I finally watched the ‘Dancing with The Stars Tribute to Michael Jackson‘, which went down this week. The taping was attended by his mother Katharine, sister Latoya, brother Jermaine and several other Jackson family members. It was quite touching. Check out the tribute performance below:

I liked it, although the only routine that came close to MJ’s trademark moves was the ‘Thriller’ tribute towards the end. The other performances had random moves that were not reminiscent of the King of Pop himself. I also think they should have used the REAL MJ songs rather than cheapened down imitated versions. It’s one thing to imitate the music in the overall competition but with an MJ tribute it should be different. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful because it was a really good tribute but he was the greatest entertainer to EVER live so when tributing an artist of that nature, more authenticity would have been nice.

I can’t keep up with all these Michael Jackson ‘This Is It’ movie trailers. Here’s another extended one which surfaced this week, where we get a glimpse of the late King of Pop singing more of his classic hit ‘Human Nature’. Peep the footage below:

I cannot wait to see this movie for myself. London’s premiere will happen after midnight local time on Oct 28th. As everyone knows, the movie will open in theaters worldwide on that same day (Oct 28th) and will only show for two weeks. Tickets are selling out really fast, so if you have not got yours yet, you had better get on it. Do you have your tickets? Are you excited?

A new-ish unreleased Michael Jackson song made its debut last night. ‘This Is It’ was recorded during the sessions of MJ’s 1991 album ‘Dangerous’, and features backing vocals from his brothers. The track is lifted from the ‘This Is It’ soundtrack, which is featured on a two-disc collection of music set to drop on October 27th, a day before the film makes its cinema debut for a two-week limited run. Listen to the track below:

I sort of figured the song was recorded a while ago because it does not sound very current. But it’s amazing he recorded a song like ‘This Is It’ only for his impending ‘This Is It’ tour to contribute to his death 18 years later. As for the song, it’s decent but I’m not too crazy about it. Still, at least I have my beloved and very timeless ‘Off The Wall’ album which I play religiously to this day.

Here is a brand new clip of Michael Jackson rehearsing his classic ‘Human Nature’ from the MJ docu-movie ‘This Is It’ set to open on October 28th. Tickets for the two-week engagement go on sale on Sept 27th. Peep the interesting footage below:

The energy and stage enthusiasm is quite evident but just like a bread stick, it looked like he could snap in two at any moment. Something certainly didn’t look right. Having said that, I would loved to have seen a 2009 performance of the song since it is my favourite MJ classic. This particular performance was always so slick, smooth and sexy. You’ve got to watch his performance from his ‘Bad’ tour in 1987 to know what I’m talking about (watch it after the jump).

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The official trailer for the Michael Jackson movie ‘This Is It’ premiered during last night’s VMAs. The movie follows the tragic King of Pop as he developed, created and rehearsed for his sold-out concerts - a gig which was scheduled this summer in London’s O2 Arena. The movie is set for a limited 2-week worldwide theatrical release on October 28th, with tickets going on sale September 27th.

As I said in a previous post, getting hold of tickets will be a chore. I know for a fact that I’ll be doing what I can to obtain mines. Without dount, a definete must see.

Janet Jackson paid loving tribute to her late brother Michael at last night’s MTV Video Music Awards. An opening montage was played which included MJ songs and videos such as ‘Thriller’, ‘Bad’, ‘Smooth Criminal’ and ‘Scream’. There were also a bunch of dancers imitating the choreography to each video that came on. During the last part of the performance, Janet danced to their 1995 duet ‘Scream’ along with a projection of MJ playing on the big screen. Janet paid homage to the King of Pop by recreating her part from the Scream video. Just before the tribute began, Madonna took to the stage to deliver an emotional speech that was dedicated to her “long term friend”…

I thought Janet nailed it. So good it was that I overlooked her mistake the first time. The bit where she went down on her knees, she was suppose to jump back up again without touching the floor, but the tribute as a whole more than made up for it. If I had any type of gripe with the performance, it would be that Janet’s bit could have been a bit longer because it just felt like she was passing through. I was left craving for more and felt that it ended really suddenly. Anyway, I was pleased with the tribute and MTV really did show the BET Awards how a tribute should be done. I know BET only had three days to prepare but if they had an extended three months like the VMAs, would it have been any better? Something is telling me ‘no’ simply because the Network is what it is. You can now watch Janet’s performance after the jump.

