Making ‘History’ The Single ‘Scream,’ From Michael Jackson’s New Album, Is Already Hitting The Airwaves
Only one pop star could launch a hype juggernaut so massive that its thundering approach threatens to drown out all other information that surrounds him.
We are, of course, talking about Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, breaker of international sales records, child star turned reclusive man-child who married Elvis Presley’s daughter.
He’s also the scandal-plagued singer still hounded by allegations of child molestation despite a $15 million out-of-court settlement to his teen-age accuser in April 1994.
Monday, after a week of seemingly incessant on-air promotions, radio listeners got their first earful of “Scream,” the first single from Jackson’s upcoming “HIStory” CD. It’s a duet with sister Janet Jackson that will be in stores on May 31. The album will be released on June 20. Until then, the radio will be the sole outlet for this frantic cut, dense flurries of sound fragments framing the thudding “jeep” beats - the ultralow bass notes audible three blocks away.
“Scream” is a bit more street-focused than most of Michael Jackson’s previous releases, although his funky cut “Jam” is an exception. There’s a bizarre spoken-word break midsong that segues into a brief guitar solo, a moment of quiet amid an odd assemblage of rhythm tracks.
“HIStory” is a shrewdly planned double CD, with one disc devoted to Jackson’s hits, the other to new material massaged by a hit factory of producers and songwriters: R. Kelly, Jimmy Jam, Teddy Riley and Dallas Austin. It’s a focused attempt to give Michael Jackson the same street credibility his sister enjoys.
Melani Rogers, vice president of publicity for Epic Records, said “Scream” will be paired with “Childhood,” the theme for “Free Willy II.”
The “Scream” hype is just the latest bit of Jacksonia to titillate his legion of fans and to resurrect his standing as a premier pop icon.
Last Thursday, ABC announced that Diane Sawyer achieved a television coup as the first journalist to interview the couple, in a broadcast scheduled for June 14. It’s unknown whether Sawyer will ask Jackson about the status of further child-molestation allegations raised by his former bodyguards in August 1994. Jackson invoked his Fifth Amendment rights against selfincrimination during testimony in the case, which came one month after a grand jury investigation failed to return an indictment against him.
And Jackson’s face graces the cover of the June/July issue of Vibe magazine, where he strikes a few poses in a fashion spread with musician/producer Quincy Jones and Jones’ daughter Kidada.
Quincy Jones was an initial bankroller of Vibe, and Jackson’s longtime collaborator, so the article is short on content. There’s nothing from Himself, but the piece contains a juicy bit from Lisa Marie Presley-Jackson, standing by her man in print:
“Michael is a true artist in every facet of his nature - extremely aesthetic and very, very romantic. This is who he truly is despite degrading comments made in the past by certain larva.
“Michael, as well as myself, have been severely underestimated and misunderstood as human beings. I can’t wait for the day when all the snakes who have tried to take him out get to eat their own lunch and crawl back into the holes from which they came.
“We know who they are and their bluff is about to be called.”