Invincible

Jackson began recording in October 1997 and finished only eight weeks before its release on 30 October 2001. The work involved ten producers, among them Rodney Jerkins, who recorded his tracks at Criteria Studios in Miami, Teddy Riley, Babyface and R. Kelly. Carlos Santana, the Notorious B.I.G., Fats and Slash appear. It has 16 songs and runs more than 77 minutes, and it reportedly cost close to $30 million.

It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 363,000 copies in its first week and went to number one in 13 other countries. The lead single You Rock My World reached ten on the Hot 100. It was certified double platinum in the US and has sold more than eight million copies. A dispute with Sony Music hung over its release, and Jackson did not tour for it. Reviews were mixed on release, with a Metacritic score of 51 from 19 reviews. Looking back, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic said it sounded better than anything Jackson had done since Dangerous.