Who's the biggest popstar ever: Michael Jackson or Taylor Swift?

[TeTe]

Also this thread needs a poll.

 

[TeTe]

All of em, ole Pete's a proud Swiftie

Ngl, I like a few of her songs

 

[MicroBrew]

 

[Jack Reacheround]

I’m old, so I’m out of touch. But I would say Michael Jackson. I know that Taylor Swift is pretty fucking big. But it’s just hard for me to imagine anyone being as big as Michael Jackson.

Really, they’re from two different eras in which media really works very differently. So IDK.

Michael Jackson.

 

[Ezekiel 25:17]

You're contradicting yourself.

Swift is only known to English speaking white girls in western countries. That's a target audience that is less than 3% of the population.

Well i did say, i couldnt tell you how big she truly is cause i really dont pay attention. I did know how big Mike was though and I have yet to see someone consistenly make grown adults cry like babies wherever he went.

 

[moreorless87]

I know you're trolling, but still. I never said that she wasn't big, I said she's not on the level that MJ was. The whole 'Eras Tour' ie, movie, makes me cringe, but it does capture the zeitgeist of young millennial women and teenagers. Just look at the demographic distribution of ticket holders, nearly 80 percent are female and almost half of them Gen Z.

MJ connected to a much broader audience across generations and was, without a doubt, more famous globally. Not huge in some markets like Swift, but in all markets. Thriller is by most accounts the best selling album of all time.

Outside of units sold, the cultural impact of MJ and the way his moves, sounds, imagery and so on was copied and impersonated to the extent that is was in so many countries is extraordinary. Maybe a handful of artists has ever had that level of impact and Taylor Swift isn't one of them. Unless, perhaps, you're a teenage girl.

MJ wasn't just one of the most famous musicians, he was one of the most famous people in the world ever, period.

I would say in terms of massive tours as well these days its much more standard, big acts tend to focus heavily on touring and people tend to go and watch them more often post millenium as thats become were the real money is made, Jacksons big tours in the 80's to mid 90's were the kind of thing nobody else at the time was doing besides perhaps U2, GnR and The Stones.

Jackson by the late 80's I think you would struggle to find anyone in the western world under the age of 60 who didnt know who he was, Swift I think you'd find plenty of people who have no idea who she is.

Again I feel like music generally does not have the same place culturally it once did, I do not think anyone post millenium has the kind of cultural pull Elvis, The Beatles, Stones, Jackson, etc did in the 20th century.

 

[KnightTemplar]

How does this contradict what I said?

That outside of a niche fan base, Jackson's songs have been forgotten.

 

[Phlog]

Michael had about 80 more award, over 20 of them being international ie not American or English, of which Taylor has none.

 

[ssBaldy]

That outside of a niche fan base, Jackson's songs have been forgotten.

Your cosplay of a zoomer girl is rather convincing

 

[Wetarmpits]

To compare these two is plain stupid. Who was bigger star:

Bach or Elvis?
Verdi or the Beatles?
Strauss or the New York dolls?

I mean c‘mon.
Doesn’t matter if you’re black or white, just enjoy your shit and beat it.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

I'm not a MJ fan.
I'm not a TS fan.

But in the discussion of huge names across all genres of music like MJ, TS, The Beatles, etc in this thread... one name has been completely left out.

Garth Brooks

"According to RIAA, Brooks is the top-selling solo artist of all time with 157 million certified albums in the US.[2] American Music Awards honored him the "Artist of the 90s Decade" and iHeartRadio Music Awards also honored him the "Artist of the Decade".[3]"

And I'm not a GB fan, just saying he's owed his due respect.

As for the metric of concert tours revenue, its worth mentioning back when Jackson toured in the 80s & 90s tickets were $20 for nosebleeds and roughly a few hundred for close-to-the-stage seats. Taylor Swift's tickets typically go into the thousands of dollars, multiple times the rate of inflation over the last 3 decades.

And for the few that believe MJ is a child molester and mentioned it in this thread as a means to support TS, you're a special kind of stupid to not know the circumstances of MJ paying a settlement to that family, or you're still under the influence of the mass media's first public crucifixion over the course of two decades.

