DINH DOONG

Michael Jackson’s speaking voice was probably one of the most distinctive aspects of his King of Pop public persona.

But many who knew Jackson personally stated that his trademark airy, soft voice was put on and that he actually had a much lower and more commanding voice in private.

In this video we document the development of Michael and his voice, and investigate how it evolved and what internal motivations may have been behind its modification.

Michael Jackson on stage. 

Michael Jackson was known for his high-pitched speaking voice when he appeared in interviews.

Going alongside his incredible high singing vocals, Michael’s speaking voice usually had a gentle and kind tone to it.

But this was not always the case. For those that knew him well, Michael actually spoke with a much-lower register than what fans would usually hear on TV.

Every now and then, Michael would decide to speak publicly using his deeper voice, much to the surprise of people watching on.

One of the best examples of this was during a performance of ‘In the Closet’. During the rapped breakdown, Michael’s voice is deeper and more menacing than usual, and was used to great effect:

But there were other times when Michael would use his deep voice in his actual music videos and songs.

One such example was during the intro to 2001’s ‘You Rock My World’. Appearing alongside actor Chris Tucker, Michael’s voice was rather than different than before.

From the same Invincible album, Michael even sang with a much lower voice than usual on the song ‘2000 Watts’, which you can hear below:

As Michael only used his low voice sparingly, one popular idea among fans is that the singer spoke in a high pitch to preserve his singing voice.

While the real reason behind Michael’s ever-changing vocals may never be known, it’s impressive to see how a performer could have such a wide range of voice power and techniques.

You can see just how varied his voice was by listening to this rare vocal training session audio between Michael and Seth Riggs: