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 Michael Jackson - The Singles Rate • THE RESULTS [2021], COMPLETE FULL RESULTS ON PAGE 9 |
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 Jun 26 2021, 02:37 PM
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#1
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 We're all Glitter and Tears in the Moonlight...
Joined: 24 September 2013
Posts: 10,021 User: 19,846 
  
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Michael Jackson - Singles Rate: The Results  A big THANK YOU to the 22 Buzzjack voters who took part in this rate. 61 Singles in the running & many, many of them are iconic, but there could be only 1 Winner, but which one? The votes have been counted & verified & the results will revealed in due course. Thoughts?, Predictions ? feel free to share... A reminder of everything that's to come =
Billie Jean This post has been edited by Nina West: Jul 21 2021, 11:40 PM |
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Jun 26 2021, 02:43 PM
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#2
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 13 November 2015
Posts: 33,187 User: 22,665
 
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guess Billie Jean for the win
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Jun 26 2021, 10:09 PM
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#3
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We're all Glitter and Tears in the Moonlight...
Joined: 24 September 2013
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Sadness had been close as my next of kin 61. Happy | 3.368 Highest Scores: 6: (ready for it), Lowest Sores: 0: (Tawdry Hepburn) 60. With A Child's Heart | 3.5 Highest Scores: 6: (ready for it), Lowest Scores: 0: (Tawdry Hepburn) 59. Don't Matter To Me (ft Drake) | 3.954 Highest Scores: 9: (gog lad84, Nina West), Lowest Scores: -1/0: (vibe, Bjork, Adelita) 58. Girl You're So Together | 4.181 Highest Scores: 7: (Chapman), Lowest Scores: 2: (vibe, Mullo, Monzo) 57. Hold My Hand (ft Akon) | 4.318 Highest Scores: 8: (Mango, Tafty), Lowest Scores: 1: (Jester) 56. Hollywood Tonight | 4.363 Highest Scores: 7: (ready for it, Tafty), Lowest Scores: 1: (CJK) Kicking this first set of results at #61 is the aptly titled Happy, which like a lot of his Motown releases, didn't spark much of a reaction on here with its highest score being a 6 & well you can easily guess that the rest of the scores this got, wasn't very positive. The song was originally released in 1973 & featured on his 1973 album Music & Me. It's full title is "Happy (Love Theme from Lady Sings The Blues)", although Michael's version was never featured in the film, there was an instrumental version used, however, it was not featured on the soundtrack for Lady Sings the Blues. The song was originally sung by Bobby Darin in 1972 & Michael's version was first released in Australia where it peaked at #31 & later released in the UK to promote Motown's 18 Greatest Hits compilation album where it managed a mere #52 peak. This is a very pretty song that showcases Michael transitioning from young child to teen, but not sure if he was prepared for song's nuances, but its still an okay effort, even if it is a little banal.
At #60 is the other 'M&M' single With A Child's Heart, released in May 1973 as the album's lead single & peaked at #50 on the US Billboard charts. The song was originally sung by Stevie Wonder in 1966. In a 2003 interview with Martin Bashir, Michael admitted that he no longer remembered having recorded the song, and could not recall any of the lyrics. Another schmaltzy & not all that interesting number where his vocals strains a bit over the music box melody, but given that he was just 15 when he recorded this, I'll give him a pass. At #59 is 1 pf 3 posthumous singles in this bunch - Don't Matter To Me, a song by Drake that uses Michael's vocals from part of an unreleased 1983 session between Jackson and Canadian singer-songwriter Paul Anka. This was released as the 4th single from his 5th studio album Scorpion & became a huge commercial success by peaking at #2 on the UK singles chart & #9 on the US Billboard charts, serving as Drake's 31st top 10 hit & MJ's 30th. I may have been a bit hasty given this song a 9 (especially given the majority of terrible scores it got), but I don't think its that bad, it has some nice gloomy atmospheric strings & haunting production, but yeah listening to this again, I can see the problems, especially with the use of MJ's vocals that are way too auto-tuned & feels like an after thought & just used by Drake to grab some headlines & Drake as always lacks conviction in his vocals. Don't think this will be remembered in years to come. At #58 is Girl You're So Together, a song Michael recorded in 1973, but didn't get released until 1984 on his Motown compilation album Farewell My Summer Love, where this got released as the 2nd single in the UK only, due to the commercial interest that generated from the sales of Jackson's hit 1982 album Thriller, despite the fact that Jackson had released that album on Epic Records instead of Motown. The song managed a #33 peak on the UK singles, but wasn't given an American release. This was just a cash grab release, nothing more, but there are some nice maturing vocals on display here, but as this stands its simply forgettable. At #57 is Michael's first posthumous release Hold My Hand, a