The Grammys, an awards ceremony that hopes to honor
the industry's most promising recording artists and showcase achievements made
by those who have demonstrated excellence in their creative fields.
Dating back to the coveted annual event
has set the scene for countless careerdefining moments and captured
the world's greatest music stars at their most electric.
None so iconic, however, as Michael Jackson holding arms full
of trophies during the 26th Grammy Awards ceremony in 1984 when at the height
of Thriller mania, Jackson famously swept the show, winning a record eight awards
and garnering the largest television audience ever for the music event.
Both records, even after nearly 40 years, stand unbroken.
However, although Michael Jackson is
a bona fide Grammy legend in memory, throughout his life, Jackson didn't always
maintain a respectful connection with the institution as you would expect.
In fact, his relationship with the Academy
was very much love, hate and frustrations built as he fought to be properly
acknowledged, shaping his approach to awards ceremonies
in general and what value he put on such accolades.
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Michael Jackson got his first taste of the Grammys in 1975 when he attended
the industry event as part of the Jackson Five.
The tuxedoclad brothers were thrilled with the nomination
for Best R Amp B Group Vocal Performance for their track Dancing Machine.
Previously, the group had their single
ABC, nominated in 1971 for Best Contemporary Vocal Performance
by a group, but the Motown Brothers lost out on both occasions.
As a child star, Michael Jackson grew up
attending awards ceremonies, witnessing his idols as well as the day's
biggest stars pick up awards for their illustrious careers,
experiencing firsthand the buzz in the crowd, the anticipation,
as well as the jubilation that followed a major victory.
How artists can be celebrated and history be made for their creative feat.
Although Michael's work with the Jacksons didn't secure a Grammy win,
the artist had lost the ambitions for his first solo record as an adult.
Off the Wall With the help
of Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson was able to showcase his creative freedom
and individualism, developing a vivid style that was very much his own.
The ambitious project proved to be critically and commercially successful.
A major breakthrough,
Jackson achieved two smash hit Number One singles with Don't Stop Until You Get
Enough and Rock With You, as well as two other Top Ten releases,
breaking records as the best selling album from any Black artist.
Up until that point, Michael Jackson had high hopes
for multiple award nominations to warrant his groundbreaking accomplishments.
However, the artist was underwhelmed when he came to realize that he was nominated
for just two awards, eventually winning
Best Male R Amp B Vocal Performance for his hit Don't Stop Till You Get Enough.
Distraught, Jackson reportedly told his sister quote, you watch, I'll show them.
I'll make it impossible for them to ignore me like that again.
Released in November 1982, Michael's next musical output, Thriller,
showcased a much more diverse popdriven sound, with rock crossover hits like
Beat It and pop disco hits like the ominous Billy Gene as each single
premiered on MTV with an equally electrifying video and The Moonwalker
wowing audiences with his sensational dance ability.
Momentum for the album grew at an alarming rate as Michael mania swept the nation
with Michael at number One yet again, and the album fast becoming the best
selling album of all time, it was clear only one name was going to be
sweeping every music awards show the following year.
However, once it was announced
that Michael Jackson had been nominated for an incredible twelve awards,
his triumphant night was put into jeopardy after he suffered second and third degree
Burns filming a Pepsi commercial just weeks before the ceremony.
Quote Jackson may require reconstructive surgery, but we really can't determine
that at this time, Stephen Hoffman, Michael's doctor,
said at a Press conference after the accident, adding that Jackson might
still attend the Grammy Awards, quote if he feels up to it.
It was originally intended for the glove
singer to deliver another spellbinding performance in hopes of recapturing
the magic he displayed on Motown 25 the previous year.
But Ken Ehrlich, producer of the telecast,
said Jackson ultimately declined the invitation after his accident.
Quote he'll be in the audience,
hopefully he'll get some awards, hopefully he'll have a good time and that's it.
Much anticipation grew as the event would Mark Michael Jackson's first public
appearance since his potentially disfiguring Burns.
The same commercial that Jackson's hair caught a light in during its filming was
also due to premiere as Pepsi planned to play the segment during the award show's.
Commercial Break Ironically,
the infamous scene was filmed at the Shrine Auditorium,
which also acted as the venue for the Grammy presentation that year.
On February 28, 1984, Michael Jackson reentered the building,
looking far more triumphant than which he left.
Dressing in his finest Crystal covered blue and gold military jacket
with matching Crystal glove, Michael appeared Regal as though ready
to receive his Crown on the most glorious of occasions.
The excitement was palpable with every trophy.
