After the jump you’ll find the tracklist to Michael Jackson’s posthumous album, Michael, dropping December 14th. I’ve also included an official statement from MJ’s estate regarding the vocals on the first single, Breaking News.
01 Breaking News
02 Hold My Hand f. Akon (*sigh)
03 Hollywood Tonight
04 Keep Your Head Up
05 (I Like) The Way You Love Me
06 Monster f. 50 Cent (*siiiiigh)
07 Best Of Joy
08 (I Can’t Make It) Another Day
09 Behind The Mask
10 Much Too Soon
Dear Fans,
As the Michael album was being put together, it was decided to bring Teddy Riley on board to work on several songs, including “Breaking News,” a song Michael recorded with Eddie Cascio and James Porte in late 2007 while living at the Cascio family home with his children. Riley produced and submitted “Breaking News” to Sony for inclusion on the album. At that time, no one ever mentioned that the vocals we heard on the Cascio songs, which were basically in demo format, might not be Michael. It was known, however, that the background vocals were a combination of Michael and James Porte.
After the tracks were submitted to Sony, three of these Cascio songs were selected to be on the album, and “Breaking News” was one of the three. The day after the submission and selection of the album tracks, for the very first time, the authenticity of Michael’s vocals on the Cascio tracks was questioned.
Because of these questions, I was immediately asked by co-Executors John Branca and John McClain to conduct an investigation regarding the authenticity of the lead vocals on the Cascio tracks.
Six of Michael’s former producers and engineers who had worked with Michael over the past 30 years – Bruce Swedien, Matt Forger, Stewart Brawley, Michael Prince, Dr. Freeze and Teddy Riley – were all invited to a listening session to hear the raw vocals of the Cascio tracks in question. All of these persons listened to the a cappella versions of the vocals on the Cascio tracks being considered for inclusion on the album, so they could give an opinion as to whether or not the lead vocals were sung by Michael. They all confirmed that the vocal was definitely Michael.
Michael’s musical director and piano player on many of his records over a 20-year period, Greg Phillinganes, played on a Cascio track being produced for the album, and said the voice was definitely Michael’s. Dorian Holley, who was Michael’s vocal director for his solo tours for 20 plus years (including the O2 Concert Tour) and is seen in the This Is It film, listened to the Cascio tracks and told me the lead vocal was Michael Jackson.
These are all engineers, producers and musicians who worked on tours and/or in the studio with Michael when he was recording Bad, Thriller, Off The Wall, Dangerous, Invincible, HIStory and Blood On The Dance Floor, and they all reconfirmed their belief that the lead vocals were Michael’s voice on the Cascio tracks.
The Estate then retained one of the best-known forensic musicologists in the nation to listen to the vocals without any instrumental accompaniment (“a cappella”), and to compare them with a cappella vocals from previous Michael songs. This expert performed waveform analysis, an objective scientific test used to determine audio authenticity, on the Cascio tracks, as well as previously released tracks with Michael’s voice, and reported that ALL of the lead vocals analyzed (which included Cascio tracks) were the voice of Michael Jackson.
Sony Music conducted their own investigation by hiring yet a second well-respected forensic musicologist who also compared the a cappella lead vocals from Cascio tracks against previously released vocals of Michael’s, and found that Michael’s voice was the on all sets of the raw vocals. The Cascio tracks were also played for two very prominent persons in the music industry who played crucial roles in Michael’s career. Both of these individuals believed that the lead vocals were Michael’s.
Just to be absolutely certain, I also contacted Jason Malachi, a young singer who some persons had wrongfully alleged was a “soundalike” singer that was hired to sing on the Cascio tracks, and I confirmed that he had no involvement with this project whatsoever.
Sony decided that, given the overwhelming objective evidence resulting from the exhaustive investigations outlined above, they wanted to release a record that included three of the Cascio-Porte tracks – because they believed, without reservation, that the lead vocal on all of those tracks were sung by Michael Jackson.
Although there still seem to be concerns being expressed in some quarters about the authenticity of the lead vocals, notwithstanding the opinion of those who worked with Michael, and two independent forensic analysts, ultimately, Michael’s fans will be the judges of these songs, as they always are. We take all fan comments very seriously, and as I’d stated above, there is nothing more important to the Estate than Michael’s music, his legacy and his fans.
Michael’s fans are extraordinary in their quest for accuracy and their passions to raise their voices in a search for truth! We join with them in our care and concern for Michael. We are continuing to follow up with those who have worked in the studio or on tours with Michael, and if any new information comes to light, we will keep you and the fans advised.
Thanks,
HowardHoward Weitzman, Esq.
Attorney for the Estate Of Michael Jackson
Santa Monica, CA
Spotted at ThisIsRNB.
bullshit its not him
50 cent? lool
ehh
lol @ “Sigh”
curtis? really? is there a monkey-less version? it aint gonna be the ol biggie/michael collabo. i can understand him working with akon tho, with the global presence and all.
It’s not him, sounds more like Sony cut the family a HUGE check to shut the fuck up. It’s amazing what money can do, your own family will sell you out for easy money.
hahaha 50 cent on here for all you faggot haters. LOVE that.