duet with Akon & released in November 2010 as the lead single from Michael's first posthumous album Michael. The song was originally recorded by both artists back in 2007 & originally written with Whitney Houston in mind, but Akon loved the song & kept it for himself & went to Las Vegas to work on what would have been Michael Jackson's next album. While there, Jackson heard the song and loved it, and decided he wanted to contribute to it. The song in its unfinished state leaked in 2008 & would be the last new song leaked during Jackson's lifetime. Due to the leak, the song was subsequently pulled from Akon's track listing for his 2008 album, Freedom. Upon release the song became an international top 10 hit in countries such as Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. A harmless little number with some nice gospel infused flourishes. This song is more Akon than Michael & yet he still steals the show with his unstated yet effective vocals capturing a combination of joy, yearning, and sadness. Rounding off this bunch is the follow up to the one previous Hollywood Tonight, which was released as the album's 2nd single in February 2011. The song was written by Michael Jackson during the time of the Invincible album. Michael pulled the track out of the archives in 2007 to work on the song with producer Theron "Neff-U" Feemster. Over the next 10 years MJ returned to the track numerous times, but never got around to finishing it in his lifetime. The song isn't all that bad it has a catchy bass-line & chorus, but sadly falls to rise above sub-par, as like all of his posthumous releases, it lacks that classic MJ magic. This post has been edited by Nina West: Jun 28 2021, 03:53 PM |
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Jun 27 2021, 08:11 PM
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#4
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We're all Glitter and Tears in the Moonlight...
Joined: 24 September 2013
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Help me make these mysteries unfold. 55. We're Almost There | 4.368 Highest Scores: 6: (Nina West, Qween, ready for it, Bjork, Tafty), Lowest Scores: 1: (Mullo)
54. Just A Little Bit Of You | 4.394 Highest Scores: 6.5/6: (Tafty, Nina West, Qween, ready for it, gavindeejay, dandy), Lowest Scores: 1: (Mullo) 53. One More Chance | 4.704 Highest Scores: 7: (ready for it, Adelita, Mango), Lowest Scores: 0: (Tawdry Hepburn) 52. Butterflies | 4.772 Highest Scores: 7: (Nina West, ready for it), Lowest Scores: 3: (Bjork, Mullo, CJK, bluemonday) 51. I Wanna Be Where You Are | 4.825 Highest Scores: 7.5/7: (gavindeejay, dandy), Lowest Scores: 1: (CJK) At #55 is We're Almost There, released in February 1975 as the lead single from his 4th & final Motown album Forever Michael & became a modest hit on the US Billboard charts by reaching a #54 peak (his first solo release to miss the top 50 there), but performed better on the R&B charts by reaching #7 there. The song later saw a UK release in 1981 as the follow up to the #1 smash "One Day In Your Life", & featured on the Motown compilation of the same title, which featured most of the tracks from 'FM' & a couple of Jackson 5 songs, as a quick cash grab to capitalize on his success with the Off The Wall album. However this wasn't nowhere near as successful as the lead single & only managed a #46 peak on the UK charts. As his voice matured, Motown found it difficult to find material to suit his then 16 year old voice & despite them trying to add a little sophistication to the strings, this sadly goes nowhere & comes across as more middle of the road than anything. At #54 is the follow up to 'WAT' - Just A Little Bit Of You which was released in April 1975 as the 2nd single from his 4th studio album Forever Michael & fared much better than the previous by reaching a #23 peak on the US Billboard charts, making this his biggest solo hit in 3 years & this was also his last Motown single released while Jackson was still signed to the label. Although this is slightly better than the one before it, but this still couldn't manage to outshine his earlier hits on the same label, despite producers The Hollands really trying, they just couldn't get anywhere with Michael at this stage in his career & after this Michael would move back to CBS with his brothers & craft more hits with them & take some time off from his solo work for a few years & come back at the end of the decade with an almighty BANG. Fast forward towards the tail end of his career in at #53 now with One More Chance which would be his last original single released during his lifetime. This song would feature on his 2003 compilation album Number Ones. Upon release the song received a positive critical reception & became quite successful worldwide by reaching top 10 peaks in UK, Italy & Spain, and top 30 peaks in Ireland, Switzerland, Netherlands, Germany & Belgium (Flanders). In the USA the song was less successful by only managing a #83 peak. The song was due to have a music video in which Michael began shooting in November 2003 at CMX studios in Las Vegas Nevada, but production was stopped due to a police raid on his Neverland Ranch & allegations. The single was instead promoted using a montage video. The song's music video did eventually leak in 2010. Wouldn't call this a strong comeback release, hell it isn't any better than the material on his last album Invincible. It does have an okay soft