KYSR (98.7 FM, "98-7 FM") is a commercial modern rock radio station in Los Angeles, California, covering the Los Angeles, Orange County, and Inland Empire areas on 98.7 FM. KYSR is also simulcasted on KSRY 103.1 FM in Tehachapi, California. It is Clear Channel's largest station with the alternative rock format, taking over from KDGE in Dallas, Texas since 2008, the year when KYSR adopted its current alternative rock format.

History[link]

The station currently known as KYSR signed on in 1948 using the KMGM call letters, taken from the station's original owner, the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio.^[2] The KCBH call letters followed.

The station became KJOI, airing a beautiful music format from the late 1960s well through the 1980s. Over the years the station was owned by Viacom.

In 1989, KJOI increased the number of vocalists from four per hour to half and half. The older traditional vocalists were replaced with more adult contemporary artists. The instrumentals were dropped altogether in 1990, leading to an evolution to a soft adult contemporary music format. The station also became known as "Touch 98.7", which had placed itself between smooth jazz KTWV and adult contemporary KOST.

In 1990, the call letters were changed to KXEZ. Although the call letters changed, the station retained its soft adult contemporary format.

In late 1992, KXEZ became "Star 98.7". The new call letters were KYSR, which are currently used. In the beginning, KYSR aired an adult contemporary music format which evolved into a hot adult contemporary music format by 1993.

In 1995, most of the rhythmic Top 40 and soft rock tunes were dropped from the playlist and replaced with a lighter modern rock sound, minus the harder approach embraced by KROQ-FM.

Viacom sold the station to Chancellor Media in 1997. AMFM Inc. was formed after Chancellor Media merged with Capstar in 1999. And in 2000, AMFM Inc. merged with current owner, Clear Channel Communications. Coincidentally, around this time Viacom became the owners of KROQ-FM when that station's parent company, CBS, merged with Viacom.

In 2002, KYSR began to experience a decreased market share noted in its declining ratings, which was also likely contributed to by a decrease in the amount of hit music product in the modern adult contemporary genre at the time. The debut of KCBS-FM in 2005 may also be a factor as KCBS-FM airs an adult hits music format that shared a large proportion of music on the KYSR playlist.

KYSR adjusted their playlist in September 2005 to focus on 1980s and 1990s hot adult contemporary music. The playlist adjustment was directed by KHHT program director, Mike Marino. By April 2006, KYSR readopted the modern adult contemporary music format with the tag line of "Today's Music Alternative" playing more alternative rock hits at the time and Marino relinquished his duties at KYSR to solely focus on KHHT.

All on air personalities including the notable morning show - Jamie, Jack, and Stench - were temporarily pulled off the station. Fans of the Jamie, Jack, and Stench show protested this move which included a public protest at the studio. Shortly afterwards, a poll was established on the website asking if they wanted Jamie, Jack and Stench to return. Ninety-seven percent said yes and a week later they returned. However not soon after the return JJ&S got replaced by the morning team of "Valentine and Lisa Foxx" in 2007.

On September 20, 2007, KYSR repositioned itself as '98-7.' The Star name was deemphasised as the station moved in a male friendly direction. While the format claimed itself as Modern AC, its musical lean favored Modern Rock/Alternative hits with an updated library of alternative hits from the 80s, 90s and early 2000s such as Nirvana, Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, Third Eye Blind and R.E.M. and played more new modern rock hits from bands such as The Killers, Foo Fighters, Incubus and Linkin Park. This repositioning came three days after sister station KBIG added more recent adult hits and dropped the dance/disco hits and became known as "104.3 MyFM." Effective September 24, 2007, Valentine took over the KBIG morning show, replacing Charlie Tuna, whose last show was September 17.

98.7FM Today[link]

The station changed from Modern AC to Alternative in 2008 to compete with cross town rival KROQ-FM. Rumors also stated that the change was due to the format change at sister station KBIG to the Modern AC and the wariness about KDLD on the airwaves. (KDLD left the airwaves a year after the station flipped to alternative). The station also changed formats to compete better with cross-rival KROQ-FM. The station's logo consists of the numerals 98 and 7 in Gothic typeface with a metallic star between the numerals. Members of the "Rockaholics" loyalty club collect points to use towards online/on-air prizes.

In 2008, both R&R/Nielsen BDS and Mediabase added KYSR as an alternative (modern rock) reporter, in part due to its conversion to a modern rock direction^[1].

The station since its switch to alternative has risen in the ratings compared to when it was the Modern AC format.

Programming[link]

The weekday programming on this station includes Music in the Mornings with Kennedy and Darren Rose, Trever Trent on mid-days, Josh on afternoon drive, and Kade on nights.

Shows[link]

• Music In The Mornings - hosted by Kennedy
• New Music Show - Josh Venable hosts new music Sundays
• The Bad Ass Eight At Ocho - Listeners vote their favorite songs of the day at 987fm.com and the top 8 picked are played at 8:00 p.m w/Kade.
• The Rewind At Noon - Listeners call in or text their requests from the 1990s and 1980s. Hosted by Trever Trent.
• 987 Live - Josh Venable hosts a commercial-free full hour of live and acoustic music, much of which is recorded in the 98.7fm studios. Sunday mornings 9A-10A
• Complete Control Radio -Formerly on KDLD, Joe Sib (owner of Side One Dummy Records) hosts the best in new and old school punk rock. Saturday 10pm

Special features[link]

• Rockaholic of the Day - On four times each weekday, submit the name of the Rockaholic of the Day and win points on 98.7 Rockaholics.

Personalities[link]

Past/Present[link]

• Ryan Seacrest from American Idol was the afternoon DJ from 1995 to 2003...he and sidekick Lisa Foxx remained one of the top rated afternoon drive shows in Los Angeles for 7 years.
• MTV VJ Mark Goodman, was a DJ from 1990-1997. No official reason for his departure were given, but his father died shortly before his departure.
• Morning personality, Jamie White, was formerly part of the morning team of "Jamie, Frosty & Frank", until September 15, 1999 when Jamie White was paired with Danny Bonaduce.
• Afternoon drive personality Jason Pullman leaves the station in 2004.
• Nighttime personality Skip Kelly (2002–2004) exits in May 2004.
• Brian Douglas was a swing jock there for five years from 1997 to 2002 before leaving to take the night position over at the now defunct Country 93.9 KZLA.
• Bradley Wright was a deejay at the station for almost a decade until he got fired by the station at the rise of the "Today's Music Alternative" format in 2006.
• Jason Griffin was the host of the "Saturday Night Mix Up" and was a weekend/swing deejay from 1998-2005.
• On July 1, 2005, Danny Bonaduce departed. The vacancy was filled by board-op Jack Heine and producer Mike "Stench" Roberts.
• Lara Scott departed in April 2006 upon expiration of her contract. She found work / was "reborn" on Christian radio "The Fish" KFSH-FM middays.
• Richard Blade (ex. KROQ-FM deejay) is hired by Star in 2003 but is later fired and replaced by Summer James.
• On January 3, 2007, the "Jamie, Jack and Stench" morning show was pulled and replaced on January 16, 2007 with Sean Valentine and Lisa Foxx. Valentine worked for 10 years at KIIS-FM in Los Angeles, and upon leaving to join KYSR he was rated the most listened to personality in Los Angeles with well over 1 million listeners. (credit: Arbitron 12+ cume FA 2006)
• In 2007, Frosty, Frank, and Bonaduce, who are now employed at talk radio KLSX devoted an entire show devoted to uncovering the behind the scenes drama at KYSR, accusing Jamie White of being extremely difficult to work with and scheming behind their backs to get them fired.