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Peep the new promo video for The Michael Jackson Tribute which will take place at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday (Sept 13th) at 9pm. As reported previously, Janet Jackson will be opening the show with a tribute performance. Watch the promo video below:

Nice promo!

UPDATE: MTV confirms that the extended Michael Jackson ‘This Is It’ Trailer will premiere during the VMAs!

Peep the official poster for Michael Jackson’s ‘This Is It’ docu-film, which will play in theatres for two weeks starting from October 28th. The movie “offers Jackson fans a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the performer as he developed, created and rehearsed for his sold-out concerts that would have taken place this summer at London’s O2 Arena”. Tickets are set to go on sale on Sept 27th. Getting those will be a chore itself. If folk scrambled for tickets for his London concerts, then you know the deal. Since folk tried to flog tickets for his Memorial concert, you just know many opportunists will be out there looking to make a killing, even from his death…

Amazing poster! I’d buy this. Very snazzy looking and aesthetic! I need an official trailer like…RIGHT NOW! Expect this movie to break some serious records.

UPDATE: It’s official. MTV have now confirmed it. YAY!

News has been so slow this week. I guess that sort of helps my case since I am currently busy with classes. Hopefully, things will look up since it’s VMA week and rehearsals are currently taking place. That brings me onto my next point. Let’s talk King of Pop and tributes. It has been confirmed by both dancers Wade Robson and Kryiss Grant that Janet Jackson WILL be performing a special tribute to late brother Michael Jackson at this Sunday’s MTVs VMA awards on September 13th. The performance is set to feature 20 backup dancers and is being put together by world-class choreographers Frank Gatson and Travis Payne. Grant claims that some of the rehearsals have lasted 15 hours a day.

In a previous post, I stated that Alicia Keys and the MJ tribute are the only two acts I’m interested in this year. I’m completely thrilled that a proper tribute is being put together by MTV. This is the PERFECT format to honour somebody like MJ because back in the 80s, the legendary singer largely contributed towards breaking the colour barrier at a time where hardly any black R&B artists were included on the channel’s rotation. MJ helped to open doors for the likes of Prince and Whitney Houston who later had their videos heavily played on the channel. As for this Sunday’s tribute, a blast it’s going to be.

King of Pop Michael Jackson passed away little over two months ago and was finally laid to rest yesterday (Sept 3rd). The burial took place at a private funeral at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. The star-studded funeral was attended by his family, children and friends including Elizabeth Taylor, Lisa Marie Presley, Chris Tucker, Barry Bonds, Quincy Jones, Macaulay Culkin and Mila Kunis. Soul diva Gladys Knight who knew MJ as a child performed the gospel hymn ‘His Eye Is on the Sparrow’. His siblings Janet, Randy, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon Jackson are pictured in the front row below:

R.I.P.

Today is Aug 29th. King of Pop Michael Jackson would have celebrated his 51st birthday today. Google has also paid tribute to the late legend on their homepage by featuring his trademark dancing feet in their logo.

That is pretty cool of Google to do that. As a matter of fact, that’s just made my day. Happy B’Day King. You will forever be missed.

An all-star cast of musicians is being lined up to record a tribute cover of Michael Jackson’s track ‘Will You Be There’. According to TMZ, John Mayer, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Usher, Dionne Warwick, Wyclef Jean, and Jermaine Jackson are among the musical stars reportedly laying down vocals for the remake — masterminded by Shawn King, wife of CNN’s Larry King:

Proceeds from the sale of the recording will benefit The Larry King Cardiac Foundation and a second unspecified charity supported by MJ. I can’t say this excites me but I guess this is being done for a good cause.