Phil Collins’ opinion on Michael Jackson

Originally a drummer, Phil Collins first achieved fame as a member of the Progressive Rock band Genesis but things started to change after Peter Gabriel decided to leave the group in the mid-70s and he was forced to become their singer. That would not only change the course of Genesis’ career, since they would be more commercial and sell more records, but it would eventually also give Collins a huge solo career too.

He became one of the biggest pop stars from the 80s. Not only selling millions of records but even becoming an actor. He was everywhere and was competing with other huge names like Michael Jackson, for example. But what was Phil Collins’ opinion on the kind of music Michael Jackson made?

What is Phil Collins’ opinion on Michael Jackson

Nicknamed the “King of Pop”, Michael Jackson started his career at a young age as a member of The Jackson 5, a group formed with his brothers that was quite famous in the late 60s and 70s. His solo career started when he was still quite young but really took off with the release of “Of The Wall” in 1979. A few years later he finally became a huge superstar after the album “Thriller” was released in 1982. That record sold an estimated amount of more than 70 million copies worldwide.

Phil Collins had the chance to meet Jackson many times especially in the 80s. In an interview with David Sheff he said that he was a fan of his. “I’m a fan of Michael’s. It’s extraordinary that he’s lived as he has lived. To have been a huge star since he was five or six. We can’t have any idea of what he thinks like, because he’s never lived a normal life.”

“I met him. He was very nice, but it was like you didn’t want to touch him, because he would break, you know. His story is probably a little tragic. Now he’s going around with his white surgical mask on. I can’t understand that at all. He doesn’t want to be recognized, so he wears a white surgical mask. So everybody says, “There’s Michael Jackson wearing a white surgical mask,” Phil Collins said.

It was Collins who gave Jackson the Billboard Award in 1992

In 1992, Collins even was the one who gave Jackson the Billboard award to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the release of “Thriller”. He said: (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage) “To commemorate the tenth anniversary of the all-time best-seller ‘Thriller’. To recognize that in the past ten years you basically out-sould us all as the number one best-selling artist in the world. We are very happy to present you the special and unique Billboard award,” Phil Collins said.

Collins was also the one who gave another Billboard award to Michael when his song “Black & White” and the album “Dangerous” received the prize. “Billboard created the ‘World Artist’ award. This year for the very first time, Billboard’s number one worldwide single and album awards go to the same person. Definitely a one of a kind performer. The single is ‘Black & White’, the album is ‘Dangerous’ and the artist of course is Mr. Michael Jackson,” Phil Collins said.

Although he was one of the best-selling artists of all time, Michael Jackson only released 10 studio albums in his solo career. But they were extremely successful and he sold an estimated amount of more than 400 million records worldwide.

As an example of how huge that number is, Phil Collins sold an estimated amount of more than 100 million as a solo artist and Genesis also sold that same estimated amount.

The final Michael Jackson album was “Invincible”, released in 2001. He passed away eight years later in 2009 at the age of 50. He is still considered one of the most influential artists of all time. Not only he was a huge musical influence but also a praised performer. His dance moves like the famous “Moonwalk” are now part of history and pop culture.