And does that really say ft. 50 Cent? All the artist in the world and they pick 50? SMH
orrrr 1dopepuertorican they had no choice because this child molester owed nearly a half a billion in debt to people.
i thought hold my hand came out before he was dead?
Jul 1 2008 2:17 PM EDT 29,789
Akon/ Michael Jackson Collaboration, ‘Hold My Hand,’ Leaks
Track might wind up on ‘Kon’s upcoming third album.
#
And does that really say ft. 50 Cent? All the artist in the world and they pick 50? SMH
1dopepuertoricanfromjersey said this on November 11th, 2010 at 8:24 pm
they picked him because he did that lip syncing video with that lil kid on youtube and the jackson family thought it was awesome……………..
as great as he was everything he put out after the 90′s was mediocre. this does not excite me at all.
lmao @ 50 makin the cut…50 every fuckin where these days man shit…more paper for him though
If u guys paid attention 2 tha music world and have been for awhile, you wuld have heard thru tha wire tht 50 cent n mj were workin 2gether. I think it was like 2yrs ago, but nuuthin was evr released out of it. Guess thats prolly it tho.
soundcloud.com/alphadavis
So when is MJ SUPPOUSLY “murderer” ever going to prison
or did he not do it lmaoooooo clown shit
thank you CIA killing more artist SMH!
…1 …2..3…100 comments abt this is not the real michael…
50 deffinitly didnt make tha cut for doin tht thing with tha lip synching kid, ur a fuckin tard. Dnt get me wrong i think hes a playd out attention whore, but i remember hearing tht they workd 2gethr like a long ass time ago
50 cent?????
Fuck outta here.
Michael wouldve never worked with him.
Shit reminds me of “Biggie Duets: the final chapter”…
Oh snap Rondo just shitted on Chris Bosh
hell no micke would neber work with no damn 50 fuck outa here i’m suprised justin bieber isn’t featured
#
50 deffinitly didnt make tha cut for doin tht thing with tha lip synching kid, ur a fuckin tard. Dnt get me wrong i think hes a playd out attention whore, but i remember hearing tht they workd 2gethr like a long ass time ago
aye freeze said this on November 11th, 2010 at 8:37 pm
please tell me you understand the concept of sarcasm atleast a little bit. *cries for the education system*
My boy dad did some of the percussion on this Album
He said its dope.. Im def gonna cop a copy when it drops…
Shake be a hater for sighing at the unconventional collabs. :/ They might even turn out to be good, no need to pre-hate. Not the biggest 50 fan myself to be honest, but at least I aint mad cynical/pessimistic. Gawd damn… seriously. :x Let’s hear it first… and THEN judge whether to appreciate, disregard or hate. :3
WHAAAAAA?! 50???? Akon???
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah
WOW……
sarcasm over the internet smh at u clowns
This is a really interesting R&B music news article which questions whether the vocals on Michael Jacksons new song “Breaking News” is really Michael Jackson or a soundalike. I have listened to Michael Jackson for years now and I am a huge fan and I have all of his albums and love all of his amazing R&B music videos and I have to say that its really tough to work out if its him or not. Jason Malachi sounds a lot like Michael! But I guess it must be him right? The collaboration with rap star 50 Cent looks interesting too. And I am sure the album “Michael” will be a smash hit.
I’m disappointed that it’s only 9 new tracks, Hold Your Hand having leaked YEARS ago, hopefully they’ll have revamped it a bit ’cause effeminate as it was it was a decent track.
I know I should be outraged but like, didn’t we all KNOW this was gonna happen? Shouldn’t we have gotten past it like a month after he died, this was always the way it was gonna be, no point in fighting the inevitable.
Hmm … maybe it’s Jewel ?!
ohh also I know this isn’t totally related but since it’s an R&B post I just congratulate Cee-Lo on a RIDICULOUSLY dope album in The Lady Killer. Easily top 3 of the year, definitely one to go out and buy.
50 cent?????
Fuck outta here.
Michael wouldve never worked with him.
Shit reminds me of “Biggie Duets: the final chapter”…
Really? it was relatively common knowledge that they were working together… Guess some ppl live under rocks there whole lifes, or are just straight haters
10 tracks are you kiddin me???!!! not to mention some tracks are not even Michael and one track is with 50 cent who Michael would never work with I was looking forward to the ablum but now its looking more like a train wreck…Thanks Sony fucking bloodsuckers!!
50cent with mj…no man, im a fan but no
It’s all about the money bruh smh.
really , really really 50 hmm ya not a good look how you goin to put anyone on this record
#hit the link
Really like the artwork for these covers!
Ok. But. Those two suspect tracks. Look. Suspect.
MJ album with 50 Cent doesn’t look that right, I need to hear the song. Akon is cool but random. Paper white guy, paired up with the darker shade of black.
1) Michael expressed some interest in working with 50 back in 2006.
2) Thriller only had 9 songs.
Stop bitching.