• On December 27, 2007, Afternoon drive personality Tom Mitchell exits.
• On December 27, 2007, Nighttime personality Summer James exits.

• Josh Venable, formerly late-nights/music director at KDGE-FM/Dallas, takes over afternoon-drive January 2008.
• On June 1, 2008, Marco Collins, formerly afternoon-drive at XTRA-FM/San Diego, is announced as the new midday jock for the new Alternative KYSR.
• On June 1, 2008, Justin Kade, formerly nights at KMXB-FM/Las Vegas, is announced as the new night jock for the new Alternative KYSR.
• On October 16, 2008, rock band Ozomatli exits as the morning show because of low ratings and conflicts with their concert tour.
• On February 28, 2009, Trever Trent, formerly nights at 91X XETRA/San Diego, joins for weekends/fill-ins.
• In May, 2009 Lisa Foxx segues to sister station KBIG, 104-3 MY-FM.
• On July 6, 2009 Kennedy joined "Music In The Mornings".
• On August 31, 2009 Marco Collins exits mid-days.
• On September 1, 2009 Trever Trent takes over mid-days.

HD Radio[link]

KYSR carries the analog simulcast on its HD1 channel, while the HD2 signal carries "Rock Nation".

References[link]

External links[link]

• KYSR official website
• Official RockStar Competition 2
• 98-7 Rockaholics
• Query the FCC's FM station database for KYSR
• Radio-Locator information on KYSR
• Query Arbitron's FM station database for KYSR
• List of "grandfathered" FM radio stations in the U.S.

Coordinates: 34°07′08″N 118°23′35″W / 34.119°N 118.393°W / 34.119; -118.393

This article is outdated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. Please see the talk page for more information. (November 2010)

Tokio Hotel
Tokio Hotel, 2010. L-R: Georg Listing, Bill Kaulitz, Tom Kaulitz, and Gustav Schäfer
Background information
Origin	Magdeburg, Germany
Genres	Pop rock,[1][2] alternative rock,[3] emo,[4] glam rock,[5] power pop,[6][7][8][9]
Years active	2001–present
Labels	Universal Music Germany, Cherrytree, Interscope
Website	www.tokiohotel.com
Members
Bill Kaulitz Tom Kaulitz Georg Listing Gustav Schäfer

Tokio Hotel is a rock band from Germany, founded in 2001 by singer Bill Kaulitz, guitarist Tom Kaulitz, drummer Gustav Schäfer and bassist Georg Listing.^[10] The quartet have scored four number one singles and have released three number one albums in their native country, selling nearly 5 million CDs and DVDs there.^[11] After recording an unreleased demo-CD under the name "Devilish" and having their contract with Sony BMG Germany terminated, the band released their first German-language album, Schrei, as Tokio Hotel on Universal Music Germany in 2005. Schrei sold more than half a million copies worldwide^[12] and spawned four top five singles in both Germany and Austria. In 2007, the band released their second German album Zimmer 483 and their first English album Scream which have combined album sales of over one million copies worldwide and helped win the band their first MTV Europe Music Award for Best InterAct. The former, Zimmer 483, spawned three top five singles in Germany while the latter, Scream, spawned two singles that reached the top twenty in new territories such as France, Portugal, Spain and Italy. In September 2008, they won in the US their first MTV Video Music Award (VMA) for Best New Artist. In October 2008, they won four awards including Best International Artist and Song of the year at Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica (MTV Video Music Awards Latin America) held in Mexico. Tokio Hotel became the first German band ever to win an award at the MTV VMAs and also at the MTV Latin America Awards. They also picked up the Headliner award at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2008 held in Liverpool on November 6, 2008 and the Award for Best Group on November 5, 2009 at the MTV Europe Music Award (EMA) held in Berlin. They won an Award for Best World Stage Performance on November 7, 2010 at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Madrid. In July 2011, they became the first German band to win an MTV Video Music Awards Japan (VMAJ). And won MTV's 2012 Musical March Madness.

History[link]

[edit] Formation (2001 - 2004)

Tokio Hotel by vocalist Bill Kaulitz and guitarist Tom Kaulitz, who are identical twin brothers, drummer Gustav Schäfer and bass-guitarist Georg Listing. The four met in 2001 after a live show in a Magdeburg-Club, where Listing and Schäfer, who knew each other from music school, watched from the audience while Bill and Tom Kaulitz played on the stage.^[13][14] Under the name Devilish, the band soon began playing in talent shows and small concerts.^[15] After Bill Kaulitz's participation in a children's Star Search in 2003 at age thirteen (which he lost in the quarter-final), he was discovered by music producer Peter Hoffmann. Devilish changed their name to Tokio Hotel: "Tokio", the German spelling of the Japanese city Tokyo, due to a love of the city, and "Hotel" due to their constant touring and living in hotels.^[13] Soon after Sony BMG took them under contract, Hoffmann hired David Jost and Pat Benzner into the team of creators and authors, and had them give the teens instruction on songwriting and instrument playing; most of the songs of the first album were written by Hoffmann, Jost and Benzer (including the singles "Scream" and "Rescue me" which were completely written by them), only the single "Unendlichkeit" was written completely by Tokio Hotel themselves. Shortly before release of their first album, Sony terminated their contract. The band is now one of the biggest modern acts from Germany and the biggest in 20 years.

[edit] Schrei (2005 - 2006)

Bill Kaulitz performing in Hessisch-Lichtenau, Germany in 2006.

In 2005, Universal Music Group took Tokio Hotel under contract and developed a marketing plan. Their first single, "Durch den Monsun" ("Through the Monsoon"), quickly rose in the charts, appearing on the German official Media Control single chart at #15 on August 20, 2005 and eventually reaching #1 on August 26, 2005; it also reached #1 on the Austrian singles chart. Their second single, "Schrei" ("Scream"), climbed to the #5 position in the German charts. These two songs were written by singer Bill Kaulitz together with their group of producers Peter Hoffmann, David Jost, Pat Benzer and Dave Roth. Their debut album, Schrei, was released on September 19, 2005, and was certified triple gold by the BVMI in 2006 for selling over 300,000 copies in Germany.^[16] In 2006, a third and fourth single, "Rette mich" ("Rescue Me") and "Der letzte Tag" ("The Final Day"), were released; both reached #1 as well. "Der letzte Tag" contained a B-side called "Wir schließen uns ein", which was also accompanied by a music video.

[edit] Zimmer 483 (2007 - 2008)

The first single off their second album Zimmer 483 (Room 483), called "Übers Ende der Welt" (later re-released in English under the name "Ready, Set, Go!"), was released on January 26, 2007 and quickly reached #1 in Germany and Austria, and #2 in France. Zimmer 483 was released in Germany on February 23, 2007, along with a deluxe edition of the album containing a DVD. The album's second single, "Spring nicht" ("Don't Jump") was released on April 7. The tour accompanying the release of the album, The Zimmer 483 Tour, was scheduled to start in March 2007, but was delayed by two weeks because the band members wished to have a different stage design. A third single, "An deiner Seite (Ich bin da)" ("By Your Side"), was released on November 16. The single contains the B-side "1000 Meere" ("1000 Oceans"), for which a music video was also produced. On April 28, 2008 Tokio Hotel released their single "Heilig" but no music video for the single was released, because of the tight schedule they had.

[edit] Scream (2007 - 2008)

Tokio Hotel's first English language album, Scream, was released on June 4, 2007 throughout Europe. In Germany, the album was released as Room 483 in order to emphasize the continuity with their last German album Zimmer 483. Scream contains English versions of a selection of songs from their German-language albums Scream and Zimmer 483. "Monsoon", the English-language version of "Durch den Monsun", was the first single from the album. "Ready, Set, Go!" (the translation of "Übers Ende der Welt") was released as the album's second single and "Don't Jump" (the translation of "Spring nicht") as the third single. A video for "Scream", the English-language version of their 2005 hit "Schrei", was also recorded, and was released to the iTunes Store in early March 2008.

