Invincible

This was the final curtain call. Released in 2001, Invincible is the most expensive album ever made and stands as the battleground for Michael’s explosive war with Sony Music. It is the sound of a genius trying to reinvent the future while fighting his own record label.

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When Michael Jackson entered the studio in 1997 to begin work on what would become Invincible, he had no budget and no deadline. He spent four years recording. He booked out entire floors of recording studios (The Hit Factory in Miami and Record One in LA) for months at a time, often leaving them empty just in case he felt like recording. He reportedly recorded over 50 songs, discarding massive hits that would later be given to other artists (like Jennifer Lopez).

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By the time the album was finished in 2001, the production costs had ballooned to a reported $30 million. It was, and remains, the most expensive album ever produced. Michael wanted perfection. He wanted to create a sonic landscape that didn't just match the current radio trends but destroyed them.

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To update his sound for the new millennium, Michael hired the hottest producer in R&B: Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins. Jerkins was young, hungry, and famous for his work with Destiny's Child and Brandy. Michael tasked him with creating a "futuristic" sound.

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The result was a sound that was jagged, digital, and metallic.

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• "Unbreakable": The album opens with a heavy, syncopated beat and a posthumous rap verse from The Notorious B.I.G. (Michael personally requested Biggie’s vocals, making this their second collaboration after "This Time Around").

• "2000 Watts": This track shocked fans. Michael sang in an incredibly deep, baritone register that was digitally lowered. Many listeners didn't even believe it was him. It was Michael experimenting with the very texture of his voice.

• "Heartbreaker" & "Invincible": These tracks are frantic and stuttering, built on chopped-up samples and aggressive synthesizers.

 

The Smooth R&B Balance While the "Darkchild" tracks were aggressive, the soul of the album lay in the ballads. Michael worked with Dr. Freeze and the duo Floetry (Marsha Ambrosius) to create some of the smoothest R&B of his career.

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• "Butterflies": A neo-soul masterpiece that became a massive radio hit in the US despite having no music video.

• "Heaven Can Wait": A lush, complex ballad that Teddy Riley (who returned for this album) originally wrote for BLACKstreet but Michael demanded for himself.

• "Speechless": A song written solely by Michael. It begins and ends with an acapella performance. It was written after Michael had a water balloon fight with kids in Germany; he was so overcome with joy he wrote the song on the spot.

 

The story of Invincible cannot be told without the war that killed it. Shortly before the album's release, Michael informed Sony Music Entertainment that he would not be renewing his contract. He intended to leave the label with his master recordings.

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Sony’s CEO, Tommy Mottola, was furious. According to Michael, Sony deliberately sabotaged the album to force him into financial ruin so he would have to sell his half of the Sony/ATV Music Catalog (the Beatles songs).

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• The Sabotage: Sony cancelled the release of the "Butterflies" single. They refused to film a video for "Unbreakable." They pulled all promotion for the album just months after its release.

• The Reaction: Michael went to war. In July 2002, he rode a double-decker bus through London with fans, holding a sign that said "Sony Kills Music."

• The Speech: At a press conference in Harlem, Michael publicly called Tommy Mottola a "racist" and a "devil," accusing him of exploiting Black artists. It was the most public bridge-burning in music history.

 

To launch the album, Michael staged two massive concerts at Madison Square Garden on September 7 and September 10, 2001. These shows, billed as the "30th Anniversary Celebration," were historic. They featured a reunion of The Jacksons (the first time they had performed together since 1984) and a star-studded lineup including Britney Spears, Usher, and Whitney Houston.

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The first show (September 7) was a triumph. The second show (September 10) ended late at night. The next morning, the September 11 attacks occurred in New York City. The tragedy completely overshadowed the album launch. Michael, who was staying in the city, fled New York with his children and Marlon Brando in a rental car, driving across the country to safety. The momentum for Invincible vanished in the smoke of 9/11.

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Five Colors The cover art for Invincible was a stylized, digitized extreme close-up of Michael’s face. His skin appeared silver, and his eye was highlighted with a pixelated grid, emphasizing the "digital/future" theme. In a marketing gimmick, the album was released with covers in five different limited-edition colors: Silver, Blue, Red, Orange, and Green. It was a collector's dream but confused the general public.

 

The album contains a somber dedication in the liner notes: "This album is dedicated to Benjamin 'Benny' Hermansen." Benny was a 15-year-old Norwegian boy of mixed race who was stabbed to death by neo-Nazis in Oslo in 2001. Michael was deeply affected by the story of the hate crime. He dedicated the album to Benny to remind the world that prejudice produces real victims.

 

Released on October 30, 2001, Invincible debuted at #1 in 13 countries and sold over 6 million copies. For any other artist, this would be a massive success. For Michael Jackson, it was considered a commercial disappointment compared to Thriller or Bad.

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However, time has been kind to Invincible. It is often cited by modern R&B artists (like The Weeknd, Ne-Yo, and Chris Brown) as a major influence. "Butterflies" remains a staple on Urban Adult Contemporary radio. "You Rock My World" is considered a classic feel-good anthem. Invincible stands as a "What If?" album. What if Sony had supported it? What if 9/11 hadn't happened? It remains a polished, expensive, and misunderstood diamond in his discography.