The cultural influence of the album Thriller alone speaks for itself. And if you add in in his choreography, he is still a huge influence today.

Is this even a thing for real? MJ got MTV playing black videos, MJ sold the biggest album ever, MJ is king of the boy bands… I don’t even wanna keep going. Landslide. No disrespect to Prince at all

Anyone who has ever played an instrument has to respect Prince. No one has written, produced, and preformed all instruments involved in the album. Prince did that in the 70s! And on his FIRST ALBUM! GOAT

Prince is my favorite artist all time but Mike is more influential . You don't here artist say they want to be like Prince. Mike has many imitators and influences.

The amount of people knocking off Michael is nuts

This is coming from a guitar players perspective Michael Jackson is the most influential artist that ever lived because so many people want to be just like him from New edition and Bobby Brown to the backstreet boys and NSYNC and Britney Spears and usher genuine and Chris Brown and sisqo and neyo and Beyonce Michael Jackson is the most influential because Prince is a hard act to follow he plays guitar like Jimi Hendrix and piano like Beethoven he's educated on music and knowing all the notes and scales in chords now if we're talking about singing and dancing on who's the best at that Michael Jackson hands down but not too many people try to follow Prince because he's a hard act to follow that's why he's one of my favorites

I'll never forget that footage of James Brown's concert where he called both Michael and Prince up to perform. Admittedly Michael came out of that with a better innings than Prince, but I think it inspired Prince to go on an incredible run. Much respect to both icons.

This is easily MJ. We're talking influence, not personal preference.

Generally speaking, MJ set the standard, Prince showed you how to play around the standard. If you're doing pop music, whether you realize or not, you are influenced by MJ. Tough to beat that influence. But the number of genius artists, outside of the box thinkers, that consciously take inspiration from Prince is unbeatable.

If we’re talking influence, I can’t name an artist bigger than MJ. The guy was a global icon, crowds formed everywhere he went in the WORLD. I’ve never heard of people passing out during a Prince concert. But that routinely happened when MJ played.

If we're talking purely from influence idk how you don't choose Michael, he just reached so many people. So many people built their career on his style like it was a genre of music from usher, Timberlake, Chris Brown. And even some of the production style he was doing on invincible I felt was ahead of it's time

I'll give it to Prince. Everyone who's fighting for their masters and creative freedom are following Prince's blueprint. Prince had his own streaming platform before half the world even had the Internet

No one is imitating prince and Africa is still playing michael jackson like it just came out

PRINCE ROGERS NELSON creativeness is undeniable pure GENIUS REFLECTED 😇🙏🏽

In the US Michael has the slight edge… worldwide, it’s not Close, Michael by 1,000 miles and that says a lot. Michael Jackson is the 2nd biggest name after Jesus Christ man

Prince is our Mozart, he mastered over 20 instruments by age 17, he could dance, sing any note, rap, he wrote, arranged, performed ALL his music, including wrote hits for other artists, he has covered almost every genre, Metal, Punk rock, hip hop, pop, r&b, soul, jazz, Disco, Funk, blues, country, ambience, classical, instrumental. The Multi-Genre God. He could play anything, and your favorite artists have been deeply influenced by him. Corey Taylor, Whitney Houston, Steve Vai, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Lil uzi vert, H.E.R. , Paul Mccartney, all worship Prince to just name a few. Prince recorded his first 2 albums at 16 all by himself, all instruments, lyrics, arrangement, composition, production & vocals were all by him. He was such a prodigy, that music executives wanted proof, they would fly across country just to see if he could really play all instruments, because it was so unheard of. Prince has over 50 official released albums and when he passed, they found over 10 thousand unreleased Prince music in his vault. He then came into the business and was the FIRST to fight for artists rights, and he WON. He would write "slave" on his cheek and go to meetings protesting against the industry. Prince was also the first artist to sell his music on the internet. You are talking about the most talented artist we will ever see.

I truly wish we would stop comparing these two great artists. They both were who they were and were totally different in what they did. Its kind of like we are pitting them against each other when they clearly were not of the same vibe. Clearly different spirits. Prince said himself that it wasn't he or MJ that started the comparisons, but the media did and everybody started falling in with it and it irked him and he just ignored most of it. As far as influence, both had influences we know, but their own creativity on an individual level can't be compared, ever. They were two brilliant brothers doing their thing their way and that's what made them both be so special. The comparisons need to stop.