Tokio Hotel gave their first concert in the United Kingdom on June 19, 2007. "Ready, Set, Go!" was released in the UK as the band's first single on August 27, 2007. The song reached #77 in the UK Singles Chart.

Tokio Hotel won an MTV Europe Music Award for Best InterAct on November 1, 2007 and were also nominated for Best Band. They performed "Monsoon" at the event.

Tokio Hotel released their first US single, simply called "Tokio Hotel", in late 2007. The single contains the tracks "Scream" and "Ready, Set, Go!", and was available exclusively at Hot Topic stores. Their second US single, "Scream America", was released on December 11, 2007. The single contains the track "Scream" and a remix of "Ready, Set, Go!" by AFI's Jade Puget. In February 2008, the band toured North America for five dates starting in Canada and finishing up in New York.^[17] After appearing and performing live on MuchMusic, while touring in Canada, "Ready, Set, Go!" entered the MuchOnDemand Daily 10, a countdown of videos chosen by viewers. It remained there for over a week, then returned to the top of the MOD Daily 10 chart on April 8. "Scream" was released in Canada on March 25 and in the US on May 6. The "1000 Hotels" European Tour began on March 3, 2008 in Brussels and continued to locations including The Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Scandinavia, and was scheduled to finish on April 9; during the concert in Marseille, France on March 14, Bill started to experience vocal problems.^[18] He let the audience sing more frequently than normal and instead of the original 21 songs that were on the set list, they only played 16 songs. Bill apologized, in German, for his bad singing and explained that he was sick. Two days later, the band canceled Lisbon, Portugal concert minutes before it was supposed to commence. The rest of the "1000 Hotels" Tour and a scheduled North American Tour were cancelled following an announcement in Bild by the band's manager that Bill Kaulitz had to undergo surgery to remove a cyst on his vocal cords.^[19][20]

Bill Kaulitz had been putting strain on his voice after playing 43 concerts in the 1000 Hotels tour without vacation.^[21] He had to undergo Larynx surgery on March 30 to remove a cyst that had formed on his vocal cords.^[22] The cyst was the result of a throat infection that went untreated.^[23] Following his surgery, Bill was unable to speak for twelve days, and had four weeks of vocal rehabilitation.^[24] If Bill had continued singing the rest of the tour, his voice would have eventually been permanently damaged.^[18][25] Tokio Hotel started performing again in May 2008^[26] and after that they embarked on a 2nd part of their 1000 Hotels European Tour adding many Open Air concerts and wrapping up the tour on July 13 in Werchter, Belgium.

[edit] North American Tours and Humanoid (2009 - 2010)

This section is outdated. Please update this section to reflect recent events or newly available information. Please see the talk page for more information. (November 2010)

Tokio Hotel embarked on a second tour of North America in August 2008, which included a performance at the Bamboozled festival in New Jersey. The band's music video for "Ready Set Go!" was nominated for Best Pop Video at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards,^[27] where they also won the award for Best New Artist.^[28] They returned to North America again in October 2008 for a month long tour of concerts and record store signings. In December 2008, a behind-the scenes DVD called Tokio Hotel TV – Caught on Camera was released. It contains footage from Tokio Hotel TV and backstage feature stories of the previous year on disc one entitled "History – The very best of Tokio Hotel TV!". A deluxe edition contains a second disc entitled "Future – The road to the new Album!" which features footage of the band on promotion tours and preparing for their third studio album.^[29]

In between the North American tours, the band returned to their record studio in Hamburg to record their third studio album, Humanoid, which, according to their producer David Jost, is currently set for release on October 2 in Germany & October 6, 2009 in the U.S.^[30][31][32] This is despite earlier statements predicting a March/April 2009 release or a May/June 2009 release.^[33][34][35] The album was recorded in both German and English with both versions were released simultaneously worldwide.^[34][35]

On August 10, it was announced on MTV news that the first German single would be "Automatisch" and its English counterpart, "Automatic", would also be released as a first single in the United States. On August 20, MTV Buzzworthy released a video which previewed "Automatic" and Cherrytree Records announced that the English version of the song would be released in the US on September 22.^[36][37] Nevertheless, the video for the single was released on September 3.

On November 2, it was announced on Tom's Blog that the second English single would be "World Behind My Wall" and its German counterpart, "Lass uns laufen", would be the second German single.^[38] The music videos for both versions were released on December 14 and December 15.

On June 24, the live music video for their single, "Dark Side of the Sun" was released on the band website.

On July 20, 2010 they released their second live album Humanoid City Live from Milan, Italy On November 22, 2010, their new song "Hurricanes and Suns," premiered on the Greek radio station Mad Radio. It was included in the bonus track on all versions of "Tokio Hotel: Best Of," a compilation album of their most successful songs. As well as the single for the 'Best of' release. The album will also include "Mädchen aus dem All", the first song the band recorded in a studio.

On December 14, 2010 their 'Best of' was released. December 2 was the World Premiere of the video for "Hurricanes and Suns" on their Official Website. On April 28, 2011 they received the "Fan Army FTW" award at the MTV O Music Awards, the networks first online award show. A clip of Bill and Tom thanking their fans was played after the winner was announced.

Tokio Hotel performed their first concert in Asia (excluding their concert in Israel) at the Audi Showcase in Singapore, followed shortly by the TM Connects With Tokio Hotel event in Malaysia, promoting the sales of their album Humanoid. They concluded the series of mini-concerts with Taiwan. They returned to Malaysia a couple of months later to perform at MTV World Stage Live in Malaysia 2010. They performed in Tokyo on December 15, 2010, after their South American Tour concluded in Distrito Federal, Mexico on December 2, 2010. In February, 2011 Tokio Hotel travelled to Japan to complete a second promo tour. A number of TV appearances and media interviews took place between February 8 and February 11.

On June 24, 2011 Tokio Hotel performed in Japan at “The Next Premium Night Tokio Hotel in Tokyo". The event was presented by Audi A1 and 150 fans were chosen to win tickets to attend the show. The event was the band's first acoustic performance in Japan. On June 25, 2011 the band performed live at the MTV Video Music Aid Japan in Tokyo. The show, which was formerly called the Video Music Awards Japan, was used as a music benefit to raise money for the Japanese Red Cross in order to help those who were affected by the recent earthquake.

Modeling and commercials[link]

This section is outdated. Please update this section to reflect recent events or newly available information. Please see the talk page for more information. (January 2010)

On January 19, 2010, lead singer Bill Kaulitz teamed up with twins Dean and Dan Caten of DSquared to walk the runway at a fashion event in Milan.^[39] Kaulitz made two appearances, as he opened and closed DSquared's Menswear Autumn/Winter 2010 show to Tokio Hotel song "Screamin".^[40]

Car maker Audi hired the two frontmen to star in their new advertising campaign to attract the younger generation. They were featured in an episode of Tokio Hotel TV (on Tokio Hotel's website) and also in a commercial.^[41]

On August 4, 2010, Tom Kaulitz got his own Reebok shoe commercial.^[42] Reebok signed the 20-year-old Tokio Hotel guitarist and sneaker addict to model shoes for the company. "At home, I created a little room like a little storage room," he said of his sneakers. He also said that he gets 10 new pairs a week.^[42]

Best Of Tokio Hotel (2010)[link]

At 13th December in Germany and 14th December internationally Tokio Hotel released their first compilation album named "Best Of". It comes in two languages: english and german. It contains the most popular songs from all the previous albums and two new songs: "Hurricanes and Suns" (was recorded for Humanoid but not included in it) and "Mädchen aus dem All" (was recorded for Schrei but not included in it).There is a deluxe edition too which comes with both german and english versions of album and a bonus DVD with all Tokio Hotel's music videos and "making of" scenes.

