Michael Jackson vs. Elvis Presley: Who Is the King of Vegas?

Not long ago, Forbes magazine published an interesting article comparing the reign of two idols in Las Vegas: Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley!

Last December, Cirque du Soleil brought Michael Jackson’s “Immortal” tour—which had opened in October 2011 in Montreal, Canada—to Las Vegas. The reception was so huge that Immortal was selling tickets in Vegas for about $2 million per night, and in the end it became the highest-grossing tour in the United States. At the same time, “Viva Elvis” was another Cirque du Soleil show in Vegas. That tour had opened in February 2010.

But Forbes writes that the Rock ’n’ Roll King’s shows did not resonate in Vegas as much as Michael Jackson’s Immortal tour.

Immortal filled 8,500-seat arenas every night, but to fill even a quarter of that hall, “Viva Elvis” shows had to fight tooth and nail. Over the past two years, the King of Pop has earned more than $400 million, while Elvis’s figure was a little over $100 million.

Forbes considers one of the reasons for Elvis’s show failures compared to Michael Jackson to be the fact that he failed to build a relationship with young people. A lot of time has passed since his death, and only a small number of people still remember his music and performances.

However, Michael’s songs have a high appeal for young people—people of every age: children, teenagers, those in their 20s, those in their 30s, and older adults. Many stars have even been drawn to this tour, from Jay-Z and Beyoncé to CeeLo Green, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, and Rihanna.

Michael’s songs are happy and fun, and people connect with them more than they do with Elvis Presley’s songs.

“Viva Elvis” is busy with its final performances. MGM, the company responsible for staging the Elvis shows in Vegas, has asked Cirque du Soleil to end the shows due to low turnout. Viva Elvis shows will be shut down by the end of this year, and then in spring 2013 it will be Michael Jackson’s turn to bring the permanent Immortal shows to the stage at the Mandalay Bay Hotel.

Forbes writes that Michael Jackson is already casting a shadow over Elvis Presley.

Source: eMJey.com / Forbes