including: Michael Jackson, Patti LaBelle, Ginuwine, 98 Degrees, Jon Lee, Barbara Mandrell, Willie Nelson, and Josh Groban.
The song became famous as the fourth single to be released by singer Michael Jackson from his successful Off the Wall album in 1980. It was the first time a solo artist had achieved four top ten hits from one album. Unlike the album's previous singles (which were all dance-oriented funk/disco songs), the "She's Out of My Life" song was an emotional ballad. Subsequently, Jackson's vocals on the record were critiqued some of his best.
A poignant moment in the song occurs near the end when Jackson begins to break down in tears as he sings the word "life". Given the popular response to his emotional rendition, the song remained in Jackson's live set for many years. Although he had attempted to record the song's last few moments with emotional restraint, after numerous tries he continued to end the rendition the same - by breaking down in tears. Producer Quincy Jones subsequently let Jackson's tearful recording stand:
She's Out of My Life I'd been carrying around for about three years, - you can feel the pain in it you know. And I held on to it and finally something said 'this is the right moment to give it to Michael'.
And when we recorded it with Michael I know it was an experience he'd never even thought about to sing in a song, cause it's a very mature emotion. And, - he cried at the end of every take, you know. We recorded about, I don't know, 8-11 takes, and everyone, at the end he just cried, and I said 'hey - that's supposed to be, leave it on there.'
—Quincy Jones, Off the Wall 2001 Special Edition, Quincy Jones Interview 3
The song peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100.
A music video was produced to promote the song.
BEAT IT
"Beat It" is a song by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was written by Jackson and co-produced by Quincy Jones for the singer's sixth solo album, Thriller (1982). Jones had wanted an ambitious black rock 'n' roll song, however, Jackson had never previously shown an interest in the genre. Eddie Van Halen was drafted in to add the distinctive overdriven guitar solo with tapping, but initially thought the phone calls from Jones requesting that he participate were fake. The lyrics of "Beat It" are about defeat and courage.
Following the successful chart performances of Thriller, "The Girl Is Mine" and "Billie Jean", "Beat It" was released on February 14, 1983, as the album's third single. The song was a worldwide commercial and critical success, becoming one of the best-selling singles of all time. Both "Billie Jean" and "Beat It" occupied Top 5 positions at the same time, a feat matched by very few artists. One of the most lauded songs in history, "Beat It" was certified platinum in 1989.
Honored numerous times—including two Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards and an induction into the Music Video Producers Hall of Fame—"Beat It" and the song's music video propelled Thriller into becoming the best-selling album of all time. The song was promoted with a short film that featured Jackson bringing two real life gangs together through the power of dance. Covered and sampled by modern artists, including Fergie and Fall Out Boy, the song was included in the National Highway Safety Commission's anti-drunk driving campaign. "Beat It" became a signature song of Jackson; the singer performed it on all of his world tours. Rolling Stone magazine placed "Beat It" in the 337th spot on it's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and on the list of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
source: Wikipedia for the song info and album covers
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