| Pop singer Michael Jackson maintains that he is the natural father of the two children who Debbie Rowe gave birth to previously. (Jackson actually was married to Rowe for a period of time.) However, Rowe maintains that Jackson's claim that he is the natural father is a lie. She maintains that she was artificially inseminated by donor sperm that was anonymously donated to her. This appears to be a strong argument in her attempts to gain control over the children from Jackson.
Let's recall how Jackson made the news in the recent past:
After "Thriller's" big success, some tough times followed the king of pop. Though Jackson's albums “Bad” (1987) and “Dangerous” (1991) were sold in the millions and topped the charts, the Jackson craze was already on the decline. The interests of the audience returned as soon as Jackson declared his intentions to release the composition “Black and White” from the album “Dangerous”. Much was written in the media and the public looked for it eagerly. But, due to recent images, where Jackson breaks a car with a hammer in violence, spectators again averted from the singer.
Blood on the Dance floor:
Admirers of Michael Jackson waited for a whole six years for the release of the next album with new songs. However, in 1997, the album of dance remixes on tracks from “HIStory” — “Blood on the Dancefloor” appeared in shops. Response to this disc, basically, was positive, and the title composition topped the sales charts in many countries, including Great Britain. The album passed practically unnoticed in the USA and did not reach the first places on the charts.
2000s:
Invincible:
The release of the next album was postponed time and again as Jackson strived to make an ideally true, faultless recording, which would resurrect his shattered commercial stature. His label “Sony” reluctantly agreed to invest millions of dollars in a seemingly infinite process of recording, rerecording and subsequent promotion of the album, which finally led to the leaving of the singer from Epic Records. “Invincible” was released in October 2001 and contained 16 tracks, including a single “You Rock My World”. Legendary Marlon Brando and Chris Tucker acted in the clip of “You Rock My World”. The album pleased admirers of Michael Jackson but was criticized by critics and sales figures were more modest than of “HIStory”.
Post Invincible:
In November 2003, Jackson released a collection of greatest hits “Number Ones”. The collection has 18 tracks, of which 16 were previous hits, a live performance of the song “Ben” and a new single “One More Chance”. By the end of 2004, sales of “Number Ones” exceeded 6 million copies worldwide.
On November 16, 2004, Michael Jackson released “Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection ' Box Set”. This magnificent set consisted of 5 discs - containing 57 tracks and 13 unreleased recordings, covering from 1969 to 2004 and unreleased live concerts from 1992 on DVD — it perhaps showcases the complete representation about the virtuosity and talent of Michael Jackson in his best years.
On December 18, 2003, police carried out searches in Jackson’s estate “Neverland”. Child abuse accusations and intoxication of children prior to the abuse charges were framed against Michael Jackson. In total, seven cases of sexual intercourse with a child were discussed. Court proceedings continued against the singer from February till May 2005. More than 2200 mass media organizations from all over world accredited their journalists for covering the scandalous process. The verdict of the jurymen was: Jackson is innocent.
After the post-court verdict, Michael Jackson secluded himself from journalists and started the recording of a charitable single in the memory of victims of hurricane “Katrina” on the island Bahrain. Soon, it was found that not all invited musicians wanted to participate in the project led by Jackson. Though the song “I Have This Dream” was recorded as a single, due to unexplainable circumstances, the single was not released.
Michael Jackson released Thriller (25th Anniversary Edition) on CD and DVDs in three versions - Standard CD Edition, Zombie CD Edition (Michael with zombie on the cover), and a Limited Casebook Deluxe Edition (only 20 000 copies were let out).
At present, Michael Jackson is in the process of recording his new solo album, which will appear in the markets in 2008. The soloist of the group Black Eyed Peas - will.i.am and also rappers Akon and Kayne West are participating in the recording of the album.
Honors and awards of Michael Jackson:
In 2000 in Monte Carlo, at the World Music Awards 2000 ceremony, he won the Best selling Pop Male Artist of the Millennium. |
