blackboab

comparing prince to michael jackson is like comparing the beatles to the monkees ..i am amazed sometimes that on a music forum..a place where you would think most people would have some knowledge of music that they think you can compare these two ?..
if we are talking musical talent...prince is a million miles ahead of mj...lets have a look at what he brings to the table..
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prince is a multi instrumentalist...to the highest standard..one of the greatest guitar players in the world(ask eric clapton or steve vai how good he is)...add to that a brilliant bass player and great on the drums and keyboards..

prince has written and produced some of the best songs of the 20th century...in rolling stones 500 greatest songs of all time...prince wrote more of them than anyone else..bar lennon and mccartney...

his live performances are considered some of the greatest ever seen..and he remains a huge concert draw as his 21 nights in london and la recently have proved..

his influence on modern music can be heard everywhere..and he is a true musician's musician with almost everyone who works in music recognising his huge talent.

he was the first artist to release an album via the internet in 1997 (one of the first to see that record companies were finished in the internet age)...after he freed himself from the control of record companies and has remained free from record company control ever since .

he has written 8 us number one singles..had around 25 top tens singles and had more hits than any other artist between 1980 and 1999....add to that 5 number one albums and a dozen top ten entries and around 100 million album sales...mj clearly sold far more than prince but prince is one the most successful artists of all time just on sales alone..

michael jackson was a huge media star with a great voice and some songwriting talent but its also interesting to note that his most successful album was mainly written by other people...he was a talent but in no way does his musical talent compare to prince..

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Black Francis

MJ all the way.

Prince is a weird F*ck he's revered as this great eccentric musician but it's mostly about the aura of mysticism he exudes

Now im not saying he's not a talented musician.

It's just that ppl that revere him as a great musician like his music but alot of ppl like me don't think he's that great

i mean, his name doesn't come up frequently when you talk about music (at least in my circles)

MJ however was the king of pop
his mark on music is undeniable and it far surpasses Prince's mark on music history

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Soulflower

Jackson had 28 top 10 hits but I am just going to point out the number 1 hit songs for each of his albums that were mostly written by him himself


Off The Wall

Dont Stop Till You Get Enough written by Michael Jackson produced by Quincy Jones co produced by Michael Jackson This song was a number one hit and there is a video on youtube of how Jackson composes the song with instruments before Quincy polished it




Workin Day and Night written by Michael Jackson produced by Quincy Jones co produced by Michael Jackson Wasnt a number one hit but one of the best tracks on the album and there is demo of how Jackson composed the song before giving it to Quincy on youtube

The only other number one hit was Rock With You.

So Jackson wrote and co produced one of the number one hits for this album

Thriller

Wanna Be Startin Something written by Michael Jackson produced by Quincy Jones co produced by Michael Jackson

Billie Jean written by Michael Jackson produced by Quincy Jones co produced by Michael Jackson and was a number one hit song

Beat It written by Michael Jackson produced by Quincy Jones co produced by Michael Jackson and was a number one hit song

The Girl Is Mine written by Michael Jackson produced by Quincy Jones co produced by Michael Jackson

Billie Jean and Beat It were the only number one hit songs and Jackson again wrote and co produced both



BAD- the entire album was written andco produced by Michael Jackson except for two songs

BAD written by Michael Jackson
The Way You Make Me Feel written by Michael Jackson
Speed Demon written by Michael Jackson
Liberial Girl written by Michael Jackson
Another Part of Me written by Michael Jackson
I Just Cant Stop Loving You written by Michael Jackson
Dirty Diana written by Michael Jackson
Smooth Criminal written by Michael Jackson
Leave Me Alone written by Michael Jackson

Jackson wrote the entire album except for two songs. There are demos on youtube of half of these songs he performed at his house with instruments and with beat boxing before giving it to Quincy.

This album had 5 number one songs all which were written by Michael Jackson himself except for Man In the Mirror: BAD, The Way You Make Me Feel, Dirty Diana, Man In the Mirror, I Just Cant Stop Loving You

Dangerous- Michael Jackson had co wrote alot of the songs with Bill Bottrel for this album but I am just going to point out the songs he wrote by himself

"Heal the World" Michael Jackson 6:25


"Black or White" (featuring L.T.B.) Michael Jackson

"Who Is It" Michael Jackson 6:34

"Will You Be There" (Theme from Free Willy) Michael Jackson 7:39

There are also demos of this song on youtube

This album only had one number one song Black or White which was written by Michael Jackson


HIStory... MJ had some co wrote for this album but I am just going to mention the songs he wrote by himself- Alot of people and critics hail this album as his best because of its political and socially conscious lyrics and theme... the album was co produced by Jacson

