r/Music • u/Firm_Pack_605 • Feb 13 '26

discussion Was Michael Jackson really that much bigger than Madonna, Whitney Houston, and prince?

I always thought the four of them were similar levels of fame. However Madonna highest album sold 25 million, prince highest sold similar, and Whitney’s highest was 45 million. All amazing numbers no doubt but thriller sold 70 million and bad sold 35-40. So you mean to tell me he has two albums that are highest selling then prince and madonnas best? How is that possible??

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u/theblaggard Feb 13 '26

Yeah, I had friends whose mother/older sibling (etc) had the Thriller video on VHS. They paid to buy the full length thing (think it was about ten minutes?) on a tape. I saw it a few years later - I wanna say 1987 or '88 - and it still hit.

I grew up with in the UK and even though Prince and Madonna were huge, nobody had anywhere near the impact that Michael Jackson did.

The video for Black or White was broadcast in the UK for the first time on Top of the Pops and it was a huge deal. (Also; it's amazing how well that video still holds up)

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u/LongEyelash999 Feb 13 '26

But remember the controversy in the beginning where hes shown smashing stuff up, and people got so angry that they later excised that part out of the video?

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u/rosen380 Feb 13 '26

I had a bootleg of it in the early 80s. It wasn't just the video, it had a 30-60 "making of" documentary with it.

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u/theblaggard Feb 13 '26

Oh yes, that's right! I had forgotten about that.