Why Prince repeatedly turned down Michael Jackson collaboration

Prince and Michael's music was completely different and they had completely different interests. They were only pinned against each other because they were both black.

Prince was a homophobic asshole

It’s a little known fact that The Girl is Mine went through many incarnations in an attempt to appease Prince’s tastes. Michael walked away when the final offer was This Piece of Ass is My Sista!

Self-hating bisexual man refuses to work with self-hating black man

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I remember he did an interview with BET. They asked about BAD which was supposed to be a collab with Prince and MJ. Prince said MJ sent over the lyrics and the first line was your butt is mine. Then he said "and people say I am gay?"

[quote] Prince said. “The first line of that song is ‘your butt is mine.’ Now I’m saying, ‘Who’s gonna sing that to whom? Cuz you sure ain’t singing it to me, and I sure ain’t singing it to you.’ So right there, we got a problem.”

Prince didn’t want to work with Janet either.

Prince was such a little bitch.

Somehow, the edgy kids who hated anything popular liked Prince.

I liked Prince for awhile and then after Purple Rain he just became a weird asshole of the highest order. Same with Michael.

Prince was abusive to many people around him.

I personally think Purple Raind and Sign 'O' The Times destroy every single album Michael did....except maybe Off the Wall.

*Purple Rain

Prince was a better artist. A better person. And while he was a douchebag at times, most of the people around him still loved him dearly. Prince didn't work with MJ because he saw him as lame and had no interest after hearing his ideas. Prince didn't like Janet because he saw her as a copycat of his sound. Though he landed his sound out to people who worked him. Prince did try to hook up with La Toya but found her too prudish.

*lended

Another thing, Prince could be cold, rude and very difficult. He was very much a control freak in regards to his music and his relationships. He had a neglectful mother and an abusive father which may have been the reason why he had issues with trust and keeping relationships. He was emotionally abusive and neglectful to his gfs/wives. Yes he became a homophobe sadly due to his religious conversion to Jehovah's Witness. One of those "hate the sin not the sinner" types.

Regardless, he wasn't a serial child abuser like Michael Jackson was and didn't let himself become a freakshow.

Price wrote all of his music -he was so prolific at it he could release 30 albums post his death. He could play a ton of instruments. He was the consummate showman. He birthed so much talent out of Minneapolis - Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis - who created Janet Jackson,Shelia E, Jessie Johnson, Wendy and Lisa...just so much talent. Prince wrote for others as well - Chaka Khan, The Bangles..hell even Kenny Rogers.

Prince also wrote and co-performed this Madonna song, which sounds kind of like an experimental jam session. One of the few songs that wasn't a hit single off Like a Prayer

[quote] Another thing, Prince could be cold, rude and very difficult. He was very much a control freak in regards to his music

This is probably why he and Madonna were such good friends in the years before his death. They are both similar in the way you described Prince.

R18 True and similar to Prince. Madonna refuses to expose her older music to a younger audience in commercials, TV shows, movies, etc. It took until Prince's death for people to finally access majority of his catalog and music videos via streaming. Prince was so stubborn about people buying physical copies and became reclusive in the 2000s. You could not find any of his music videos on YouTube (they would taken down as soon as they were uploaded) and his Spotify was barren except for two songs. He wasn't wrong in what he believed in (supporting artists through album sales) but it just made it difficult for people to discover his music and for him to gain younger fans. Now that he died, he is enjoying a resurgence in popularity. I think the same will happen to Madonna.

R19, I agree. What's funny is that Madonna actually does well in the rest of the world on Spotify/Youtube EXCEPT for the United States. Since American Life, she has been pretty much forgotten in America. Her new music was pretty much pulled from radio stations after her comments on the Iraq War/Bush (Clear Channel) and she herself pretty much turned her back on American audiences and made the rest of the world her focus. That was not a great move on her part. And I think you're right, Madonna hates her songs being performed on shows like American Idol and being used in commercials, movies, etc. That's a big mistake too. Ever since Material Girl was used in Stronger Things, it's streams improved dramatically and it is still her second or third most streamed song on Spotify.

*Stranger Things, not Stronger Things

Prince? No thanks, I want my men to look like men.

MJ really had to rely on somebody to make music for him. So basically the comparison only works when you think of Quincy Jones and Prince being on the same level. MJ was a pop sensation, he wasn't a musician. Prince really got weird during his later years, esp with his Jehovah's witness stuff, but his music never suffered from it, he was putting out his best stuff in his last 10 years. Prince was a real genius. There are very few like him. I always wished there was a Whitney Houston - Prince collaboration.

