I Can’t Believe This Michael Jackson Album From 24 Years Ago Has Only Gotten Better With Age

I’ve been a major Michael Jackson fan for over 10 years now, but I was never able to fully appreciate this 24-year-old album of his until I got older. As a competitive dancer growing up, the King of Pop’s music was synonymous with my own craft. I have vivid memories of watching Jackson’s music video “short films” for the first time when I was just nine years old, right after his tragic death. It only took a few more years for me to reach “Moonwalker” status.

Even then, however, my favorite Jackson albums weren’t the more recent ones. 1987’s Bad is the one I quickly endeared myself to, with hits like “Dirty Diana” and deeper cuts like “Liberian Girl” staying on repeat for years, andThriller and Dangerous completed my personal top three. While I did enjoy 2001’s Invincible quite a bit, with “You Rock My World” being one of the songs that launched me into the fandom, I still didn’t fully appreciate that album until very recently.

The Invincible Album Didn’t Hit As Hard When I Was Younger

I Couldn’t Resonate With Its More Mature Themes

I was only fourteen when I happened to watch Jackson’s posthumous holographic performance at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards, which had him singing “Slave to the Rhythm” from that year’s Xscape album. “You Rock My World” from Invincible became my full gateway, however, into becoming a Moonwalker, and I maintained an appreciation for that song, and its short film, forever. I was still so young, though, in my prime fan years, and that kept me from really getting it.

That was definitely the case with Invincible as an album. I remember loving tracks like “Unbreakable,” “Heartbreaker,” and “Butterflies,” but it wasn’t an album I returned to as often as ones like Thriller, Bad, and Dangerous. Every fan knows the legend of “2000 Watts,” which features Jackson’s deeper voice rather than his iconic higher pitch, but despite my appreciation for it, I didn’t even listen to it that often. Now that I’m older, however, I’ve revisited this whole album again – and gained a new perspective.

Michael Jackson Made An Album That’s Fit For His Own Maturer Taste

His Music Developed With Himself

Jackson’s music matured with him, something that’s evident through his lyrics. For example, on Invincible, gone were the days of shyly suggestive lines in his songs. “Lay back in my tenderness” from Thriller‘s “The Lady in My Life” was exchanged for a full-blown “I won’t stop until the break of dawn making love” on Invincible‘s “Break of Dawn,” a song that’s entire about… well, making love all night long. Jackson wasn’t afraid to spell things out more explicitly anymore, even if it was still tasteful.

These more mature topics weren’t as fitting for my younger self, and thus I never really “got it” the way I do now over 10 years later. It’s so much more than what’s mentioned above, though; I resonated most with the conviction with which Jackson sings songs like “Unbreakable” (And when you bury me underneath all your pain / I’m steady laughin’, while surfacing) and “Whatever Happens” (He’s working day and night, thinks he’ll make her happy / Forgetting all the dreams that he had).

I’ve gotten much more life experience, through both good and bad times, just as Jackson got when he penned these lyrics over 24 years ago. While Jackson was in his 40s at the time, there are still themes in these tracks that truly fit with things I’ve gone through in my early 20s. It’s a look at real, adult life through music, something I could never have grasped nor appreciated when I was just a high schooler enjoying Jackson’s music.

At Least Invincible Is Starting To Get Its Due Credit

One Underrated Track Has Gone Viral On TikTok

I’m not the only one who’s been sleeping on Invincible, however, and that album is now starting to break into the mainstream more, even 24 years later. The underrated track “Heaven Can Wait” became a trending sound on the app TikTok, and it’s still used quite often from time to time – both for jokes related to the line “I love you, girl, I need you, baby, I want you, baby / No!” and for “fancams,” or video edits of celebrities, fictional characters, and other notable individuals.

“You Rock My World” is another track that’s been heavily featured on TikTok in fancams as well, and I think that those editors will have a gold mine if they continue digging into Invincible and start using tracks like “Heartbreaker” and “Butterflies,” too. It may be 24 years after this credit was truly due, but I think that Michael Jackson would certainly approve of the ways in which Invincible is now getting its proper appreciation, especially as it continues to age like fine wine.