We celebrate the anniversaries of Michael’s work: his music, his short films, his albums, and everything he created. We all know the legacy he left behind deserves to be celebrated not just on anniversaries, but all year round. Today marks 17 years since the release of This Is It soundtrack. But no matter how much work Michael put into that project, can we really bring ourselves to celebrate it without thinking about what happened behind the scenes? I think we all know the answer. Some of us couldn’t bear to watch the documentary for years because the pain was still too fresh. Others have never been able to watch it at all. The story behind This Is It deserves to be remembered, too. What began as ten concerts at London’s O2 Arena quickly became fifty. As rehearsals continued, concerns about Michael’s health were raised by people around him, including members of the production team. Yet the project continued. The full story is complicated, and the available evidence doesn’t answer every question about the pressure Michael was under or the decisions being made around him. But it leaves us with a difficult question: was Michael being treated as a human being whose well-being mattered, or as a product expected to deliver? The Sony dispute during the Invincible era had already brought the darker side of the music industry into public view. In 2002, Michael openly challenged Sony over the promotion of his album, royalty accounting, and the treatment of artists. But this wasn’t a new feeling for Michael. He had been in the industry since childhood, and by 1983, he was already talking about feeling used. In his Rolling Stone interview that year, he said: “They demand that, and they want you to do this. They think that they own you, they think they made you. If you don’t have faith, you go crazy.” In the same interview, Michael spoke about “Bless His Soul,” from The Jacksons’ Destiny (1978), confirming that the song was definitely about him. He sang: “Sometimes I cry cause I’m confused Is this a fact of being used? There is no life for me at all Cause I give myself at beck and call.” And this theme didn’t end there. Over the years, Michael continued to express these feelings in his music. What we hear in the Thriller era was still there years later, finding an even more direct expression during the HIStory era. I’m leaving some of Michael’s lyrics here. They can speak for themselves. ⸻ “Bless His Soul” — Destiny (1978) “Sometimes I cry cause I’m confused Is this a fact of being used? There is no life for me at all Cause I give myself at beck and call.” “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” — Thriller (1982) “You're just a buffet You're a vegetable They eat off of you” “Beat It” — Thriller (1982) “You have to show them that you’re really not scared You’re playin’ with your life, this ain’t no truth or dare They’ll kick you, then they beat you Then they’ll tell you it’s fair.” “Will You Be There” — Dangerous (1991) “Everyone’s taking control of me Seems that the world’s got a role for me I’m so confused, will you show it to me?” “This Time Around” — HIStory (1995) “Somebody’s out, somebody’s out to use me They get people to use me and then falsely accuse me This time around don’t treat me like spit Though you really can’t control me, you really can’t control me, ugh He really thought he really had a hold of me… Get me, and fix me, they really tried to get me Use me, accuse me, nobody will abuse me ⸻ Decades apart, these lyrics leave us with a question that never really went away. How much of Michael’s life was spent meeting other people’s demands? His own words are still there for us to hear.