The only artist to achieve two of the 10 best-selling songs of the 1980s
With artists like Prince, Madonna, Elton John, George Michael, and Queen at the forefront of culture in the 1980s, a lot of music became a breeding ground for challenging the status quo and uniting people in ways they never thought possible.
As is usually the case when musical revolutions occur, many of these artistic experimentations came in response to other, less progressive societal developments, with music becoming the ultimate push-back against conformity and prejudice.
Across the 1980s, there was a lot of change across the board, and many of those from different corners of the industry committed themselves to taking more artistic risks than ever before as a response. However, with extensive risk-taking also comes great scrutiny.
Across the decade, Wham faced criticism for being just another formulaic or gimmicky pop band, while George Michael slowly started facing more of his own battles with regard to creative control, his personal identity, and transitioning into someone with more professional respect and credibility outside of the duo.
1987’s Faith, for instance, tackled more mature themes than his previous music, with songs like ‘Father Figure’ and ‘I Want Your Sex’ showing a different, fresher side to the singer who wasn’t afraid to step out of his comfort zone, no matter the consequence, and while he was still massively misunderstood in many ways, this record was a major turning point in his legacy, one that set him apart as a force all on his own.
Michael was aware of this, too, attempting to strike a balance between being authentic and thinking ahead. As he told Spin in 1987, “My songs are not usually contemporary but are usually something that transcends a contemporary sound. People will hopefully remember them in five or ten years. I feel this is not a pop album. It has a far more earthier feel to it, more black-based, simpler, and more aggressive than anything I’ve done before.”
Michael’s dedication to his own vision across the decade also paid off in other ways. After all, he was the only artist to achieve two of the best-selling songs of the 1980s, one of which was his 1984 Make It Big masterpiece, ‘Careless Whisper’, and the other was Wham’s enduring Christmas hit, ‘Last Christmas’. Technically, he earned three, if you count his stint with Bob Geldof’s charity single ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’
When you look at the broader scope of chart-toppers across the same years, it makes sense as to why Michael soared to the top. Not only was he thinking about the landscape in a different, more meticulous way than most of his peers, but he was a living, breathing example of resilience through one of culture’s most turbulent times, an embodiment of the value of perseverance and intellect in art.
‘Last Christmas’ is also an example of how forward-thinking the singer was, especially when you look at how it became one of the most significant sleeper hits in music history. Michael had wanted the song to do well at the time, but its success only came after the fact, as did its cultural impact and lasting resonance.
