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New Loan Will Save Neverland. 27-02-'08

Michael Jackson will avoid foreclosure on his Neverland Ranch property with a new loan, a Jackson insider told CNN Wednesday. Documents show that Neverland Ranch in Los Olivos, California, is scheduled for a public auction on March 19 at Santa Barbara’s downtown courthouse. But the Jackson source said that won’t happen.
“Michael Jackson’s ranch is not going to be auctioned off at the courthouse,” the Jackson insider said. “The financing is all being worked out. There are plenty of lenders willing to work with him. The real estate market is very bad right now and Jackson is being affected just like many other Americans,” the source said.
A real estate source inside Santa Barbara County said the trustees filing is only the first step in a long process that could drag on for months. The real estate source said other options are available to Jackson, including selling the ranch directly to another party or making a payment on his $24.5 million Neverland debt that would satisfy the trustee.
The recorder's Web site also reveals there was a release of lien on Jackson on February 4, showing he paid off all or part of delinquent taxes to the state of California.
"It seems unlikely that someone would pay off back taxes, only to let the ranch go up for auction a few weeks later," said the real estate source.

Source: CNN / Billie Jean

Thriler Deluxe Expanded Edition' is SOLD OUT. 26-02-'08

According to Sony Music Japan, Michael Jackson's 'Thriller 25th Anniversary Deluxe Expanded Edition' is SOLD OUT in Japan!
The CD is still available, in limited quantities, at MJJSHOP.COM
MJJMAGAZINE members have the opportunity to participate in contests, receive a special 10% discount at MJJSHOP.COM, special reduced entrance to MJ fan events and much more..!

Source: Sony Music Japan / Billie Jean

Jackson’s Neverland Foreclosed. 26-02-'08

According to Fox News, Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch is set to be sold at auction on March 19. The King of Pop received word Monday from Financial Title Company, the trustee, that unless he pays off $24,525,906.61 by that date, a public auction will go forward in Santa Barbara, Calif., in front of the county courthouse. Sadly, It’s not just the house either.
When Neverland is auctioned, it will include everything: all personal property inside, all fixtures and appliances, furniture, and “all merry go round type devices,” any rides, games. The auction literally includes every single thing that is or isn’t nailed down.
At this point, Jackson may just let the auction proceed. He hasn't been at Neverland since June 30, 2005, when he departed for Bahrain. No one lives there, the animals in the zoo are all gone, the rides are either sold or shut down.

RelatedColumn Archive
Michael Jackson's Neverland Foreclosed:
Financially, Jackson remains in no position to cure his dilemma. Even though he refinanced his $300 million loan from Fortress Investments with help from Sony Music, HSBC and Barclays Bank, the Neverland loan was not part of that deal. Fortress would clearly like to get out of the Jackson business altogether now, so selling at auction is their answer.
What if no one comes up with a decent bid? Fortress will likely take possession and list the property with a Santa Barbara real estate broker. Neverland could be marketed as a corporate retreat. Or perhaps a very wealthy new owner will show up and make a fire sale pitch.
But an era is about to end forever: Jackson, who brought this on himself, is about to lose one of his two biggest assets. All that will remain after that will be his song publishing interests, and they are leveraged into the next millennium.
More to come...

Source: Fox News / Billie Jean

Thriller25 Charts Update. 26-02-'08

'Thriller 25th Anniversary Edition’ remains at #3 on the Official New Zealand Album Charts this week.
Also remains at #2 on the Dutch Albums Chart and remains on the #1 spot on the French Album Chart (February 17-23, 2008).

Source: Billie Jean

Dangerous Tour: Live In Bucharest on VT4. 25-02-'08

As a result of the 25th Anniversary of Michael Jackson's album Thriller, brings Belgium TV station VT4 you on Friday February 29th on 11.55 PM the concert in Bucharest of his Dangerous Tour.
The `Dangerous Tour' which was greatest in its time, 69 concerts and 3.5 million fans saw the King of Pop live in action.
In Bucharest he brings the largest hits: Beat It, Billie Jean, Wanna Be Startin' Somethin', Smooth Criminal, Black or White, Man in the Mirror…
Don't miss it!!!

Source: VT4 / Billie Jean

Thriller25 Charts Update. 25-02-'08

On the US Billboard Top Comprehensive Albums chart, where catalogue titles mix with current best-sellers, Thriller 25 debuts at # 2, runner-up to Jack Johnson’s 'Sleep Through The Static'.
Thriller 25 is the highest-charting catalogue album in the history of the comprehensive survey.
Thriller has risen 3 places on the Irish Album Chart to #2 (week ending February 21, 2008).
Meanwhile, ‘Live In Bucharest - The Dangerous Tour’ remains in the Irish Music DVD Chart at #4.
In its original run, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” was on The Billboard 200 for 122 weeks, 37 of which were spent at No. 1. The re-entry of “Thriller” puts the classic album back on the catalog chart for the first time since the week of May 12, 2007. Michael Jackson’s “Thriller 25″ is the highest-charting catalog album in the history of the comprehensive survey.

