Michael Jackson videography

American entertainer Michael Jackson (1958–2009) debuted on the professional music scene at age five as a member of The Jackson 5 and began a solo career in 1971 while still part of the group.[1] Jackson has been referred to as the "King of Music Videos" in subsequent years.[2][3]

Jackson had seven of his solo albums promoted with music videos. In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular culture and the first African American entertainer to have a strong crossover fanbase on MTV.[4][5]The popularity of his music videos that aired on MTV,  such as "Billie Jean", "Beat It" and "Thriller"—credited for transforming the music video from a promotional tool and into an art form—helped bring the relatively new channel to fame; MTV's focus shifted in favor of pop and R&B from channel's original 'rock 'n' roll only' format.[5][6][7] Michael Jackson's Thriller short film marked an increase in scale for music videos, and has been named the most successful music video ever by the Guinness World Records.[8] The choreography in "Thriller" has become a part of global pop culture, replicated widely from Indian films to prisons in the Philippines.[9] In the 19-minute music video for "Bad"—directed by Martin Scorsese—Jackson began using sexual imagery and choreography not previously seen in his work and he occasionally grabbed or touched his chest, torso and crotch.[10][11] For the "Smooth Criminal" video, Jackson experimented with an anti-gravity lean where the performer leans forward at a 45 degree angle, beyond the performer's center of gravity. To accomplish this move live, Jackson and designers developed a special shoe that locks the performer's feet to the stage, allowing them to lean forward. They were granted a US patent for the device.[12] Although the music video for "Leave Me Alone" was not officially released in the US, in 1989 it won a Golden Lion Award for the quality of the special effects used in its production. In 1990, "Leave Me Alone" won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form.[13] He received the MTV Video Vanguard Award in 1988 and the MTV Video Vanguard Artist of the Decade Award in 1990; in 1991 the former was renamed as Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award in his honor.[14]

"Black or White" was released on November 14, 1991.[15] Along with Jackson, it featured Macaulay Culkin, Peggy Lipton, and George Wendt. It helped usher in morphing as an important technology in music videos.[16] "Remember the Time" was an elaborate production, and became one of his longest videos at over nine minutes. Set in ancient Egypt, it featured innovative visual effects and appearances by Eddie Murphy, Iman, and Magic Johnson, along with a distinct complex dance routine.[17] The video for "In the Closet" featured supermodel Naomi Campbell in a courtship dance with Jackson.[14] The music video for "Scream", directed by Mark Romanek and production designer Tom Foden, is one of Jackson's most critically acclaimed. In 1995, it gained eleven MTV Video Music Award Nominations—more than any other music video.[18] A year later, it won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form; shortly afterwards Guinness World Records listed it as the most expensive music video ever made, at a cost of $7 million.[19][20] "Earth Song" was accompanied by an expensive and well-received music video. The video had an environmental theme, showing images of animal cruelty, deforestation, pollution and war. Using special effects, time is reversed so that life returns, wars end, and the forests re-grow.[19][21] Released in 1997 and premiering at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival, Michael Jackson's Ghosts" was a short film written by Jackson and Stephen King and directed by Stan Winston. The video for Ghosts is over 38 minutes long and broke the Guinness World Record as the world's longest music video.[22] The music video for "You Rock My World", which is thirteen and a half minutes long, was directed by Paul Hunter, and was released in 2001. The video features appearances from Chris Tucker and Marlon Brando.[23] The video won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Music Video at the award show's 2002 ceremony.[24]

In 1978, Jackson appeared in his first film, The Wiz.[25] It was nominated for four awards at the 51st Academy Awards.[26][27][28] Jackson later starred in films such as Disney's Captain EO in 1986, the anthology film Moonwalker in 1988 and the posthumous documentary This Is It in 2009.[29][30][31]

Video albums
See also: Michael Jackson albums discography § Video albums

Television
See also: Production of Stark Raving Dad

"Stark Raving Dad" was the first episode in the third season of The Simpsons. Jackson performed the speaking voice of Leon Kompowsky under the pseudonym John Jay Smith.[148] The producers of the show were legally prevented from confirming that Jackson guest-starred at the time, although many media sources assumed it was really him. The episode was written specifically for Jackson, a fan of the show, who had called Matt Groening, the creator of the show, one night and offered to do a guest spot.[149] The offer was accepted and a script was written by Al Jean and Mike Reiss, based on an idea pitched by James L. Brooks.[150] Groening and co-executive producer Sam Simon also contributed significantly to the writing of the episode.[150] In 2017, archival recordings of Jackson were in the TV special Michael Jackson's Halloween.[151][152][153][154]