I don’t know about all the other songs, but it definitely wasn’t him on Breaking News.
i like all the dumbshits still saying it’s not michael as if they’re the experts on the subject.
herp derp dats no michael omfg it’s an imposter soundalike ITSA CONSPIRACY
“Really? it was relatively common knowledge that they were working together… Guess some ppl live under rocks there whole lifes, or are just straight haters”
^
go back to thisis50.com, kid.
50 and Akon deserve to be on this. They were reaching out to him while he was here, not jumping on the bandwagon after his death like half the nation.
i like 50 fuck all u haters… y r u guys mad? u guys didnt even heard the song yet…btw shake didnt even know what to say lol
If these tracks are still being questioned, why release them at all? I’m sure there’s a ton of unreleased material, this is just a bad way to kick things off
“go back to thisis50.com, kid.”
Go back to sucking your moms tit fag
@ shy
Shyguy really?
What are you 8?
Go jerk off to some super mario or something loser.
Limassacre smd lol ur gay like michael. U pribably got fucked by him. I wish his children come fuck u up for no reason i dick head ass eater bitch made. U have no life make aome money before you make a comment. Shit face dick licker mother fucker
Yo Hunty the only one gay is your faggot booty gettin penetrated ass get the fuck outta here and go eat ah dick nigga!!
yeah hunty go eat ah dick nigga MJ wasn’t gay but I bet you sure the hell is nigga!!!
Limassacre smd lol ur gay like michael. U pribably got fucked by him. I wish his children come fuck u up for no reason i dick head ass eater bitch made. U have no life make aome money before you make a comment. Shit face dick licker mother fucker
Clearly your just some ignorant NIGGER who cant even spell nor write but in his own mind is better than everyone else
50 cent?????? C’mon Son… This more a sony album than Michael’s, I mean 50 cent is a whole diff rapper than Heavy D… Get 50 off that shit
CURTIS MADE THE ALBUM!?!! BAHAH.. thats awesome
FUCK THIS,FUCK SHAKE FUCK MECCA FUCK 2DOPEBOYS FUCKING FAGGOTS GO TOSS EACHOTHERS SALADS OFWGKTADGAF FUCK LAME GOLF WANG
that tracklist looks like what the 1st singe sounds like! pure wackness just to get the rest of money you can get outta mj’s dynasty!
so the fans were the only people to notice that michaels voice sounded different? lol..release the acappella then
You forgot to mention Lenny Kravitz being on track 8.
And Btw.. 50 and Akon got contacted by Michael and they reached out to him as well. It was back some years ago when Akon hit the scene and 50 was still poppin’ more so than now. MJ has worked with rappers before.. I.E.. LL Cool J (Serious Effect), Run DMC (Crack), Heavy D (Jam), Jay-Z (Girls, Girls, Girls) and Biggie (This Time Around). Get your knowledge game up, bitches.
LOL @ that 50 cent collaboration!
and that akon collab leaked about 2 years ago and now they feel the need to put it on a michael jackson project. (*sigh*)
50 Cent, FUCK why couldn’t they’ve got Kanye
All you my sons.
Silly to moan over this. Almost everything he did after the 80′s sucked balls anyway.
deff B.S ! smh
whooooo!!! michael jackson babyy!!!
because 50 cent worked with micheal jackson before he died retards, who kidd even said it, Mj was supposed to host a g-unit mixtape
fuck kanye Micheal jackson never worked with his ass but 50 DID, that tellls you something. MJ only worked with legends like Jay-z, Biggie, LL, and i guess heavy D lol
They get 2 features and they’re Akon and 50cent?
Oh my Jeebus.
pow 50 cent confirm that Mj reached out to him before he died
From 50 Cent’s Twitter.
50cent – michael reached out to me to do this song before he passed it going to be the biggest thing ever.hes the one we got our idea from 2 minutes ago ]
50cent – support ya boy lloyd banks H.F.M.2 its on point and check me out on michael jackson new album 4 minutes ago via web
Fuck all these posthumous albums, they ruined 2pac’s work, ruined biggie’s work, now michael’s?
Thank u lilmassacre and evryone proving 50 cent really workd with mj awhile back. Damn fuckn retards.
50? crazy colab
gggggg-unit.
fuckin liars
Lol Breaking News does not sound like him smh..50 needs to hide in a cave
They need to let this man rest. Akon/50 cent on here as well? Who the fuck would green light such a crock of shit, I know there are people/artists (family members included) who want nothing more than a payout from a corpse but this is just ridiculous. Every time I see another “release” from a dead artist I can’t help but cringe.
damn man, long live the king. from his humble beginnings as a little boy in gary, indiana to the legend he became to the legacy that still lives on.
Michael Jackson had Shaquille O’Neal drop a guest verse on his song “2Bad” off the HIStory album. Think about that before bashing the 50 Cent collab.
Also, notice how the Jackson attorney said “LEAD vocal” every time in that letter. The lead is obviously Michael, but they layered so many backup vocals over it that it doesn’t sound like him anymore.
l
wow 50 cent is the shit right know
damn…
What the fuck?
Have you heard the Akon song Shake? It’s actually not bad…
50 cent? who the fuck is that?
You mad akon and 50 cent on the album? Lol I smell a hater. lol Hold my hand was a great song by the way.
he’s not singing at all, the voice is so fake.