Bruh, is not even close.... Michael Jackson was FAR more influential than Prince, overall. 🤦

MJ is going to beat out anyone in any genre. Pop music is obviously short for popular. Popular music genres would be Rap, R&b, Reggae, country , gospel and rock & roll. Out of all those genres, MJ has more fans inside of those genres than anyone else. That’s what THE KING OF POP MEANS.

Lol not even close MJ ….RIP to both 🙏🏾

MJ came up with a lot of his concepts himself and sought out other talented artists he admired to fulfill his visions but to say he was more product than artist is flawed because he might be the most artisty artist of all time with the amount of work and education that went into honing his craft, Prince was a musical prodigy, creative genius and great at business but Mike was an all around visionary like Walt Disney or something, he was willing to work with the best people to get the best results from the visuals, performance, storytelling and branding, even when he would be seen out in public, nearly every moment of his life was about creating magic for his audience

MJ Vocals are underrated still.

This isn’t even fair to Prince. Mike Jack had folk passin’ out right and left on the reg! They used to have ambo’s on standby for a Mike Jack concert… Prince was probably the favorite of people who were more musically inclined, but straight up impact gotta go to MJ…

This is a tough one. I think they're both very influential, but I think Mike held a bigger impact than Prince overall as far as the music side of things. I think Prince is/was the more talented artist and more influential to musicians and more influential on the business side of things as far as owning your own music and stuff like that.

Without Prince, we would have never gotten the amazing Charlie Murphy skit from the Chappelle show.

How did I miss this? They both are so influential , but as far as tours and fandom, I have to say that Michael wins hands down. MJ touched everyone's hearts at all ages and cultural backgrounds. Chris Brown, Usher, Justin Timberlake, Omarion and Genuwine to name a few were influenced by his dance moves and sound if you ask me.

Some of MJs best songs like don't stop to you get enough and Billie, was written by MJ

MJ especially internationally. All of my family oversees never heard of prince but all of them LOVE MJ. Growing up in the US, every tv show, every pop artist, every movie had some reference to MJ from someone imitating his style or his dances. Prince I don't think influenced younger generations as much, his influence I think stay with a older audience generally which is why he honestly wasn't a big part of my life growing up and I still can't recognize a prince song if you played one for me.

Dont know about prince but i go wit Michael Jackson

MJ all day

Michael Jackson. Duh. That's no disrespect to Prince, because Prince is great, but come on, When asked what he thought of Michael Jackson in one word, Prince said, "genius" When asked what he thought of Janet Jackson in one word, he said, "genius's sister." When it comes to both lasting influence and sales in the 80's, there was Michael Jackson-then there is everybody else. It's cool to say Prince is "better now, but that's hipster BS and ignorance.

I think people forget how involved Michael was in all of his productions. He didn't play the instruments, sure, but that never stopped him from knowing exactly the sound he wanted. The man beatboxed a lot of his compositions. His cultural impact is untouched and the racial barriers he broke are vital for everyone that came after him. Don't get me wrong, Prince is INSANELY talented and influential in his own right, but of we're taking on the global scale, it's always Michael and will always be Michael. That doesn't mean Prince or anyone else is less than, it's just so vastly different what MJ achieved. We will probably never see that again.

Michael Jackson is more influencial when I was a young back in Africa, Kenya 🇰🇪 we sang and danced to his songs in the 1980s and 1990s and 2000s

No Minneapolis Sound= No New jack Swing= No Dangerous Album. Prince's mystique and avant garde rnb is still being influencial in the Weeknds sound, frank ocean, Miguel. His musicianship and 90s sound influenced the Neo-Soul movement etc. Hell you could even argue that Mj's Bad album was influenced by Prince. Prince has been influencial for the best 40+ years. No Debate

Even though as an adult I really like Prince more but when I was a little kid Michael Jackson was undeniably influential. Look at all these pop singers I’d say like from the 1990’s to present many of them always try to dance like Michael Jackson and perform like him. My kids when they were younger also discovered MJ and they also became fans.

Comparing Michael Jackson to Prince, is like comparing a pg13 romance movie to a porno. Of course the answer will be Michael Jackson.

If we're talking strictly influence from the music they made and performed, there's really no debate. Michael is internationally and intergenerationally known whereas Prince's recognition is limited to a specific generation and mostly in America and the anglosphere. But if we're talking musicianship/artistry/discography, Prince was the whole package in a way Michael can't compete at all. Although I feel Michael was a better singer and his songs hit harder and were more catchy, Prince's catalog and sheer breath of artistry is near impossible to match

This argument only holds up strictly within the US. Globally, Prince is not even a hundred lightyears within reach of MJ's influence/fame.