When accepting album of the Year,
he invited CBS Records President Walter Yetnikoff to the stage,
who praised Michael as quote the man who has shown us the way in music,
in youth, in song and dance, and dedicated his win to one of his idols,
Jackie Wilson, who had passed away the month before
for his 7th trip to the stage for best vocal performance.
Mail, Michael dramatically removed his
glasses a promise to his friend, actress Katherine Hepburn,
as he said with a smile, quote for the Girls in the Balcony.
His recordbreaking 8th award for the record of the year.
Eclipsing singersongwriter Paul Simons seven in 1970,
saw Jackson enthusiastically embracing Quincy Jones and joyously spinning
on the stage, becoming an alltime magic moment in Grammy history.
Thanks to Jackson, the broadcast became the most watched
Grammy Awards ever and for a long time the most watched ceremony of any award
category, only to be beaten out by Titanic's sweep of the Oscars in 1998.
With over 51 million viewers, the event saw a 70% increase in viewership
when compared to the previous year, as millions tuned in to watch
Michael Jackson take his rightful place in pop history.
Quote we were all in a state, Michael later wrote in his 1988 memoir, Moonwalk.
Quote, man, what a feeling to work so hard
on something, to give so much and to succeed.
I imagine that I felt like a long distance
runner must feel when breaking the tape at the finish line.
I identify with that person because I know
how hard he's trained and I know how much that moment means to him.
That's powerful stuff.
We knew Michael was going to win everything.
I mean, how could he not?
Said guitarist Steve Lucas, who played on multiple Thriller tracks.
Thriller engineer Bruce Sweeney described the energy during the momentous night.
Quote It was very exciting, he recalled.
There was a lot of professional envy that night
for an artist who had become so incredibly
successful, both critically and commercially.
It seems inevitable that Michael Jackson
would experience backlash as Thriller mania war thin
characterizations of Jackson soon shifted from the dazzling performer
in America's Peter Pan of pop to the corporate sellout who cared more
about greed and commerciality than mastering his art.
Jackson increasingly becoming a tabloid
target as his wealth and stature in the world of entertainment grew.
By the time Michael Jackson was ready
to release his much anticipated follow up, Bad.
After almost five years without any new
music, much of the conversation focus on the contrived media hype,
record sales and Michael's appearance rather than the music itself.
As he begins his new quest for greater
heights, he faces an enormous image problem, helped in part by media overkill
his shyness, feminine look and sometimes eccentric behavior.
As James McBride wrote
in The Washington Post, with Michael Jackson out of the country
from much of the album's initial release, touring Asia as part of the first leg
of the Bad World tour, the artist hoped to build the momentum he
created with Thriller while touring the US throughout 1988.
As part of this endeavor,
Jackson planned to return to the States and kick off his first solo nationwide
tour immediately after attending the Grammy Awards.
Michael received four award nominations, and although there was no chance of him
sweeping the ceremony again, the categories he was nominated included
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and the coveted Album of the Year award.
This time around,
Jackson was in a far better state to perform during the show,
a reminder for audiences to forget the nonsense in the press and showcase
what the artist does best, with many predicting the singer would win
several awards for Bad, Jackson channeled all his energies
into an unforgettable performance in which he transformed his already number
one throbbing dance hit, The Way You Make Me Feel into a slinky jazz tune.
This was followed by his brand new single,
the intense and gospel inspired man in the Mirror,
the last part being performed in Nero Capella, showcasing the artist's
raw and commanding presence as a world class performer.
After receiving floods of applause
and a standing ovation from his contemporaries Herb Alpert and Motown pal
Diana Ross entered the stage to announce the winner of the Album of the Year.
With Diana Ross being chosen to present,
one can presume that Michael had a pretty good chance of taking it home
up against the likes of you two, Whitney Houston and somewhat rival Prince.
Jackson stood in the wings anxiously awaiting the result.
A vibrant Diana opens the envelope impatiently and immediately an air
of disappointment covers her face as she announces
the Joshua Tree.
Michael Jackson then proceeded to sit in the audience as every other award
nomination was read out before ultimately leaving the ceremony empty handed
without an enthusiastic acknowledgement for his latest album.
The next night, Jackson kicked off the American leg of his
tour with three soldout concerts at Madison Square Garden.
Michael was incredibly hurt and what made it worse was that the events television
ratings increased by over 20% from the previous year,
meaning that the Academy were lining their pockets from Jackson's appearance
and in return, he was humiliated on national television
with fixed goals to outdo Thriller by selling 100 million records.
