Michael Jackson wasn't a prolific touring artist and only released a handful of albums during his prime.

Why it matters: Despite that, several landmark moments in his career brought him to Northeast Ohio.

Driving the news: "Michael," the biopic tackling Jackson's rise from a poor kid from Indiana to becoming the biggest pop star of all time, arrives in theaters tomorrow.

• The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will host a Michael Jackson Fan Day on Saturday.

Flashback: We're looking back on Jackson's history in and around Cleveland.

1973: The Jackson 5's first world tour stops at Public Auditorium in July, a month before Michael's 15th birthday.

1974: The group plays seven consecutive nights (July 29 through Aug. 4) at Front Row Theater in Highland Heights.

• The Plain Dealer sponsors a contest in which five local teens get to have lunch with the Jackson 5 at a local restaurant.

1984: Michael joins his brothers for the "Victory Tour," which stopped at Cleveland Stadium for back-to-back nights in October.

• Radio station WMMS had to guarantee the Jacksons $2.7 million for the concerts, which drew more than 102,000 over both nights.

1988: Michael Jackson plays two nights in October at Richfield Coliseum on the "Bad Tour," his first trek as a solo artist.

• The shows sold out in a matter of days, with 38,000 fans paying $23.50 per ticket.

1992: The Cleveland Orchestra sues Michael Jackson for $7 million for using its recording of Beethoven's "Symphony No. 9" on his "Dangerous" album without permission.

• The suit was later settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.

1997: The annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductions come to Cleveland for the first time, with the Jackson 5 among the honorees.

• The entire group, including Michael, attended the ceremony at Renaissance Cleveland Hotel but opted not to perform.

For just about all of "Michael's" roughly two-hour run time, the film's titular superstar can do no wrong — and therein lies the problem.

The intrigue: "Michael" is a flashy love letter to Jackson's unparalleled magnetism, void of the controversies that made Jackson one of the most complex figures in pop culture history.

• That's not surprising considering Jackson's estate was heavily involved in producing the film, even ponying up $15 million for reshoots to remove scenes involving child molestation allegations after legal issues surfaced.

State of play: The only real conflict throughout the film is between Jackson and his abusive father (played well by Colman Domingo).

• Otherwise, the movie almost exhaustingly focuses on Jackson as a musical genius, animal lover and charitable giver.

Diehard fans will enjoy several spectacular musical moments, including a recreation of the "Thriller" music video that will give you chills.

• Jackson's own nephew Jaafar, in his film debut, fully captures his uncle's charisma and dance movies in scenes that make you feel like you were at the legendary concerts.

Yes, but: "Michael" wraps up with his 1988 "Bad Tour," leaving an incomplete story about a man whose later life was equally fascinating.

🏗️ Cuyahoga County will convene a meeting today to address legal concerns over its jail project, with approval required to restart planning stalled by Prosecutor Michael O'Malley's cease-and-desist order. (Cleveland.com)

🍿 A stewardship board for the Capitol Theatre is pursuing private events and other revenue opportunities to resuscitate the finances of the historic Gordon Square venue. (Crain's Cleveland Business 🔐)

🗳️ Sen. Jon Husted can't "escape the shadow" of Ohio's $60 million FirstEnergy bribery scandal as he campaigns to retain his seat. (AP)

💍 Guardians' catcher Austin Hedges proposed to his girlfriend at Progressive Field after Sunday's victory over the Baltimore Orioles. (Yahoo Sports)

The Browns will be on the clock tomorrow night during the first round of the 2026 NFL draft.

The intrigue: Cleveland has the No. 6 and No. 24 picks (the latter obtained in a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars).

• Following a 5-12 season, the Browns have glaring needs on both sides of the ball.

State of play: Several mock drafts have Cleveland focusing on a wide receiver with the sixth pick, which puts Ohio State's Carnell Tate in play.

• The team could also address the offensive line or find a defensive tackle to pair with last year's top pick, Mason Graham.

Between the lines: There's also a chance Cleveland could trade back to accumulate more picks later in the draft.

• Yes, but: This is the Browns. You can't rule anything out.

How to watch: Round 1 airs at 8pm on ABC, ESPN and the NFL Network.

• The team is hosting a free draft party at Public Auditorium starting at 6:30pm.

On this Earth Day, we're looking back at the Cleveland recycling scandal of 2020.

😲 Flashback: The Fox 8 I-Team broke the unbelievable story: Cleveland was dumping all recycling into a landfill, and had been for months.

• The city's contract with its recycling vendor had expired, and program costs were skyrocketing alongside contamination levels — non-recyclable material mixed with recycling.

Friction point: Mayor Frank Jackson didn't share any of this with the public before Fox 8 found out, meaning residents had been dutifully sorting their solid waste for nothing.

The big picture: The recycling market tightened nationwide in 2019, after China stopped accepting materials like plastic and mixed paper products.

What happened: Cleveland relaunched its curbside recycling program in 2022 on an opt-in basis with a new vendor and an expanded list of acceptable recycling items.

• As of 2024, nearly 80,000 residents had signed on.

💭 Sam's thought bubble: This was a significant scandal for Mayor Jackson, who had long paid lip service to sustainability efforts.

• Jackson's "defeatist market pragmatism sure doesn't sound like the rhetoric we should expect from elected leaders in The Green City on a Blue Lake," I wrote at the time.
• "In addition to the flagrant transparency issues ... Jackson's remarks lend the impression that Cleveland only cares about sustainability when it's profitable to do so."