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Post by NatureCriminal7896 on Mar 4, 2024 11:11:22 GMT
i didn't include Dangerous, HIStory, or Invincible because of the false allegations. but i did put Other for people who believe he was happy those times.
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Post by SoCav on Mar 4, 2024 11:20:20 GMT
He always seemed quite happy during his brief time in New York in the 70s. Away from his family (except Latoya), gaining new life experiences, being socially active in a time he still could before Thrillermania.
I'm sure his achievements during the Thriller era made him happy, but overall he did not come across as particularly happy during that time of his life to me. Plus, he was always pushing himself to do better, so I doubt he even gave himself much time to enjoy that aspect. Of course there must have been things afterwards that made him very happy, times with Lisa Marie, and of course being with his kids. But there were always other, troubling things going on during those times too...
So I'd go with pre-OTW. And perhaps his early life, pre-J5 too?
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Post by respect77 on Mar 4, 2024 11:22:29 GMT
To me he seemed happiest during the Bad era. I see him smile the most there.
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Post by MattyJam on Mar 4, 2024 12:27:51 GMT
MJ answered this question himself during one of the last interviews he gave. I think it was for Entertainment Tonight or some US TV show where he did a phone interview about his life on the day of his 50th birthday. He said it was during OTW-Thriller era, because everything he was putting out was being received so "beautifully."
I guess he's thinking more about his career than his personal life there, but I can quite believe this era was the most exciting for him both personally and as an artist, before the leeches and sycophants started to worm their way in. All he had to contend with back then was his family and he was slowly detaching himself more and more from them during that time. From Dangerous onwards, it seems that MJ was surrounded more and more by people who had ulterior motives. It's one thing when it's your family holding you back, but when you're dealing with Dr Feelgoods and hangers-on, it becomes a whole lot more sinister.
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Post by ghost on Mar 4, 2024 12:41:19 GMT
I actually think he seemed really happy during the HIStory era. He was constantly smiling, he said himself the HIStory tour was his favourite of all his tours, plus he seemed very happy with Lisa Marie and he was becoming a dad for the first time in 97. He seemed a lot happier during this time than during Dangerous era imho. Even before the allegations came about, MJ looked like he had checked out mentally on some of the Dangerous shows. And I think half the reason he surrounded himself with families like the Chandlers, Barnes, Cascios etc is because he was just so lonely at that time and didn't have anyone else.
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Post by abbeycodi on Mar 4, 2024 18:50:31 GMT
I'm not sure. I want to say the bad era because that was the era he made the most appearances, did a good amount of publicity, made many quality short films, and went on a long and acclaimed world tour. Outwardly, he seemed very happy. Career-wise, the Bad era was a peak for him and solidified the Michael-mania that Thriller created. Personally speaking, idk. He did most of the things that should have been personally fulfilling after the Bad era and after the first allegations (i.e. marriage, children, creating a home in Neverland, etc.) I think you could pick any era of his life and list plenty of pros and cons(the allegations being the lowest points in his life, no doubt).
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Post by pg13 on Mar 5, 2024 16:48:25 GMT
MJ answered this question himself during one of the last interviews he gave. I think it was for Entertainment Tonight or some US TV show where he did a phone interview about his life on the day of his 50th birthday. He said it was during OTW-Thriller era, because everything he was putting out was being received so "beautifully." I guess he's thinking more about his career than his personal life there, but I can quite believe this era was the most exciting for him both personally and as an artist, before the leeches and sycophants started to worm their way in. All he had to contend with back then was his family and he was slowly detaching himself more and more from them during that time. From Dangerous onwards, it seems that MJ was surrounded more and more by people who had ulterior motives. It's one thing when it's your family holding you back, but when you're dealing with Dr Feelgoods and hangers-on, it becomes a whole lot more sinister. At that point in his life, Michael had a different perspective on his level of happiness than when he was younger. Especially since he described that era in less than happy terms when he was a young man - loneliness. Quite a few examples of that, especially in Moonwalk. But a man entering his 50th year had a different view as so much crap entered his life from Thriller to the 2000s. Of course, he had a very different, you might say revisionist, view later on. That said, I would tend to agree with SoCav that pre-OTW were his happiest days as a whole. Members of a group tend to be much happier and live longer lives than solo artists. His life and career wasn't controversial at all plus no lawsuits for various things. Michael was more able to go places without being mobbed on holiday as well than he was later on. What is happiness though? Slippery concept to pin down.
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Post by mjjfan810 on Mar 6, 2024 6:55:12 GMT
We look at MJ through the lens of his career eras, but he was just a regular human being, no different than you and I. He probably had horrible days during OTW-Thriller era and wonderful days 01-09. I know I can have weeks of feeling inexplicably content and then bad moods which seem to come out of nowhere - it's called being human and MJ was no different.
I'm sure outside of his public image and legal troubles he shared many happy times with his children in the later years of his life.
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