In a post on her website, the singer penned an ode to the late King of Pop, opining on his importance in her early career — long before she was a household name on her own. In particular, the Jackson 5’s famous 1969 cover of “Who’s Lovin’ You” — and Jackson’s subsequent live performances of the song — were early inspirations.
“When I was just starting out, my first producer used to make me listen to Michael Jackson’s live performance of “Who’s Loving You,” she wrote, linking to a 1972 performance of the Motown standard. “He would have me watch that for hours back to back to back.”
She wrote that her manager’s request for the young singer to watch Jackson performances end on end was simple: it was all about feeling and understanding the soul he brought to music.
“What he wanted me to learn was his soul,” she wrote. “You could hear his soul. And he was this little kid who hadn’t experienced love but he was a vessel. For whatever reason he could evoke more emotion than an adult. It was so raw and so pure.”