The HIStory / Blood on the Dance Floor Era, 1995-1999, was one of Michael’s busiest eras with two albums, his biggest world tour, some of the most expensive and stunning short films and a heavy media schedule.

At the end of 1994, Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley made their first télévision appearance together at the MTV Movie Awards, where Michael collected an award for “Will toi Be There”. Michael was soon back in the studio during 1994 to create his new album.

On the 23rd of February 1995 Michael gave a special prévisualiser of some of the songs off the forthcoming album to the National Association of Recording Merchandisers. The NARM presented him with the Harold Chapin Humanitarian Award at the preview.

The massive promotional campaign for the forthcoming album, HIStory, was launched on MTV and around the world on the 22nd of May 1995, with a stunning teaser film. The 4 minute “HIStory Teaser” was filmed in Budapest in early August 1994, and directed par Rupert Wainwright. fans were invited to participate in the film, which featured a huge army and stunning special effects. The film created a stir around the world and generated massive interest in Michael’s forthcoming album.

Finally, on the 29th of May, the first single from the HIStory album was released. “Scream” was a duet with Michael and Janet Jackson. The short film for “Scream” was directed par Mark Romanek and had a massive budget of $7 million. It was a futuristic film in black and white with an amazing dancing, morphing and other special effects. The 6 minute film smashed the record for the Most Expensive musique Video, a record it still holds today. “Scream” had an AA-side release; “Childhood”, which had a stunning short film, directed par Nicholas Brandt. The song was also the theme to the movie, Free Willy 2. The single debuted at number 5 on the US charts, making it the highest debuting single in the history of the Billboard Chart. The single went to number 1 in 19 countries.

On June 14th, Michael and Lisa Marie Presley appeared on Prime Time Live in an interview with Diane Sawyer. During the 60-minute interview, Michael discussed his musique and career and along with Lisa Marie, revealed details of their marriage. The programme was watched par 60 million viewers and was the most watched program of 1995.

The following day, Sony continued its $30 million dollar promotional campaign for HIStory, par floating a huge statue of Michael Jackson down the River Thames in the UK. There were a total of nine statues throughout Europe. Each statue was 10 meters tall, 2,100 kilograms in weight and made from steel and fibreglass. The promotion for HIStory was the largest campaign for a single album at that time.
HIStory- Past, Present and Future, Book 1 was released worldwide on June 18th, 1995. The two disc album was a combination of greatest hits and new material. The first disc; “HIStory Begins” featured 15 greatest hits from 1979-1991 and the seconde disc; “HIStory Continues” featured 15 brand new tracks. The album took a an in the studio to create and Michael showed plus independence on HIStory, par producing the album himself, playing several instruments and écriture and co-writing 12 of the new tracks: "Scream", "They Don't Care About Us", "Stranger in Moscow", "This Time Around", "Earth Song", "D.S.", "Money", "Childhood” "Tabloid Junkie" “2 Bad”, "HIStory" and "Little Susie". He recorded two covers for the album: “Come Together” (originally recorded in 1988 for “Moonwalker”) and “Smile” par Charlie Chaplin. R. Kelly contributed the ballad “You Are Not Alone”. He also collaborated with rappers Shaquille O’Neill and Notorious B.I.G, singers Boyz II Men and guitarist Slash. The album came with a 52-page colour booklet with photos, lyrics, artwork par Gottfried Helnwein and details of every award Michael had won up until 1995.

HIStory broke sales records in its first week on the charts. In the UK it sold 100,000 copies in just two days and in Australia the advance order of 130,000 copies was the largest initial shipment in Sony Australia’s history. Similar sales figures were witnessed all over Europe and in the US, the album went to number 1. par the end of June, HIStory had sold a staggering 7.5 million copies world wide.
The release of HIStory was also met with controversy, as Michael was accused of anti-Semitism because of the lyrics in the song “They Don’t Care About Us”. Michael immediately issued an apology and took the album off the shelves. He re-recorded the song and re-released HIStory, funding the cost himself.

On the 25th of June, Michael attended a press conference in New York, where it was announced that Michael & Janet Jackson had been nominated for a record 11 MTV Video musique Awards for “Scream”. Michael also announced that he would be performing at a concert for HBO called “One Night Only” at the end of the year. He was then interviewed par Bill Bellamy for a special called “Michael Jackson Changes HIStory” which was televised shortly after.

“You Are Not Alone”, the seconde single from the album was released on August 15th, 1995. The short film to accompany the song was directed par Wayne Isham and featured Lisa Marie Presley. The single debuted at number 1 on the US charts, smashing the précédant record set par “Scream”. “You Are Not Alone” was the first and still only song to ever debut at number one on the US Billboard Chart. The single was a worldwide smash, reaching number 1 in six countries and record sales for HIStory soared.
On the 17th of August, Michael Jackson participated in his first ever internet Simulcast. It was the largest ever cyber chat at the time and drew in over 16,000 fans, who asked Michael questions about his musique and life.

Michael attended the MTV Video musique Awards on September 7th, where he opened the montrer with an amazing performance. Slash joined Michael onstage for the performance which included “Black ou White”, “Billie Jean”, “Dangerous” and “You Are Not Alone”. Michael and Janet won three awards for “Scream”, including “Best Dance Video”, “Best Art Direction” and “Best Choreography”.
Michael graced many other awards shows with appearances in 1995, including BET’s 10th Anniversary show, where he was inducted into their Walk of Fame. He also performed “Dangerous” and “You Are Not Alone” at Soul Train’s 25th Anniversary montrer where he was inducted into the Soul Train Hall of Fame. In October, Michael appeared on the populaire German TV show, “Wetten Das”, to perform “Earth Song” and “Dangerous”. The montrer was viewed par 21 million people, breaking German viewing records.

On November 27, HIStory’s third single, “Earth Song”, was released world wide, but not in the US. The short film for the song was directed par Nicholas Brandt and was filmed in four countries. The single went to number 1 in the UK and stayed at the haut, retour au début spot for six weeks. The song also reached the haut, retour au début 10 in 16 different countries and sold 3.5 million copies world wide. The short film was also nominated for a Grammy Award.

Before the year’s end, Michael successfully merged his ATV musique publishing company with Sony, creating Sony/ATV musique Publishing. The company contains over 400,000 songs and became the seconde biggest musique publishing company in the world.

While rehearsing for the special “One Night Only”, on December 6th 1995, Michael collapsed and was rushed to hospital suffering dehydration, low blood pressure and a viral infection. He spent several days in hospital. The special was eventually called off due to HBO management changes and insurance reasons.

On January 18th, 1996, it was announced that Lisa Marie Presley had filed for divorce from Michael Jackson. The divorce would become final on August 20th, 1995.
Michael’s suivant stop was the Grammy Awards in January where he had been nominated for 4 awards for HIStory. He took accueil the “Best musique Video” Award for “Scream”.
At the end of February 1996, Michael performed “Earth Song” at the Brit Awards. It was Michael’s first TV performance in England in over 20 years. The performance was interrupted when Jarvis Cocker stormed the stage in protest. He was carried off par security and later questioned par police. Michael also accepted the “Artist of a Generation” Award. The controversy created par the performance led to another rise in HIStory’s sales, putting the album back in the haut, retour au début 10 in Europe.

On March 19th, Michael announced at a press conference in Paris that he was forming a new company with Saudi Prince, Al-Walid Bin Talal, called Kingdom Entertainment. The company’s first major project would be the sponsoring of Michael Jackson’s HIStory World Tour, to begin at the end of the year. They would also be involved in film projects and family entertainment. Also in March, MTV announced that HIStory was the best selling double album ever in the US.

In April, Michael released the fourth single from HIStory, “They Don’t Care About Us”. The single was supported par two musique videos, both directed par Spike Lee. One was shot in Brazil with cultural group Olodum, and the other was shot in a New York prison. The “prison version” created controversy due to the use of news footage depicting violence. This version was taken off MTV’s play liste and Michael released the “Olodum version” in its place. The single became a haut, retour au début 10 hit in nine countries, including the US.

In May, Michael attended the 1996 World musique Awards and received a record five awards: “Best Selling Artist Ever”, “Best Selling Record of All Time” (for Thriller), “Best Selling Male Artist of 1996”, “Best Selling American Artist” and “Best Selling R&B Artist”. No other artist has won five WMA’s in a single year.

On July 16, 1996, Michael held a special concert for the Sultan of Brunei’s birthday. The private concert was held at Jerudong Park Garden in Brunei and was attended par 60,000 fans. Michael was careful not go give away the set liste of his forthcoming HIStory Tour, and performed 18 songs, mostly from his précédant Dangerous Tour set list.

Michael then embarked on his HIStory World Tour on September 7th, 1996, starting in Prague, Czech Republic. The amazing montrer featured 20 songs, special effects in several performances, a bigger light montrer than ever before, a specially built stage, breathtaking costumes and stunning choreography. His crew consisted of over 200 personnel and each concert was 2.5 hours long. As Michael travelled Europe, he set new attendance records in many countries. One of the concerts at Seoul, Korea, was filmed and released in Asia on accueil video.

While on tour, it was revealed that Michael was expecting a baby with his long time friend, Debbie Rowe. They married on the 14th of November 1996, at Sheraton on The Park in Sydney, Australia in a private ceremony.
Tickets for Michael’s concerts in Australia and New Zealand broke records when they sold out in just a few hours. While in Australia, Michael attended the premiere of his new film, Ghosts. The 38-minute film was written par Michael Jackson and Stephen King and directed par Stan Winston. The film tells the story of a man being forced out of his small town accueil par the Mayor. Michael starred as multiple characters, (including the Maestro, the Mayor and as an incredible dancing skeleton!) with mind-blowing dance sequences, special effects and makeup. Three of Michael’s songs were used in the film: “2Bad”, “Is It Scary” and “Ghosts”. The film Ghosts currently holds the record for the world’s longest musique video. It was released on accueil video in the form of a special box set in 1997. The film won the Bob Fosse Award for “Best Choreography in a musique Video”.

