Invincible (Michael Jackson album)

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Invincible is an album recorded by Michael Jackson released on October 30, 2001. It was Jackson's first full album of only all-new material since 1991's Dangerous (his previous album, HIStory, was sold with some of his greatest hits included as an extra CD). To date it has sold 8 million copies worldwide.

The cover art of this album was a simple design of just Jackson's face. It was available in the standard silver edition, or four limited colours: red, green, yellow, and blue.

Album information

Just before the release of Invincible, Jackson informed then Sony Music Entertainment head, Tommy Mottola, that he was not going to renew his contract, signed in March 1991, which was about to expire in terms of supplying the label with albums of full-new material for release through Epic Records/Sony Music Entertainment. This prompted Mottola to cancel all single releases, video shootings, promotions concerning the Invincible album as well as the withdrawal of millions of dollars in advancements which would have gone straight to Jackson to aid the promotion.

Due in part to this abrupt canceling, Jackson alleged that Sony did not support its African American artists. In addition, Jackson stated that racist remarks were made by Sony Entertainment's head, Tommy Mottola. As a result Jackson and other label artists claimed he was a racist who used black artists for his own personal gain. Jackson also stated that Mottola called Irv Gotti a "fat nigger". Sony issued a statement saying the allegations were untrue, citing Mottola's previous marriage to pop star Mariah Carey, who is of Venezuelan and African-American descent, and his current marriage with Mexican pop star Thalía.

In 2002, Jackson announced that Invincible would be his last studio album with Epic Records.

The first batch of Invincible featured four additional colors: blue, red, golden yellow and green. The regular album is in gray/white. Due to the album's perceived low sales (in comparison to earlier releases) a second batch was never launched.

The song "Unbreakable" features a posthumous rap performance by The Notorious B.I.G. whom Jackson had previously collaborated with for the song "This Time Around" on the album HIStory.

The song "Threatened" features a cameo by the late Rod Serling performing an introduction, conclusion and rap. This rap was constructed from clips from the narrations of the television series The Twilight Zone.

Carlos Santana plays the guitar on "Whatever Happens". Mario Vazquez sings backup vocals on "Whatever Happens," the same song with which he auditioned for the fourth season of American Idol.

Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds produced "You Are My Life".

Brandy provided additional backup vocals on "Unbreakable". A very short vocal segment of Jackson was then used as a background loop on "It's Not Worth It" on Brandy's album Full Moon.

Despite never being released as a single, "Break of Dawn" was featured on Jackson's 2003 best-of album Number Ones.

By 1998, after completing his HIStory world tour, Jackson went into the studio to record this album. Jackson was unenthused about the project from the start, as he began battling Sony for the rights to his masters, which were supposed to revert back to him in 2000.

Singles

The singles released from the album include "You Rock My World", "Cry", and "Butterflies" (see Michael Jackson singles discography for chart positions). The album included guests performances by Carlos Santana, Brandy and posthumous appearances by The Notorious B.I.G. and Rod Serling.

There were seven singles and videos that Sony and Jackson wanted to release from Invincible. Initially, Jackson wanted to release "Unbreakable" as the debut single from the album, partnered with a 20-minute music video. However, Sony wanted Jackson to release "You Rock My World" instead of "Unbreakable" due to shorter production time of the video accompanying the single. "You Rock My World" was the only worldwide single release from Invincible and would reach the top ten position in 22 countries. Jackson had also planned to release "The Lost Children", "Break of Dawn", "Speechless" and "Whatever Happens" (with Carlos Santana).

Reception

Being his first studio album in six years (after 1995's HIStory), expectations were high. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 album charts, selling 366,275 copies and beating out other strong debuts by Enrique Iglesias and the Backstreet Boys, artists who occupied the second and fourth positions, respectively. Although the album would debut at #1 in 13 countries it was seen by many American critics as a commercial disappointment in comparison to his earlier releases. Invincible has sold 8 million copies to date. The single "You Rock My World" peaked at #10 in its third week on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and "Butterflies" later peaked at #14 on the same chart, and at #2 for 5 weeks on the R&B/Hip-Hop singles chart. "Heaven Can Wait" also charted at the bottom of the R&B/Hip-Hop charts due to radio airplay without an official release.

Charts

Chart (2001/2002)	Peak position	Certification	Sales/Shipments
Australian Albums Chart	1	2x Platinum	140,000
Austrian Albums Chart	2	Gold	20,000
Brazilian Albums Chart	1	Gold	70,000
Canadian Top 50	3	Uncertified	<50,000
Danish Albums Chart	1	Gold	25,000
Dutch Albums Chart	1	Platinum	80,000
Finnish Albums Chart	7	Gold	16,621
French Albums Chart	1	2x Platinum	575,000
German Albums Chart	1	Platinum	300,000
Italian Top 75	2	Platinum	100,000
Japanese Albums Chart	5	Platinum	200,000
Norwegian Albums Chart	1	Platinum	50,000
Portuguese Albums Chart	8	Gold	20,000
Swedish Albums Chart	1	Gold	40,000
Turkish Albums Chart	1	Platinum	120,000
U.S. Billboard 200	1	2x Platinum	2,100,000 - 3,000,000
UK Albums Chart	1	Platinum	350,000

The IFPI European Double Platinum Award includes sales in the following countries:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.[5]

Track listing

1. "Unbreakable" (Daniels/Jerkins/Jerkins/Payne/Smith/Jackson) - 6:26
2. "Heartbreaker" (Jackson/Jerkins/Jerkins III/Daniels/Mischke/Gregg) - 5:09
3. "Invincible" (Daniels/Gregg/Jerkins/Jerkins/Jackson) - 4:46
4. "Break of Dawn" (Dr. Freeze/Jackson) - 5:32
5. "Heaven Can Wait" (Jackson/Riley/Heard/Smith/Beal/Laues/Quiller) - 4:49
6. "You Rock My World" (Jackson/Daniels/Jerkins/Jerkins/Payne) - 5:39
7. "Butterflies" (Harris/Ambrosius) - 4:40
8. "Speechless" (Jackson) - 3:18
9. "2000 Watts" (Jackson/Riley/Gibson/Henson) - 4:24
10. "You Are My Life" (Jackson/Babyface/Sager/McClain) - 4:33
11. "Privacy" (Belle/Daniels/Jerkins/Jerkins/Jackson) - 5:05
12. "Don't Walk Away" (Jackson/Riley/Stites/Vertelney) - 4:24
13. "Cry" (Kelly) - 5:00
14. "The Lost Children" (Jackson) - 4:00
15. "Whatever Happens" (Jackson/Riley/Quay/Williams) - 4:56
16. "Threatened" (Jackson/Jerkins/Jerkins III/Daniels) - 4:18