Greatest Male Solo Artist - Round 1 - Michael Jackson vs Elvis Presley

[Bjornebye]

4 minutes ago, TheHowieLama said:

On MJ - great talent, and one of the top dogs in this.

He released two records in the 80's (read decade) and for me was not at the vanguard of the industry at anytime. Rap was way bigger.

Bollocks 

[TheHowieLama]

Which part?

 

Two records is pretty clear.

 

Rap being bigger is pretty clear.

[Tony Moanero]

41 minutes ago, Paul said:

MJ: better singer, better songwriter, better dancer, mind-blowingly iconic on a global scale that wasn’t possible for the similarly huge Elvis. 
 

I disagree. Michael Jackson had a great voice but Elvis Presley’s was better, in my opinion.

[Bjornebye]

6 minutes ago, TheHowieLama said:

Which part?

 

Two records is pretty clear.

 

Rap being bigger is pretty clear.

Rap was bigger than pop music in the 80s? 

[KMD7]

Loved Jackson in the 80's, though it took the release of the Thriller video to really catapult him to megastardom as a solo artist. I think sales of Thriller were good but not sensational until after that. 

 

Has to be Elvis for me all the way though. 

[Bjornebye]

Just now, KMD7 said:

Loved Jackson in the 80's, though it took the release of the Thriller video to really catapult him to megastardom as a solo artist. I think sales of Thriller were good but not sensational until after that. 

 

Has to be Elvis for me all the way though. 

65 million copies later..... 

 

Imagine how many more he would have sold if he wasn't accused of noncing. 

[TheHowieLama]

Just now, Bjornebye said:

Rap was bigger than pop music in the 80s? 

Yes - of course, It was then and remains the only component of the industry that you could say is growing.

[Mook]

They were both fucking great for a time, comparing them is pretty pointless I think.

[Bjornebye]

2 minutes ago, TheHowieLama said:

Yes - of course, It was then and remains the only component of the industry that you could say is growing.

Sorry mate but thats the biggest pile of shit I've ever heard in my life. 

 

Rap music was absolutely not bigger than Pop music in the 80's. You are saying that NWA, The Sugarhill Gang, Run DMC were bigger than Jacko, Madonna, Whitney Houston..... Put the blunt down. 

[KMD7]

4 minutes ago, Bjornebye said:

65 million copies later..... 

 

Imagine how many more he would have sold if he wasn't accused of noncing. 

No arguments there mate. I still go to You Tube now and again just to watch clips of him in concerts, by the mid 90's they were just immense.

 

Like Mook said they were both brilliant iconic performers.  It's just a matter of personal preference after that.  I'm fascinated by Elvis, how he did what he did and how it literally had a hand in changing the world.  

[TheHowieLama]

Without question, since the mid 80's rap has driven the music industry. Seems crazy to suggest otherwise.

[Bjornebye]

Just now, TheHowieLama said:

Without question, since the mid 80's rap has driven the music industry. Seems crazy to suggest otherwise.

We are talking about the 80's. Not since. Rap was not bigger than Pop music in the 80s. Simple as that. 

[Sugar Ape]

2 minutes ago, TheHowieLama said:

Yes - of course, It was then and remains the only component of the industry that you could say is growing.

Michael Jackson will have sold more albums in the 80s than the top ten rap artists combined. Spy Bee is making more sense than you today mate. 
 

2 minutes ago, Mook said:

They were both fucking great for a time, comparing them is pretty pointless I think.

See what you’re saying like, but comparing them is kind of the point of the thread, no?

 

Michael Jackson (moon)walks this, for me. I get why people love Elvis, I know how iconic and influential he is, I’ve listened to his music and concerts and stuff many times. I just don’t like his music. Just had a look at my iTunes then and out of about 12,000 songs I’ve got one Elvis song on there. He does nothing for me. 

[TheHowieLama]

Some of us in the "artists" categories can see beyond records sold and acknowledge influence.

 

Pop music became rap in the 80's and has never looked back.

[Bjornebye]

1 minute ago, TheHowieLama said:

Pop music became rap in the 80's and has never looked back.

Utter bollocks mate. Unless you're counting Bobby Brown in 89, in the states a rap album wasn't the biggest selling genre until Eminem in 2002. 

[TheHowieLama]

2 minutes ago, Sugar Ape said:

He does nothing for me. 

This would put you in the minority, feels cool doesn't it?

[TheHowieLama]

1 minute ago, Bjornebye said:

Utter bollocks. Unless you are counting Bobby Brown in 89, in the states a rap album wasn't the biggest selling genre until Eminem in 2002. 

I was here pal - I know what has happened.

[Bjornebye]

Just now, TheHowieLama said:

I was here pal - I know what has happened.

Stop lying then. 

[Sugar Ape]

Just now, Bjornebye said:

Utter bollocks mate. Unless you're counting Bobby Brown in 89, in the states a rap album wasn't the biggest selling genre until Eminem in 2002. 

Is R Kelly classed as a rapper? He did take the spiritual nonce award from MJ in the end. 

[TheHowieLama]

Just now, Bjornebye said:

Stop lying then. 

Ok - I will pretend that the biggest "artists" in the world are pop singers. And have been for 30 years.

[Red Banjo]

When Jackson signed that massive $600m+ deal with Sony in the late 80's - it was the biggest deal in history by about $500m wasn't it?

 

Presley redefined music at the time, Jackson redefined the entire industry. 

 

Michael Jackson by a nose. Probably a plastic one.

[Bjornebye]

1 minute ago, TheHowieLama said:

Ok - I will pretend that the biggest "artists" in the world are pop singers. And have been for 30 years.

No you're moving the goal posts. Pop music was bigger than Rap music in the 80's. Simple as that. 

[Jose Jones]

1 minute ago, TheHowieLama said:

Ok - I will pretend that the biggest "artists" in the world are pop singers. And have been for 30 years.

Dude, you are right about the direction of music, and the long term impact, but Jacko was by far the biggest star in the world in the early to mid 80s.

[Mook]

9 minutes ago, Sugar Ape said:

See what you’re saying like, but comparing them is kind of the point of the thread, no?

 

I suppose so, that & voting for your favourite.

[TheHowieLama]

I am way too lazy to move the goal posts. 

 

Back to the original - Elvis was far bigger than Michael Jackson. 

 

Michael Jacksons recordings have never been groundbreaking - they have been at the top of the industry for awhile.

 

He has never been at the vanguard of performance or creativity. He is good. But he is not Elvis. And he has nowhere near the influence of mid 80's rap, then or now.