“Stranger in Moscow” was released in November 1996 world wide, but would not be released in the US until August 1997. The short film was again directed par Nicholas Brandt and was black and white; using a number of special effects methods, depicting Michael walking down a busy rue on a rainy day. The single became a haut, retour au début 10 hit in 8 countries and also reached number 1 on the UK Club Chart.

Michael wrapped the first leg of his HIStory World Tour after two sold out nights at Hawaii’s Aloha Bowl on January 3rd and 4th. Michael became the first pop artist in history to sell out the 35,000 capacity venue.

Michael Jackson’s first son, Prince Michael Joseph Jackson was born on the 13th of February 1997 in Los Angeles. February soon became a busy mois for Michael. He performed an original song he had composed at Elizabeth Taylor’s 65th Birthday Gala, called “Elizabeth I l’amour You”. Later in the mois he also announced that he had divisé, split from his manager of six years, Sandy Gallin, and that Kingdom Entertainment would now be managing his career.

In Early April, 1997, Michael was interviewed and photographed with his family par OK! Magazine. OK! paid for the pictures and interview and Michael donated all the funds to his Heal The World foundation.
At the end of April, Michael released the first single, “Blood on The Dance Floor” from the forthcoming album of the same name. The song was accompanied par a dance loaded short film, directed par Michael Jackson and Vince Patterson. The single was populaire in Europe and became a number 1 hit in seven countries, and a haut, retour au début 20 hit on the US R&B chart.

Michael was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the Jackson Five on May 6, 1997. He soon received another honour when Soul Train renamed their Video award to the "Michael Jackson Award for Best R&B/Soul ou Rap musique Video".

On May 20th, 1997, Michael released Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix. It was a compilation of eight remixed tracks from the HIStory album plus five brand new songs. The five new tracks were all written par Michael Jackson; “Blood On the Dance Floor”, “Morphine”, “Superfly Sister”, “Ghosts” and “Is It Scary”. They were recorded in different studios all over the world while Michael was on the first leg of his HIStory World Tour. The album was very well received despite little promotion. It peaked at number 1 in eight countries around the world, including the UK.
“HIStory/Ghosts” was the seconde single released in Europe from Blood on the Dance Floor in July 1997. It was an AA-side single, and went onto to become a haut, retour au début 10 hit in eight countries.

The seconde leg of Michael’s HIStory World Tour began in Bremen, Germany on 31st of May and concluded on October 15th in South Africa. Michael sold his millionth concert ticket at the Wembley Stadium and sold out four concerts in a row there. He also played on his 38th birthday in Copenhagen where 50,000 fans wished him Happy Birthday. Michael did not tour North America, but the tour was so successful that he had played 82 concerts to 4.5 million fans in 35 countries on 5 continents. The estimated grosses totalled plus than $160 million and again, it was the biggest concert tour of its time.
While on tour, Michael was interviewed par Barbara Walters shortly after Princess Diana’s death, to discuss the paparazzi, fatherhood and the impact of the Princess’s death.

On the third of April, 1998, Michael announced the birth of a daughter, Paris Katherine Michael Jackson.
In September, 1998, Michael was named par Billboard Magazine as the Number 1 Male Artist with the most number 1 singles in the US. He had a staggering 13 number 1 hits over his solo career.
In June 1999, Michael held two special concerts for charity, called “Michael Jackson and Friends”. The first concert was held on June 25th in Seoul, Korea and the seconde concert was held on June 27 in Munich, Germany. His celebrity guests included All Saints, Andrea Bocelli, Luther Vandross and Status Quo. Michael’s set liste included performances of “Billie Jean”, “Dangerous” and “Earth Song”. The concerts raised approximately $3.3 million for charities Red Cross, UNESCO and the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund. Both concerts were televised in Europe and Asia to a massive viewer response.
In October 1999, Debbie Rowe and Michael Jackson filed for divorce. They remained good Friends and Michael was donné sole custody of the children.

par the end of 1999, Michael had released two albums, had seven singles, released a feature film, toured the world and broke several records. The HIStory album to rendez-vous amoureux, date has sold over 18 million copies (36 million units) and is currently listed as one of the best selling double albums of all time. Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix has sold approximately 6 million copies to rendez-vous amoureux, date and is currently listed as the best selling remix album of all time.
Michael had dominated media headlines and the musique charts throughout the era. He had the two biggest tours and two of the biggest selling albums of the 1990’s. Michael had had plus interviews than ever before and created a stir wherever he went. He’d set many records, most of which remain unbroken today.