sweeping melody to it, intertwined with great vocals that gives this a nice light summery feel. At #52 is Butterflies, released in November 2001 as the 2nd US single from his 10th & final studio album Invincible, which also makes this his final single from a studio album. The song was only released in American as a radio only single & became a success despite very limited promo & no music video by reaching a #14 peak there, becoming his 31st & last top 20 hit released during his lifetime. Shame this song didn't get a chance to shine in the UK as this is a really nice song with tinkling keyboards, gentle backing vocals over a simple beat, chimes. His vocals feel raw, yet perfectly controlled as he's joined by some simple string and brass sections that help build the song up in the chorus. A wonderful yet underrated track. At #51 is yet another MJ Motown song I Wanna Be Where You Are, released in May 1972 as the 3rd US single from his debut solo album Got To Be There & reached #16 on the US Billboard charts, becoming his 3rd successful top 20 hit at this early stage of his career. It was the first collaboration between Ware and Ross, the younger brother of Diana Ross. This song is one of Jackson's most covered songs, with versions by Zulema, Marvin Gaye, Willie Hutch, Jason Weaver and later The Fugees. This is a nice soulful little number with strong high pitched vocals that soar over a beautiful string arrangement that wonderfully showcases his vocal talents at such a young age. It's fine, nothing more, nothing less. This post has been edited by Nina West: Jun 28 2021, 03:53 PM |
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Jun 27 2021, 08:33 PM
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 Mansonette
Joined: 7 March 2006
Posts: 35,266 User: 54
              
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Nothing too surprising so far, will be interesting to see if anything from his motown days can make the top half.
There were quite a few low scores for my faves so I'm somehow hoping they've outdone expectations. If only the rate could have been limited to myself and Haus 
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Jun 28 2021, 10:32 AM
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#6
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 13 November 2015
Posts: 33,187 User: 22,665
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really not a fan of 70s Jacko...
how did Butterflies manage to go to #14 in the US?! Quite unexpected |
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Jun 28 2021, 11:06 AM
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 Break the tension
Joined: 7 March 2006
Posts: 88,912 User: 51
 
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No real losses so far.
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Jun 28 2021, 02:34 PM
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#8
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We're all Glitter and Tears in the Moonlight...
Joined: 24 September 2013
Posts: 10,021 User: 19,846
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In the next lot, 1 of them is a 'Off The Wall' single & another is a 'History' single,
Any guesses? |
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Jun 28 2021, 04:08 PM
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#9
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 31 August 2010
Posts: 8,788 User: 11,763
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Very happy with the results so far.
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Jun 28 2021, 05:35 PM
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#10
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Mansonette
Joined: 7 March 2006
Posts: 35,266 User: 54
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Girlfriend and Childhood in the next section then?
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Jun 28 2021, 08:18 PM
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#11
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We're all Glitter and Tears in the Moonlight...
Joined: 24 September 2013
Posts: 10,021 User: 19,846
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No one understands me, they view it as such strange eccentricities 50. Ease On Down The Road (ft Diana Ross) | 4.868 Highest Scores: 7: (Qween, dandy), Lowest Scores: 2: (vibe) 49. Girlfriend | 4.954 Highest Scores: 7.5/7: (gog lad84, Chapman. dandy, Tawdry Hepburn, bluemonday), Lowest Scores: 2: (CJK) 48. Childhood | 5.068 Highest Scores: 7: (Nina West, Qween, Chapman, ready for it), Lowest Scores: 2: (Bjork, Mullo) 47. Farewell My Summer Love | 5.431 Highest Scores: 8: (Chapman, Mango), Lowest Scores: 2: (vibe, Monzo, Adelita) At the #50 spot is MJ's final pre-breakout - Ease On Down The Road, which was recorded as a duet with Diana Ross & released as the theme song for the 1978 movie musical The Wiz, which also featured both singers in starring roles as Dorothy & The Scarecrow respectively. The film version was produced by Quincy Jones, making this one Michael's first collaborations with him & thanks to this movie, MJ would work with Quincy Jones on his next project (but how would that turn out?). Released as a single by MCA records in September 1978 & would miss the top 40 in both the USA & UK, peaking at #41 & #45, although of note this would be MJ's first release to chart in the UK in 6 years. The song is a joyous