[edit] New album and duet with Far East Movement (2011 - present)

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After finishing "Welcome To Humanoid City Tour" Bill and Tom with their manager David Jost moved to Los Angeles and still are living there. They said they are working on the new album, which will be released in the late 2012. Paparazzies caught Bill, Tom and Gustav in a shop in Los Angeles. MTV said the new album will be named "Dark Anthem".^[43]. Bill and Tom released an app named "BTK Twins" for iOS (16 January 2012),^[44] and Android(19 December 2011),^[45] for keeping in touch with their fans. Here Bill and Tom post their photos, videos and text messages, and fans can leave messages for posts. Bill and Tom answer to these comments very often. The app costs 2.99$, and if a user wants to leave comments besides watching only he must pay 0.99$ a month. Tokio Hotel launched a service named "VIP Call".^[46] Fans may pay 4.99 Euros for a month or 3.49 Euros for 3 months and Tokio Hotel call them and leave audio messages. Fans can even ask them questions and Tokio Hotel will answer to them. On 18 May 2012 Far East Movement released an album named "Dirty Bass". In it there is a song named "If I Die Tomorrow" which is a duet with Bill. Far East Movement accepted there will be a music video released for "If I Die Tomorrow" soon. Bill Kaulitz will take part in shootings too.

Band members[link]

• Bill Kaulitz - lead vocals
• Tom Kaulitz - guitar, piano, backing vocals
• Georg Listing - bass, keyboards, synthesizers, backing vocals
• Gustav Schäfer - drums, percussion, backing vocals

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• Schrei (2005)
• Zimmer 483 (2007)
• Scream (2007)
• Humanoid (2009)
• Best Of (2010)

Awards[link]

Since the release of the "Durch den Monsun" single in 2005, Tokio Hotel have gone on to win 104 awards in various categories and countries.

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tokio Hotel

• Official site
• Cherrytree records profile
• Interscope records profile
• Tokio Hotel on MySpace
• Tokio Hotel on Facebook
• Tokio Hotel on Twitter
• Tokio Hotel on MTV

Jeffree Star (born Jeffrey Lynn Steininger on November 15, 1985)^[5] is an American model, fashion designer, makeup artist, DJ, and singer-songwriter residing in Beverly Hills, California.^[6][7] He started his music career from being known for his popularity on MySpace with over 100 million plays on his self released music, as well as his fashion line and from his transgressive, gender-bending appearance and persona while calling himself "Queen of the Internet" and "Cunt".^{[8][8][9][10][11]} Star has leveraged his fame as an androgynous model and aesthetic talents to launch his own clothing line and forays into acting and DJing.

Early Life[link]

Jeffree Star was born in Los Angeles County, California.^[12] His father died when he was 6 years old; subsequently, he was raised solely by his alcoholic mother, a model who frequently went on assignments. As a child, Star regularly began experimenting with his mother's makeup, leading to an obsessive compulsive interest,^[13] and convinced her to let him wear makeup to school when he was in junior high.^[14] At the age of fifteen, Star became a make-up artist. During this time, he wore makeup, dyed his hair with day-glo colors and began cross dressing which in turn led to receiving large amounts of attention and popularity from both fellow students and strangers.^{[3][14][14][13]} Following his graduation from high school, Star moved to Los Angeles and began supporting himself with various makeup, modeling, and music jobs.^[15][16] He later recalled spending his time on weekends "using a fake ID to attend Hollywood clubs dressed in mini dresses and nine inch high heels where celebrities would contract [Star] for makeup work at their homes", or "hiring [Star] as a model."^[13] Star reports that his weekend socializing at clubs and the makeup advice he offered eventually led to his modeling career.^[13]

Career[link]

2006–2008: Internet popularity and musical beginnings[link]

Star attending a tribute to Anna Nicole Smith in 2007.

Jeffree Star used popular social networking website MySpace to further both his music as well as fashion design career. Star also used MySpace for blogging about his life while making social commentary on "self-image and confidence",^[4] fame, beauty and life. Star had built up a fan base on several websites but convinced many to join him on MySpace, giving his MySpace profile a large number of "friends" from the beginning.^[14] His MySpace photo shoots would frequently get over 50,000 comments when posted,^[14] and by November 2006, he was recognized as MySpace's most connected profile personality.^[17] Star also gained fame as one of the most popular unsigned artists with the daily rankings placing him in the top tier^[18] on MySpace. On March 28, 2007 at Project Runway's Jeffrey Sebelia fashion show Star was a front row "celebutante" where he revealed details of Buzznet.com’s “Queen Needs a Princess Contest” which had "a day of femme-licious fun with Star" as the grand prize.^[19] The social-networking, music-news site specializes in new-media (integrated photoblog and videoblog capabilities) which Star has capitalized on to dovetail his modeling and music interests.^[20] Stars' social trendsetting participation at Buzznet and his success at growing online fan-base was noted in Buzznet's six million financing in May 2007.^[21] Star regularly uploads video-blog segments including music reviews, event reports as well as posting news about his upcoming music release.

Star's music career as an electronica and pop vocalist began when he befriended Peaches' drummer who encouraged him to make music.^[14] Star was then asked by Deuce of Hollywood Undead to rap on their song "Turn off the Lights" for their debut album.^[22] However, the track did not make it onto the disc. Deuce was recently evicted from Hollywood Undead and has produced a mixtape ("Break Them Wallz") with Jeffree and another song titled "Freaky Now" (alongside friend "Truth"), in which Jeffree raps extremely explicit lyrics. His first two solo tracks "We Want Cunt", named in tribute to his former screen name Cunt: Queen of the Beautifuls, and "Straight Boys" were co-written with Hole and one time Mötley Crüe drummer, Samantha Maloney and singer Jessicka from Scarling..^[23] Star asked MySpace co-founder Tom to convert his MySpace profile into a music page so he could showcase his music.^[14] On the 13 March 2007, Star released his debut extended play Plastic Surgery Slumber Party which was produced by Ultraviolet Sound.^[24] The record topped at number one on the iTunes’s dance charts and "has consistently topped the iTunes dance charts at #1, hovering high above household names such as Justin Timberlake and Cascada."^[6][25] Separately, Star's MySpace page has 25 million listens to Plastic Surgery Slumber Party as of July 2007.^[26]

During the summer of 2007, Star was advertised as a part of the True Colors Tour 2007,^[27] which traveled through 15 cities in the United States and Canada.^[28] The tour, sponsored by the LGBT Logo channel, began on June 8, 2007 to coincide with Pride month.^[28] Profits from the tour benefited the Human Rights Campaign as well as PFLAG and The Matthew Shepard Foundation. Though he was advertised as a special guest to perform on several West Coast dates, Star did not appear.^{[citation needed]} Star's song "Plastic Surgery Slumber Party" appeared on the August 2007 Tommy Boy release of Cyndi Lauper's True Colors tour compilation. Featuring ten tracks from ten of the artists, the compilation benefits the Human Rights Campaign, an organization that fights for civil rights for LGBT people.^[28] Throughout 2006 and 2007, Star appeared in music videos by various artist, including Godhead, Good Charlotte, The Autumns, Aiden, and Amy Winehouse.^[29][30][31]

Star waving to the crowd at Warped Tour 2009.

