2016 was a brutal year for the music scene with the passing of so many artists who defined not just one , but several generations . David Bowie , Prince , Maurice White of Earth , Wind & Fire , and Pete Burns of Dead or Alive are just a few of the incred ibly gifted musicians who took their final bow last year . Just when the worst year ever was finally coming to an end and we thought we couldn ’ t possibly lose anyone else , word of George Michael ’ s passing brought our holiday celebrations to a screeching halt . In an instant we went from praising the baby Jesus to mourning the loss one of the most divine recording artists of our time . But George Michael was more than a musician . Over the last three decades , he made us dance , made us think , made us act and made a difference in the world .
We got our first taste of George Michael ’ s talents in the early ‘ 80s as half of the pop duo Wham !. Although they ’ d already reached No . 1 status in the UK and spawned a few top 10 singles with their debut album Fantastic ( 1983 ), it wasn ’ t until Michael and band mate Andrew Ridgeley ’ s follow-up Make It Big ( 1984 ) that the pair did indeed make it big . Like the neon colors that dominated the era ’ s bold fashion trends , Wham !’ s video for the lead single “ Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go ” illuminated the TV screens of every Gen-Xer with access to MTV . It was hard to tell what lit up the screen more , their neon outfits or Michael ’ s dimples . Either way , that song was just what the 21-year-old former high school classmates needed to catapult their careers into worldwide success .
The years that followed took the boys around the globe several times over as they churned out hits like “ Freedom ,” “ Everything She Wants ” and Michael ’ s iconic solo debut “ Careless Whisper ,” which dominated the charts in 24 countries ; but all that fame and success wasn ’ t enough to keep the band together . In 1986 , Wham ! released their farewell single “ The Edge of Heaven ” before officially going their separate ways . The following year , the former frontman ’ s debut solo album Faith ( 1987 ) was unveiled , spawning six top 5 singles and snagging several trophies including a Grammy for Album of the Year , proving that Michael ’ s career was far from over . By the end of its run , Faith spent 51 non-consecutive weeks in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 , including 12 weeks at No . 1 .
As the ‘ 80s came to a close , Michael ’ s view of the world began to mature , which became clear in both his personal life as well as his music . He became involved with several philanthropies such as the Rainbow Trust Children ’ s Charity , Macmillan Cancer Support and Elton John AIDS Foundation , donating his time , talents and money to help others . His follow-up solo album , Listen Without Prejudice Vol . 1 ( 1990 ) marked the beginning of a pivotal decade solo album , Listen Without Prejudice Vol . 1 ( 1990 ) marked the beginning of a pivotal decade for the singer . He traded in his pretty-boy facade and songs about sex and love for a more serious image and more socially-aware themes like “ Praying for Time ,” “ Waiting for That Day ” and the anthem that never gets old , “ Freedom ‘ 90 .” However , creative friction for the singer . He traded in his pretty-boy facade and songs about sex and love for a more serious image and more socially-aware themes like “ Praying for Time ,” “ Waiting for That Day ” and the anthem that never gets old , “ Freedom ‘ 90 .” However , creative friction with Sony caused the demise of Listen Without Prejudice Vol . 2 and the singer ’ s eventual departure from the label . With lawsuits pending , and thefuture of his music career in limbo , the singer didn ’ t stop sharing his gift with the world . He donated three songs from the scrapped album , including “ Too Funky ” to Red Hot + Dance , a project benefiting the Red Hot Organization , which raised money for AIDS awareness . After a long legal battle and brief hiatus , Michael came out of seclusion with the haunting ballad “ Jesus to a Child ” and “ Fastlove ” followed by Older – his first studio album in six years . Five of Older ’ s singles broke the top 3 spot on the UK charts , making it the most successful album of Michael ’ s career .
Lawsuits weren ’ t the only legal issues that threatened Michael ’ s career . In 1998 , he was arrested for “ engaging in a lewd act ” during a sting in Beverly Hills . The embarrassing scandal would ’ ve destroyed anyone else ’ s career , but Michael faced it head-on with “ Outside ,” a cheeky disco-anthem about getting it on in the great outdoors . He even topped it off with a video featuring glittery urinals , sexy dancers and smooching cops . As Y2K rolled in , we saw less and less of the English singer . He released his fifth and final studio album Patience in 2004 , followed by a second “ Greatest Hits ” album Twenty-Five ( 2006 ) and his first and only live album Symphonica in 2014 .
It seems surreal that we would lose George Michael on Christmas Day considering how synonymous he was with the holidays . In 1984 , he joined dozens of other singers and musicians on the original “ Do They Know It ’ s Christmas ?” for famine relief in Ethiopia and simultaneously donated the profits from his single “ Last Christmas ” to charity . Both songs have become holiday soundtrack staples ever since , and will now carry extra meaning for years to come . George Michael has sold more than 100 million records worldwide . Faith alone sold more than 25 million copies . He achieved seven No . 1 singles in the UK and eight No . 1s on Billboard ’ s US Hot 100 . He is one of the best-selling British acts of all time , and in 2008 Billboard ranked him as the 40th Greatest Artist of All Time . He ’ s won three BRIT Awards , four VMAs , three American Music Awards , two Grammys and was awarded ‘ Songwriter of The Year ’ three times over by the Ivor Novello Awards . George Michael was more than just a musician or an icon . He was a voice for those who cared about the world and the people in it . He was a role model for the LGBTQ community . And as a human being , he was – and will always be – absolutely flawless .
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