Even after 15 years since his death, Michael Jackson is still remembered by his beloved family.
The King of Pop passed away in June 2009, leaving a world shaken by his loss but seeing his legacy continue through his family. Recently, his sister Janet Jackson reminisced about the times when they would write music together. Growing up, the two came from a very musical background– their family band, The Jackson 5, was iconic.
As they ventured into their solo careers, the siblings eventually collaborated on the hit song “Scream.” Released in 1995, the song became a massive success, with the futurisitic black and white visuals in the music video.
To this day, the 58-year-old “Rhythm Nation” singer still performs the track and uses footage of the video to show her brother singing while on tour. She recalled during an interview with the BBC, “Mike and I wrote that song in New York, in his apartment…So [I relive] that whole journey, listening to him sing it [and remembering] what he was going through at that time. And just me being his little sister, always by his side, and being that support system. That’s always been my role.”
Not everything seen on camera reflects the reality behind the scenes. Despite the fun they had on set, Janet disclosed that the King of Pop was going through a tough time. “Mike was going through a lot, and I think it was taking its toll on him…Michael shot nights; I shot days. His record company, they would block off his whole set so that I couldn’t see what was going on. They didn’t want me on set. I felt like they were trying to make it very competitive between the two of us. That really hurt me because I felt I was there fighting the fight with him, not to battle him,” she stated during her docuseries Janet, released in 2022.
Even in rough times, Michael noted in an interview with MTV in 1995 that he was “very, very honored” after seeing the success of the song and being nominated for 11 awards at the MTV Video Music Awards.