Following the success of Plastic Surgery Slumber Party, Star embarked on his Jeffree Star Will Steal Your Man tour, which had several North American and European dates. Prior to the release of his second extended play, Star released his debut promotional single "Heart Surgery Isn't That Bad..." on February 14, 2008. Star later released the single's b-side, "I Hate Music", on April 17, 2008.^[32] Star later recorded and released "Starstruck" featuring Danger Radio - his first single available for free download as a "thank you" to fans.^[33][34] Trace Cyrus and Mason Musso from Metro Station^[35] originally provided vocals for the song, however, due to a feud between the band and Star,^[36][37] they were ultimately replaced with Andrew de Torres from Danger Radio. In late 2007, following the success of his first EP, Star announced he was working on his debut studio album, set for release in 2008. Despite Star claiming the album would be released in 2008, he later announced that it had been pushed back to 2009, as he had to complete community service. After Star pushed back the release date of his debut album, he announced his upcoming extended play, which he hoped to release by late 2008. He released his official debut single, "Lollipop Luxury", as the lead single from the album on November 18, 2008. Cupcakes Taste Like Violence, Star's second EP, was released on December 9, 2008.^[38] This is his first record to be available as a CD as well as digital download.^[38] This is also Star's debut record to be released under Popsicle Records through Warner Music Group’s Independent Label Group. Star said the extended play "reminds me of myself. I may look sweet, but I'm really scary and violent on the inside."^[39] Cupcakes Taste Like Violence peaked at number six on the Billboard Top Electronic Albums^[40] and at number eight on the Billboard Top Heatseekers.^[41]

[edit] 2009 - present: Beauty Killer and continued success

Star at the Vans Warped Tour in 2009.

When speaking of the new album, Star stated that the new songs "are more sexy, some are more "guy"ish and some are me screaming my heart out. I'm still finding what "Jeffree Star" really is. And I think I'm almost there..."^[42] To "tide fans over" until the first single from the album was released, on April 21, 2009, Star released a remix cover of Black Eyed Peas' "Boom Boom Pow" which was made available for free download.^[43] Morgan Page's radio edit mix of "Prisoner" was released for free download by Star on December 18, 2009. He worked with producers such as Lester Mendez, 3OH!3's Nathaniel Motte, God's Paparazzi^[44] and more. Star performed at Warped Tour 2009 to promote some of the music from his album.^[44][45] The first single from the album, "Prisoner", was released for digital download on May 2, 2009.^[44] The track received two million plays on MySpace at the end of its second week being available for stream. "Love Rhymes With Fuck You" was released as a promotional single from the album, and was released for digital download on June 30, 2009.^[46] Star's debut studio album, Beauty Killer, was released on September 22, 2009.^[47] The album debuted at number 122 in the US Billboard 200 Chart. It also debuted at #7 in the US Billboard Top Dance/Electronic Albums Chart and fell to #12 on its second week.^[48] Shortly after the album was released, Star announced a two week winter "I'm Cold, Keep Me Warm... Bitch!" tour in North America. However, due to "personal things [that] have gotten out of hand in [his] family" the tour was cancelled. Star embarked on his "2 DRUNK 2 FUCK" 2010 world tour, in which he stated he would "be going everywhere...and yes that means Europe and Australia". It was his first headlining tour to promote Beauty Killer. It featured BrokeNCYDE and Blood On the Dancefloor as the opening acts for various North American dates, while BrokeNCYDE was a co-headlining act for the European legs. He also headlined the "Lookin' Hot and Dangerous tour throughout 2010, which featured mainly North American shows, though four where outside of the US. Throughout late 2010 and early 2011, Star toured with pop-singer Dev on his Fresh Meat tour, named after the song from the album. The tour only featured North American dates, going through the United States, Canada, and Mexico. "A music video for "Prisoner" was originally planned in September 2009, though it was later replaced with "Get Away With Murder" which was filmed on November 7, 2009. The video premiered on the front page of MySpace on January 23, 2010.^[49] A music video for the title track, "Beauty Killer", was filmed in May 2010. The video premiered on Star's YouTube channel on June 19, 2010. Following the album's commercial success, Star released the song "Blush", an outtake from the original track listing. The song was released for digital download on February 16, 2010.^[50] A sixth promotional single, "Size of Your Boat", featured Muffy and was released for digital download on June 29, 2010.^[51]

In the Fall of 2010, Star was signed by R&B singer/producer Akon to his imprint Kon Live Distribution and did a joint venture with Star's own imprint Popsicle Music. In a recent interview with VLADTV Akon stated this about Star: "Jeffree is a male superstar... he's very creative on a whole other level. What inspired me to sign Jeffree was how far he's willing to take his vision, there's no limit. I love artists like that 'cause the sky is the limit. He's one of those guys who has a future of how he sees himself and how he wants to be perceived. With music you have to be able to raise some eyebrows..."^[52][53][54] On October 10, 2010 Star released a new promotional single "I'm In Love (With a Killer) for digital download.^[55] Star began working on his then second studio album in 2010, but he later revealed that he would be releasing an extended play, rather than his second studio album. The EP, titled Virginity, was initially slated for a February 14, 2012 release date, but has since been pushed back to an unannounced date. The lead single from this extended play, "Prom Night", was released for radio airplay and digital download on March 3, 2012.^[56] "Prom Night" is Star's third official single, and major label debut single. "Prom Night" is produced by Akon & written by Star, Kelly Sheehan, and Heather Bright. Los Angeles radio station 102.7 KIIS FM debuted the single and Star hosted the "Weekend Mixtape" show to promote it with DJ Skee and music director Julie Pilat. The music video was directed by Robby Starbuck, and was released on Star's personal YouTube account on May 11, 2012.^[57]

Other endeavors[link]

Star was referred to celebrities including Kelly Osbourne, AFI frontman Davey Havok and Jessicka from the band Scarling.^[14][58] He is a former make-up artist for porn company, Hustler. Star gained a cult following from posting outrageous photographs of himself on Internet forums and later MySpace, who began sending him gifts including expensive cameras to take more pictures.^[14] On August 1, 2006, Los Angeles' LGBT magazine Frontiers featured Star on its cover. On November 17, 2006 Star and several contestants from "America's Next Top Model" were a part of Black Chandelier's "Fall 2006 Runway Show" at Salt Lake City's Union Pacific Depot. Star was also a guest on "America's Next Top Model, Cycle 7".^[58] On March 16, 2007, Star was one of the featured runway models for BOXeight's production of designer Jared Gold’s flamboyant "Quiet Army show", regarded as "the wildest front row in all of Fashion Week." The shows 2007 theme was "Mormon chic", effectively using the Los Angeles Theater as a backdrop during L.A. Fashion Week.^[59] He has appeared in several music videos including Good Charlotte's "The River",^[60] Godhead's "Push", Aiden's "One Love", Metro Station's "Shake It"^[61] and Ke$ha's "Take It Off (K$ n' Friends Version)"^[62]

Star's T-shirts, hoodies and accessories were ranked #1 on Hottopic.com. He has been developing a fragrance since 2008, which he says will smell like "vanilla and cotton candy."^[63]

Discography[link]

• Beauty Killer (2009)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jeffree Star

Wikinews has related news: Von D from "LA Ink" TV series sets world record for tattooing

• Jeffree Star's channel on YouTube
• Jeffree Star on Buzznet
• Jeffree Star on PureVolume

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2009)

Mark William Collins (born February 25, 1965) is an American radio personality and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.^[1] Collins rose to prominence in the early 1990s as a DJ on alternative rock station 107.7-FM The End (KNDD) in Seattle, Washington, with the popularity of Grunge.

He has worked at a number of rock music radio stations along the West Coast, including KYSR 98.7 in Los Angeles, KCR and XTRA-FM (91X) in San Diego,^[2] KITS (Live 105) in San Francisco, KNDD in Seattle, and KWOD in Sacramento, California.

