Michael Jackson 2001: You Rock My World
In October 2001, Invincible was released and debuted at number-one in thirteen countries. Invincible went on to sell nearly 8 million copies worldwide. The album spawned three singles: You Rock My World, Cry, and Butterflies. Around the same time that Invincible came out, Jackson and 35 other artists recorded a charity benefit single entitled What More Can I Give, designed to raise money for 9/11 victims, which was never released.
Just before the release of Invincible, Jackson informed the head of Sony Music Entertainment, Tommy Mottola, that he was not going to renew his contract; the contract was about to expire in terms of supplying the label with albums of full-new material for release through Epic Records/SME. In 2002, all singles releases, video shootings, and promotions concerning the Invincible album were canceled. As a result of this, Jackson made allegations about Mottola not supporting its African American artists. Jackson referred to Mottola as a devil and a racist who used black artists for his own personal gain. He cited that Mottola called Jackson's colleague Irv Gotti a fat nigger. Sony issued a statement stating that they found the allegations strange since Mottola was once married to biracial pop star Mariah Carey. Carey herself seemed nonchalant about Jackson's claims when asked about them by Larry King on Larry King Live. Though Jackson claimed that the albums sales were poor compared to previous ones (less than half of HIStory his previous least-commercial album with the exception of remix album Blood on the Dance Floor), no concerts since 1997 (and no American concerts since 1989) and the album's generally weak response from critics probably contributed also. Few reviews were actually negative, but most felt it was Jackson's least impressive effort yet. . Of those that were negative they were often unfair discussing the singers eccentric image rather than the music
On September 7 and September 10, 2001, Jackson organized a special 30th Anniversary celebration at Madison Square Garden for his 30th year of being a solo artist. Later, the show aired on November 13, 2001. It featured performances by M?a, Usher, Whitney Houston, 'N Sync, the Jacksons, Slash, and a number of other artists.
In wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Jackson helped organize the United We Stand: What More Can I Give benefit concert at RFK Stadium in Washington D.C.. The concert was aired on October 21, 2001, and included performances from dozens of major artists, including Jackson, who performed his song What More Can I Give as the finale.
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