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“It’s a lot of pressure to be compared to something that’s a phenomenon.” Kendrick Lamar told Jimmy Fallon in 2016 he was happy that his album To Pimp A Butterfly only got 11 Grammy Award nominations because he didn’t want to beat Jackson’s record of 12 set in 1984.
Timberlake shared with MTV’s My Album Launch in 2003 that he didn’t want to be compared to Jackson. Most of these artists want to keep Jackson where he is - as the template. On “You Only Live Twice,” he raps: “Not sure if you know but I’m actually Michael Jackson/The man I see in the mirror is actually goin’ platinum.”Īll the aforementioned folk who have been propped up to be “the next MJ” have paid him homage in one way or another, whether it’s The Weeknd covering “Dirty Diana,” Beyoncé mimicking his Super Bowl outfit at her own Super Bowl gig or Brown’s tearful tribute performance at the 2010 BET Awards. He’s embracing the notion that he’s on the same level as the King of Pop. Social media memes and dance challenges helped propel his tracks like “Toosie Slide” and “In My Feelings” to the top of the charts. Drake benefits, to a degree, from a culture that’s so quick to put something on a pedestal. Albums are being declared instant classics after a single day at least and a week at most. Shuffle culture and first-reaction trends dictate general music criticism today. Speaking of which, cultural context needs to be considered. Of course, Drake has had many more since 2020, but context is important. Then there are The Jackson 5-slash- The Jacksons, who achieved 11 Top 10 singles, bringing Jackson to 43. Jackson was only the featured guest once of his 30 with Paul McCartney’s “Say Say Say.” In fact, if we’re keeping things fair, Jackson was also featured on Rockwell’s number two single “Somebody’s Watching Me” and number one charity smash “We Are the World,” which he co-wrote. This record, however, was inflated as 15 of the 40 are Drake’s guest features on other artist’s songs, including the two that put him in first place. In 2020, he achieved his 39th and 40th placement to become number-one, besting the previous record holder, Madonna, with 38. Well, from 1979 to his death in 2009, Jackson released seven albums, and his only sold under eight million copies twice - again, mostly physical copies.ĭrake has also surpassed MJ in total top 10s on the Billboard Hot 100. Three of Drake’s LPs have sold over five million copies, which is astounding for any artist over the past decade, rap or otherwise. Yes, Thriller is a one-in-a-million musical and cultural anomaly, and it may not be fair to judge that against Certified Lover Boy since Drake has had bigger selling albums. Going even further, Jackson continues to win in the age of streaming, as Thriller has gone platinum five times over since 2015, equating to nearly a million units per year as of late. NBA’s Cedric Ceballos released from hospital after weeks-long COVID battle