Akon has spoken of his disappointment about the fact that his collaboration with Michael Jackson had to be pulled from his new album. The track, 'Hold My Hand', which, as previously reported, was leaked online a really long time ago, is thought to have been removed from the LP's tracklist because of Jackson's reluctance to get on with making a comeback, though Akon reckons it's the leak that did it.
The hip hop star is quoted as saying: "Musically we were on the same level and we wanted it to be special. We wanted it so that when people got my album, it was something that was never heard. But the leak stopped those plans. We will be doing more things together in the future, though".
He added that he wasn't afraid of being put in the shade by Jackson's appearance on the track, saying: "I want them to be able to put focus on Mike. He is the greatest artist ever. So long as the focus is on him, people are going to ask him about the song he did with me, so then my name pops up in his interview. It works both ways".