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Bruno Mars vs. the Weeknd: Who reminds you more of MJ?

Which of these two musicians reminds you more of MJ?

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Q

Qvoth

Member
don't really follow US pop so i had no idea who this weekend is until i youtubed him, heard his songs often but never knew the singer
he sounds like mj but his songs don't have the pop feel of mj so i'll say bruno is more similar
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J

JustenP88

I earned 100 Gamerscore™ for collecting 300 widgets and thereby created Trump's America
I feel like the Weeknd could pull off a more accurate MJ cover vocally and Bruno has the superior showmanship.

Both are talented dudes.
 
H

hodayathink

Member
highrider said:
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.
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Well, the first album had a few tracks on it that Chad and Pharrell wrote for MJ, so that makes sense.

Which reminds me that Rock Your Body is the most MJ song not sung by MJ himself in the past 15 years.
 
A

alternade

Member
Uh...Neither

Can't stand the weeknds falsetto and Bruno Mars is such a niche artist.

They both have never shown the ability to genre switch or much creativity within their lane.
 
highrider

highrider

Banned
hodayathink said:
Well, the first album had a few tracks on it that Chad and Pharrell wrote for MJ, so that makes sense.

Which reminds me that Rock Your Body is the most MJ song not sung by MJ himself in the past 15 years.
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I would lean towards Take Back the Night. Rock Your Body has that one break though that is definitely very MJ.
 
V

valeo

Member
Bruno is easily the most talented pop artist at the moment in terms of pure live performance.

I would go to a Bruno Mars concert. I would not go to another Weeknd concert.

Weeknd struggles live and doesn't put on a great show.

However, Weeknd released better original music while Bruno Mars is literally just copying artists he likes and re-arranging the melodies. Nothing Bruno Mars does is original.

If we're talking about pure sound then The Weeknd probably sounds more like MJ, though he can't push his vocals that much. Bruno can push far more.

The Weeknd's most 'MJ' song: I Feel it Coming
Bruno's most 'MJ' song: Versace on the Floor (? maybe - the beginning really reminds me of him)

alternade said:
Uh...Neither

Can't stand the weeknds falsetto and Bruno Mars is such a niche artist.

They both have never shown the ability to genre switch or much creativity within their lane.
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Eh? Bruno Mars seems to change genre every album - he's on the funk train at the moment. Again, he just copies artists he likes though. Nothing original.

50's haircut to 60's "doo wop" and James Brown dance moves to 70s disco (treasure) to 70s funk (uptown funk) to 80s pop R&B (24k Magic) to 90s R&B
 
T

trixx

Member
Neither. Both trying to hard and not up there. Good artists though, or rather decent. I think Bruno is better though.

Yeah Usher and Timberlake are better than both. Definitely have to give it to Usher, his catalogue is tooo goood

This is the worst place r&b has been in imo, or pop or w/e
 
S

SilentSoldier

Member
Honestly didn't think the Weeknd would be in the conversation because up until I Can't Feel My Face, his music sounded nothing like MJs. I can see the comparisons now, but I'd probably give it to Bruno since he adds the entertainer aspect to it. I enjoy both artists though
 
F

Frozenprince

Banned
highrider said:
If Usher was stronger vocally he would definitely be in the conversation.
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His first two solo album were amazing he just couldn't sustain it. Ne-Yo came closer I think.

Though Usher changing up his style and beats definitely lead him to be the better artist between the two.
 
highrider

highrider

Banned
Really if I were to compare Weekend to someone it would probably be Brian Wilson. He's a gifted vocal arranger and song writer/producer, but not really a great singer. He's more of a studio wizard. He also has zero stage presence and performance ability.
 
Elitist1945

Elitist1945

Member
I think Bruno's style is more akin to MJ, but The Weeknd's voice is more akin to MJ. Check out Abel's DD cover.

EDIT: As a total package/entertainer though, I'd probably give it to Bruno. Saw him in concert and he fucking rocked it. I feel like The Weeknd doesn't have to try and put on a good show cuz he knows 90% of his crowd is on molly/acid/something else.
 
highrider

highrider

Banned
Frozenprince said:
His first two solo album were amazing he just couldn't sustain it. Ne-Yo came closer I think.

Though Usher changing up his style and beats definitely lead him to be the better artist between the two.
Click to expand...

Ne-Yo is criminally slept on, even by me. Vocally he reminds me a lot of Michael. He has that clean, almost sympathetic sound in ballads, and he can elevate it for uptempo stuff.
 
F

Frozenprince

Banned
highrider said:
Ne-Yo is criminally slept on, even by me. Vocally he reminds me a lot of Michael. He has that clean, almost sympathetic sound in ballads, and he can elevate it for uptempo stuff.
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They were neck and neck for a hot minute there in the early 00's to be "the next".

