This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Releases Top Stories
New Jackson album, lots of gossip and bitching
By CMU Editorial | Published on Monday 8 November 2010
Announcements about new Michael Jackson projects were always a bit confused, so I suppose we shouldn’t have expected Sony Music’s statement on Friday about the first posthumous release of new Jacko material to be issued without some accompanying confusion.
Sony’s statement itself was straight forward enough, on 13 Dec a new album called ‘Michael’ will be released featuring an undetermined number of new tracks featuring the late king of pop’s vocals, most if not all produced and/or completed by a celebrity producer or musician. As a sneak preview, one new track, calling ‘Breaking News’, will be streamed for a week on the official Michael Jackson website, starting today.
Said Sony: “Unbeknownst to many fans around the world Michael Jackson was writing and recording songs continuously everywhere from a friend’s home in New Jersey to studios in Las Vegas and Los Angeles with a small group of handpicked collaborators. Now, through the unique stories that will be told about the songs that comprise ‘Michael’, fans will get a mind-blowing insight into how this artist worked and a chance to hear the songs he most recently created along with tracks that Michael had a desire to bring to fruition”.
So far, so straight forward. But then the rumours started to circulate on Friday that some of Jackson’s family had claimed that not all of the tracks on the new long player actually featured real Jacko vocals – some had, in fact, been faked. Then new gossip suggested ‘Breaking News’ was among the fakes. And then a totally different supposedly new Michael Jackson track called ‘Opis None’ appeared on the internet via a non-Sony affiliated company called JacksonSecretVault.com, in which the singer’s mother, Katherine Jackson has a stake.
And Mrs Jackson’s partner in that company, Howard Mann, issued a loaded statement to TMZ.com, saying: “In an effort to overcome the confusion as to the authenticity of the track the [Michael Jackson] estate [in partnership with Sony] has recently released we want to give an actual authentic Michael Jackson track to the world … for free”.
Katherine Jackson, it seemed, had deliberately undermined the Michael Jackson estate and their business partners Sony Music, despite her seemingly being on cordial terms with the estate’s executors. Or had she? The Jackson clan took to Twitter to say no.
Jackie Jackson tweeted: “I just spoke with my Mother and she did NOT authorise the release of the demo track called ‘Opis None'”. And then Taj Jackson, son of Tito Jackson, posted to the micro-blogging platform: “Just talked to my grandma. She didn’t even know about the ‘song’, nor did she authorise it. We are getting to the bottom of this”.
I think we can help with that. Mann has since issued a statement confirming Katherine Jackson was not consulted before he leaked ‘Opis None’. He’s also admitted that his ‘new’ MJ track was actually a remix of on old one. He told TMZ last night: “Our goal at JacksonSecretVault.com is to pay tribute to the legendary artist and artistic visionary that was and is Michael Jackson. The fans are entitled to a higher level of integrity than I demonstrated this past weekend and for that I am sorry”.
Elsewhere, the Daily Star turned to Mark Ronson for clarification on the original claim that Sony’s new Jacko album was lacking in Jacko. He, you see, has produced a new Jackson tune, although he doesn’t know whether that track, ‘Lovely Way’, will actually appear on ‘Michael’. Nevertheless, although Ronson never met the singer, he is convinced the vocals he was provided by Sony to mix into a full song were the genuine article. He told the tab: “It was definitely him singing”. So, that’s that resolved then.
It’s not the first time Katherine Jackson’s dealings with Canadian businessman Mann has caused concern for the Michael Jackson estate, of course. Mann has collaborated with Mrs Jackson on a new book, and has also discussed plans to make a film about his business partner’s late son and to release up to 273 previously unheard Michael Jackson recordings he claims to be sitting on. The MJ estate’s lawyers have previously said they will be watching Mann’s output carefully to assess whether he infringes any of their Jacko-related copyrights.
Meanwhile Mann also seems to be causing some tensions within the Jackson family, and not just over the ‘Opis None’ leak. Katherine Jackson and Michael Jackson’s three children all appear in a special Oprah Winfrey programme due to air in the US today, seemingly arranged by Mann to promote the aforementioned book release.
That has pissed off Jackson brother Randy, who says that while Michael did go to Oprah when he wanted to talk to the world in 1993, he subsequently fell out with the US TV star when she chose to broadcast a show on paedophilia to coincide with his 2005 child abuse trial.
Commenting on the ‘Oprah meets Jacko’s kids’ show, Randy tweeted this weekend: “I know that he would not have wanted this. In fact, she is the last person on earth he would want around his children. I know there are a lot of you out there upset and angry over this. I don’t blame you. Can you imagine how I feel? I’m angry too”.
So, Michael Jackson, nearly eighteen months gone, still good value.