Their influences target 2 different crowds; those merely into the visual of entertainment, be it just enjoying it or performing, will undoubtedly say MJ. Those more into the technicalities of the art of music, the creation & merging of sounds, we who have an ear for the smallest detail others miss, it's Prince all the way.

Michael Jackson more influencial and better than Prince

Both incredible artists and I adore both but if I had to choose it would be Michael Jackson. His influence both musically and as an entertainer in unmatched.

Prince is incredible but Michael Jackson’s influence is unmatched.

Micheal is preferred over by casual listeners but any musician or hardcore music fan would pick prince easily

Michael Jackson touched the world (he himself) Prince's influence was made through others. The world does not know Prince the way they know Michael. Michael has songs that touched on poverty worldwide. I am not familiar with Prince's song or songs that impacted the world like that. This is an easy debate. Michael wins hands down. Prince was amazing and also niche.

Michael and its not even close lol

This convo got a little lost in the sauce. There's no argument that prince is the better artist; he was well versed with more that 30 instruments, could arrange produce, write and sing on all his songs. But Michael is the most influential artist of all time. From revolutionizing dancing, making narratives of music videos, achieving the greatest selling album of all time. Not too many artist can even remote has done what Michael has done. However both can be with the rise of independence with music. Michael simply let artist know you own your masters, and Prince let us know you can make your own and have complete control. Both demonstrated the importance being an independent artist. But overall Michael has a much bigger reach than Prince.

Michael Jackson. That is all!!!!

hard to say...but I'm a bigger MJ stan so I'll edge it out to him

Two planets colliding. Great forum for discussing two monumental artists. I love Prince, and I think he has way higher peaks musically. Kiss has spent big rotation time as my favorite song ever, and nothing MJ has is in that ballpark for me. That said a lot of that good Prince talking points go out the window when you are debating specifically about influence. Think about the sheer number of MJ impressions you have heard or seen in your life. The "HEEEE- HEEe", The leg, The moonwalk, Shimona. There is an industry based around selling people a single shiny glove. Not gloves, A GLOVE! I would concede that Prince's influence on other major artists maybe more significant than MJ's in way that is deeper than multiple generations of kids intensely wanting to imitate/be MJ, but it would be incorrect to say MJ doesn't have a similar deep influence, and you don't have to look further than Bruno Mars to see how powerful a force that is in the industry. MJ has this by a country mile in my opinion.

Michael jackson 💯💯💯💯💯

Michael. Period.

Due respect to Prince, but clearly Michael - No Contest.

Michael Jackson is HANDS DOWN more influential than Prince. It doesn’t matter if the ideas were Michael’s, people only know them because of him. He also composed and produced a lot of his music. Prince was incredible, but his influence is nowhere near as wide as Michael Jackson.

There's absolutely no way Prince is on the same level as Michael Jackson. There can be another Prince, but not Michael Jackson. The 1992 Bucharest's concert says it all. Please, don't come up with some stupid comparisons between night and day. There's no way Prince reached MJ's level.

The debate is who is more influential and the prince side keeps bringing up who they prefer 😆 🤣

MJ is more influential and has incredible songs but Prince will forever be the greatest to ever to do it

Everyone on my block was jammin' Michael Jackson out of their boombox! Thriller is still by far the best selling album of all time and yes stateside included, don't come at me with that Eagles Greatest Hits garbage that is industry politics, deflated MJ's numbers and inflated Eagles.

I disagree with Rude as far as Michael being a product made by the industry. People downplay Michael's own creativity in these conversations so much. Yes, Michael was a very marketable figure, but that's because of his own genius at understanding how to construct his own image and what he wanted to portray. The one-handed glove and the entire outfit he chose to wear during Motown 25, the fact that he financed some of the videos from Thriller since the record label didn't want to do it, the clothes he chose to wear, the moves he did that have now become iconic and synonymous with his silhouette, those were all of HIS ideas. Not something someone else told him to do. I'll always respect Prince purely based on his undeniable talent. He played nearly every instrument under the sun. But that doesn't mean Michael was less talented or less of a genius in comparison. They were geniuses in different ways. Michael may not have played many instruments, but he wrote most of his most popular songs based on his internal musicality alone, no formal music training. Don't Stop til You Get Enough, Wanna Be Startin' Something, Billie Jean, Beat It, hell, most of Bad and Dangerous, he wrote himself and had a major influence on how he wanted it to sound. He had writers here and there, but it doesn't take away from his creativity and ingenuity.