affair about leaving all your baggage and moving on to something better & both artists blend really together in unison & even before his major breakthrough he was honing in on his already fantastic range. However He hadn't completely refined his adult voice so he was looser and more open. It really is fun to listen to him working all of this out, as bigger things were waiting for him, just around the next corner. At #49 is Girlfriend, a song that was originally sung by English rock band The Wings in 1978 on their album London Town & written by the band's frontman Paul McCartney who originally had Michael in mind when writing it. This would be the first of many collaborations between both artists. Michael then covered it the following year for his 1979 album Off The Wall, then in 1980 it got released in the UK as the album's 5th and final single. The song wasn't quite as successful as the previous singles where it peaked at #41. Certainly one of the lesser tracks on the said album, but it does have a nice mellow tune with a light R&B layered with sax & synths sounds that dates this quite a bit. The song on the whole is just okay, very album filler & yes there were far better tracks on the albums that could have been singles such as 'Workin' Day and Night' or 'Burn This Disco Out'. A lesser MJ single for sure. [ At #48 is the biographical Childhood, released in May 1995 as a double a-side with "Scream" from his studio album HIStory. The theme of the track is his difficult childhood experiences. It was written, produced & sung solely by Michael himself with New York City's children's choir are credited for providing backing vocals on the track. The song appeared on the 'Free Willy 2' movie soundtrack, (he also sung the theme to the previous movie). Definitely an odd choice for a kids movie soundtrack, especially given the lyrical content, as it stands though its one of the most vulnerable and honest tracks he's ever created, that contains more classical elements than R&B or Pop. The strings create a sombre but wistful atmosphere that evokes a sense of longing & yet there's a dreamlike quality to it, almost like a children's lullaby & recording with a live orchestra really sets the mood for the song. This may not as one of his greatest songs & would probably work better as a deep album cut, but its a great piece of emotional music nonetheless. Rounding off this bunch is Farewell My Summer Love, a song that was originally recorded in 1973, but wouldn't get released until 1984 due to the commercial success of his Thriller album. This song was featured on the compilation album of the same name, which was made up of his unreleased recordings from his Motown days & released as the lead single in May 1984 & became yet another commercial success by peaking at #7 on the UK singles chart & reached the top 40 on the US Billboard charts. This was a pleasant if somewhat disposable light weight number that acts as a time capsule in Michael's early career & already fine-tuning his tender vocals into the mega star he was about to come. This was just yet another cash grab by Motown, nothing more. |
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Jun 28 2021, 08:24 PM
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#12
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We're all Glitter and Tears in the Moonlight...
Joined: 24 September 2013
Posts: 10,021 User: 19,846
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1 of the songs in the next batch will a 'Dangerous' single, but which one?
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Jun 28 2021, 08:47 PM
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#13
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Mansonette
Joined: 7 March 2006
Posts: 35,266 User: 54
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Hmmmm it had better be Heal The World or Gone Too Soon as any of the others dropping out this early would be criminal!
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Jun 28 2021, 08:48 PM
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#14
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Break the tension
Joined: 7 March 2006
Posts: 88,912 User: 51
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God, so much filler in his discography.
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Jun 28 2021, 11:41 PM
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#15
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 10 March 2006
Posts: 19,163 User: 151
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QUOTE(dandy* @ Jun 28 2021, 09:47 PM)  Hmmmm it had better be Heal The World or Gone Too Soon as any of the others dropping out this early would be criminal! No way will it be Heal The World. My money's on Gone Too Soon. The title of which lends itself nicely to a pun regarding its early exit, let's hope the opportunity isn't wasted 
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Jun 29 2021, 06:02 AM
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#16
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 13 November 2015
Posts: 33,187 User: 22,665
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maybe Jam, aka his worst single ever
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Jun 29 2021, 02:33 PM
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#17
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We're all Glitter and Tears in the Moonlight...