Michael blamed the embarrassing incident for stunting sales of Bad with evidence
that esteemed awards can act as a linchpin for artists as the positive publicity
generated can build momentum, resulting in more radio plays,
record sales and ultimately buzz around an album.
By 1989, Michael Jackson was eager
to ensure that he was sufficiently honored at any given award shows.
However, the artist and his team were again horrified when they found out his
Queen of Pop equivalent, Madonna, was awarded Artist of the Decade by MTV,
a music channel he felt were forever indebted to him for the crucial impact he
made on the music video format over the years.
This led to negotiations and MTV
ultimately creating the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award in his honor.
Jackson's team heavily pursued award
shows, citing that Michael Jackson would simply not attend if he wasn't properly
awarded and celebrated throughout any given ceremony.
Knowing the prestige media interest in television viewers they would receive
as a result of having a superstar of Michael Jackson's magnitude feature as
part of their programming, many were more than happy to oblige.
Throughout the coming years, Michael Jackson would be delighted
by announcements that awards would be named after him and receiving many
accolades himself in grand ceremonies with elaborate video montages reminding
attendees of his many career accomplishments.
However, this sudden shift towards out
and out admiration for Jackson didn't go unnoticed by the wider press, as in 1993,
David Hinckley from the Daily News observed, quote, It has never been any
secret that Jackson loves awards titles, and superlatives officials at MTV have
several stories all off the record, about Jackson's price for attendance.
If an appropriate award did not exist, they would create a new one.
It has been done.
The entire Jackson presentation at the American Music Awards was as open
a campaign for that King of Pop title as could be imagined, not only detailing his
brilliant career but inserting repeated references to record sales.
In short and form, Michael is God with better Billboard numbers,
a temptation even the esteemed Grammy Awards couldn't resist,
as they were looking for a boost in viewership for their 1993 ceremony
after a dramatic slump in ratings the previous year.
Having proven he could attract record breaking levels of television viewership
with his recent HBO concert special, Super Bowl halftime show and live
interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Academy was willing to pull out all the stops.
Michael Jackson agreed to attend the show once again,
this time to accept the illustrious Grammy Legend award with past winners
including Barbara Streisand, Aretha Franklin and Smokey Robinson.
Nine years after their first Grammy date,
Jackson reunited with his good friend Brooke Shields as they arrived,
Arm and Arm appearing publicly together for the first time in years.
His younger sister Janet, who also attended the awards with Michael
in 1984, presided over a video tribute to her brother titled how to Become
a Legend, which featured his humanitarian work, his childhood stardom
with the Jackson Five, and his musical accomplishments as a solo artist.
Sporting a white, heavily beaded jacket, black pants and black gloves,
Jackson had rehearsed the song to go along with a retrospective of his career,
but decided to give a heartfelt speech instead, speaking for the first time after
his revealing interview with Oprah Winfrey just a matter of days before.
However, in years to come, Michael Jackson would rarely be seen
at the Grammy Awards as the Academy grew tired of his mounting kangapod demands.
It was rumored that Jackson was to perform during the ceremony in 2002 to support his
invincible record, but the appearance was canceled, most likely due to issues
the artist was having with his record label at the time.
In 2006, stories circulated that Michael Jackson was going to formally
appear at the ceremony once again as part of his music comeback.
Ahead of the release of the 25th
anniversary edition of Thriller, Grammy bosses proposed nostalgic
festivities celebrating the trailblazing album that broke records in Grammy history
some 20 years previously records that had remained unbroken.
However, the Academy withdrew the offer
due to a string of demands the singer made regarding his appearance.
According to the New York Post,
Jackson insisted he'd be given a special award, that it be presented by a person
of his choice, that the entire event be dedicated to his career and that his
status as King of Pop be mentioned at least 30 times during the show.
However, after Michael Jackson's sudden demise in June 2009,
the Grammy Awards sought to pay a fitting tribute to an artist who had left such
an indelible Mark on the music landscape and the Grammys themselves.
The late pop icon was awarded a Lifetime
achievement accolade and honored with a 3D live and film number.
At the 2010 show, the King of Pop was heard performing his
Earth Song accompanied by onstage stars as well as images from nature.
A part of the clip was included in Jackson's movie documentary this Is It
but the full production of Earth Song had not been seen before and was billed
by the Grammys as the first time an award show had featured such a 3D sequence.
Michael's children, Prince and Paris Jackson accepted
the Lifetime Achievement award on behalf of their father.
Paris closed out with a brief reserve
message to her father, quote, Daddy was supposed to be here.
Daddy was going to perform this year.
He couldn't perform last year. Thank you.
We love you, Daddy.