Karlovac (Croatian pronunciation: [kâːrlov̞at͡s]) is a city and municipality in central Croatia. According to the preliminary results of the National census held in 2011 the city proper has a population of 46,827, while the municipality has a population of 55,981 inhabitants.

Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located on the Zagreb-Rijeka highway and railway line, 56 km south-west of Zagreb and 130 km from Rijeka.

The city was named for the Archduke of Austria Charles II, which in German is Karlstadt or Carlstadt ("Charles's Town"). It has then been translated into other languages: in Hungarian it is known as Károlyváros, in Italian as Carlostadio, in Latin as Carlostadium.

Karlovac was built from scratch in 1579 in order to strengthen Austria's southern defences against Ottoman encroaches. The establishment of a new city-fortress was a part of the deal between the Protestant nobility of Inner Austria and the archduke Charles II of Austria, in exchange for their religious freedom the nobility agreed to finance the building of a new fortress against the Ottoman Empire. It was founded as a six-pointed star fortress built on the Zrinski estate near the old town of Dubovac at the confluence of the Kupa and Korana rivers. As the city later expanded, the urban area reached as far as the Mrežnica and Dobra rivers. The unique star shape can still be seen around the town. It was originally known as Karlstadt ("Charles's Town" in German), after Archduke Charles II of Austria, upon whose orders construction began on July 13, 1579. The architect of the city was Matija Gambon.

Michael Joseph Jackson (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, 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.