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Has Beyonce Surpassed Michael Jackson in terms of popularity in their peak eras?

January 16, 2016 by  
Filed under Ent., Music, News, Opinion, Weekly Columns

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(ThyBlackMan.com) So today a friend of mine tagged me on Facebook and asked me did I think Beyoncé has surpassed Michael Jackson during his peak era of 1982 to maybe shortly after 1992. In my opinion, I believe it depends on how much you like Beyonce or appreciate her as an entertainer.  To be completely honest, I’m not a Beyonce fan to say the least. To be even more honest, I don’t think I ever will.

But that’s beside the point; because If you do the math, Beyoncé has sold millions of albums, is a showstopper as a singer on tour, and has a dedicated fan base in which they will go to war for their Queen Bey. Does it sound similar to Jackson yet? Maybe, because in some ways, they are identical strictly off of how their fans view them. 2016-michael-jackson-beyonceSince Jackson is dead, has Beyonce officially surpassed Michael Jackson in popularity when you compare peaks? Depends on how you view them.

When my friend asked me that question, I swiftly replied no. Why? Because even though Beyoncé has the credentials similar to Jackson, it’s hard to do a true compare and contrast because the two artists reigned are in two different eras. Michael Jackson never had the true benefit of music being available online for purchase or streaming. Beyoncé has those two options at her fingertips, so access to music in Beyonce’s case is a tad bit quicker than anything Jackson experienced.

But, Beyoncé has one thing working for her if this was a true comparison; Bey never had any controversy or controversy that was self-inflicted, that we know of. Michael Jackson and his camp put out a lot of stories, fictitious and true to keep his name in the press. But as the 80’s came to a close, he became known more for being a caricature than his music which caused him to be just as infamous as he was famous. Business decisions gone wrong, sadly, in which possibly, Beyonce on her rise to stardom studied Jackson and learned from his mistakes.

But Beyonce not being bigger than Jackson is strictly my opinion. She hasn’t had an album that took the world over the way Thriller did. Is Beyoncé More popular? Not sure. But is she perhaps the wiser business person? Absolutely, especially if it’s put that way. In order to really know the truth about this whole matter, it may be wise to ask an unbiased music fan who doesn’t have any allegiance toward neither artist. If not, you may get a solid opinion or extremely irrational one.

Music Editor; Brad Washington

Also connect with this brother through Twitter; http://twitter.com/theGURO15.

Comments

30 Responses to “Has Beyonce Surpassed Michael Jackson in terms of popularity in their peak eras?”
  1. mjjjjjjj says:

    michael – 100% better
    beyonce – hahahah no

  2. chipower says:

    Arunava, may I correct you. Even though Beyonce won more grammies than Michael, her sales were a fraction of his. Everyone except you knows grammies are often bought. She won 6 grammies in one night and not 9. M..j won 8 grammies in one night. She may have been nominated for 9 but she did not win 9. Grammies are rubbish. Look at sales and tours. Beyonce performed at Wembley Stadium and it was half empty, same with Georgia dome. Her sales are getting poorer and poorer. Adele’s sales are 10 times bigger. Before Michael died his concerts were sold out. Forget Beyonce, she is empty. To worsen matters, she pretends she grew up rich, when she actually grew up relatively poor.

  3. Anonymous says:

    Beyonce the better business person? Please! Michael Jackson was the most powerful entertainer in music. Michael Jackson owned about 30 percent or more of all the popular music in the USA and most of the popular music in the world. Michael Jackson owned Beyonce’s songs. Michael Jackson owned Mariah Carey’s songs. Michael Jackson owned Celine Dion’s songs. Michael owned the Beatles, Elvis and every Sony artist that there ever was. Michael owned most of all popular music. Michael owned over 2,000,000 publishing rights. Michael owned the biggest publishing company in the entire world. Michael also had the highest royalty rate and the biggest selling album of all time. No one came near Michael. If Michael had been healthy enough to tour he would have been pulling in BILLIONS from touring. Beyonce is no where near Michael’s level at all. Is this a joke? All Beyonce’s albums combined haven’t even sold what Thriller alone sold. Beyonce’s total album sales in USA are like barely over 10 million as a solo artist. Michael’s Jackson 5 album sales alone are probably comparable to Beyonce’s total sales from Destiny’s Child and her solo career combined.

