Tough call, but I think the tie goes to Jackson. For anyone younger readers, it's hard to overestimate just how much of an "event" even his video releases were. I mean, who else from then could do a world premiere in prime time? Who could pull it off today?
Another point in MJ's favor is that a Prince song could be covered/performed by any number of different artists (see the Goo Goo Dolls cover of "I Could Never take the Place..." as Exhibit A)- that speaks to his brilliance as a writer and being attuned to what makes a pop song great.
But an MJ song was an MJ song. Period. No one's covering "Thriller."
As for the next pairing, I'm going to have to think about that one!
Tough call, but I think the tie goes to Jackson. For anyone younger readers, it's hard to overestimate just how much of an "event" even his video releases were. I mean, who else from then could do a world premiere in prime time? Who could pull it off today?
Another point in MJ's favor is that a Prince song could be covered/performed by any number of different artists (see the Goo Goo Dolls cover of "I Could Never take the Place..." as Exhibit A)- that speaks to his brilliance as a writer and being attuned to what makes a pop song great.
But an MJ song was an MJ song. Period. No one's covering "Thriller."
As for the next pairing, I'm going to have to think about that one!