I would break it down by section. Dancing. MJ has it hands down. But Prince can move too. Performance. Michael’s is a show while Prince sounds like he sounds in his music. MJ loves the theatrics Prince showcases his talents live. That can be even. Musician. Prince, dude plays instruments, produces, writes. MJ can produce but didn’t write at the quality Prince can. Cultural impact. MJ by far. Sure Prince is influential but not as highlighted as MJ. His influence can be seen in top artist like Usher and Chris Brown. MJ win in sales and perhaps accolades in music across the board. They both spoke about issues that they were passionate about, MJ talked about social issues and Prince spoke about the artist owning materials. When the party is jumping MJ goes on first before I ever hear a Prince song. Just saying The deciding factor comes down too, who wins in a fist fight? The dude moonwalking or the dude in high heels? I don’t have the answer to these questions! Great video!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Prince sold 100 million albums. MJ 400 millions.

Prince scared too many people to be as influential, Michael Jackson was more assessable. Prince inspires true musicians but MJ gets imitated by everyone.

MJ Debate is OVER see how quick that was. MJ has 0 competition sorry!

MJ

That is NOT TRUE…mj didn’t want prince on bad…..Quincy did

Michael Jackson did the thing musically,as a kid and then as a adult,you gotta have a gift to connect as long as MJ, prince learned and admired Michael Jackson, they both respected one another and all artists on major labels are bought and the industry put money on you, Rick James never got his due

Without MJ , Jackson 5 ain’t making it far they would’ve been worse than Osborne

MJ ! No doubt about it !!

mj is legend king

MJ tapped in to a global infuence. That’s because he was in entertainment since he was like 6 or 9. He grew up in a completely different world. By the time he was in his 20’s he knew how to bring the most exciting thing to the largest amount of people. Prince grew up mostly like regular people. He had a normal spehere so by the time he was in his 20’s he had more adult experiences that were not a part of his art as it was developing. He was intelligent, talented & had to grind it out like any other musician. He could careless if everyone liked him or not. He was true to the art form. So yeah, Prince is gonna have way less influence, buthis music is timeless because he worked at it relentlessly. MJ did as well but he had way more of a machine behind him as he had a whole life cultivated in entertainment from the jump.

I just thought of something by watching Prince ball on stage. Prince's influence reaches beyond music. He reshaped the whole concept of masculinity to a certain degree. For instance, there's no Jack Sparrow without Prince. Food for thought.

This is only a question because Prince and his fans are insecure about his place relative to MJ.

MJ anytime any day, well from outside USA perspective, when MJ released anything, it came on every news channel in all over the world, so outside USA prince had no influence at all, while MJ was like the dream of any kid anywhere.

I thought the topic was about INFLUENCE

The fact that this is even a question just shows you how narrow minded people. Prince has one song that I even remember. The Corvette song... MJ has like 20. That's one. I didn't even know who prince was until I was like 17. MJ I knew when I was 4 and he came before Prince's time.

I say MJ Hands down he's genre hip hop, r&b, gospel, rock, reggae, jazz michael is everything.

MJ pioneered music video an his influence helped other black artists (including prince) get their videos on bigger platforms like MTV

