Words by Bailey Agbai
His least-notable album, Invincible is possibly also Michael Jackson’s most controversial. Although the King of Pop’s final studio album, the album’s material is often overlooked, as is its chequered history. With this month marking its 20th anniversary – or rather another year of Invincible neglect – why exactly is the album so forgettable?
When it was released, the revered Rolling Stone magazine gave the album three stars out of a possible five, describing songs as ‘frantic’ and ‘excruciatingly self-referential’ of his by then well-publicised controversies. But as luck would have it, the Rolling Stone community loved it: they have Jackson’s work a glowing five stars.
Is the split between contemporary critics and average listeners the likely matter of Jackson’s fans being biasedly in favour of the singer, or has the album been given a genuinely unfair write-up?
If Michael Jackson was the biggest entertainer of all time, the most successful Black artist of all time, and the most recognisable celebrity to ever walk the planet, how is it possible that Invincible, Jackson’s tenth and final studio album, is like a repressed memory: forgotten, and somehow purposely so?
Jackson believed Invincible was deliberately sabotaged. During the album’s release window, Jackson’s record label Sony pulled all promotional resources. Their decision was a result of tension between the company and Jackson over the latter’s decision to exit the company due to a conflict of interest regarding the share he held in Sony Music Entertainment. To punish Michael Jackson, Sony were willing to sacrifice Invincible’s success.
Things escalated when Jackson publicly accused Sony of sabotaging the album and accused the head of the label, Tommy Mottola, of being a racist who exploited Black artists for his own personal gain.
The lack of promotion explains Invincible’s disappointing commercial performance in comparison to previous albums: it sold 8 million worldwide whilst Jackson’s previous album sold 22 million.
The album’s underwhelming critical reception may have also been a result of sabotage. Around the same time, Mariah Carey made similar claims, accusing Sony head Mottola of attempting to derail her Glitter project.
A glaringly obvious factor to consider when discussing Invincible’s disappointing impact are the allegations that had been made against Jackson eight years prior. One track on the album, ‘The Lost Children’ (regardless of lyrical content) may feel a little too on the nose to some listeners. However, considering he sold 22 million copies of his 1995 album only a year after the investigation into the first round of child abuse allegations had ended, it’s likely that by 2001 the accusations made against the singer had little impact on his album sales.
Being Michael Jackson, the pressure to recreate the success of albums like Bad and Thriller – the latter of which is the biggest selling of all time – must have been indescribable. So, perhaps, the answer as to why Invincible has been mostly forgotten is the simplest one: it’s not as good as his other albums. Jackson’s material seems permanently stationed within the zeitgeist: it transcends generations. His last album may have lacked the instantaneous hits of his earlier projects, but maybe that doesn’t matter. The world may have forgotten Invincible, but it remembers Michael Jackson.
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