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During the Big Brother show in 2007, a contestant used it to rebuke several contestants who were bullying Shilpa Shetty, a Bollywood actor, and it was played in the house as an alarm the next morning, implying that it was a hit song. The event was known as “United We Stand”. He also performed in Brunei in the mid 1990s with the view of promoting unity among people from different ethnic groups. It is also important to note that Michael Jackson frequently performed it in dangerous world tours. Instead of embodying the self-improvement that he shows in the song, he seems to have gone the way of many other superstars who sing positivity, but wallow in drug addiction and other negative vices that ultimately destroy their lives and careers (Flory 136).ĭuring the Grammy Awards ceremony in 1996, Jackson performed a live extended version of the song. When examined in the context of his personal life, the song seems a simple and a sincere reflection that forced listeners to re-examine the relationship between the musician’s life and his music (Schloss et al. He was embroiled in numerous legal battles over sexual harassment, copyright issues, and drug addiction scandals. However, it is ironic that in the last decade of his life, Jackson seemed to contradict nearly everything in the song.
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The video was notable with regard to its departure from his traditional films since he is only seen in the last clip, wearing a distinctive red jacket, while a large crown was featured in the montage. This is demonstrated when he says that he would like the “man in the mirror” to change, which can only happen if there can be self-realization. Although he incidentally did not write it, he proceeded to give a personal commitment. It stands out among every good deed Jackson has done. According to many people, it has a gospel feel.
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It has been described as gentle and touching. It is claimed that the song displayed Jackson at his worst (Flory 140). It was meant to appeal to listeners’ deepest emotions, and there was no better way to do this than to use subtle and gentle instruments, and overt emotional vocals (Schloss et al. There was probably little emphasis on the instruments since the song’s focus was on the message and the overall feel (Flory 140). Unlike traditional pop music, such as The Beatles and Rolling Stone, which predominantly used the guitar, this song is mostly a blend of instruments and synthesized music (Blake 110 Schloss et al. Jackson and his producers concentrated on using the guitar and a synthesizer. A G-Major and an AB3-C6 vocal range typify the song, while its tempo is 100bpn, and ( Man in the Mirror). Glen and Garret did the composition of Man in the Mirror, although Jackson added some background vocals from Garret as well as the Andrea gospel choir, which gave the song a noticeable gospel feel. In other words, his intention was to use the song to inspire change all over the world, which is why he incorporated so many people and events that transcended geopolitical, sociocultural, and ideological borders (Schloss, Starr and Waterman 34).
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Jackson wanted to show the world its best and worst sides so that each person could consider the change that he or she could bring about to impact the world at large. It also depicts Yoko Ono, John Lennon, South African activist Bishop Desmond Tutu, and Kennedy brothers, Hitler, and Gandhi ( Man in the Mirror). Its images include the then president Ronald Reagan, civil rights heroes, such as Rosa Park, and video footages from the Iranian hostage crisis and KKK rallies. It addresses a variety of world issues in a unique manner, unlike Bon Jovi’s We were not Born to Follow (Blake 114). The song was a departure from the style that had made Jackson famous in thriller and it did not focus on the musician and other characters like most of his previous works. It also became the most downloaded song on iTunes, and about 1.3 million copies were purchased online, implying that a large number of people liked it across the world. In fact, it only improved to the second most popular song in the nation after the death of Jackson. However, things were not good for the song in the United Kingdom. It was nominated for the record of the year at the Grammy Awards and, for two weeks, it remained at the top of the hottest 100. Although the song was typified by very good messages, it was not the best in the “Bad” album.
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