http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/artic...sed-at-midnight
The first drop in what might be a flood of unheard Jackson material is a song called "This Is It," which Sony had scheduled to send to radio stations on Sunday night. Based on a tape Jackson left behind containing only his piano and vocals, a full arrangement was built, complete with swelling strings and his brothers' backup vocals. The song is to run during the closing credits of the new Jackson film, perhaps not coincidentally called "This Is It.''
[...]
If "This Is It" is any guide, the provenance of leftover Jackson songs might be difficult to establish. It is not clear when the song was written or recorded, Stringer said, and Sony originally believed that the tape was made around the time of Jackson's 1991 album "Dangerous." But it could have been much earlier, perhaps even as early as the album "Off the Wall," from 1979.
"We just found the song," Stringer said. "It was titled `This Is It.' It was in a box, and we listened to it.''
"This Is It" was also to have been the title of Jackson's 50-concert run in London, although the synergy is unclear; Stringer and others with knowledge of the production say the song was not part of it.
[...]
Enterprising fans online, however, quickly found that "This Is It" is not exactly new. It bears a strong resemblance to "I Never Heard," a 1991 track by the R&B singer Sa-Fire that was written by Jackson and Paul Anka. Stringer said that until this was pointed out by sleuthing fans, he had not known about the connection. "I really have no idea what the origins of the song are," he said.
I love it, but I just wished they had done more about the music and make it sound a little more 'new'. It sounds really like a demo and I think Sony could do enough to change that. I can hear the potential, but it's not coming out yet.