Maaan... This Is A Tough One. Born In The Early 60s, So The 80s Was The Era That I Immersed Myself Towards. I'll Try Giving My Juxtaposition Between These Two, But I'll Just Compare Them During The Pinnacle Of Their Careers Respectively. Argument For Prince: Prince Was A More Versatile Musician As Far As Instrumentation, Ghost-Writing, Production, And Developing Protégé. Prince Used To Write So Many Hits For Many Other Musicians In The 80s That He Had To Innovate Pseudonyms For Himself To Maintain His Confidentiality. Let's Recall That In 1984 While He Also Dropped Purple Rain, He Wrote Chaka Khan's "I Feel For You" and Sheena Easton's "Sugar Walls" That Same Year. Let's Also Recall The Musicians That He Helped Developed Through His Innovation: Vanity Apollonia Sheila E Morris Day Jimmy Jam Terry Lewis Jesse Johnson Argument For Michael: Michael Was The More Talented Entertainer As Far As The Quintessential Amalgamation Of Singing And Dancing Which He Surpasses Prince In BOTH Categories. Michael Was Also More Eye-Candy And Optically More Appealing To His Audience Predominantly Through His Choreography And Wardrobes. On Thriller, Mike's Suit Game Was Filthy. Just Look At The Album Cover Alone, With The Shiny-Sparkling White Suit. Or His Purple Shirt, Red Bow-Tie Tuxedo On Billie Jean. So Many People Used To Purchase The Red Jacket He Wore On Beat It And The Thriller Jacket-Pants Combination Is The Embodiment Of Halloween Attire. It's Been 40 Years Since The Release Of Thriller, And It's Still Currently The #1 Highest Selling Album Of All Time By Any Individual Musician. Let's Also Recall That Michael Was The Jackie Robinson Of MTV. Prior To The Release Of The Billie Jean Music Video In '83, MTV Refused To Give Video Exposure Towards Black Musicians: Rick James Donna Summer The Whispers Tina Turner Chaka Khan Evelyn Champagne Prince Lionel Richie Patti Labelle Gladys Knight The Pointer Sisters These Were Black Musicians That Were Known For Having The Best Music Videos During The Early 80s When MTV Emerged Into Prominence. They Still Struggled To Get Video Exposure And Promotion Through MTV. Michael's Billie Jean Video Is What Broke The Racial Barrier And Enabled These Other Talented Black Musicians Get MTV Exposure And Promotion. Lastly, Michael Is Acknowledged And Recognized For POPULARIZING The "Moonwalk" Dance. (Not Inventing It Because He Got It Specifically From Shalamar's Jeffrey Daniels And NYC Pop-Lockers Created It Way Before Then). We All Remember When He 1st Displayed It On Stage During His Motown 25 Live Performance Back In '83. This Along With Many Other Live Stage Performances Is What Made Michael So Monumental. VERDICT: As Far As Overall Influence, I Have To Give It To Mike.

This is not a question. MJ all day!

Mj better entertainer and Prince better musician. Two different type of artist are sons and daughters of each. Artists who play and was influenced by Prince as a musician is influenced by him , artist who wanted to dance and sing and want those song made into art of creative energy into make something like a Thriller win Grammys and have Longevity and cultural impact within the industry was influenced by MJ

For the most popular is Michael. but for more comprehensive is Prince

Michael, no question

I live near Minneapolis, so I'm practically contractually obligated to say Prince. Which is good, because I was already leaning that way.

love this topic. I had the same conversation years back, i always put Prince first mainly because he was the whole package singing, writing, ghostwriting, dancing, and acting. Not taking away anything from MJ he was the King of Pop. But i don't say MJ without Prince next to him. They had a different level of popularity.

This is going to be interesting but as an African I never knew who Prince was growing up. It was MJ all over the place. People around me new MJ. We never we who Prince was or even talking about him.

It's basically a debate between the foundation of a performer vs instrumentals

Michael I see the influence in artists like a Chris Brown or Timberlake, back street so many other. Where see the look the dancing the sound. For Prince I don't see it like you do with Michael. For me Prince grabbed me more. When little red Corvette, it made say I need to hear that again. But artists today that I see Prince H.E.R. maybe Sir or Kelly. I hear the influence but don't see it like Michael had. But as for as most influential JAMES BROWN.

Everyone in the 80's was trying to look & sound like Prince, even Michael was into Controversy. Michael made videos & Prince was music

if you travel to any country they know who MJ is not everyone knows Prince.

I once had a prince album listening get together. It almost immediately turned into a Michael Jackson listening get together.

Depends on what type of music you are involved in but in my opinion and to me personally Prince has always had a much stronger influence on my listening tastes. MJ was always around me but it was never the sound I enjoyed although I do respect his talent, just never been a heavy fan of pop music as a whole.

You're not thinking Michael with the icons Sense He was 9 He had a cartoon A back of serial boxes He had a glove Everybody wanted to dance like him Still He's still in selling records He gets mobbed by fans everywhere he went It's more I can say Princes nowhere near Michael And a lot of people agree

I was born 1970 I listened to Michael, Rock with You, was my favorite, I even had a childhood crush on him. But when Prince came on the scene, I was around 9. Prince became the Star I listened to the most. His voice was godly; I could feel it and the way he made his guitar sing touched my soul. I love Michael but Prince is my all-time favorite, to date.

MJ is more influential, Prince is more inspirational. People wanna be like Mike, but they want to break glass ceilings on their own like Prince

Music video and performance: King of Pop Instrumentals: The Artist

This isn't even debatable.

The wallpaper in your zoom background is perfect for some album cover art. I love that shit hahaha

Prince was the most influential musically. IMHO

If we're just talking about "influence", period... then... Nearly every person on the planet knows about Michael Jackson. Prince? Not so much.

I will never understand why this is even a conversation.

Great debate guys. Huge MJ fan here in the UK. For me Jackson is No#1 but do appreciate some of Prince's music.