For a short time during the 1990s, he owned Stampede Records, which released Silkworm's 1993 EP "His Absence is a Blessing" and Muzzle's "Free Trampoline/Come On Down" (7" single).

Radio career[link]

Collins' radio career began in 1984 as a DJ on KCR, San Diego State University's college radio station. He quickly became the station's music director, a position he held until leaving the station in 1989.^[3] While in San Diego, Collins also worked as an intern and on air host at XTRA-FM.

After working in radio promotions at Relativity Records, Collins took a job at KNDD 107.7 The End in Seattle, Washington. He became the station's music director and assistant program director, in addition to hosting his own show in the evenings. Collins is also credited with birthing KNDD's The Young and the Restless, the station's longstanding all-local music program.

Collins was instrumental in breaking such artists as Beck,^[4] The Presidents of the United States of America, Foo Fighters, Harvey Danger's "Flagpole Sitta"^[5] and was the first person to play Weezer's "Undone (The Sweater Song)."^[6] He is also credited for debuting tracks by Garbage,^[7] Death Cab For Cutie, Sunny Day Real Estate and Everclear.^[8]

Collins left "The End" in 1998 to take the A&R Director position at Movement Records in Los Angeles, California. It was there where he worked with acts such as Rage Against the Machine, Sean Lennon and Cypress Hill. He left to take a position at VH1 as the station's Director of Music Programming.^[9]

In 2005, he returned to San Diego and accepted the position of Music Director at XTRA-FM (91X) in an attempt to return the station to prominence.^[10]

Collins' was hired by KYSR (FM) to host the mid-day show from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. in 2008. He also hosted the station's Rewind at Noon segment, featuring rock hits from the 1980s and 1990s. He left the station in September 2009.

Collins joined the staff of air personalities at Seattle's KEXP on January 12, 2009.^[11]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Marco Collins at LinkedIn
• Seattle Times - If Marco Doesn't Get It, There's Nothing To Be Got!
• KCR college radio at SDSU
• Kitsap Sun- Interview with a Bandmeister
• The Stranger - It's My Party
• Silkworm - "His Absence Is a Blessing"

Michael Jackson
Jackson at the White House in 1984
Background information
Birth name	Michael Joseph Jackson[1]
Also known as	King of Pop, MJ
Born	(1958-08-29)August 29, 1958 Gary, Indiana, U.S.
Died	June 25, 2009(2009-06-25) (aged 50) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	R&B, pop, rock, soul, dance, funk, disco, new jack swing
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, musician, composer, dancer, choreographer, record producer, actor, businessman, philanthropist
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1964–2009
Labels	Motown, Epic, Legacy, MJJ Productions
Associated acts	The Jackson 5 Michael Jackson's Signature
Website	www.michaeljackson.com

Michael Joseph Jackson^[1] (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Often referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ,^[2] Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records. His contribution to music, dance, and fashion, along with a much-publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene along with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1964, and began his solo career in 1971.

In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music. The music videos for his songs, including those of "Beat It", "Billie Jean", and "Thriller", were credited with transforming the medium into an art form and a promotional tool, and the popularity of these videos helped to bring the relatively new television channel MTV to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made him a staple on MTV in the 1990s. Through stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk, to which he gave the name. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style influenced numerous hip hop, post-disco, contemporary R&B, pop and rock artists.

Jackson's 1982 album Thriller is the best-selling album of all time. His other records, including Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991), and HIStory (1995), also rank among the world's best-selling. Jackson is one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. He was also inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame as the first (and currently only) dancer from the world of pop and rock 'n' roll. Some of his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records; 13 Grammy Awards (as well as the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award); 26 American Music Awards (more than any other artist, including the "Artist of the Century"); 13 number-one singles in the United States in his solo career (more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era); and the estimated sale of over 750 million records worldwide. Jackson won hundreds of awards, which made him the most-awarded recording artist in the history of popular music.^[3] He was also one of the world's most prominent humanitarians and philanthropists; personally, and through his Heal the World Foundation, he donated more than $300 million in charity, and held the Guinness World Record for having supported the most charities out of any pop star.^[4][5]

Aspects of Jackson's personal life, including his changing appearance, personal relationships, and behavior, generated controversy. In 1993, he was accused of child sexual abuse, but the case was settled out of court and no formal charges were brought. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted of further child sexual abuse allegations and several other charges after the jury found him not guilty on all counts. While preparing for his concert series titled This Is It, Jackson died of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication on June 25, 2009, after suffering from cardiac arrest. The Los Angeles County Coroner ruled his death a homicide, and his personal physician was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Jackson's death triggered a global outpouring of grief, and as many as one billion people around the world reportedly watched his public memorial service on live television. In March 2010, Sony Music Entertainment signed a $250 million deal with Jackson's estate to retain distribution rights to his recordings until 2017, and to release seven posthumous albums over the decade following his death.^[6]

Life and career[link]

Early life and The Jackson 5 (1958–1975)[link]

Jackson's childhood home in Gary, Indiana, showing floral tributes after his death

Jackson (center) as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1972

Michael Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, the eighth of ten children in an African American working-class family who lived in a small 3-room house in Gary, Indiana,^[7] an industrial city near Chicago. His mother, Katherine Esther Scruse, was a devout Jehovah's Witness, and his father, Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson, was a steel mill worker who performed with an R&B band called The Falcons. Jackson had three sisters: Rebbie, La Toya, and Janet, and five brothers: Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy.^[8] A sixth brother, Brandon, died shortly after birth.^[9]

Jackson had a troubled relationship with his father, Joe.^[10][11][12] Joseph acknowledged in 2003 that he regularly whipped Jackson as a boy.^[12] Jackson stated that he was physically and emotionally abused during incessant rehearsals, though he also credited his father's strict discipline with playing a large role in his success.^[10] Jackson first spoke openly about his childhood abuse in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, broadcast in February 1993. He admitted that he had often cried from loneliness and he would vomit on the sight of his father. Jackson's father was also said to have verbally abused Jackson, saying that he had a fat nose on numerous occasions.^[13] In fact, Michael Jackson's deep dissatisfaction with his appearance, his nightmares and chronic sleep problems, his tendency to remain hyper-compliant especially with his father, and to remain child-like throughout his adult life are in many ways consistent with the effects of this chronic maltreatment he endured as a young child.^[14]

In an interview with Martin Bashir, later included in the 2003 broadcast of Living with Michael Jackson, Jackson acknowledged that his father hurt him when he was a child, but was nonetheless a "genius", as he admitted his father's strict discipline played a huge role in his success. When Bashir dismissed the positive remark and continued asking about beatings, Jackson put his hand over his face and objected to the questions. He recalled that Joseph sat in a chair with a belt in his hand as he and his siblings rehearsed, and that "if you didn't do it the right way, he would tear you up, really get you".^[15][16]

In 1964, Michael and Marlon joined the Jackson Brothers—a band formed by brothers Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine—as backup musicians playing congas and tambourine. Jackson later began performing backup vocals and dancing. When he was eight, Jackson began sharing the lead vocals with his older brother Jermaine, and the group's name was changed to The Jackson 5.^[8] The band toured the Midwest extensively from 1966 to 1968, frequently performing at a string of black clubs known as the "chitlin' circuit", where they often opened stripteases and other adult acts. In 1966, they won a major local talent show with renditions of Motown hits and James Brown's "I Got You (I Feel Good)", led by Michael.^[17]

The Jackson 5 recorded several songs, including "Big Boy", for the local record label Steeltown in 1967, before signing with Motown Records in 1968.^[8] Rolling Stone magazine later described the young Michael as "a prodigy" with "overwhelming musical gifts," writing that he "quickly emerged as the main draw and lead singer."^[18] The group set a chart record when its first four singles ("I Want You Back", "ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There") peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.^[8] Between 1972 and 1975, Michael released four solo studio albums with Motown, among them Got to Be There and Ben, released as part of the Jackson 5 franchise, and producing successful singles such as "Got to Be There", "Ben", and a remake of Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin".