  4. Claude Bekale says:

    I think Michael Jackson deserves more respect.Beyonce herself wouldn’t accept this comparison.Michael was the best and regarded as such by other artists including Stevie wonder,Lionel Richie,Madonna,Phil Collins,r Kelly,Celine Dion,Diana Ross,Aretha Franklin,Boyz II Men,Luther Vandross,Whitney Houston,Rihanna,Akon,Mariah Carey…He was for all of them the best.Obama himself recognized it.

  5. Abhishek says:

    Who is Beyoncé? I’m hearing this name for the first time… I’m from India and everyone knows about Michael Jackson here… Michael Jackson’s popularity can’t be matched… He was the one who achieved superstardom… Don’t insult the great man by comparing him to artists like Beyonce…

  6. manish upadhyay says:

    I’m from india nd i say it very surely there is no any entertainer who is as famous as famous probaby 99.9%indian know about mj….nd maybe 10%know bey or any other

  7. LMFAO says:

    Beyonce doesn’t even surpass or equal Michael Jackson in his dead era let alone peak era. LOL

    She is good though just not Michael Jackson way of being outstanding and legendary. She is comparable to the likes of Britney Spears (Surpass) and Janet Jackson (Equals). But NOT Michael Jackson.

  8. Rishuan says:

    Hell no. Michael will always be the most popular of the two. His legacy will surpass hers for centuries!!!

  9. We_Are_Black(jdean42nd command) says:

    We are NOT Aferican-Americans…we are BLACK AMERICANS…for eons our ancestors fought and faced sit-ins to be AMERICANS! Not ‘african’ god gave us that in our dna…we don’t need to claim the culture…that isn’t our home. Technically Turks and former Yugoslavian nations are more “aferican’ then the natives of Australia…since using common sense, it took far longer for our human (black) ancestors to reach South-Eastern Europe than it did to sail all the way to Australia.

    We are BLACK…Black is the color of the universe…businesses strive to be in the black…black is the color of much soil around the world…without it there would be no plants, no animals…and no us. Black is the color of blood-clots…the organic material that protects our the circulation of our precious blood.

    Do not subscribe to Marque Anthony’s definition of “black”. He gets that from the White Man, which is his God. Or he ain’t straight. I never seen anyone who comments 59+ comments based on the white mans “view” of something. House_boi!

  10. aronpro says:

    the media want to put them ( usher chris brown justin tim beyonce tarloy swiif adele even bieber and other artist ) compare to MJ . because it’s can be selled when they compare to the “great entertrainer” “the most famous person on planet thet ever live” Who ever stoped the world .( i’m from asian) and they would like good when compare to the “most person ”

    There are only elvis and the beatles who can be matched with him. and maybe
    talent as solo artist in one person No one even close to him ( Sing , dance , created many song , Producer , He did a lot thing by himself) more then that His soul was pure and gentls He always wanted to make the world a better place.

  11. jdean says:

    Bp great response. Asking this question is corny. Message to millenials and younger generation. Your icons and idols are clowns and can’t compare to legends of the past. Music is not the same. Her music videos are gorilla films compared to his. No kids are running home to see her videos. No one really goes hysterical over her. She has no signature dance moves. She is an industry product and can’t create hits to the level of his. There is no Beyonce doll that anyone bought. No T shirts, No Leather zipper jacket, no hat thrown, no standing on the tippy toes as his brand logo, no Mooonwalker movies, nada. Women just want her to compare cuz she is a woman. No man is bumping Beyonce in their car unless he is gay. Men and women are bumping him to this day seven years after his death. Its just not the same or comparible. When you introduce bogus concepts and ideas and debate on them it lends credibility to bogus concepts. Please dont bring this topic up again. Its stupid and it sounds like you were too young to remember when MJ was around. Its ok . You had to be there to see it. Never will see it again.

  12. vulcan says:

    JTTHOMAS

    MJ was still huge long after Thriller.
    The Bad tour was in 1988-1989 and up to then it was the biggest tour of all time. The hysteria was out of this world. People were fainting left and right.
    Then Dangerous in 1991 actually sold more than Bad and the Oprah interview was one of the most watched program ever, the Superbowl half-time was groundbreaking in 1993. Even after the Chandlers and the police fucked him HIStory became the best selling double disc of all time and Blood on the Dance floor the best selling remix album of all time. Not to mention the HIStory tour was actually bigger than the Bad tour with 4.5m fans
    and what made it absolutely unique that MJ got those numbers without giving a single concert in the continental United States.
    Even Invincible which was not a particularly good album and MJ fought with Sony, no promotion no tour it sold more than 10 million copies and they called THAT a flop!

