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[The Artisan]

tl;dr at the bottom

MJ may have a bad image post posthumously, but his legacy in music is still there. Over the years, I have heard many different new artists get compared to him; Chris Brown, Bruno Mars, and most recently, the Weeknd.

The Weeknd has been my favorite musician ever since I heard 2015's the Hills, I went back and listened to all of his old music and now his music is just my favorite entertainment. But I'm not going to be biased about this; I think Bruno Mars does a greater job of emulating Bruno.

And when I say emulate, not at all do I mean the "next" MJ. There will never be another MJ. There will never be another superstar celebrity bigger than him; not even Taylor Swift. But as for just overall delivery, I give it to Bruno. The Weeknd often has a hard time stretching his vocals.

https://youtu.be/8nP2TS17Fbo?t=2m1s
https://youtu.be/rZHLmOVQ6RA?t=1m23s

in his 3rd one he doesn't even try
https://youtu.be/hTaihFTiXgc?t=2m28s

the original:
https://youtu.be/yzTuBuRdAyA?t=2m31s

I don't think Bruno has this sort of problem when he performs live but I could be wrong. Either way though I still like the Weeknd's music better; he is my favorite, but Bruno Mars is still dope.

tl;dr

Which of these two musicians reminds you more of MJ?

 

[2Smashed4U]

The Weeknd for sure

 

[Bronx-Man]

Bruno.

 

[Heroman]

Bruno

 

[CreeperBlocks]

Bruno.

 

[zeemumu]

I think I'd have to say Bruno.


Remember when people thought Chris Brown was gonna fill this role?

 

[old manatee]

 

[highrider]

Musically and vocally Weekend.
As a complete entertainer/song and dance man, definitely Bruno.

 

[Bleepey]

Weeknd and it's not even close. Bruno Mars emulates all sorts and he is his own thing in a weird way

 

[jon bones]

the weeknd is like a mj who fucks

 

[KissVibes]

Justin Timberlake.

 

[djplaeskool]

Bruno's got the moves
Weeknd's got the pipes.

 

[TickleMeElbow]

Bruno

Bruno is a beast of an entertainer. From what I've seen, The Weekend isn't.

 

[FZZ]

Bruno probably does more cocaine

so him

Weeknd def fucks more tho

 

[Data West]

jonny craig

 

[NeonBlack]

the weeknd is like a mj who fucks

.

 

[iavi]

Musically and vocally Weekend.
As a complete entertainer/song and dance man, definitely Bruno.

This.

 

[blame space]

Bruno Mars isn't cool

 

[wild wild rice]

Never heard of Bruno Mars. Weeknd has some decent songs on his early tapes (especially House of Balloons) and a great voice, but c'mon...he's nowhere near MJ.

 

[yella]

Neither. Both are very talented (Bruno Mars is the more talented of the two IMO) but Michael had a swagger and stage presence even when he was in the Jackson 5 as a kid that those 2 have been unable to match even at their highest so far.

 

[Maximus.]

Vocally, The Weeknd for sure when he is obviously singing in a MJ style.

 

[metalslimer]

Neither. Both are very talented (Bruno Mars is the more talented of the two IMO) but Michael had a swagger and stage presence even when he was in the Jackson 5 as a kid that those 2 have been unable to match even at their highest so far.

Yeah this. I have a hard time giving the comparison to either.

 

[xam3l]

MJ is too larger than life to have a current artist to be compared right now.

But if I have to choose I'd go with weeknd.

 

[j-wood]

Dancing and whatnot goes to Bruno.

But musically it's weeknd no question. Go listen to some of the dance tracks on his new album and tell me you wouldn't think it's MJ singing it.

 

[Mechanized]

As a full package entertainer, I would go with Bruno.

 

[Data West]

Never heard of Bruno Mars.

How?

 

[Syder]

Bruno, for sure, although Mars and MJ both co-opted moves and style from James Brown.

 

[MHWilliams]

Vocally, the Weekend. Full package? Bruno. The issue is Bruno does a wide, wide range of styles.

"I'll see you dead one of these days."

 

[213372bu]

Bruno Mars incorporates lots of funk/Hip Hop influences, some hit close to MJ's tracklist, but he doesn't sound like him at all.

The Weeknd can emulate MJ, but 99% of his tracks don't represent Michael Jackson's at all.

tl;dr: The answer is Justin Timberlake

 

[Common Knowledge]

Never heard of Bruno Mars.

Damn. I'm not usually one to make a big deal about who knows which celebrities, but wow, I'm kind of impressed by this.

 

[Pop-O-Matic]

Chainsmokers

 

[RiderKairuu]

There have been times where I heard a Weeknd track and legit thought it was a MJ song.

 

[enzo_gt]

Musically and vocally Weekend.
As a complete entertainer/song and dance man, definitely Bruno.

This is how I feel, and it's very clear on both ends.

 

[RedAssedApe]

Never heard of Bruno Mars. Weeknd has some decent songs on his early tapes (especially House of Balloons) and a great voice, but c'mon...he's nowhere near MJ.

how have you heard of the weeknd but not bruno mars...

 

[Zapages]

this song reminds me of vintage MJ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPvuNsRccVw

So definitely Bruno.

 

[Kayo Police]

Yup.

 

[TheCochese]

First time I saw Bruno I thought he would take the mantle, but to be totally honest...


It's JT.

 

[highrider]

Really the only guys that can fuck with Michael on a level playing field are Chris Brown, who unfortunately is an idiot scumbag, and Justin Timberlake, but really only on his first solo record. He kind of abandoned dance being central to what he did, and he hung Janet out to dry so fuck him.

Chris Brown is the only artist I've seen that could have actually been in Michael's space, but yeah.

 

[Poor GRIMES]

why does GAF like justin timberlake so much

 

[User Name Here]

Wait... So Bruno isn't MJ's reincarnation?

 

[Immaculate]

the weeknd

 

[UFO]

Weeknd.

But I can't judge their live performances, only studio releases.

this song reminds me of vintage MJ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPvuNsRccVw

So definitely Bruno.

And this doesn't?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFLhGq0060w

 

[crazyprac]

As much as I've enjoyed weekends newer album more than Bruno's, I have to say Bruno. His performances are amazing.

 

[Raw64life]

I don't listen to this kind of music at all but I heard a song on the radio a few weeks ago that sounded exactly like MJ and I Shazamed it and it was The Weekend. So I guess him.

 

[Sulik2]

Bruno Mars by far. MJ didn't auto tune all his music. Bruno can dance too.

 

[Takyon]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFLhGq0060w
Weeknd definitely gets close.
Now that I've heard him sing over Daft Punk production, I'm imaging the alternative universe where The Weeknd sings on RAM instead of Pharrel.

 

[The_Dama]

JT

 

[sa201674]

The one with Britney Spears' producer.

 

[dakun]

Certainly Bruno.. out of all the MJ "wannabe's" starting back with Usher and Justin he's the best and most talented in my opinion.

 

[yunbuns]

Neither are anywhere close to him imo.