I agree. no comparison of the two

"Bad" is a terrible, terrible song. Prince knew that but he wasn't rude enough to say it.

R25 Sometimes artists are too careful about not shading others. There's nothing wrong with someone saying BAD is a weak, gimmicky song that did what it was supposed to (get airplay) but it's musically uninteresting and probably not in Michael's top 20 in terms of what gets played today.

It also wouldn't have worked and might have backfired. Prince and Michael singing (together) about how tough they are? And who is tougher? Part of both of their legacies as musicians is that neither was traditionally masculine.

[quote] He had a neglectful mother and an abusive father

His mother was never satisfied, while his father was too demanding.

R26, regarding Michael and masculinity, his fans seem to be digging their heads in the sand. They seem to really believe he was the man he portrayed himself as (when he danced)--cool, confident, masculine, etc. Really, he's just a creepy, manipulative, exploitative pedo.

Prince did not NEED Michael Jackson... in terms of songwriting, musicianship and stage presence there is NO ONE like Prince. It's an insult to him to think he would need or want to collaborate with MJ whose sound is now dated and stuck in a time warp. Prince had many types of sound, from funk to R&B to 60s rock, rock/rap, dance, mainstream rock to pop...

He was an eccentric and a bit of a recluse and could be a d*ck but he was brilliant. His music stands up 40 years after it started coming out.

Michael Jackson is just sad now.

It wasn't Hal's thing.

Prince was a musician, M Jackson was a pop star.

[quote] Prince did not NEED Michael Jackson... in terms of songwriting, musicianship and stage presence there is NO ONE like Prince. It's an insult to him to think he would need or want to collaborate with MJ whose sound is now dated and stuck in a time warp. Prince had many types of sound, from funk to R&B to 60s rock, rock/rap, dance, mainstream rock to pop... He was an eccentric and a bit of a recluse and could be a d*ck but he was brilliant. His music stands up 40 years after it started coming out. Michael Jackson is just sad now.

Michael Jackson is currently the 84th most popular artist on Spotify with just over 24 million monthly listeners. Dec 19, 2020 Jackson has 27 million monthly listeners.

Prince has 9 million. You can compare that to: Madonna has 15 million. Janet has 5 million. Taylor Swift has 45 million. Justin Bieber has 85 million. Bruce Springsteen has 13 million.

Popularity has nothing to do with quality R34.

MJ’s music “sucks” yet he’s still more relevant and played than Madonna and Prince combined. Ones dead dead and the other is forced to put up her own money for VMA performances because her studio is done with her.

So, maybe Prince should have come down off of his high horse, not that he had ANYTHING to prove considering his success in the 80s.

R34 you do realize there is a difference between sales and quality, right? You are seriously comparing Prince to Justin Bieber? hahaha You're not even taking into account Prince's musicianship or songwriting. How about the sales of all the songs Prince gave to other people. Do you even know anything about Prince? Have you listened to any of his albums?

Thank you R35

MJ is not relevant R36. He's mostly remembered for being a creep. Beyond his work with Quincy Jones nobody speaks of him as a musically relevant.

R37, don't bother, I'm sure that poster will also argue that Britney Spears makes great music because her music is/was SO popular...

MJ’s music is fucking quality. Especially from the late 70s to early 90s. This is why the shot lasted. It’s a unique sound in the 80s, thanks to his voice, that didn’t get dates. Like every artist he has a tone of crap songs, but his core discography is pop gold. Stop being snobs.

LOL, R40 is some sweaty, hairy self hating gay from Saudi Arabia.

Prince is still superior in every way, musically. Also not a child fucker!

Two out of the three children MJ purchased he named after Prince.

Deep down he knew what a pervert MJ was... probably realized he was thinking of a little boy with the "butt is mine" lyric.

Prince's Funk n Roll period was freaking brilliant!

Here he is in Montreux, Switzerland in 2009 doing covers of Hendrix and Elvis. He didn't lose any of his musical brilliance in his last years.

[quote] MJ is not relevant [R36]. He's mostly remembered for being a creep. Beyond his work with Quincy Jones nobody speaks of him as a musically relevant.

[quote] [R34] you do realize there is a difference between sales and quality, right? You are seriously comparing Prince to Justin Bieber? hahaha You're not even taking into account Prince's musicianship or songwriting. How about the sales of all the songs Prince gave to other people. Do you even know anything about Prince? Have you listened to any of his albums? Thank you [R35]

1. Its extraordinarily idiotic to claim that anyone as influential as Jackson is no longer "musically relevant."

2. You referred to Jackson as "sad" and you claim that he is mostly remembered as a "creep." His streaming numbers say otherwise.

