Recently I came across a reel on social media that featured a glimpse from a Michael Jackson music video. Several users had commented under the video, of which one caught my eye.
'No disrespect to any other artists, but Michael Jackson is the greatest artist to have lived, ever,' - said the comment, which had gained validation in the form of likes from thousands of others by then. The comment got me thinking, was it truly the case?
Michael Jackson is undoubtedly an artist of legendary status with millions of followers who grew up tapping their feet to the catchy beats of his songs - there is no donut about that. The controversies that surrounded his personal life in his last days disregarding, he would continue to be remembered as one of the world's greatest artists. But, is he really the world's greatest? Or, more importantly - is it possible to determine who the greatest artist ever was?
Before I lay down my reasons to contest the aforementioned claim, let me admit that I am not a big follower of American pop music. In fact, my knowledge with respect to the US pop artists is rather limited. Yet, I believe conferring the title of the "World's Greatest Artist Ever" to someone would require a comprehensive evaluation. There are about two hundred countries in the world, and almost all of them would have really talented artists. However, most of these artists would be known only within their country or in the neighboring regions. For example, the number of people who know musician A.R. Rahman outside of the Indian subcontinent would be abysmally low. Linguistic limitations are the main issue here. A legendary Polish actor may be unheard of in Chile, a hugely popular Japanese singer might not even be recognized in Jordan.
This is where the American artists have an upper hand. Thanks to colonial Britain who invaded pretty much half of the world and imposed their culture (which includes their language) on those nations, English grew to be the global language. The global dominance of the United States only strengthened the position of the language in the international arena. This meant that American artists had a vastly superior chance at getting known across borders than any of the regional artists. Most of the world listens to American music, therefore American artists have a bigger audience pool by default. Naturally, the popular ones among them get fans all across the globe.
Let's say there are two equally good artists X and Y, where X is from the United States and Y from Tajikistan. Both release their songs on YouTube. Who has the probability of getting a wider reach?
Michael Jackson is a great artist no doubt, who influenced generations across the world. It might be fair to say he was the most popular artist of his times. But the greatest? People generally tend to associate greatness with popularity, but those have two separate yardsticks. Based on where you are born or in which language you produce your work, your popularity could shoot up or lay low. The platform is unequal, and it would be unfair to measure greatness in an unequal setup.
More importantly, why do we even need to label someone as the GOAT? Can't we just live in this world of talented people and tune in to whoever plays the right notes for us?
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