    You know when your album sells 10m and they call it a flop that you are in a league of your won. Other artists would be quite happy with 10m copies sold.

  13. Arunava Sadhukhan says:

    Who ever says, Beyoncé isnt in Jackson’s league, Ckeck ur Knowledge, Beyoncé has already won 20 Grammy Awards, while Michael won his 13 th in his 40’s. So that speaks for Itself. Nd Who doesn’t knows Crazy in Love? Even the Prince of England called Beyoncé for performing That song in his wedding. Also Vocal Talent wise, Beyonce can wipe the Floor with Nyone. Michael is The King of Pop fr Sure, but that doesn’t means No one else is allowed to rise to his level. Does anyone remember Beyoncé shattering records with her 9 Grammy wins in One Night, She was named the Queen of Grammies! Michael never did anything like that. Beyonce has Sung the National Anthem in National events so many times, as if that isn’t Honour Enough. And its True, Michael did gained popularity by spreading Scandals about himself, Child Abuse being the most notable of them. Beyonce doesn’t has any such scandals. And By tge Time She retires; She’ll b as Good as Michael was, maybe not now, but later for Sure.

  14. JTTHOMAS says:

    Not even close… people keep forgetting MJ popularity was in three phases of his life. Bubblegum kid years, his teenage years of Dancing Machine, and of course Thrillers years.

    However, a fourth one was coming with This Is It concert series.

  15. Amber says:

    Beyoncé is great. As a black woman, I can definitely appreciate her presence in the music industry. Rihanna is also a female artist that I personally support, and contrary to what one of the ignorant “bloggers” below my comment stated… Rihanna’s career is not owned by Jay-Z , she has surpassed well beyond simply being an artist affiliated with Roc Nation. She has made history as the first black face of a major international fashion brand, and has made history as the first black female
    LEAD character in a computer animated film. Rihanna is on a global level, much at the same rate as Beyoncé.. She has even sold more records than Beyoncé. These facts are online and available for anyone who would like to challenge the truth. With all of that being said, no one can actually surpass Michael Jackson. It isn’t necessary to surpass him, and I think it speaks volumes that Beyoncé is even thought of as equal to him. That is a true compliment for any entertainer. Many MEN probably don’t want to say she is on Michael’s level, simply because she is a WOMAN! But all of these guys that get compared to him.. Chris brown, usher, both of the white Justin’s? None of those male artists have the same success level of Beyoncé.. She is a true entertainer, who came from the same school that Michael Jackson came from, it’s obvious when watching her perform. All these young dudes do is take off their shirts and sweat and the little girls scream… That’s literally about it. I also agree with the post by a user name Vulcan. It’s a downright shame what the white media tried to do to Michael, and that’s exactly why we can’t allow another artist, even Beyoncé to be said to be greater then him. It’s not true and it’s not fair. He created the idea of a global black superstar. He made it possible for what we see today, all these black artists dominating at one time..? Michael did that, and I’m quite sure Beyoncé would not see herself as greater than him.

  16. Glenna says:

    No one will every surpass Michael Jackson, he was so original .

  17. AL says:

    The problem with this article and the comments is the comparison. No one can compare to Michael Jackson during his era. Michael Jackson will forever be a legend and the KING OF POP. But Beyonce will be a legend of her own. She has sold over millions of records and she ranks #1 for African Americans singers who has made the most money of a tour which was the Mrs.Carter World tour, she has made a name of herself around the world, and she is still young. We are in this day and age that people don’t buy albums like they used because of the internet and illegal downloading. So it could have been possible that if people brought albums like they did back then, we could be able to compare record sales. Beyonce is the most popular female artist right now and has been for a long time. The one thing I will say is that MJ and Beyonce had love for each other and he was her idol. If you were true fans of them then you would understand that they wouldn’t want this to even be a subject to discuss but I guess when you are both so popular this happens.

  18. Georgie says:

    Here’s my opinion as I’m a massive fan of both.
    Beyonce hasn’t surpasses Michael Jackson but she is his equal. I start this off with this statement, I grew up listening to Michael Jackson due to my mum idealising him growing up. Back in 2014 I took my mum to see beyonce live (she weren’t beyonce’s biggest fan prior but liked her music) my mum had been to a couple of Michael Jackson concerts and her reaction to beyonce was that’s just as good as a Michael Jackson concert.