The Jackson 5 "became a cutting-edge example of black crossover artists... five working-class black boys with afros and bell bottoms, and they really didn't have to trade any of that stuff in order to become mainstream stars."^[19]

The group's sales began declining in 1973, and the band members chafed under Motown's strict refusal to allow them creative control or input. Although they scored several top 40 hits, including the top 5 disco single "Dancing Machine" and the top 20 hit "I Am Love", the Jackson 5 left Motown in 1975.^[20]

[edit] Move to Epic and Off the Wall (1975–81)

In June 1975, the Jackson 5 signed with Epic Records, a subsidiary of CBS Records^[20] and renamed themselves the Jacksons. Younger brother Randy formally joined the band around this time, while Jermaine left to pursue a solo career.^[21] They continued to tour internationally, releasing six more albums between 1976 and 1984, during which Michael was the lead songwriter, writing hits such as "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)", "This Place Hotel", and "Can You Feel It".^[17] In 1978, he starred as the scarecrow in the musical, The Wiz, a box-office disaster. It was here that he teamed up with Quincy Jones, who was arranging the film's musical score. Jones agreed to produce Jackson's next solo album, Off the Wall.^[22] In 1979, Jackson broke his nose during a complex dance routine. His subsequent rhinoplasty was not a complete success; he complained of breathing difficulties that would affect his career. He was referred to Dr. Steven Hoefflin, who performed Jackson's second rhinoplasty and subsequent operations.^[23]

Jones and Jackson produced the Off the Wall album together. Songwriters for the album included Jackson, Rod Temperton, Stevie Wonder, and Paul McCartney. Released in 1979, it was the first solo album to generate four U.S. top 10 hits, including the chart-topping singles "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" and "Rock with You".^[24][25] It reached number three on the Billboard 200 and eventually sold over 20 million copies worldwide.^[26] In 1980, Jackson won three awards at the American Music Awards for his solo efforts: Favorite Soul/R&B Album, Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist, and Favorite Soul/R&B Single for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough".^[27][28] That year, he also won Billboard Year-End for Top Black Artist and Top Black Album and a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, also for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough".^[24] Jackson again won at the American Music Awards in 1981 for Favorite Soul/R&B Album and Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist.^[29] Despite its commercial success, Jackson felt Off the Wall should have made a much bigger impact, and was determined to exceed expectations with his next release.^[30] In 1980, he secured the highest royalty rate in the music industry: 37 percent of wholesale album profit.^[31]

[edit] Thriller and Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever (1982–83)

In 1982, Jackson contributed the song "Someone In the Dark" to the storybook for the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial; the record won a Grammy for Best Recording for Children in 1984. In the same year he won another seven Grammys and eight American Music Awards (including the Award of Merit, the youngest artist to win it), making him the most awarded in one night for both award shows.^[32][33] These awards were thanks to the Thriller album, released in late 1982, which was 1983's best-selling album worldwide^[34][35] and became the best-selling album of all time in the United States,^[36] as well as the best-selling album of all time worldwide, selling an estimated 110 million copies so far.^[37] The album topped the Billboard 200 chart for 37 weeks and was in the top 10 of the 200 for 80 consecutive weeks. It was the first album to have seven Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles, including "Billie Jean", "Beat It", and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'".^[38] Thriller was certified for 29 million shipments by the RIAA, giving it Double Diamond status in the United States. The album won also another Grammy for Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical in 1984, awarding Bruce Swedien for his work.^[39] Jackson's attorney John Branca noted that Jackson had the highest royalty rate in the music industry at that point: approximately $2 for every album sold. He was also making record-breaking profits from sales of his recordings. The videocassette of the documentary The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller sold over 350,000 copies in a few months. The era saw the arrival of novelties like dolls modeled after Michael Jackson, which appeared in stores in May 1984 at a price of $12.^[40] Biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli writes that, "Thriller stopped selling like a leisure item—like a magazine, a toy, tickets to a hit movie—and started selling like a household staple."^[41] In 1985, The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Longform.^[32] In December 2009, the music video for "Thriller" was selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, "Thriller" is the first music video ever to be inducted.^[42][43][44]

Time described Jackson's influence at that point as "Star of records, radio, rock video. A one-man rescue team for the music business. A songwriter who sets the beat for a decade. A dancer with the fanciest feet on the street. A singer who cuts across all boundaries of taste and style and color too".^[40] The New York Times wrote that, "in the world of pop music, there is Michael Jackson and there is everybody else".^[45]

On March 25th 1983, Michael Jackson reunited with his brothers for a legendary live performance which was taped for a Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever television special. The show aired on May 16, 1983, to an audience of 47 million viewers, and featured the Jacksons and a number of other Motown stars. It is best remembered for Jackson's solo performance of "Billie Jean". Wearing a distinctive black sequin jacket and golf glove decorated with rhinestones, he debuted his signature dance move, the moonwalk, which former Soul Train dancer and Shalamar member Jeffrey Daniel had taught him three years before. The Jacksons' performance drew comparisons to Elvis Presley's and The Beatles' appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.^[46] Anna Kisselgoff of The New York Times later wrote, "The moonwalk that he made famous is an apt metaphor for his dance style. How does he do it? As a technician, he is a great illusionist, a genuine mime. His ability to keep one leg straight as he glides while the other bends and seems to walk requires perfect timing."^[47]

Pepsi, "We Are the World" and business career (1984–85)[link]

Jackson with a Knott's Berry Farm Snoopy mascot in April 1984

On January 27, 1984, Michael and other members of the Jacksons filmed a Pepsi Cola commercial, overseen by executive Phil Dusenberry,^[48] from ad agency BBDO and Pepsi's Worldwide Creative Director, Alan Pottasch at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. In front of a full house of fans during a simulated concert, pyrotechnics accidentally set Jackson's hair on fire. He suffered second-degree burns to his scalp. Jackson underwent treatment to hide the scars on his scalp, and he also had his third rhinoplasty shortly thereafter.^[23] Jackson never recovered from this injury. Pepsi settled out of court, and Jackson donated his $1.5 million settlement to the Brotman Medical Center in Culver City, California, which now has a "Michael Jackson Burn Center" in honor of his donation.^[49] Dusenberry later recounted the episode in his memoir, Then We Set His Hair on Fire: Insights and Accidents from a Hall of Fame Career in Advertising.