Usher won obviously but Ne-Yo still puts in work. His pipes are still golden, but he's basically just a songwriter at this point.
 
V

valeo

Member
TwntyOneTwlv said:
..do you NOT like Justin Timberlake?

I didn't know it was possible to not like JT.
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Some of his songs are good; but tries way too hard

Frozenprince said:
They were neck and neck for a hot minute there in the early 00's to be "the next".

Usher won obviously but Ne-Yo still puts in work. His pipes are still golden, but he's basically just a songwriter at this point.
Click to expand...

Ne-Yo was weighed down by that dumb hat.
 
F

Frozenprince

Banned
Honestly Bruno has it a little bit nobody in pop today has the effortless mix of soulful crooning and pure energy of the smoothness of his voice like MJ.

The crooner bit gets lost on people.
 
highrider

highrider

Banned
Frozenprince said:
They were neck and neck for a hot minute there in the early 00's to be "the next".

Usher won obviously but Ne-Yo still puts in work. His pipes are still golden, but he's basically just a songwriter at this point.
Click to expand...

A few weeks ago I got his song with Pit Bull on Google play just because I like his vocal hook so much lol.
 
M

MugiwaraCole

Member
Neither.

I hate to say his name, because he ended up being the biggest fucking waste of talent, but Chris Brown is likely the closest we'll get for some time, if not ever.

Funnily enough, I still think he's the most talented dancer ever, but fuck, is he such a shit stain. That, and his music post-2011 has been garbage.
 
G

GamerJM

Banned
Bruno reminds me more of MJ, but I prefer the Weeknd. They both make really good music that fails to match up to MJ in any meaningful way, though, IMO.
 
S

Severance

Member
I listen to some pop radio station at work that plays hits from every era. I hear Bruno, The Weeknd and Justin Timberlake all day. But everytime I hear a Michael Jackson song come on, I think to myself "Damn, no one can touch MJ in his prime." Sorry, but it's true. The best anyone can do is be their own thing. Bruno stands out among the rest in that regard. He has a great range and unique style. He is top tier for sure in that respect. The Weeknd has amazing talent. He's the culmination of the last decade in music in one refined package. Props to him. Justin Timberlake also is a great talent, but I feel his downfall has always been.. He tries too hard to be Michael Jackson instead of Justin Timberlake. Plus, he lacked consistency due to diverging his attention to his acting career which ironically.. Was when JT was doing JT most. And for that, I have a lot of respect for him. Well, that's my take. Michael Jackson is still the King of Pop.
 
H

Hoo-doo

Banned
I think even being mentioned in the same breath as Michael Jackson is one of the highest honors any pop star can dream of.

But I think The Weeknd comes closest. Some of his older jams channel MJ in every way and he's actually talented enough to pull it off. He's less of an entertainer though.
 
X

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
Bruno is one of the rare artists today who is much MUCH better live. I pretty much prefer live versions of all his stuff compared to the the in-studio tracks that ends up on the albums. Bruno and his band put on a great show, in terms of the complete package (vocals, dancing, stage presence, instrument playing) Bruno's the clear choice.

He will also occasionally break out 80s/90s covers during his concert performances, a callback to him and his band's old days before he broke out when they were doing a lot of cover band type work. Like this medley: https://youtu.be/XXvW0k6Qyys

He does an MJ cover in that one, Rock With You starts at around the 8:08 mark.
 
X

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
B.O.O.M said:
Bruno is like a MJ and James Brown hybrid
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Throw in a little Prince too for his multiple instrument proficiency. He can't play nearly as many instruments as Prince could, but Bruno's guitar and drum ability are often overlooked by the mainstream.
 
J

JinjoUnchained

Member
The Weeknd is literally an MJ impersonator. Bruno Mars makes a living out of making modern pastiches of several different retro genres. So I'd go with The Weeknd on this one.
 
B

B.O.O.M

Member
XiaNaphryz said:
Throw in a little Prince too for his multiple instrument proficiency. He can't play nearly as many instruments as Prince could, but Bruno's guitar and drum ability are often overlooked by the mainstream.
Click to expand...

ooh yeah. That's a good point. Never really thought too much about that myself tbh. It's definitely overlooked.
 
T

Takuan

Member
Bruno comes closer. Abel is tight, but he's not the vocalist, musician, or entertainer that Bruno is.

I say that as someone who generally prefers Weekend's music over Bruno's. Even if you don't like his shit, just watch him perform and try not to be impressed.

Bruno is definitely more James Brown than MJ.
 
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