Joined: 24 September 2013
Posts: 10,021 User: 19,846
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Will the sun ever shine in the blind man's eyes when he cries [ 46. Ben | 5.631 [Highest Scores: 9: (Chapman), Lowest Scores: 1: (Tawdry Hepburn) 45. Rockin' Robin | 5.681 Highest Scores; 8: (Chapman, vibe, Jester), Lowest Scores: 2: (Tawdry Hepburn, Bjork, Monzo, CJK) 44. Cry | 5.727 Highest Scores: 10: (gavindeejay), Lowest Scores: 3: (bluemonday) 43. Gone Too Soon | 5.75 Highest Scores: 7.5/7: (Chapman, ready for it, Jester, Tawdry Hepburn, bluemonday), Lowest Scores: 4: (Bjork, CJK, HausofArgento) 2 more Motown hits drop in this bunch & the first of them at #46 is Ben, released in July 1972 & written by Don Black & Walter Scharf for the Horror movie of the same name, as well as featuring on his 2nd studio album also titled Ben. The song was originally written for Donny Osmond, but he was on tour at the time and unavailable for recording, so Black and Scharf offered the song to Michael instead. Upon release the song became a huge success by becoming his first solo chart topper in the USA, as well as winning a Golden Globe for Best Song, as well as being nominated for an Oscar for 'Best Original Song', but lost out to "The Morning After" by Maureen McGovern from The Poseidon Adventure. Michael even performed the song at the Oscar's ceremony, but had to lip-sync, possibly as his vocal range had shifted since its recording. Elsewhere it also managed to top the Australian charts & hit top 10 peaks in the UK & Canada. Not bad for a song written about a killer rat. Thought this would have done better on here as this is a pretty decent song with simple yet smooth production, haunting acoustic guitars, sweeping strings, as well as displaying an impressive tender vocal range for the then 13 year old. Despite the movie it comes from the lyrics here are touching & sentimental & makes no references about the said killer rodents, instead its about friendship, which is something anyone can relate to, especially Michael himself. At #45 is Michael's cover of Rockin' Robin, originally sung by Bobby Day back in 1958 & Michael released his version in February 1972 as the 2nd single from his debut solo album Got To Be There & became the album's biggest hit by reaching #2 on the US Billboard charts, as well as hitting #3 on the UK singles chart. Elsewhere it managed top 20 peaks in Ireland, Australia & Canada. This is a fun early number by Michael, a cover of an R&B novelty song, but he gives this such a manic energy & devotion, as well as displaying some fun rockabilly vocal tricks. Sure this is a far cry from the artist he was about to come, but this is still a fun little 70's bubblegum pop track & one of his most well known from his early Motown days. At the tail end of his career now at #44 is Cry, released in December 2001 as the 2nd & final official single from his 10th studio album Invincible. The song was written by R&B singer R Kelly who had previously written 'You Are Not Alone' in 1995. Upon release it was only released in Europe & not in the USA where 'Butterflies' was released instead. Worldwide this didn't perform as well as the lead by managing a top 20 peak on the Danish charts & top 40 peaks in Romania, UK, France, Belgium, Canada & Netherlands, then lower peaks everywhere else & therefore becoming a moderate success. A nice R&B ballad with a simple beat & bassline, along with some decent vocals before the pace picks up with choir and rock drums and guitar lifting the song to that familiar finale. Shame this was the last single as there were far better tracks that could have been released instead of this, as there was so much potential on here for more hits, but sadly due to record label politics, sadly this marked an abrupt end to a promising new era. At #43 is Gone Too Soon, ballad recorded and popularized by Michael 1991. Dionne Warwick first performed (but never recorded) the song back in 1983 on a TV special & Michael's version was dedicated to the memory of Jackson's friend Ryan White, a teenager from Kokomo, Indiana who came to national attention, after being expelled from his school for having HIV/AIDS. The song was released in December 1993 as the 9th and final single from the Dangerous album, following its release on World AIDS Day & became a moderate chart success worldwide by hitting top 10 peaks in Zimbabwe, New Zealand & Poland, top 20 in Ireland & Netherlands, as well as top 40 peaks in France, Switzerland & UK, where he equalled his own record with 'Bad' by having 9 top 40 hits from one album. Originally the title track was planned as the 10th single, but was scrapped when this didn't perform as well as the previous singles. While I do appreciate the sentiment, this is definitely the weakest of the album's singles & one of the album's weakest moments, with a very Disney ballad by numbers feel, however I do commend Michael's falsetto vocals which floats over the warm arrangement of electric piano chords and elegant strings. However he's done far better ballads than this & its a shame we didn't get 'Dangerous' as a single, as that's one of the best songs on said album & would have made a great release. |
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Jun 29 2021, 02:38 PM
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#18
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We're all Glitter and Tears in the Moonlight...
Joined: 24 September 2013
Posts: 10,021 User: 19,846
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In the next lot there will a 'Thriller' single, but which one?
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Jun 29 2021, 02:56 PM
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#19
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 31 August 2010
Posts: 8,788 User: 11,763
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Ben and Rockin Robbin should be higher , i doubt many people here gave them a chance because they were released in the early 70's and although hits they are not as iconic as his huge singles.
This post has been edited by vibe: Jun 29 2021, 02:57 PM |
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Jun 29 2021, 04:00 PM
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#20
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Break the tension
Joined: 7 March 2006
Posts: 88,912 User: 51
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'Ben' truly makes me nauseous.
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