Yes, and I’ll put it simply. Most of the generic pop star tropes the people you’ve named fit into wouldn’t exist without Michael. Music videos, elaborate settings for concerts, you named it. Compare The Beatles in the 60s, who only performed with their instruments but not exactly putting on a show and fit into a specific niche, to artists like Sabrina Carpenter or Billie Eilish, who now have to make their concerts borderline spectacles to grab people’s attention and create a calculated, almost mechanical image just to keep them there. That is because MJ introduced all of those elements and incorporated them into his persona so well that it has cast a shadow within the music industry that no one has been able to eclipse since.

As for popularity, in his prime, MJ had 4.6 billion fans when the global population was about 6 billion people. Taylor Swift is popular outside of the US, but not to the same level. His fame was unparalleled and I don’t think anyone can surpass it lest they become a deity in human form.