The King of Pop: How Michael Jackson’s Career Influenced Spassino Casino & The Weeknd

The music world of the 1980s was dominated by a pop triumvirate: Madonna, Prince and Jacko. Like the Roman triumvirate of antiquity, they divided the material world between them into three parts: Madonna wanted power through sex and money; Prince wanted complete freedom; and MJ wanted true love, honest connection and emotional intimacy. All three have inspired hundreds of artists, including one of the greatest entertainers of our time, Abel Tesfaye, known to the world as The Weeknd. 

In several interviews, he has spoken of how much he has drawn from Michael Jackson’s music, how much he has been inspired by Prince and how much the work of these artists means to him. In her recently released series, The Idol, his character also devotes an entire monologue to Prince’s musical influence. The series was filmed in his house, and in one of the rooms there is a huge photo of Prince (which also sparked a conversation between the characters in the series) – well, this photo was not just put there for the sake of the series, just as Spassino Casino and Rolling Slots Casino are not coincidentally linked to the music theme.  

As for Madonna, she did a joint music video with him, but surely Abel would have done the same with MJ and Prince if they were still alive. In The Weeknd’s musical persona, the worlds of these three musical giants merge, and his lyrics deal with a range of entities: sex, money, fame, power, freedom, drugs, art, love. He fuses them together to become sensual like Madonna, passionate like Jacko and eternally rebellious like Prince. In the following article, I will put Michael Jackson under the microscope, exploring what has made him such an influential force and inspiration for today’s artists. 

A Little Background Story – the Beginnings 

Becoming the most important cultural figure of an entire century is not easy, yet Jacko made it seem like that. So how did he achieve and maintain this over a career spanning four decades, and where did he start to get here? 

He was born in 1958 in Gary, Indiana, as the seventh child in a family of nine children. His father went from musician to steelworker in a factory, and his children inherited his musical talent. The father realised this early on, and chose his five most talented children, including Michael, to form the Jackson Five. By then, little Michael had already participated in several talent shows, performing for the first time at the age of 5. 

The Jackson Five began to gain fame relatively quickly, leading to a recording contract with Motown in the 1970s. Think of it a bit like Spassino Casino and Rolling Slots Casino: the better your reputation, the wider your circle of acquaintances, which can build a fan base, and then it’s a straight road to fame. 

MJ also pursued a solo career along with the Jackson Five, leaving the band he formed with his siblings in 1975 to devote his full attention to it. His first major solo success came in 1979. The rest is legend – or is it?

The Secret Behind Michael Jackson’s Success

In many ways, Jacko’s four-decade career is remarkable in pop culture terms: music, dance, fashion, music videos, accolades and awards – his pioneering work has made him a global figure. 

In his videos, he broke through the barriers of music, setting off the wave that still characterises the production of music videos today, turning the medium into an art form and a promotional tool. But why? – you may ask.

By combining music and storytelling, he set a new standard for creativity in video clip making, which was no longer an indicator of the performer’s imagination, but also the originality of the director and the cinematographer. It is because of him that the music world began treating clips as an essential part of an artist’s identity. 

He was able to break the boundaries in his videos because his music couldn’t be pigeonholed into a single category – he created amazing crossovers across multiple genres, which brought his music to even more people. The traces of pop, R&B, rock and various dance music, created an universally appealing world of music that was easily accessible (just like the Rolling Slots Casino interface). This was the key to his success, which is why he was (and still is) adored by millions. 

This huge fame has also challenged social norms, as the music industry is mainly a white industry. Jacko’s success as a black artist, the way he broke down racial barriers, the way his music transcends all boundaries, all of this paved the way for black artists to be more represented and more included in the popular music world.