The George Michael Vault
This page contains articles, information
and news on George Michael and his music
Chartography - The
George Michael Chart History
George Michael
Albums Sold | Grammy Awards and Nominations
| George Michael In His Own Words | George
Michael In Other People's Words | Other Articles
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George Michael Albums Sold
Faith has sold:
-
8 million copies in the US
-
16 million copies worldwide
Listen Without Prejudice has sold:
-
2 million copies in the US
-
8 million copies worldwide
Note that judging by the number of copies
sold, George Michael's popularity significantly fell only in the US. The
rest of the world bought 8 million copies of Faith and 6 million (only
2 less) copies of Listen without Prejudice. It appears that Jesus to a
Child shows the continuation of the same trend.
Info source: The New York Times December 24,
1995, Art&Leisure section: cover story
GEORGE MICHAEL: GRAMMY NOMINATIONS
1985. Best Pop Vocal Performance
by a Duo or Group for "Wake Me up before You Go Go".
1986. Best Music Video- Long
Form for Wham!/The Video.
1987. Best Rhythm & Blues
Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for "I Knew You Were Waiting" with
Aretha Franklin.
1988. Album of the Year for
"Faith"
1988. Best Pop Vocal Performance,
Male for "Father Figure"
1991. Best Pop Vocal Performance,
Male for "Freedom'90"
1992. Best Pop Vocal Performance
by a Duo or Group for "Dont Let the Sun Go Down on Me" with Elton John
GEORGE MICHAEL: GRAMMY AWARDS
1987. Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal
Performance Vocal Performance by Duo or Group for "I Knew You Were Waiting"
with Aretha Franklin.
1988. Album of the Year: "Faith"
On winning his first Grammy Award :
"It was the 11 time Aretha Franklin won
the R & B slot, and a track she shared with George Michael: "I Knew
You Were Waiting" earned them both the duo/group prize. Michael had had
the number one song in 1985's Hot 100 ("Careless Whisper") and again in
1987 ("Faith"), but his soul credits were dubious prior to his successful
matchup with "Lady Soul". He said in a statement after the Grammycast:
"Winning the R & B category with Aretha validates the tremendous influence
r&b music has had on my music, songwriting, and creative process. Not
bad for Brit with soul."
On winning his second Grammy Award :
"Michael ended losing his bid for best
male vocals to McFerrin, but topped the one-man-jazz-band for a bigger
prize, Album of the Year ("Faith"), in a victory that signalled Michael's
graduation from a one-time teen idol to a critically regarded musical talent.
Michael got his start in business as one half of the bubblegum pop group
Wham!. After his breakup with partner Andrew Ridgley, he started hitting
the charts solo, but he told Billboard: "It's nerve-wrecking. When you
are given the freedom to do what you like because you are no longer part
of group, you are also given the freedom to make mistakes". Critics did'n
think he was erring seriously, however. Stephen Holden of the New York
Times wrote: "If asked to nominate the one contemporary pop star most likely
to be successful 10 years from now as today, I'd cast my vote for George
Michael. He has everything a pop star requires for longevity... including
extraordinary skills as songwriter, arranger and producer."
Source: The Grammys For the Record, Thomas
O'Neil1993 and the Grammy's WEB site
George Michael, In His Own Words:
On Aids and Freddie Mercury: "I think a lot
of people, not necessarily people who have anything against gay people,
are probably taking some small comfort in the fact that although Freddie
died of Aids he was publicly bisexual. It's a very, very dangerous comfort.
The conservative estimate for the year 2000 is that 40 million people on
this planet will be infected by HIV, and if you think that those are all
going to be gay people or drug addicts, then you are pretty well lining
up to be one of those members. So, please, for God's sake and for Freddie's
sake and for your own sake, please, be careful."
George, Michael, April 1992, Wembley Stadium,
Tribute Concert to Freddie Mercury (The quote appears on the cover of George
Michael's "FIVE LIVE" EP, reseased in 1993.)
George Michael in Other People's Words:
Intro: George Michael and Boy George have
been known forever as rivals on the British pop-scene. Neither of them
has expressed very warm feelings towards the other over the years. Here
is a little paragraph from "Take It As A Man", the recently published autobiography
of Boy George, : "The mere mention of George Michael was enough to start
me off. I'd known him for years, but he was always so snotty. I cracked
jokes like, "George Michael's got no sense of houmour." It was true: the
more successful and rich he became the more seriously he would take himself.
Of course, I was jelous. I hated the way he was portayed as a serious songwriter
while I was treated like a pop joker..." Later in the book, a more mature
Boy George somewhat modifies his attitude: "I've somewhat come to terms
with my jealousies. I even speak to George Michael now. Recently we had
dinner with Keren and Sarah from Bananarama and he was friendly and funny.
I now try to look beyond the veneer of everyone I meet. No one or nothing
is ever what it seems."
Boy George with Spencer Bright, "Take it Like
a Man", Cometmarket, Ltd, 1995.
LET GEORGE DO IT:
"Michael Jackson's reign at No. 1 in the U.K.
with "Earth Song" has been ended by "Jesus to a Child", the first George
Michael's single in a long spell. It's the 10th British chart-topper of
Michael's career, counting four from Wham! and five of his own. In the
U.S., where "Jesus" is the first release on the DreamWorks SKG Music label,
the single will mark Michael's 11th visit to the summit- if it can go all
the way. That includes three No. 1 hits for Wham! and seven so far for
Michael since the duo split."
Billboard Magazine, January 27, 1996
This page has been last updated on Tuesday,
22 October 1996
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