Reality check - There's never been any physical evidence of MJ sexually assaulting anyone.

 

[ssBaldy]

I'm not a MJ fan.
I'm not a TS fan.

But in the discussion of huge names across all genres of music like MJ, TS, The Beatles, etc in this thread... one name has been completely left out.

Garth Brooks

"According to RIAA, Brooks is the top-selling solo artist of all time with 157 million certified albums in the US.[2] American Music Awards honored him the "Artist of the 90s Decade" and iHeartRadio Music Awards also honored him the "Artist of the Decade".[3]"

And I'm not a GB fan, just saying he's owed his due respect.

As for the metric of concert tours revenue, its worth mentioning back when Jackson toured in the 80s & 90s tickets were $20 for nosebleeds and roughly a few hundred for close-to-the-stage seats. Taylor Swift's tickets typically go into the thousands of dollars, multiple times the rate of inflation over the last 3 decades.

And for the few that believe MJ is a child molester and mentioned it in this thread as a means to support TS, you're a special kind of stupid to not know the circumstances of MJ paying a settlement to that family, or you're still under the influence of the mass media's first public crucifixion over the course of two decades.

Reality check - There's never been any physical evidence of MJ sexually assaulting anyone.

Also him being (or not being) a kiddy diddler has nothing to do with how big/talented he was.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

Also him being (or not being) a kiddy diddler has nothing to do with how big/talented he was.

*Sigh*....

Imagine if somebody said -

"Although Jeffrey Epstein raped hundreds of children & arranged for celebrities & the world's elite to also rape hundreds of children... he did give alot of money to charity."

I listen to political commentators that are convinced MJ raped kids, although those who they support politically are routinely targeted & often character-assassinated by the media they're too stubborn to admit they were wrong - for upwards of 3 decades - about the world's most popular celebrity being crucified by the media they revile.

 

[KnightTemplar]

Your cosplay of a zoomer girl is rather convincing

Yeah, you want some, Lover Boy? Jump on, I'll love ya.

 

[KnightTemplar]

Michael had about 80 more award, over 20 of them being international ie not American or English, of which Taylor has none.

American and English awards are the only ones that matter.

It's called the First World for a reason.

 

[ssBaldy]

*Sigh*....

Imagine if somebody said -

"Although Jeffrey Epstein raped hundreds of children & arranged for celebrities & the world's elite to also rape hundreds of children... he did give alot of money to charity."

I listen to political commentators that are convinced MJ raped kids, although those who they support politically are routinely targeted & often character-assassinated by the media they're too stubborn to admit they were wrong - for upwards of 3 decades - about the world's most popular celebrity being crucified by the media they revile.

I dont care if Michael diddled kids or not. He is not less of an artist if he did. Though I doubt he did.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

I dont care if Michael diddled kids or not. He is not less of an artist if he did. Though I doubt he did.

Ok, and that's you.

For nearly everyone else, its more practical to observe the facts of all the case and ignore the media's bullshit and conclude that MJ has never sexually assaulted anyone, rather than say 'sure he diddled kids.... but he was a great singer & dancer wasn't he?'

Reality check - There's never been a MJ molestation accuser that (1) provided physical evidence & (2) didn't seek financial payout in the millions. (Even after his death)

 

[surgeyou1]

There's never been anything in music bigger than Thriller.

Nothing anyone can do to really match it, even if they literally created the greatest album of all time. There's just too much competition, too many alternative forms of music and media. Nothing is going to have that kind of universal appeal again.

 

[ObsoleteSoul]

I dont care if Michael diddled kids or not. He is not less of an artist if he did. Though I doubt he did.

Same. I separate art from artist all the time. If I didn't, I would not get any interesting media at all, and that is not counting the unknown, only what could be proven. We all suck, so you're forgiven while I rock out to this tune.

 

[Phlog]

American and English awards are the only ones that matter.

It's called the First World for a reason.

Michael still has 60 more awards by your distinction!