What was it about Michael Jackson that made him the king of pop?

A lot of marketing, but also he had to be incredibly talented and successful for the marketing to work, and he was.

Thriller is the best selling album of all time by a wide margin:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_albums

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I didn't care much about Michael Jackson when I was growing up in the 80s and 90s, but I came to appreciate his talent more once I was older. Aside from some of the other things that were already mentioned, he was known for some insanely unique and distinctive dance moves, and everyone wanted to do them. You know how kids these days are 'dabbing' or doing these dances that they saw on fortnight or wherever? Where did any of those popular moves originate from? I have no idea. But when you saw someone doing a Michael Jackson move, you knew EXACTLY who it came from.

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whenever i hear his name (or that of his brothers), this is always the first thing that comes to mind.

the next thing that pops in is usually this one.

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- It just occurred to me they probably wrote the song ABC because they were so young that's what they were learning in school at the time.
  
  Heh, not really, but holy crap they're young.
  
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Go back to the 70's and 80', witness the insane popularity of songs by the Jacksons, and in particular how popular Michael's songs were.

He also did duets with other artists and I believe he had hand in songs that became popular with other artists.

That's all, really. The Jackson's had their finger on the pulse of pop. And I say this as someone who never listened to their music intentionally, even I was very aware of it (and will admit much of it had a strong appeal).

Edit: Pop is tricky to stay on top of. By definition, "popular" music has the broadest appeal, which also means it's less complex. The more complex music is, the smaller the group that can appreciate it. I like to use Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" as an example - I have musical training and still find it challenging to "grok".

So Michael and family had an unusual ability to change going forward, and keep their music engaging, while still having a broad appeal. Few musicians can do this, let alone to Michael's level.

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I like to use Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" as an example - I have musical training and still find it challenging to "grok"

Say what? Kind of Blue is very popular for the genre. I'm middle-aged, but I don't know anyone who doesn't appreciate that album. It sold more than 5 million albums in the US alone, making it a landmark jazz album.

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So, he was essentially just producing more of the same and was good at it?

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- Not "the same", more like "same enough" to have broad appeal - that is he understood what was immediately accessible in music, but it wasn't always the same thing. That's what was so brilliant about his music.
  
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- No, dude. His music in the 80's was completely original, and sounded like nothing else of the time. Go read the top level comment I left you.
  
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Good marketing and lucky timing. He benefited greatly from the rise of MTV and music videos. With his talents for music and dance, he was the right person at the right time to really take off. His music videos were good.

And his PR people did fantastic work marketing him. Whoever convinced Disney to make the Captain EO ride at Disneyland was a genius.

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I fucking loved Captain EO. Such insanity and catchy music and dance moves all blended in this 80s dystopian wild ride.

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His music videos were'nt just good, they were genre defining. They were and still are outstanding.

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It's very similar to the previous "King". Elvis Presley was not just a good musician, he was a cultural statement. When people first heard him sing on the radio they were sure they were listening to a black singer, but when he started talking in interviews it became very obvious that that he was not.

Michael Jackson did something similar. He came from the musical background of black Soul bands, but as a solo artist he covered a variety of styles that were unexpected from a black musician. It's not a coincidence that a lot of his songs deal with social issues as well ("It doesn't matter if you're black or white.", "Heal the world.", "start with the man in the mirror" where most songs of other artists are about love or having a party).

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His PR people having laid claim to the title first

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Lol that too!

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He was the only one who could pull the microphone from the stone.

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Permanently Deleted

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Hard to describe the impact he had, even if you didn't care for his music. On fashion, choreography, design, the 80s were really driven by Jackson.

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Decades of complexity all wrapped up into one word: Thriller.

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More like the word "publicist".

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- Yeah, I was so fooled. I was never really into him, but I do remember Thriller.
  
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There is no way to convey to you how unbelievably cool Michael was in the 80's and how amazing his fresh new sound was. The sidewalk lighting up as he walked on it in the Billy Jean music video was the coolest thing we'd seen on TV back then. He perfectly blended music, dancing, fashion, style, attitude, and theatrics to create an entire persona that all the listeners and viewers could share in. He set trends, broke records, and topped charts. I cannot convey what it felt like to back then to young people because there hasn't been anything that original since the 90's when Nirvana and Grunge exploded across the music scene. I wish there was something recent to point to and say "it was like that!", but there's nothing.

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He had a ton of hits. Like, a ton. And he had the moves. That's what made him The King.

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He slayed the previous king of pop

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The fact that Thriller has been and still is the world's best selling album for 42 years probably

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Endless hours of practice

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Endless decades of practice. Michael Jackson was already performing on live TV when he was 11 years old.

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Like Beethoven, the king of classical, an abusive father.

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Really super amazing music.

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