History YMMV / MichaelJackson

** Really, any of his post-''Thriller'' albums are this to someone, most notably ''[=HIStory=]'' and ''Invincible''.

* HarsherInHindsight: He was taught that it's ok to lie for the sake of your image. This came back to bite him when he suffered severe burns while filming a Pepsi commercial back in 1984. The severity was downplayed in public, but after his death, it was acknowledged that the burns marked the beginning of his troubles with painkillers and other medication.

* MagnumOpus: ''Thriller'' by far.

** A more specific example would be the infamous "Cascio Tracks" on his first posthumous album ''Michael'' [[note]]"Breaking News", "Monster" and "Keep Your Head High" along with several unreleased tracks all recorded by Eddie Cascio[[/note]]. Many fans, friends, former co-workers and even his relatives have denied that Michael actually sung those songs and insist they were sung by an impersonator, most likely Jason Malachi, whose voice is very similar to Jackson's. It doesn't help that there has been no official proof that Jackson actually provided those vocals and that Malachi "confessed" to singing them on his Facebook page in 2011, later retracting the statement, claiming he was hacked. Whether you believe it's really Michael or not, it's probably best not to mention it.

* VisualEffectsOfAwesome: "Black or White" and "Remember the Time".

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: His entire life dropped two anvils - child abuse is bad, and dealing with fame is hard.
** Add a third one: Don't lie or downplay injuries or diseases for the sake of your image.
** "They Don't Care About Us" drops an major anvil about institutionalized racism in the criminal justice system.

** This goes into HarsherInHindsight territory when he suffered severe burns while filming a Pepsi commercial back in 1984. The severity was downplayed in public, but after his death, it was acknowledged that the burns marked the beginning of his troubles with painkillers and other medication.

* PopularityPolynomial: Started to decay after ''Dangerous'' and by TheTurnOfTheMillenium, only his most die-hard fans stood by him. Was beginning to go back into the spotlight prior to his farewell tour - only for the unfortunate AuthorExistenceFailure to ensure he remains popular and revered instead of a reviled freak.

* PopularityPolynomial: Started to decay after ''Dangerous'' and by the TurnOfTheMilenium, only his most die-hard fans stood by him. Was beginning to go back into the spotlight prior to his farewell tour - only for the unfortunate AuthorExistenceFailure to ensure he remains popular and revered instead of a reviled freak.

* PopularityPolynomial: Started to decay after ''Dangerous''. Was beginning to go back into the spotlight prior to his farewell tour - only for the unfortunate AuthorExistenceFailure to ensure he remains popular and revered instead of a reviled freak.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: ''[=HIStory=]'' didn't go over very well, as there was no way to buy it without also getting the GreatestHitsAlbum that comes with it, so Michael decided to create Blood on the ''Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix'', which has some new material, as well as remixes of songs from ''HIStory'', so that songs would both get more exposure to people who didn't buy the album, and still be something new to listen to for the people that did.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: As popular as he was in the United States, he was more popular in other countries (including Germany) due to the negative press being not as bad there. In the end, while he had tours for ''Dangerous'' and ''HIStory'' mounted, they did not include stops in the continental U.S.; he was planning for the Dangerous tour to reach the U.S., but then the first round of abuse allegations arrived. His This Is It tour was planned to be exclusively held at a single stadium in London.

** "I liked him until he became white." It wasn't entirely his fault, however.

** While it's calmed down a bit after his passing, mentioning MJ online is still a bit of a touchy subject and expect to get a wide variety of reactions when you do.
** A more specific example would be the infamous "Cascio Tracks" on his first posthumous album ''Michael'' [[note]]"Breaking News", "Monster" and "Keep Your Head High" along with several unreleased tracks all recorded by Eddie Cascio[[/note]]. Many fans, friends, former co-workers and even his relatives have denied that Michael actually sung those songs and insist they were sung by an impersonator, most likely Jason Malachi, whose voice is very similar to Jackson's. It doesn't help that there has been no official proof that Jackson actually provided those vocals and that Malachi confessed to singing them on his Facebook page in 2011, later retracting the statement, claiming he was hacked. Whether you believe it's really Michael or not, it's probably best not to mention it.

** Nor did he invent the one-glove look. That one dates back to 1920 and Enrico Caruso, arguably the King of Opera, after an apparent stroke crippled his right hand. He even joked that people would just see it as a way of getting publicity. Michael himself likely wore it to cover up skin blotches as he began wear it shortly before his vitiligo started spreading.

** Bad rep aside, fans can't seem to decide whether ''Bad'', ''Dangerous'' or ''[=HIStory=]'' was Michael's last "good" album. Some fans only like his pre-''Thriller'' work, some only like ''Thriller'' and refuse to listen to his other stuff and some like it till the end, including ''Invincible'' and his posthumous albums.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: ''HIStory'' didn't go over very well, as there was no way to buy it without also getting the GreatestHitsAlbum that comes with it, so Michael decided to create Blood on the ''Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix'', which has some new material, as well as remixes of songs from ''HIStory'', so that songs would both get more exposure to people who didn't buy the album, and still be something new to listen to for the people that did.

