You may have seen this meme floating around the Internet.
Michael Jackson's momentary lapse in his speech, revealing a much deeper voice than
what we have expected from the King of Pop.
Can you hear me?
Yeah. Okay
However, this clip of Michael Jackson being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame has been doctored for dramatic effect, as demonstrated in the original.
Can you hear me? Yeah.
Okay.
Although Michael Jackson's ability to suddenly drop out of his regular
speaking voice is apparent during his 2002 Billboard Award satellite
message. I'm a big fan of yours, by the way.
Right on, Mike. Big fan here too, man.
You know this man.
(giggles) You know this man
Right on y'all. Big up Chris Tucker, Michael Jackson y'all.
(giggles) You know this man
Although Michael Jackson's real speaking
voice has been much speculated, with many of those that knew Michael Jackson more
intimately attesting to his much deeper, more masculine, natural voice,
including director Spike Lee, Liza Minelli and others.
And his voice is as deep
as sh*t.
It was between where you think Michael Jackson is and Prince.
It was in between that.
It was just like, I don't have a deep voice.
I think Michael's was like,
so what kind of cartoons are you watching?
It was damn like that though.
He was looking square in my eyes.
So what kind of cartoon do you watch?
At a certain point, Michael looked up and said, Damn,
I thought those motherf**kers were going to never leave.
Now he says, Hold up.
And he says this not in, (high voice) damn
I didn't think these motherfucker-
he says, it like a black man would say, Damn
I thought the motherfuckers got up and walked out.
And my friend was saying he was sitting
there like, So this is what I'm talking about.
The shape shifting thing.
That voice really surprised Lisa Marie Presley, his wife on Michael Jackson.
She says time and time again, that voice was a construction.
It was a strategy.
It was a mask.
This more authoritative voice is
uncharacteristic of the high pitched, airy tone we all remember Jackson for,
as well as his typically humble, polite and sensitive manner.
An inspiration.
I wish you a very happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.
I look forward to seeing you soon.
And I love you all dearly.
Thank you very much.
But this deeper voice was showcased publicly during some high profile
performances for dramatic effect, including his 1993 Super Bowl halftime show
and while on his 96 to 97 HIStory world tour.
Today
Michael Jackson also personally voiced his King of Pop character for the 2000 video
game release, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing Round Two,
where he speaks in a lower register than his usual speaking voice.
They call me the King of Pop.
I'm going to dance all over you.
So you'd be bad, huh?
I don't move over for no one.
Was this Michael Jackson's quote,
real voice or was he merely voicing the character he was asked to play as part
of the boxing game? Much like he did for his Mayor character
is confirmed by those who knew him personally, with several famous faces
being fooled by the King of Pop's lifelong love of prank calling those that he knew.
Russell Crowe
what was the thing with Michael Jackson?
This is such an odd story.
What?
He just got into the habit of wherever I
was staying, he had just called the hotel and ask for my room and put on funny voices.
I'd never met him.
He would always start off being kind
of gruff, like he was the hotel management and there was some kind of problem.
That's surprising than saying you're Michael Jackson.
Then if I got kind of irritated he'd go
Don't worry Russ it's only Michael
Michael Jackson's ability to shapeshift his voice is showcased when he was
in fact, prank called himself by Ralphige in 2007.
During the conversation, he posed as his own assistant before taking the call.
Who's speaking please?
Akon.
1 minute, please.
Thanks.
Hello?
Hello
Akon.
Hold on a second. Hold on
The guy who answered the phone sounds fake.
Yeah, it sounds like Michael Jackson pretending to be somebody else.
And then when he realized it was a prank, he skillfully disguised his voice
entirely, stating that he was never Michael Jackson in the first place.
Where's Michael?
You thought you were talking to Michael, didn't ya?
That's really funny guy.
I cannot feature the full clips in this video, but I put a link in the description
box, so you can check out the full call for yourself.
However, later in life,
it appears that Michael Jackson became more comfortable using the lower register
of his speaking voice during numerous appearances he made in 2006,
including the World Music Awards and a tribute to James Brown.
Hello.
What I'm going to say is brief.
But to the point.
James Brown is my greatest inspiration.
Ever since I was a small child, no more than like six years old.
My mother would wake me no matter what time it was.
I was sleeping, no matter what I was doing
to watch the television, to see the master at work.
And when I saw him move, I was mesmerized.
I've never seen a performer perform like James Brown.
And right then and there I knew that was
exactly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life because of James Brown.
Thank you. This means the world to me really does.
Thank you so much.
I'm a big fan really.
This means a lot
When Quincy Jones and Bruce Swedien
and Rod Temperton and myself created the Thriller album.
It was my dream that Thriller would become the biggest selling album ever.
Check out part two where we investigate
the development of Michael Jackson's speaking voice and the theorize when
and why Michael may have chosen to manipulate his voice in such a manner.
Thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.