    Here’s where we get to comparisons since 2010 no one not even Adele will sell as much as Michael Jackson. So comparing record sales now is pointless. What I will say about record sales is that Michael Jackson broke records beyonce created a new trend that literally stopped the world. Even though it didn’t sell as well as thriller bad etc she still stopped the world was the talk of everywhere I went (I wasn’t 100% on the album on release) but she stopped the world and was the talk of a few months. Now if an artist repeats her album release it will be called a beyonce release.
    The Internet and all these objects weren’t around in Michaels day so who knows, but I think if Michael wanted to make a shock move he’d do the same.
    Beyonce has based her career off Michael Jackson she’s said it she’s shown it and she is the female equivalent. Record sales now a days are pointless because you can’t compare.

    However based off fans YES I do believe they are on par with one another he was the biggest star in the world and so is beyonce (after Adele now).

    Dance wise Michael topples beyonce in dance. What Beyonce is good at is learning choreography mixing up old choreography and reinventing it. Like what Michael did but Michael was a king at dance.

    What I have noticed is that beyonce is an extremely talented vocalist she can grunt and rasp go low and high Michael Jackson also had a great versatile voice but beyonce vocally with power wins everything else I’d say is also on par.

    Beyonce will be a legend she’s gracious stunning and talented. Michael was also a fan of beyonce what she had released before his sad passing. So before all the negative things I’ve read remember he was her idol he was a fan.

    Beyonce has accomplished a lot she may be married to Jay-z but he has nothing to do with her career maybe some advice here and there. She’s on a different label she picks the music she sings and adds some contribution to lyrics and melodys. She married to the man he don’t own her career the only big career JAY-Z owns is Rihanna

  19. skint says:

    what ?? r u for real ??? Not in billion year Beyonce Surpassed Michael Jackson in terms of popularity in their peak eras .. Michael Jackosn is Michael Jackoson the King of POP /R&B /Funk /Locking /Poping And a King of music videos plus and other music styles .And who is Beyonce ?/ The Fat girl who cant dance but she is married to J-Z .oH well move alone .

  20. Julie Meredith says:

    I’m in Chicago Midway Airport killing time between flights and walked in a news stand. I have quite a collection of MJ’s books, magazines, cd’s, etc. I was born in 1959 so I guess I grew up with MJ. I’ve admired his talent, genius, style, dance and love of nature forever. Dancing the Dream allows you to look directly inside his soul. Fantastic poetry. Beyoncé? Prince? Whitney? David Bowie?
    No one will ever top MJ. His genius bathes us in the light of his love for the world and all in that’s in it.

    If he could only lived longer.

  21. Caleb Skydrive says:

    Michael Jackson, hands down. 99% of people in the world couldn’t name the title of a single song she’s done.

  22. vulcan says:

    Self-inflicted?

    So if the WHITE UK press starts to call the most famous African American on the planet Jacko, which is the name of a monkey originated in the 19th century, that’s self-inflicted.

    If MJ has two nosejobs he is a wacko but if Cher has surgery on every single part of her face that’s fine.

    Look at when the press started to trash MJ. 1985!
    What happened then? MJ became the first black person in his history who made white girls faint and the first black person in history who owned white music big time!
    I guess it’s just a coincidence that the WHITE Anglo-American media did their best to turn him into a charicature, including using his changing skin color which he couldn’t control to make him look insane.

    MJ put out stories to keep his name in the press??
    He didn’t fucking need any story to keep his name in the press because the press made up stories about him without any assistance whatsoever!
    But sure that was not their fault, making shit up about someone is OK in America. Land of freedom means land of free lies.

    Yes Beyonce was never treated by the press like MJ was. Because Beyonce is just a pop star. She did not and does not challenge the status quo.
    She does not break barriers. She does not irritate white racists!
    MJ did.

    And white rednecks did their very best to make MJ, who quite literally couldn ‘t hurt a fly, infamous.

    When will Americans finally admit that the character assassination of Michael Jackson was the reflection of America’s ugly side: insecure bullies, zealots, law enforcement abusing their power, greed, scumbag lawyers, rating hungry sensationalist media and an irrational , sex manic, conformist plebs.

