Michael Jackson song debuts
Source: Agencies | October 13, 2009, Tuesday | Print Edition
MICHAEL Jackson returned to the airwaves yesterday with a new song - the first from an upcoming musical documentary featuring the troubled superstar.
It is the first new material by Jackson to be released since his sudden death in Los Angeles on June 25.
Jackson sounded confident and almost playful on "This Is It," which features his trademark breathy vocal style, perfected over the years since he was a child sensation with the Jackson Five. He is backed by lush vocals from his brothers, giving the recording a nostalgic, familiar feel.
The mid-tempo song with orchestral backing is played during the closing sequences of the documentary of the same name, which opens worldwide on October 28 for a limited two-week run. It features rehearsal footage shot shortly before Jackson's death.
The song is available on Jackson's official Website and was being sent to radio stations. It will also be part of the two-disc CD set that will accompany the movie in a worldwide marketing blitz expected to capitalize on the surge of emotion that followed the singer's death.
Some artists have scored major hits after their deaths. For example, "Time in a Bottle" was the No. 1 hit in early 1974, months after Jim Croce died. Otis Redding's biggest hit, "The Dock of the Bay," was released after his death in a plane crash in December 1967. "Me and Bobby McGee" made the charts in 1971, a year after Janis Joplin died.
The new Jackson documentary shows the singer rehearsing for his planned 2009 London concerts, which were to mark his return to the stage after a lengthy absence caused in part by legal and personal problems.
At the time, Jackson was deeply in debt and his popularity was dimmed by repeated charges of child molestation.