Michael Jackson is the best pop singer ever.

He just is. He just is. He just is. He just is. He just is. He just is. He just is. He just is. He just is. He just is. He just is. He just is. He just is. He just is. He just is. He just is. He just is. He just is. He just is. He just is. He just is. He just is. He just is. He just is. He just is. He just is. He just is. yeah

I'd like to start off this debate by acknowledging that I am a huge Michael Jackson fan (music-wise).

With that said, although Michael Jackson is one of the most talented and well-known/well-loved performers of our time, there are a few flaws with a) the topic of debate and b) the way you chose to argue this debate thus far.

First, the subject of this debate is completely subjective. By saying that MJ is the "best pop SINGER" ever, you are implying that he has the best vocal ability. Surely there are other pop artists who have a wider vocal range, a more powerful voice, etc. I'm not sure that a majority of voters would agree that he has the best singing VOICE per se even if they agree that he is/was extremely talented, influential, unique, a great dancer, etc.

Second, the debate topic claims that MJ is the best pop singer ever -- it doesn't differentiate between male and female. So in terms of musical influence and prowess, MJ has some serious competition with Madonna (others as well, but Madonna being the most prevalent in this case).

Third, repeating "He just is." over and over might not be the best way to win votes on this site. Most participants are actually articulate, intelligent people who may not appreciate that style of debating.

Good luck!

To respond to your first point that being the best pop singer of all time does not necessarily mean he has the widest vocal range or most powerful voice. Being the best singer implies that his voice appeals to the most and widest range of people. Obivously we can see this through his album Thriller which has sold the most copies of all time around the world.

Obivously I meant that Michael Jackson is the best pop singer ever as I did not disinguish between male and female and as you provided no evidence to why Madonna is a better singer than MJ I will not respond to it.

And to your third point, suck it.

Vote Pro

You said it's "obvious" that MJ's voice appeals to the most and widest range of people based on the recod number of sales of the Thriller album. However, you cannot prove that people bought the album because they loved MJs voice. There are other reasons why people buy albums, for instance: the album's popularity, peer pressure, a present for others, etc.

Plus, "The world's best-selling album cannot be listed officially, since there is no international body to count global record sales ... Historical data before the 1980s and from developing countries are also incomplete. Information is also lacking for non-English language albums" (Source: Wikipedia).

I never said that Madonna was a better pop singer than MJ. I'm saying that she'd be a good challenger. Other prominent challengers would include John Lennon and/or Paul McCartney and Elvis Presley (The Beatles and Elvis were considered to be part of both the rock and pop genre) amongst others. Because Elvis and The Beatles have collectively sold more albums than MJ did with Thriller (assuming that Thriller really is the best selling album of all time), then... do you even have another argument?

Ps. You're really cool for saying "Suck it" at the end of a debate. That was a good one. Very original. Very intelligent.

To reply to your first point that I can't prove that people bought the album because of Michael's voice. Why would you buy an album if you didn't enjoy listening to the songs on it. Even if an album is popular you don't buy an album just if you don't like listening to Micahel's voice. The same applies to peer pressure and even if these situations happened then they would have been only a minor portion of the people that bought the album. Also, for people who bought the album outside of the United States woudln't buy an album because it is popular in another country as in I doubt you've ever bought a an album from a singer in Japan because they are popular over there. To your last point that people would buy it as a present still means that they are buying the album for someone who likes Michael Jackson, still making him an amazing singer.

I think you misunderstood me when I said "Obivously we can see this through his album Thriller which has sold the most copies of all time around the world." I meant that Thriller was the best selling album and it has sold copies around the world, instead of being the world's best selling album. Also there is this also coming from your own source.

"Thriller is the best selling album of all time, though sales figures for the album vary between different sources who have cited the album as selling between 45 million copies worldwide to 104 million copies" - Wikipedia

Just stating that there are other good pop singers like Madonna or The Beatles isn't actually proving that they are better pop singers (or in The Beatles case a group) than MJ. And of course if you added up Elvis's albums with The Beatles they'd have more than MJ. Even if you did prove that Elvis actually sold more albums or actually stated a reason why he was a better singer than Michael, he is not of the pop genre, he is Rock n' roll, as his title is the King of Rock n' Roll.