  23. cris says:

    “The thing created is always LESS than the creator”! No, she will never surpass MJ. He created everything Bey is copying now. And… MJ is Bey’s Idol NOT vice versa, so…

  24. BP says:

    What the hell is this article about?
    Have you eve realized that Michael Jackson is GLOBALLY one of the most known and popular individuals in history?
    Because any comparison to Beyonce is pointless and ridiculous.
    Have you seen the HIStory era promoting his HIStory album during 1995-1998?
    Have you seen the massive HIStory world tour in 1996-1997?
    Why the hell you or anybody think that MJs peak ends somewhere in 1992, the HIStory era was one of the most prolific in music biz.
    In fact, MJs HIStory era is commercially the second right after the Thriller era.
    HIStory as a double album has sold 30 million sets=60 million pieces of the albums. Hallo…., do you realize the difference in popularity?
    But hey…, why do you or what exactly you consider the popularity? Only in the USA?
    Because Michael Jackson has been GLOBAL ICON, not an American artist in America for America.
    Even in the digital era Michael Jackson has sold more records with his previous albums than Beyonce with her solo albums after 2003, so what is the point of the article?

    By any standars, Beyonce has never been as popular, famous, known and successful as Michael Jackson, in fact, there are only The Beatles that can be matched or tied with MJ, or MJ with them.

    MJ has been the most reported/discussed person on planet in media, in every way.
    And after 40 years of his career he was able to sell out his world tour, in 2009 more than 1M tickets had been sold out within 4 hours.

    She is perhaps the wiser business person than MJ?

    OH…, really? And what about the Sony/ATV Music Publishing company, the biggest music publisher in the world that MJ bought in 1985 and later merged ith with Sony Music and NOW it consists more than 3 million songs including the songs of Beyonce, valued at 2+ billion dollars…, so who is wiser? Whi is the real music mogul?
    MJ did own all of his own songs, and now with Sony/ATV, the estate owns all the Motown songs…

    So…. in the end, there is NO comparison to MJ.

    There is no need to praise Michael Jackson at any cost, he is a global icon, but this article is ridiculous, factually weak and focused on everything else but not on the point who Michael Jackson reall was, is and will be to be compared to Beyonce or any other new artist, no matter how old he/she is.

    Even at the same ages for both artists 25-30-35, Beyonce can not be compared to MJ at any level.

  25. Natalia says:

    Beyoncé is a phenomenal artiste who cannot and will not be forgotten just as Michael hasn’t.MJ was popular in his time but right now I think Beyoncé is a person to reckon with.MJ is the King undeniably but the Queen has landed and is here to stay plus she is popular on her own,she didn’t need a bad rep or tabloids to keep her afloat all these years. The old has gone and the new is here

  26. R A says:

    There is no way in a bajillion million years that Beyoncé is anywhere near Mike’s popularity, creative vision, business acumen, visual imagery, musicality or any other area. Thriller at its peak was selling 1 million copies a week. Mike is incomparable.

  27. gwen says:

    This is a question I want to answer. No!!!! Beyonce only accomplishment is marry jayz so people could say they are a power couple, travel and pretend to be royal. Even Michael Jackson could string together 5 words in a sentence and do interviews. People have put dumb dumb on a string. Beyonce music don’t even make sense, how can anyone compare that” monstrosity ” sing to MJ music, even we are the world make sense. Come on people be for real, Beyonce is a prime example of ” oh gosh! I ‘m famous, wonder why? If you notice, when the paper stop talking about her, she take a walk on new York streets for publicity, and to get her pictures taken.

  28. Diane says:

    I agree with Vernay & Parick 100%. Everyone wants to be the next Michael Jackson – not the next Beyoncé. Enuf said.

  29. Vernay Leeis says:

    As long as others are compared to him, they’ll never surpass him. When people ask is Chris brown or usher a better dancer than Michael Jackson….is Justin timberlake or the weeknd the new Michael Jackson? Has Adele surpassed Michael Jackson? Is Beyoncé the new MJ?

    The answer is no because all those people are being measured up against him. If you keep comparing people to the greatest, it means he’s still the greatest.

  30. patrick says:

    I like them both but if you want to make an accurate case about whether Beyonce surpassed Michael in popularity then look at the numbers. Records sales….Jackson. Money made….Jackson. Years of popularity… Jackson. Awards won…Jackson. You claim Beyonce is the better business person. What deal has she made that can rival buying the Beatle’s catalogue? The only one I can think of is marrying Jay Z. She’s not in Mike Jack’s league I’m not casting dispersions on her because nobody is in Michael’s league. The only category she wins over Jackson is in the normalacy category, that she wins hands down. He’s the king because although other artists are very popular or a superstar. He was even more popular and more of a superstar. You can make an argument that she’s surpassed Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and even Madonna (I don’t think you’d win the argument against the latter two) but Michael not even close. Maybe in another 30 years if she’s still even relevent, but not as of today. Michael wins that popularity contest hands down. You were foolish to even pose the question. I think even Beyonce would agree with me.

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