** Bad rep aside, fans can't seem to decide whether ''Bad'', ''Dangerous'' or ''HIStory'' was Michael's last "good" album. Some fans only like his pre-''Thriller'' work, some only like ''Thriller'' and refuse to listen to his other stuff and some like it till the end, including ''Invincible'' and his posthumous albums.

** A more specific example would be the infamous "Cascio Tracks" on his first posthumous album ''Michael'' [[note]]"Breaking News", "Monster" and "Keep Your Head High" along with several unreleased tracks all recorded by Eddie Cascio[[/note]]. Many fans, friends, former co-workers and even his relatives have denied that Michael actually sung those songs and insist they were sung by an impersonator, most likely Jason Malachi, whose voice is very similar to Jackson's. Whether you believe it's really Michael or not, it's probably best not to mention it.

* MemeticMutation: HEE HEE!

* {{Mondegreen}}: Ask ten people what the lyrics to "Smooth Criminal" are, and you'll likely get ten different answers.

* OlderThanTheyThink: Many people think Michael invented the moonwalk, but Jazz musicians like Cab Calloway were doing the move as "The Buzz" as far back as the 1920s.

** Nor did he invent the one-glove look. That one dates back to 1920 and Enrico Caruso, arguably the King of Opera, after an apparent stroke crippled his right hand. He even joked that people would just see it as a way of getting publicity. Michael himself likely wore it to cover up his skin blotches as he began wear it shortly before his vitiligo started spreading.

* ProtectionFromEditors: Why ''Dangerous, HIStory'' and ''Invincible'' ended up how they did.

** Add a third one: Don't lie or downplay injuries for the sake of your image.

* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: The first posthumous album, ''Michael'', got mixed reviews and even raised controversy on whether it featured Jackson. The follow-up, ''Xscape'', on the other hand, was much better received.

* BrokenBase: Bad rep aside, there are fans that prefer his pre-''Thriller'' work and some like his work up until ''HIStory'', the first post-allegations album. Oh, and some who like it till the end, including ''Invincible''.

* FanonDiscontinuity: The first four albums of his solo career, ''Got To Be There, Ben, Music & Me,'' and ''Forever, Michael'', were made under the Motown banner and Michael himself didn't have creative control. Thus, some fans often do not consider them a part of his official solo catalog. He would get complete creative control with the move to Epic Records, starting with his next solo album ''Off The Wall''.
** His posthumous album, Michael, especially considering that the authenticity of some of the tracks was questioned.
* FunnyAneurysmMoment: The Thriller video became scarier by the mid-2000's when the real appearance of Michael mimicked his zombie makeup.

* NeverLiveItDown: "I liked him until he became white."

* MemeticMolester: In the eyes of sizable chunk of the population, with another sizable chunk being offended on his behalf, and a third sizable chunk sick of hearing about it one way or the other.

** Nor did he invent the one-glove look. That one dates back to 1920 and Enrico Caruso, arguably the King of Opera, after an apparent stroke crippled his right hand. He even joked that people would just see it as a way of getting publicity.

* TheWoobie: He never had a normal life, had an abusive dad, and had his public image ruined forever due to accusations that may have been false, so many (if not most) of his fans regard him as this.

* DudeNotFunny: The MemeticMolester jokes, at least during the year or three TooSoon grace period.

* TheRival: To a certain extent, Music/{{Prince}}, the ''other'' young black man who dominated the pop charts in TheEighties. While Michael had a more sparing rate of releasing records by comparison, what he did release usually became major blockbusters.
** Michael considered him a WorthyOpponent enough that he wanted to collaborate with Prince on "Bad," but Prince eventually dropped out of the project (creating one of the great WhatCouldHaveBeen incidents in pop history).

** Also, the repeated cries of "cha-mone!" in his songs are actually, if one cares to but look at the printed lyrics in the album sleeve of the "Bad" CD, just Michael unclearly singing "come on!"
* NeedsMoreLove: Many fans agree that his post-''Dangerous'' work is terribly underrated.

--> '''EdSullivan''': How old are you, Michael?\\

** And [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/neverland-ranch-investigators-discover-corpse-of-r,1303/? this]].
** Also, the burns he suffered while filming a Pepsi commercial back in ''1984'' was downplayed back then. In hindsight, the severity of said burns marked the beginnings of his troubles with painkillers and other medication.

** And [[https://web.archive.org/web/20130530062608/http://www.theonion.com/articles/neverland-ranch-investigators-discover-corpse-of-r,1303/? this]].