J Soul
06-15-2005, 09:04 AM
Michael Jackson may have escaped a jail sentence in his child-molestation trial, but with the taint of the allegations overshadowing his musical legacy, is it possible for the self-proclaimed King of Pop to get his music career back on track?
Beyond putting the trial behind him, Jackson has a long road ahead if he hopes to rehabilitate an image that has been sullied by the trial and more than a decade of declining musical fortunes combined with a blizzard of headlines focused on his bizarre looks, financial troubles and extravagant spending. The singer has a long way to go before he can bring the focus back to his musical talent. We talked to a panel of experts who came up with a (sometimes contradictory) eight-point plan for Jackson's career resuscitation:
Just Go Away
Jonathan Bernstein of Los Angeles' Bernstein Crisis Management suggests Jackson just disappear for a while and come back humble. For example, Bill Clinton stepped out of the limelight for a year after leaving office to let people forget about the Lewinsky scandal. Bernstein thinks Jackson should do the same, and when he comes back, "be humble and admit that you've made mistakes." And be specific. Tell us you thought that it was OK to share your bed with unrelated, underage children, but you've since decided that it's not. "Even if he feels he's completely innocent," said Bernstein, "he needs to understand the society he lives in does not agree that it's OK for an adult male to share a bed with an unrelated child. If he continues to try and defend that position, he's not going to be able to make it."
Think Small
Chances are that stadium tours are HIStory. Pollstar editor in chief Gary Bongiovanni says it might be time to take it back to a grass-roots level with a scaled-down, bare-bones tour. "If he thinks he's going to go out and headline football stadiums in America, that's not in the cards at the moment unless he has a huge hit record," Bongiovanni said. "His day as a huge headliner who can call his own shots are gone. If he went out and played smaller theaters like what Springsteen did, ones where he can make sure he sells them out and turns people away, that would help. But if he tries to do a big production and sell out stadiums, he'll fall on his face."
Look To The East
Jackson's touring career has been in the dumps in the U.S. for more than a decade, but he's still a huge draw in Asia, and overseas audiences are likely to be more forgiving. He should begin a comeback where he's still considered a huge star and let his fans do the talking and show the world he still has it. "[With an acquittal] there's still a sizeable population here that will think he's guilty," said Bongiovanni. "But overseas, the demand is still very strong."
Get On The Radio
Guilty or not, if Jackson is to mount a comeback, he needs to ditch the $40 million album-recording budgets and just get in the studio and chop out at least one hit single. "He would have to make a great album that people just had to hear," said Billboard charts editor Geoff Mayfield. "Which hasn't happened since about 1987. [That] happens to a lot of veterans [after a huge album], they kind of lose a bit of confidence." Mayfield said that if Jackson came up with a slam-dunk hit, radio programmers would give it a listen just because of his track record. Ebro Darden, program director for New York urban station Hot 97 agreed, saying, "If he put out a hit record, a record that people were moving to in the clubs and DJs were having a good time with it, I think people will play it."
Hot Tracks, Hot Producers
If Jackson really wants to get his groove back, he needs to cherry pick some tracks from contemporary hitmakers like the Neptunes and pack the album with more than one good song. Producers Dre & Vidal (Andre Harris and Vidal Davis), who've worked with everyone from Alicia Keys and Justin Timberlake to Destiny's Child and Usher, helped Jackson score one of his rare recent hits with 2001's "Butterflies." The pair said people will want to hear Jackson's music regardless of their personal take on the trial ... and they're happy to lend a hand. "First of all, he would need to get in the studio," said Vidal. "And I can't wait to work with him again. I think he needs to work with us, of course, and cats like Rich Harrison (Amerie), Bobby and Izzy Avila (Usher), Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis."
On The Other Hand ...
Instead of trying to be contemporary, perhaps Jackson should revisit the lean, funky style that made him a star in the first place. "The average kid on the street, they're not gonna want to go out and buy a new Michael Jackson album, because he's lost his relevance," said Vibe editor Serena Kim. The reason he's lost it is because he's tried to keep up with the times by hiring producers like Rodney Jerkins and collaborating with hip-hop artists like Jay-Z ("You Rock My World" remix). Forget all that. "Those things are just half-assed attempts at being current or being youthful," Kim said. "I think his best thing would be to maybe go back and ... re-create himself like how Rick Rubin did with like Johnny Cash and Neil Diamond. Just something totally different."
Hi, My Name Is Michael
Today's younger fans don't know who you are. And if they do, it's only as that freaky dude on Court TV. "Michael Jackson songs are classics for a reason," said New York Times music critic Kalefah Sanneh. "They are classics because they always work and they still work ... in the club or in your bedroom or on the radio or whatever. But I think there's a weird kind of disconnect between the weird dude you see on TV and the songs you hear in the club. And I think the challenge for someone like Michael Jackson is to try and bring those two things together." The good news is that Jackson has all those classic songs to fall back on, so as long as he figures out a way to make his songs fit in the current pop landscape without sounding like he's trying too hard, Sanneh said, he should be able to overcome his negative image with young fans.
Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
Be aggressive. Sanneh said Jackson's recent albums have featured loud beats over his quiet voice, which reinforces the notion that he's not strong enough to overcome whatever difficulties are dogging him at that time. Jackson's best move is to get hit his swagger back. "A lot of it comes down to coming back out and saying, 'Forget about all that, I'm still me,' " said Sanneh. "You have to come back [and say], 'I've still got songs, I'm still singing, forget about all that other stuff.' "
Beyond putting the trial behind him, Jackson has a long road ahead if he hopes to rehabilitate an image that has been sullied by the trial and more than a decade of declining musical fortunes combined with a blizzard of headlines focused on his bizarre looks, financial troubles and extravagant spending. The singer has a long way to go before he can bring the focus back to his musical talent. We talked to a panel of experts who came up with a (sometimes contradictory) eight-point plan for Jackson's career resuscitation:
Just Go Away
Jonathan Bernstein of Los Angeles' Bernstein Crisis Management suggests Jackson just disappear for a while and come back humble. For example, Bill Clinton stepped out of the limelight for a year after leaving office to let people forget about the Lewinsky scandal. Bernstein thinks Jackson should do the same, and when he comes back, "be humble and admit that you've made mistakes." And be specific. Tell us you thought that it was OK to share your bed with unrelated, underage children, but you've since decided that it's not. "Even if he feels he's completely innocent," said Bernstein, "he needs to understand the society he lives in does not agree that it's OK for an adult male to share a bed with an unrelated child. If he continues to try and defend that position, he's not going to be able to make it."
Think Small
Chances are that stadium tours are HIStory. Pollstar editor in chief Gary Bongiovanni says it might be time to take it back to a grass-roots level with a scaled-down, bare-bones tour. "If he thinks he's going to go out and headline football stadiums in America, that's not in the cards at the moment unless he has a huge hit record," Bongiovanni said. "His day as a huge headliner who can call his own shots are gone. If he went out and played smaller theaters like what Springsteen did, ones where he can make sure he sells them out and turns people away, that would help. But if he tries to do a big production and sell out stadiums, he'll fall on his face."
Look To The East
Jackson's touring career has been in the dumps in the U.S. for more than a decade, but he's still a huge draw in Asia, and overseas audiences are likely to be more forgiving. He should begin a comeback where he's still considered a huge star and let his fans do the talking and show the world he still has it. "[With an acquittal] there's still a sizeable population here that will think he's guilty," said Bongiovanni. "But overseas, the demand is still very strong."
Get On The Radio
Guilty or not, if Jackson is to mount a comeback, he needs to ditch the $40 million album-recording budgets and just get in the studio and chop out at least one hit single. "He would have to make a great album that people just had to hear," said Billboard charts editor Geoff Mayfield. "Which hasn't happened since about 1987. [That] happens to a lot of veterans [after a huge album], they kind of lose a bit of confidence." Mayfield said that if Jackson came up with a slam-dunk hit, radio programmers would give it a listen just because of his track record. Ebro Darden, program director for New York urban station Hot 97 agreed, saying, "If he put out a hit record, a record that people were moving to in the clubs and DJs were having a good time with it, I think people will play it."
Hot Tracks, Hot Producers
If Jackson really wants to get his groove back, he needs to cherry pick some tracks from contemporary hitmakers like the Neptunes and pack the album with more than one good song. Producers Dre & Vidal (Andre Harris and Vidal Davis), who've worked with everyone from Alicia Keys and Justin Timberlake to Destiny's Child and Usher, helped Jackson score one of his rare recent hits with 2001's "Butterflies." The pair said people will want to hear Jackson's music regardless of their personal take on the trial ... and they're happy to lend a hand. "First of all, he would need to get in the studio," said Vidal. "And I can't wait to work with him again. I think he needs to work with us, of course, and cats like Rich Harrison (Amerie), Bobby and Izzy Avila (Usher), Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis."
On The Other Hand ...
Instead of trying to be contemporary, perhaps Jackson should revisit the lean, funky style that made him a star in the first place. "The average kid on the street, they're not gonna want to go out and buy a new Michael Jackson album, because he's lost his relevance," said Vibe editor Serena Kim. The reason he's lost it is because he's tried to keep up with the times by hiring producers like Rodney Jerkins and collaborating with hip-hop artists like Jay-Z ("You Rock My World" remix). Forget all that. "Those things are just half-assed attempts at being current or being youthful," Kim said. "I think his best thing would be to maybe go back and ... re-create himself like how Rick Rubin did with like Johnny Cash and Neil Diamond. Just something totally different."
Hi, My Name Is Michael
Today's younger fans don't know who you are. And if they do, it's only as that freaky dude on Court TV. "Michael Jackson songs are classics for a reason," said New York Times music critic Kalefah Sanneh. "They are classics because they always work and they still work ... in the club or in your bedroom or on the radio or whatever. But I think there's a weird kind of disconnect between the weird dude you see on TV and the songs you hear in the club. And I think the challenge for someone like Michael Jackson is to try and bring those two things together." The good news is that Jackson has all those classic songs to fall back on, so as long as he figures out a way to make his songs fit in the current pop landscape without sounding like he's trying too hard, Sanneh said, he should be able to overcome his negative image with young fans.
Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
Be aggressive. Sanneh said Jackson's recent albums have featured loud beats over his quiet voice, which reinforces the notion that he's not strong enough to overcome whatever difficulties are dogging him at that time. Jackson's best move is to get hit his swagger back. "A lot of it comes down to coming back out and saying, 'Forget about all that, I'm still me,' " said Sanneh. "You have to come back [and say], 'I've still got songs, I'm still singing, forget about all that other stuff.' "