Video will appear as you scroll through the story
Michael Jackson · S7 E3
HIStory
The most expensive album campaign in music history
June 1995, the River Thames, London. A 32-foot statue of Michael Jackson floats past the Houses of Parliament on a barge, and the most expensive album campaign in music history has officially begun.
HIStory, Michael Jackson (1995). The promotional teaser film for the HIStory album. Michael marches through a city at the head of an army, with a massive statue of himself being erected in his image. The most audacious marketing campaign in music history, and not everyone was comfortable with the imagery.
HIStory, Michael Jackson (1995)
The track opens with spoken-word samples from world leaders and historical speeches, layered over a militaristic drumbeat. The production is deliberately grandiose, positioning Michael alongside presidents and revolutionaries. His vocal enters almost as an afterthought, which is exactly the point: this is Michael Jackson demanding his place in history, not asking for it. The song was never a major single but became the entire album's thesis statement.
Sources
HIStory album credits, Epic Records, 1995
The Double Album
HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I was a double album. Disc one collected fifteen greatest hits from Off the Wall through Dangerous. Disc two contained fifteen new songs, and they were the angriest, most personal recordings Michael had ever made. The album campaign cost an estimated $30 million, more than most artists spend in an entire career.
Sources
Michael Jackson, Inc., Zack O'Malley Greenburg, 2014
Untouchable: The Strange Life and Tragic Death of Michael Jackson, Randall Sullivan, 2012
TAP TO REVEAL: What were the giant statues about?
Tower Bridge, River Thames, London
The barge carrying the 32-foot Michael Jackson statue floated past this landmark in June 1995, launching the HIStory album campaign in front of the world's press.
HIStory by the Numbers
Disc Two
The new material on HIStory sounds like a man fighting for his life. Songs like "Scream," "They Don't Care About Us," and "D.S." are direct attacks on the media, the legal system, and specific individuals. But the album also contains some of Michael's most vulnerable recordings: "Stranger in Moscow," "Childhood," and the Charlie Chaplin cover "Smile." The whiplash between rage and tenderness is the album's defining quality.
Sources
HIStory album credits, Epic Records, 1995
Untouchable: The Strange Life and Tragic Death of Michael Jackson, Randall Sullivan, 2012
This Time Around, Michael Jackson ft. The Notorious B.I.G. (1995)
One of HIStory's deepest cuts, featuring a verse from The Notorious B.I.G. recorded at the height of his fame. The production blends Michael's pop sensibility with mid-90s hip-hop in a way few artists could have pulled off. Biggie's presence signals that Michael was still the center of gravity for the biggest names in music. Never released as a single, it stands as one of the most fascinating collaborations on any Michael Jackson album.
This Time Around, Michael Jackson ft. The Notorious B.I.G. (1995)
The lyrics are about resilience and being targeted, with Michael and Biggie trading perspectives on persecution from different worlds. Michael's verse is about the media; Biggie's is about the streets. The collision of those two realities on the same track is one of the most unexpected moments on any Michael Jackson album.
How much did the HIStory album promotional campaign reportedly cost?
HIStory sells 20 million copies, but one of its biggest hits carries a secret. "You Are Not Alone" debuted at number one, and the man who wrote it will cast a very different shadow over that achievement.
0 XP earned this session