Invincible

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The creation of Invincible was expensive and laborious, featuring the work of ten record producers and over 100 musicians. Jackson started the multi-genre production in 1997 and did not finish until eight weeks before the album's release. With reported expenses of close to $30 million, it remains the most expensive album ever made. The lead single, "You Rock My World", was Jackson's final hit single during his career, reaching number ten on the US Billboard Hot 100. It was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 2002 Grammy Awards. Invincible debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart with first-week sales of 363,000 copies. It also reached number one in 13 other countries. Besides "You Rock My World", "Cry" was also released as a single, and "Speechless" and "Butterflies" were released as promotional singles. Invincible initially received average to negative reviews, becoming Jackson's most critically derided album. However, in retrospective reviews it has been viewed more positively, with praise for its musicality and production in particular. In July 2002, following Sony's decision to abruptly end promotion for Invincible, Jackson openly condemned the CEO of Sony Music, Tommy Mottola. Jackson refused to tour to support the album, adding to his rift with Sony. Invincible was certified double platinum in the US and has sold over eight million copies. In 2009, following Jackson's death, it was voted by online readers of Billboard as the best album of the 2000s.

In Their Own Story

Prior to the release of Invincible, Jackson had not released any new material since the remix album Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix in 1997; his last studio album was HIStory (1995). Invincible was therefore viewed as Jackson's "career comeback". Jackson began recording new material in October 1997, and finished with "You Are My Life" being recorded only eight weeks before the album's release in October 2001 – the most extensive recording of Jackson's career. Most of the final album was written within the last year of production, with only "You Rock My World", "Privacy", "Break of Dawn", "Speechless" and "Cry" dating to an earlier period. The tracks produced with Rodney Jerkins were recorded at Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida. Jackson had shown interest in including a rapper on at least one song, and had said that he did not want a "known rapper". Jackson's spokesperson suggested a New Jersey rapper named Fats; after Jackson heard the finished product of the song, the two agreed to record another song together for the album. Rodney Jerkins said that Jackson wanted to explore a new direction, describing it as "edgier". Jackson received credit for writing and producing a majority of the songs on Invincible. Aside from Jackson, the album features productions by Jerkins, Teddy Riley, Andre Harris, Andraeo "Fanatic" Heard, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, R. Kelly and Dr. Freeze, and writing credits from Kelly, Fred Jerkins III, LaShawn Daniels, Nora Payne and Robert Smith. Invincible was the third collaboration between Jackson and Riley after Dangerous and Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix. Invincible was Jackson's tenth and final studio album recorded and released during his lifetime. It reportedly cost $30 million to make, making it the most expensive album ever made. Invincible was dedicated to the fifteen-year-old Afro-Norwegian boy Benjamin "Benny" Hermansen, who was stabbed to death by a group of neo-Nazis in Oslo, Norway, in January 2001. The reason for this tribute was partly due to the fact that another Oslo youth, Omer Bhatti, Jackson's friend, was also a good friend of Hermansen. The dedication in the album reads, "May we continue to remember not to judge a man by the color of his skin, but the content of his character. Benjamin ... we love you ... may you rest in peace." The album is also dedicated to Nicholette Sottile and Jackson's parents, Joseph and Katherine Jackson.

Reader's Guide

Invincible is an R&B, pop and soul record. The album's full length lasts over 77 minutes and contains 16 songs – fourteen of which were written (or co-written) by Jackson. It was noted that the album shifts between aggressive songs and ballads. Invincible opens with "Unbreakable"; the last line in the first verse recites the lyrics, "With all that I've been through/I'm still around". Jackson said "Speechless" was inspired by the joy he felt with a water-balloon fight with children. He said: "Fun inspires me. I hate to say that because it's such a romantic song. But it was the fight that did it ... Out of the bliss comes magic, wonderment, and creativity." "Privacy", a reflection on Jackson's personal experiences, is about media invasions and tabloid inaccuracies. "The Lost Children" is about imperiled children. Jackson sings in a third person in "Whatever Happens". The song's lyrics, described by Rolling Stone magazine as having a "jagged intensity", narrate the story of two people involved in an unnamed threatening situation. Invincible features four ballads: "You Are My Life", "Butterflies", "Don't Walk Away" and "Cry". "Cry", similar to Jackson's "Man in the Mirror", is about healing the world together. The lyrics to "Butterflies" and "Break of Dawn" were viewed as "glaringly banal" and it was implied that they could have been written by anyone. "Threatened" was viewed as being both a storyteller and a "Thriller redux". The song "You Are My Life" is about Jackson's two children at the time, Prince and Paris. The song features Jackson singing, "You are the sun, you make me shine, more like the stars."

Did You Know?

• Invincible remains the most expensive album ever made, with reported expenses of close to $30 million.
• The album was dedicated to Benjamin "Benny" Hermansen, a fifteen-year-old Afro-Norwegian boy stabbed to death by neo-Nazis in Oslo, Norway, in January 2001.
• Jackson finished recording the song "You Are My Life" only eight weeks before the album's release in October 2001.
• In 2009, following Jackson's death, Invincible was voted by online readers of Billboard as the best album of the 2000s.
• Jackson refused to tour to support the album, adding to his rift with Sony.