"He recorded songs in the rock and roll genre, with tracks like "Hound Dog" and "Jailhouse Rock" later embodying the style" - Wikipedia

Since you haven't given any reason why Michael Jackson isn't the best pop singer of all time other than suggesting that not all of his records were sold because people liked his voice or stating that there were some other good pop artists, then this ballot of this debate should obviously be Pro.

P.S. - Suck it was just a joke and I apoligize for only trying to reach the 100 word limit in my first round.

I can rip your entire basis of "proof" that MJ is the 'best' to shreds in just one paragraph (I'll get to that later), but first:

1. Pop Music: music of general appeal to teenagers; a bland watered-down version of rock'n'roll with more rhythm and harmony and an emphasis on romantic love (Source: Dictionary.com)

2. Pop Music: the term indicates specific stylistic traits such as a danceable beat, simple melodies, and repetitive structure so that people can catch on and join in easily (Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop music)

3. "In contrast to genres with clear origins and a traceable evolution, pop developed, and continues to expand, as a haphazard merging of styles. Pop is an amalgam of successive fashions, of elements of many differing styles that have been successful over the years and have ended up incorporated into the genre." (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org...)

Based on these definitions - including the 'official' definition, a large array of artists and groups all fall into the pop genre whether we recognize it as such or not. Thus an artist like Elvis IS considered a pop artist. Yes it is true that he paved the way for Rock-N-Roll as did Lennon and McCartney with the Beatles. But paving the way for a new genre doesn't negate a type of music from being part of another. My point is that even if Elvis' album was listed under the Rock-N-Roll heading at a CD store, according to the DEFINITION of pop music, Elvis was and is pop. Not to mention the fact that 'pop' is short for the term POPular, and obviously Elvis, The Beatles, etc. were all very popular artists!

HERE'S THE PARAGRAPH THAT MAKES YOUR ENTIRE ARGUMENT INVALID: Your #1 'source' of proof that MJ is the best is based on the fact that the Thriller album is (allegedly) the best selling album of all time. However, MJ is not the best selling artist of all time. In fact, some lists don't even put him in the top 15! So even though a particular album may have been extremely succesful, your bold comment of MJ being the 'best pop singer' assumes that you are talking about his entire music career and not just the explosion of one particular album. AND, even if people don't agree that people like Elvis are in fact pop music, I'm sure no one would refute an artist like Madonna being considered pop... and she's sold more albums world-wide (Source: http://www.riaa.com...). Plus, there are sources that do in fact recognize Elvis as being a pop star, such as POPDIRT.COM (http://popdirt.com...).

Anyway, you mentioned that I didn't provide any reasons why Michael Jackson ISN'T the best pop singer of all time. If an actual list is what you're looking for (even though you yourself did not provide one), here goes:

1. Michael Jackson is not the best-selling pop artist of all time, even if his album Thriller may (or may not) have been the most popular.

2. Michael Jackson does not have the most number one hits, even amongst pop stars. For instance, Mariah Carey has 17. Madonna also tops MJ in this area, amongst many others.

3. In terms of consecutive number one hits, even a much lesser known group like Westlife tops MJ.

4. You cannot prove that Elvis (I'm singling him out, but I could list a number of people) is not a pop star, whereas I CAN prove that he WAS a pop star based on the definition of pop music, and other verifiable sources.

5. Your basis of MJ being the best SINGER is the number of album sales for Thriller; however, you couldn't really make an argument verifying MJ's superirority in terms of vocal ability.

6. Elvis, Madonna, Elton John, The Beach Boys... I could go on and on. And though Michael Jackson DEFINITELY belongs amongst the top pop artists of all time, he may not be the BEST pop *singer* of all time. And! Even if he IS the best pop singer of all time, my opponent's arguments were clearly lacking and did not do a good job of proving that he was, therefore giving me the win of this debate. So remember to vote based on articulation and the presentation of facts vs. opinion. Thanks!