On May 14, 1984, Jackson was invited to the White House to receive an award from President Ronald Reagan for his support of charities that helped people overcome alcohol and drug abuse.^[50] Jackson won eight awards during the Grammys that year. Unlike later albums, Thriller did not have an official tour to promote it, but the 1984 Victory Tour, headlined by The Jacksons, showcased much of Jackson's new solo material to more than two million Americans. He donated all the funds (around $8 million) raised from the Victory Tour to charity.^[51] He also co-wrote the charity single "We Are the World" in 1985 with Lionel Richie, which was released worldwide to aid the poor in the U.S. and Africa. It became one of the best-selling singles of all time, with nearly 30 million copies sold and millions of dollars donated to famine relief. In 1986, "We Are the World" won four Grammys (one for Jackson for Song of the Year). American Music Award directors removed the charity song from the competition because they felt it would be inappropriate, but recognized it with two special honors (one for the creation of the song and one for the USA for Africa idea). They are the only AMAs that Jackson won as non-solo artist.^{[52][53][54][55]}

Jackson at the White House South Portico with President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan, 1984

In 1984, ATV Music Publishing, which had the copyrights to nearly 4000 songs, including the Northern Songs catalog that contained the majority of the Lennon–McCartney compositions recorded by The Beatles, was put up for sale by Robert Holmes à Court.^[56] Jackson had become interested in owning music catalogs after working with Paul McCartney in the early 1980s: Jackson had learned McCartney made approximately $40 million a year from other people's songs.^[57] In 1981,^[58] McCartney was offered the ATV music catalog for £20 million ($40 million).^[57][59] According to McCartney, he contacted Yoko Ono about making a joint purchase by splitting the cost equally at £10 million each, but Ono thought they could buy it for £5 million each.^[57][59] When they were unable to make the joint purchase, McCartney let the offer fall through, not wanting to be the sole owner of the Beatles' songs.^[58][59]

According to a negotiator for Holmes à Court in the 1984 sale, "We had given Paul McCartney first right of refusal but Paul didn't want it at that time."^[60] Also, an attorney for McCartney assured Jackson's attorney, John Branca, that McCartney was not interested in bidding: McCartney reportedly said "It's too pricey".^[57][58] But there were several other companies and investors bidding. In September 1984, Jackson was first informed about the sale by Branca and sent a bid of $46 million on November 20, 1984.^[56] Jackson's agents thought they had a deal several times, but encountered new bidders or new areas of debate.^[56] In May 1985, Jackson's team walked away from talks after having spent over $1 million on four months of due diligence and on the negotiations.^[56]

In June 1985, Jackson and Branca learned that Charles Koppelman's and Marty Bandier's The Entertainment Co. had made a tentative agreement with Holmes à Court to buy ATV Music for $50 million.^[56] But in early August, Holmes à Court's team contacted Jackson and talks resumed. Jackson raised his bid to $47.5 million and it was accepted because he could close the deal more quickly, having already completed due diligence of ATV Music.^[56] He also agreed to visit Holmes à Court in Australia, where he would appear on the Channel Seven Perth Telethon.^[56][60] Jackson's purchase of ATV Music was finalized August 10, 1985.^[56]

[edit] Appearance, tabloids, Bad, films, autobiography and Neverland (1986–90)

Jackson's skin had been a medium-brown color for the entire duration of his youth, but starting in the mid 1980s, it gradually grew paler. The change gained widespread media coverage, including rumors that he might be bleaching his skin.^[61] According to J. Randy Taraborrelli's biography, in 1986, Jackson was diagnosed with vitiligo and lupus; the vitiligo partially lightened his skin, and the lupus was in remission; both illnesses made him sensitive to sunlight. The treatments he used for his condition further lightened his skin tone, and, with the application of pancake makeup to even out blotches, he could appear very pale.^[62] Jackson was also diagnosed with vitiligo in his autopsy.^[63] By the mid 1990s several surgeons speculated that he had undergone various nasal surgeries, a forehead lift, thinned lips, and cheekbone surgery—although Jackson denied this and insisted that he only had surgery on his nose.^[64] Jackson claimed that he had only two rhinoplasties and no other surgery on his face, although at one point he mentioned having a dimple created in his chin.^[65] Jackson lost weight in the early 1980s because of a change in diet and a desire for "a dancer's body".^[65] Witnesses reported that he was often dizzy and speculated that he was suffering from anorexia nervosa; periods of weight loss would become a recurring problem later in life.^[66]

During the course of his treatment, Jackson made two close friends: his dermatologist, Dr. Arnold Klein, and Klein's nurse Debbie Rowe. Rowe eventually became Jackson's second wife and the mother of his two eldest children. Long before becoming romantically involved with her, Jackson relied heavily on Rowe for emotional support. He also relied heavily on Klein, for medical and business advice.^[67]

Jackson became the subject of increasingly sensational reports. In 1986, the tabloids ran a story claiming that Jackson slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to slow the aging process; he was pictured lying down in a glass box. Although the claim was untrue, according to tabloid reports that are widely cited, Jackson had disseminated the fabricated story himself.^[68][69] When Jackson bought a chimpanzee called Bubbles from a laboratory, he was reported to be increasingly detached from reality.^[70] It was reported that Jackson had offered to buy the bones of Joseph Merrick (the "elephant man") and although untrue, Jackson did not deny the story.^[68][69] Although initially he saw these stories as opportunities for publicity, he stopped leaking untruths to the press as they became more sensational. Consequently the media began making up their own stories.^[69][71][72] These reports became embedded in the public consciousness, inspiring the nickname "Wacko Jacko", which Jackson came to despise.^[73] Responding to the gossip, Jackson remarked to Taraborrelli:

Why not just tell people I'm an alien from Mars? Tell them I eat live chickens and do a voodoo dance at midnight. They'll believe anything you say, because you're a reporter. But if I, Michael Jackson, were to say, "I'm an alien from Mars and I eat live chickens and do a voodoo dance at midnight," people would say, "Oh, man, that Michael Jackson is nuts. He's cracked up. You can't believe a single word that comes out of his mouth."^[74]

Jackson wore a gold-plated military style jacket with belt in the Bad era

Jackson collaborated with George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola on the 17-minute 3-D film Captain EO, which debuted in September 1986 at both the original Disneyland and at EPCOT in Florida, and in March 1987 at Tokyo Disneyland. The $30 million movie was a popular attraction at all three parks. A Captain EO attraction was later featured at Euro Disneyland after that park opened in 1992. All four parks' Captain EO installations stayed open well into the 1990s: Paris' installation was the last one to close, in 1998.^[75] The attraction would later return to Disneyland in 2010 after Jackson's death.^[76]

In 1987, Jackson disassociated himself from the Jehovah's Witnesses, in response to their disapproval of the Thriller video.^[77] With the industry expecting another major hit, Jackson's first album in five years, Bad (1987), was highly anticipated.^[78] It did not top Thriller as a commercial or artistic triumph, but Bad was still a substantial success in its own right.

The Bad album spawned seven hit singles in the U.S., five of which ("I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man in the Mirror" and "Dirty Diana") reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. This was a record for most number one Hot 100 singles from any one album, including Thriller.^[79] Although the title track's video was arguably derivative of the video for the earlier single "Beat It", the "Bad" video still proved to be one of Jackson's iconic moments. It was a gritty but colorful epic set against the backdrop of the New York City Subway system, with costuming and choreography inspired by West Side Story. As of 2012, the album sold between 30 and 45 million copies worldwide.^{[80][81][82][83][84][85][86]} Thanks to the Bad album, Bruce Swedien and Humberto Gatica won one Grammy in 1988 for Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical and Michael Jackson won one Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form for "Leave Me Alone" in 1989.^[32][39] In the same year, Jackson won an Award of Achievement at the American Music Awards because Bad is the first album ever to generate five number one singles in the US, the first album to top in 25 countries and the best-selling album worldwide in 1987 and in 1988.^{[87][88][89][90]} In 1988, "Bad" won an American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Single.^[91]

Front view: Jackson wearing the costume on a June 2, 1988 performance in Vienna, Austria

The Bad World Tour began on September 12 that year, finishing on January 14, 1989.^[92] In Japan alone, the tour had 14 sellouts and drew 570,000 people, nearly tripling the previous record of 200,000 in a single tour.^[93] Jackson broke a Guinness World Record   when 504,000 people attended seven sold-out shows at Wembley Stadium. He performed a total of 123 concerts to an audience of 4.4 million people. The Bad Tour turned out to be the last of Jackson's concert tours to include shows in the continental United States, although later tours did make it to Hawaii.