Re: August 29 - 30. Michael Jackson's bday wkend; MJ Not Appearing at VMAs post 22
AUSTRALIAN KOP ALBUM
Michael Jackson’s Australian fans have voted for their favourite ‘MJ’ tracks and the Top 20 have been compiled for ‘King of Pop’. Additionally, this limited edition release includes rare and unreleased tracks, a bonus poster and selected messages left on the MJ50 website from Michael’s fans.
CD Album
Billie Jean (Single Version)
Man In The Mirror
Smooth Criminal
Beat It (Single Version)
Thriller (Single Version)
They Don’t Care About Us (LP Edit)
Who Is It (7″ Edit)
Black Or White
You Rock My World (With Intro)
Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ (Single Version)
The Way You Make Me Feel
Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough (Edited Single)
Dirty Diana
Blood On The Dance Floor
Rock With You (Single Version)
Stranger In Moscow
Remember The Time
Will You Be There (Single Version)
Give In To Me
You Are Not Alone (Single Version)
Say Say Say
Scream
State Of Shock
Got The Hots (Thriller 25th Anniversary - Previously Unreleased)
You Can’t Win
Fall Again (Demo)
Sunset Driver (Demo)
Someone Put Your Hand Out
In The Back
We Are The World (Demo)
One More Chance
Thriller Megamix
Release Date: 30.08.08
Catalogue No: 88697356252
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WIN A COPY OF KING OF POP
‘Stuff’ of New Zealand are giving away ten copies of the Birthday Album, ‘King of Pop’ in a simple to enter competition.
As with other countries, the fans in New Zealand have had the chance to select which tracks they would like to feature on the ‘King of Pop’ album. Here is what they selected:
1.Billie Jean
2. Thriller
3. Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough
4. Man In The Mirror
5. Black Or White
6. Blame It On The Boogie
7. Beat It
8. Smooth Criminal
9. Bad
10. Rock With You
11. The Way You Make Me Feel
12. Heal The World
13. Scream
14. Dirty Diana
15. Remember The Time
16. They Don’t Care About Us
17. Stranger In Moscow
Click on the link below to enter the competition:-
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4672383a23578.html
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MICHAEL KING OF DANCE
Contactmusic.com has yesterday (29th August 2008) ran an article entitled ‘Jackson Reigns King Of Dance World’.
The article is extremely positive and speaks to of “generations of dancers aspiring to mimic” Michael.
Click on the link below to read the full article:-
http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/jackson reigns king of dance world_1078784
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‘THRILLER’ TOPS YET ANOTHER POLE
AOL’s PopEater.com has recently ran a poll of 56,829 people asking what they think is Michael’s best song.
‘Thriller’ came out top with 42% followed by ‘Billie Jean’ on 20%, ‘Beat It’ on 14%, Man in the Mirror’ on 7% and ‘Rock With You’ on 5%. There were several songs on 4% but they were not included in the report.
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$40,000 TO LOOK LIKE MICHAEL
Showbizspy.com has reported that MJ lookalike, Steve Erhard, has recently spent $40,000 on plastic surgery to look like Michael. The money has been spent on altering his chin, nose and on liposuction. Steve said; “I understand why he (Michael) has such a large security force - He can’t go any place by himself, he just attracts far too much attention. People love Michael. You’re mobbed!”
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SONG BMG ANNOUNCES KOP ITALIAN EDITION
Italian fans will be able to vote their favourite songs through a website or a partner site to be unveiled in the coming days. The 15 most voted songs will form the tracklist of 'King Of Pop - Italian Version' that will be released in early October.
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MICHAEL MAY PRESENT AWARDS
TMZ.com have reported that Michael and his sister Janet may be presenters at MTV’s American Video Music Awards on September 7th, at the Paramount Picture Studios in Hollywood.
In their report TMZ state that MTV “have been working OT” to get Michael to appear at the awards, but nothing has been confirmed at this time.
Click on the link below for more information on the event:-
http://www.mtv.com/
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MODERN SOUND TO ROBBIE BURNS
According to a report by BBC Scotland, Michael has given a modern backing to the work of famed Scottish poet, Robbie Burns. The information reportedly has come via David Gest who says that they (Michael and he) had recorded the poetry in a studio in California.
Next year sees the 250th Anniversary of Robbie Burns.
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NE-YO TALKS ABOUT MICHAEL AND WHITNEY
Of course we all know by now that Ne-Yo is hard at work on the highly anticipated new albums of both Whitney Houston AND the King of Pop. Recently he had this to say about the projects:
“It’s coming along slowly, but surely. They’re being very selective about what they keep, which they’re supposed to be. These are two very important albums. It’s the one that’s going to bring Whitney back and the one that’s going to take all the attention off of [Michael Jackson’s] personal life, hopefully, and put people back in the mindstate of why they love Michael in the first place.”
Ne-Yo also had this to say about Michael's "comeback,"
“The entertainment side—the way he dances, the way he sings, and him being one of the greatest entertainers that got put on the stage—bring people back in that mind frame and away from thinking about when his last surgery was or if he still has the monkey or whatever the hell it is. He’s still Michael Jackson!”
Ne-Yo's own album, "Year of the Gentleman," is due out on September 16th. Neither Whitney's nor Michael's album has a release date at this time.