2. "They Don't Care About Us" Michael Jackson 4:44
3. "Stranger in Moscow" Michael Jackson jackson produced this song by his self 5:43
5. "Earth Song" Michael Jackson and jackson produced this song by his self 6:46
6. "D.S." (featuring Slash) Michael Jackson 4:50
7. "Money" Michael Jackson 4:41
10. "Childhood" (Theme from Free Willy 2) Michael Jackson 4:28
14. "Little Susie" Michael Jackson 6:13



You Are Not Alone was the only number one hit which was written by R.Kelly but

Blood On The Dance Floor- I actually think this album was very Prince inspired- This was just a remix album for his previous album but he did have 4 new songs which Jackson wrote one of

Songs like Blood on the Dance Floor and Superfly Sister are held as his best.
"Morphine" (featuring Slash) Michael Jackson 6:29


Invincible- jackson co produced album and has alot of writers for this album and co credits but going to name songs he wrote by himself




The Lost Children- written and produced by Michael Jackson

8. "Speechless" produced by Jackson written by Michael Jackson 3:21


No number ones but You Rock My World was a Top 10 US hit and was co written and produced by Jackson.



This is the reason why a poster suggested that Jackson is underrated and he most definitly is. People just label him an [I]entertainer/I] when he was just as much an artist as Prince. He wrote majority of his catalogue and most of his top 10 hits were written by himself.

Some of these posts here are hilarious and absurd with suggesting Jackson did not write any of his songs lol

He also produced and arranged a handful of his own music. He also played the acoustic guitar and played the piano. I also think just because a singer doesnt play instruments does not make them any less of an "artist". Yes Prince is the better musician but that does not make him better and I also think its unfair to compare his catalogue to MJs because he had more albums.

I LOVE them both but I have to pick MJ. He was a phenomenal talent and he just had the whole package (songwriter, producer, arranger, innovative, fantastic dancer, and entertainer Prince was as well (except for he was not as talented a dancer as Jackson and not as innovative in the music video department either) but just prefer MJ his more relatable music wise and he is a better singer). There hasnt been an artist that matches their talent that has came out of the new milenium. There two completely different artists dont get why they are always compared.

Necromancer

I agree with all of the above concerning MJ. I personally always thought that his dance choreography alone was #1.

I would just rather listen to Prince these days, some of his music still holds a modern funk to it verses the more pop style of Jackson. I still listen to a few of MJs songs. I've been wanting to get his Jackson Five material, just haven't got around to it or found the time yet.

Two different artist, two different labels.

P A N

it depends on the era. i think in mj's 20s he was fit for the win, perhaps due only to his reach, but when his health started to decline i think it's likely prince coulda KO'd him with one punch.

sopsych

Thank you - good work there.

Well, the comparison is because they were the two big-name male African-American pop stars of the 80's and early 90's.

I am one of the people who thinks HIStory was MJ's best work in some ways, musical sophistication with a social consciousness that I don't think Prince has ever pulled off on one album. But the biggest hits from HIStory weren't reflective of that quality. "Dirty Diana," "Billy Jean," Leave Me Alone," and "Who Is It" were other high points of Jackson's songwriting, in my opinion.

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CrazyVegn

I fail to understand HOW anyone can mix up Prince VS Michael Jackson even as a child. . .
Somewhere on here I read the only reason he's famous is bc he was a freak? Well THAT was self-inflicted so he MUST'VE wanted the negative publicity. He brought it upon himself so in that respect I cannot defend him.
BUT like someone else pointed out he had already reached stardom as a child. He did NOT reach Jesus, Elvis, or Marylin Monroe status until after Thriller IMO.
Prince is like B list celebrity yet alone Superstar so "destroy" MJ how? No, I think MJ didn't play an instrument but he was the most talented singer and dancer I have ever seen in my life. His moves were c r a z y !!!


Michael Jackson - Burn This Disco Out (Robot Style) - YouTube

CerialKillah

I'm a big fan of both honestly.

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tmaximus

Both amazing talents, both freaky weird individuals.

Couple points after reading the thread...

Anyone who thinks the difference between MJ and Prince as far as dance moves is significant has never seen any Prince shows from the 80's.

Prince is a multi-instrumentalist and an absolute beast on guitar and vocals. Mike was a great singer and they're both great songwriters.

It's tough for younger folks to get Prince sometimes. He was done putting out hits by the early 90's whereas Michael stayed in the public eye a lot longer.

They both understood the spectacle of the live show and both had innovative and amazing shows, but...gotta give the nod to Prince as far as stage show. Check out Sign o' The Times for reference. A lot of folks think Prince is Purple Rain because that's where a bunch of his hits came from.

Yeah, they're both weird, but in interviews, Prince (usually) comes off as a thoughtful cat. Michael...just kinda strange, unless you go all the way back to the Thriller era. Something...happened...with him, even before he tried to be white. We'll never know.

Both geniuses, and really on their own separate pedestals in the pantheon of pop music.

I go with Prince by a tad because he was the complete artist and multi-instrumentalist and his live shows were better than...well...anyone's.

Penny Lane 64

Michael Jackson~The King of Pop