3. No one was to choose between Jackson and Prince. I enjoy them both. Both were phenomenally talented, both influential and both left great legacies.

[quote] Prince and Michael's music was completely different and they had completely different interests. They were only pinned against each other because they were both black.

I find it extraordinary that Prince, MJ and Madonna were born the same year in flyover country and became the biggest pop stars in the world.

R46, please take your meds, you're level of obsession with MJ, who will never be regarded as musically relevant, is unhealthy.

[quote] They were only pinned against each other because they were both black.

Prince was black?

Yes Prince was black.

Wtf race do you think prince was, r49?

When I hear MJs hit songs I hear and feel a really good fun dance song. When I hear Prince's hit songs I hear and feel a song that makes me want to move to something unlike anything else before and after.

Stranger in Moscow is an excellent MJ song which would have been a great collab with Prince.

I was black?

i always had a feeling MJ was intimidated by Prince.

I've read several times that Michael wanted to look like and be like Prince.

Don't forget that "Love Will Never Do Without You" was written to be a duet but Prince turned Janet down. Instead of changing the song, Janet just sings the Prince parts in a lower register.

Everyone in that twisted family wanted a piece of Prince and he said "No, no, no!" to each and every one of them, thanfully.

R43 And the other one got Prince's symbol tattooed on her hand.

Jackson's Motown 25 "Billie Jean" moonwalk performance is in a class by itself, imho, unequaled by any other pop artist.

Jackson, at his best, could not be matched for performance charisma. Note I didn't say actual musical talent.

Prince, in terms of sheer, raw musical talent, creativity and enduring pop sound has it way over Jackson.

I thought it had something to do with Prince using his ESP powers to drive Bubbles crazy (according to Michael Jackson.)

[quote] Price wrote all of his music -he was so prolific at it he could release 30 albums post his death. He could play a ton of instruments.

I remember his first album: ‘For you!’ Released when he was still in his teens. He wrote all the songs and played every instrument, some seventeen if I recall correctly, all self-taught.

R57, that explains why I thought it was Michael Jackson singing it at first! I thought it was weird she decided to sound like a man.

R59, among pop stars, the closest I can think of is Madonna's VMA Vogue performance. It's an amazing performance but it's still not close.

I never understood the hype about MJ. Yes his Quincy Jones produced albums were great, but without the massive promotion behemoth around him, he is pretty much forgettable as an artist, if you can even call him that. Pop star for the masses really. More like a Las Vegas show act than a real musical performer like Prince or Whitney Houston or Diana Ross were/are.

Sorry op. Had to post: both stars are dead. It doesn’t matter

[quote] I never understood the hype about MJ.

MJ was an exceptionally gifted child performer. He experienced great trauma so his development was stunted. He sang in an unnatural falsetto for his adult life. He didn't fully develop his artistry as an adult -- and still managed to make some of the best music of the 20th century.

Aside from "The Way You make me Feel", "Smooth Criminal" and "They Don't Care About Us", I don't see what was so great about his music after Thriller. He just started believing his own hype way too much. "You are Not Alone" is creepy when you think about it and "Black or White" is a middle school vision of racial peace. Madonna, Janet and Prince pushed pop into new territory unlike Michael.

Wasn't the original title of "Black or White" "Eight or Nine?"

[quote] "Eight or Nine?"

A just question, my liege.

R67, lol, Janet wouldn't have even had a career if it weren't for Michael. Yeah, a lot of his later output was weak (though you could say the same for Prince, Madonna, and Janet) but there's no denying that he was incredibly influential (and I say that as someone who thinks he should have been in prison)

Some of the greatest, world reknown electric guitar players cite Prince as having been the greatest of them all, believe it or not. They honored him with that distinction while he still lived.

This is worth a full watch and listen:

[quote]Short answer he thought Jackson's music sucked.

HELLO?!, Doves don't cry.

R70, I wasn't saying he wasn't influential. I was saying his music became very middlebrow after Thriller and that Janet, Michael and Prince managed to take pop music into new directions into the 90s and early 00s while Michael pretty much stopped doing that after Bad.

Prince was ultra talented but he was also a stuck up arrogant bitch. Ask Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

Michael's music, and his voice and the way he vocalized with it, sucked. At a certain point it became all repetitive, cheesy crap, gimmicks and sound effects.

I wrote most of the songs on Purple Rain.

I highly doubt Prince was Bi. Crossdressing sure, though.

Without Prince, there would be no “Flyte Time Productions.”

Even the name of the production company is a reference to Prince.

If you don’t understand, you don’t know your pop music history.

Are there any stories of Prince and Janet meeting?