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MICHAEL & KIDS ENJOY VEGAS SHOW
According to TheVegasEye.com, the King of Pop and his three children attended the 7 pm performance of 'KÀ' by Cirque du Soleil at the MGM Grand, on Tuesday, August 26.
Michael was dressed in a dark colored, hooded sweatshirt and the children were dressed very casually in jeans and baseball caps. Little 'Blanket' however, sported a Mystère hat instead of the ball cap (the family had also attended 'Mystère' by Cirque du Soleil on July 29).
The family snacked on popcorn as they watched the show from center seats. Afterwards Michael reportedly commented that it was the best production he has ever seen and that 'KÀ' is his favorite of all the Cirque du Soleil shows.
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TRACKLIST OF KOP HOLLAND (UITGAVE EDITION)
Find below the final tracklist of special Uitgave edition of KOP Dutch collection which will be released on August 27.
Disc 1
01. Billie Jean
02. Thriller
03. Beat It
04. Smooth Criminal
05. Dirty Diana
06. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
07. Man In The Mirror
08. They Don't Care About Us
09. Black Or White
10. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
11. The Way You Make Me Feel
12. Bad
13. Earth Song
14. Ben
15. Heal The World
16. Liberian Girl
17. Rock With You
Disc 2
01. Can You Feel It
02. She's Out Of My Life
03. You Are Not Alone
04. Stranger In Moscow
05. The Girl Is Mine
06. Remember The Time
07. You Rock My World
08. Human Nature
09. Give In To Me
10. Will You Be There
11. Off The Wall
12. I'll Be There
13. Who Is It
14. Blood On The Dance Floor
15. Say Say Say
16. Blame It On The Boogie
17. Ghost
18. Got The Hots (previously unreleased)
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FALL OUT BOY’S BEAT IT COVER GETS VMA NOD
The VMAs aren't exactly a well-respected program in the Jackson fan community. However, Fall Out Boy's cover of an MJ classic has received a nod:
Fall Out Boy's cover of Michael Jackson's "Beat It" has been nominated for Best Rock Video at this year's 25th annual MTV VMAs. The worldwide cablecast takes place live from Paramount Studios in Hollywood, on Sunday night, September 7th at 9:00 p.m. (Eastern).
here is more news
Michael Jackson turns 50
NEW YORK (AP) -- When Michael Jackson looks at his reflection today, it'll be a 50-year-old man in the mirror who looks back.
But that doesn't mean Jackson is acting like someone who's a half-century old.
Jackson tells "Good Morning America" that he'll celebrate his brithday with his kids by eating cake and watching cartoons. As for his career, he predicts "the best is yet to come."
Jackson, a musical life mired in debate
Michael Jackson, the self proclaimed "King Of Pop", turned 50 and almost no one seemed to care. Fans don't know if the day should be celebrated or if they should pity the man.
Jackson had been in the spotlight ever since he was 11. In his late teens he blossomed. In is 20s he peaked as a performer, songwriter and singer. But starting from his late 30s, he has been dogged by scandal and now as he hit 50 Friday, he is a limp example of a fallen star.
There is no denying that Jackson is one of the strangest celebrities ever. It would have been fine for Jackson if he was just considered strange. After all, he is also one of the most successful artistes of all time. But when allegations of molesting boys surfaced, all the notions of his eccentricities combined with the possible validity of the allegations, presented us with a very complicated picture.
As a child, Jackson was a part of the Jackson 5 that comprised his siblings and even then it was clear that he was destined for superstardom. That he was able to make the all difficult transition to adult performer is a testament to his genius. He peaked with the release of " Thriller " in 1982 and "Bad" in 1988. He had a string of hits in the 80s like "Beat It", "Thriller", "Bad' and "Man In the Mirror". Jackson holds quite a few Guinness records and has won a staggering 13 Grammy awards. The video for "Thriller" is regarded as one of the best ever.
Throughout his career, Jackson blurred and transcended the lines between artiste, icon, and sadly even celebrity ridicule. Things really started going bad for him in 1993. That's when the first allegations of sexual abuse surfaced. It was settled quietly out of court but these allegations continued to dog him. It all reached a climax in 2005 when he was cleared of a few charges. Since then, Jackson has been in self-imposed exile.
Though there are rumours that he is plotting a comeback with an album, it remains uncertain if he will ever be able to redeem himself. Jackson finds himself in the unenviable position of having to start from scratch. Everyone loves a underdog, but Jackson is too far off the deep end to endear himself to fans anymore.
His earliest entry into the infamous tabloid world was when he was filming an advertisement for Pepsi and his hair caught fire. He had to get some corrective surgeries but many believe it did not just stop there. He is rumoured to have injected himself with female hormones to maintain his falsetto voice.
A few of the extreme speculations of his fans were dispelled when he agreed to be interviewed by Oprah Winfrey 1993. Winfrey didn't probe too much and Jackson revealed bits of personal information like suffering from vitiligo, a disease he maintained discoloured his skin, and that he was a victim of abuse at the hands of his father, Joseph.
Though he had managed to maintain a tight veneer of privacy on his personal life, Jackson now has opened himself up to a large amount of very unflattering probes and speculations. In the end, the only redeeming quality of the man might be his work. And for that, Jackson has a lot to be proud of. It's in his art that Jackson has managed to mean most to his fans.
Let's at least celebrate that.