Source: Billie Jean

Fashion Show Inspired By MJ. 22-02-'08

On January 25, 2008, the International Fashion Week took place in Amsterdam (Netherlands). The show of the uprising fashion designer Sherida Augustin stood completely under the sign of the best selling artist of all time: Michael Jackson.

Michael Jackson's influence on the new generation is bigger than Justin Timberlake's, Ne-Yo's and Usher and it is more visible than ever. His unique style already had a great influence on the trends in '80s fashion.

And now it is the basis for Sherida Augustin's new collection. The young designer was influenced by Michael Jackson's glittering jackets and other typical trademarks. And she accompanied her fashion show with MJ tunes.
In her third collection, Sherida gives her own twist on the Jackson style from the 80s.
"I worked from an angled perspective, what has a futuristic influence. Caps that have been made angular, and a lot of triangles as shapes are worked into the collection."

Next to the obvious Michael Jackson jackets, you could also see a lot of asymmetrical aspects in the collection, which consisted mostly of silk, wool, and leather. Sherida combined wide-flowing street wear items with very tight tios, jeans, and leggings and there was even a pair of "high water" pants in King of Pop style. The main color was an electric blue in combination with a lot of glitter and white accents. The styling was rounded off with typical Michael Jackson accents like white socks and gloves, the white tape around the fingertips, and the hat - but worked in Sherida's own style into a cap.
To view a video of the fashion show, click here

Source: www.toostylish.com / Billie Jean

Thriller25 Charts Update. 22-02-'08

Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller 25th Anniversary Edition’ has debuted on the Album Charts this week.
#1 CHART ENTRIES IN BELGIUM, COLOMBIA, FRANCE
#2 CHART ENTRIES IN AUSTRALIA, GERMANY, KOREA, NETHERLANDS, NORWAY, PHILIPPINES, SWEDEN, SWITZERLAND
#3 CHART ENTRIES IN DENMARK, NEW ZEALAND, PORTUGAL & UK
TOP 5 ENTRIES IN AUSTRIA, CANADA, IRELAND, POLAND & SPAIN
TOP 10 ENTRIES IN CZECH REPUBLIC, FINLAND, HONG KONG, ITALY & JAPAN
THRILLER 25 IS AMERICA’S #2 BEST-SELLING ALBUM THIS WEEK!!!
Already One of 2008's Top-Selling Albums, Thriller 25 Enters The US Billboard Top Pop Catalog Chart At #1, With 10x The Average First Week's Sales of Albums Topping That Chart During The Past 52 Weeks.

Source: Billie Jean

BRAVO Magazine Feature And Poster. 22-02-'08

The German BRAVO is the biggest teen magazine in Europe. Alex Gernandt of BRAVO magazine told German fan club Jam that Thriller 25 will be a topic in the BRAVO hip-hop special, on newsstands March 7, 2008.
The magazine will include a major story on Thriller 25 and also a large poster of Michael in the Thriller look.

Source: Jam-FC / Billie Jean

Thriller25 In Story Magazine. 22-02-'08

Belgium fans, Michael Jackson are this week with the 25th Anniversary of Thriller in the magazine 'Story'.
It's available since Wednesday, don't forget it because they have 3 pages with a lot of info about Thriller25.

Source: Billie Jean

Win An Exclusive MJ iPod. 22-02-'08

Fans in Germany can win a limited fan package including an iPod in T25 design and with a Michael Jackson signature. Worldwide only 300 of these treasures are available.

Option 1:

All you have to do is upload a video that you created and which is of course related to Michael Jackson. The competition ends on March 10, 2008.
For further details, click here

Option 2:

Just answer an easy question at http://www.michaeljackson.de (click on "Gewinnspiel"). This competition is open to residents in Germany only. The question:" What's the name of the legendary dance that Michael Jackson is known for?"

Source: michaeljackson.de / Billie Jean

T25 'Bad Tour' Poster Not By SonyBMG. 21-02-'08

In response to many inquiries we've received through MJJSHOP.COM from fans around the world: According to the SonyBMG headquarter, the 'MJ T25 'Bad Tour' Poster' has not been commissioned and/or produced by SonyBMG.
Amazon UK is offering an official poster for the 25th anniversary of Thriller (see image on the right).
The poster meets 36 x 24 Inches (91.5 x 61 cm).
Please note that delivery is only possible within the UK.
For more details please visit the Amazon UK web site, click here

Source: Sony BMG / Billie Jean

Thriller 25 Sells 166,000 In U.S. - #1 Top Pop Catalog Albums. 21-02-'08

Thriller 25 -- the newly-expanded deluxe 25th anniversary edition of Michael Jackson's Thriller, the world's best-selling album of all-time -- is America's #2 Top-Selling Album this week, more than a quarter century after the album's original release. Already shaping up as one of the hottest albums of 2008, Thriller 25 has rocketed into the Top 5 (or better) in a variety of territories across the planet following its worldwide release the week of February 11.

With first week's sales in the United States totalling 165,805 units, Thriller 25 enters the Billboard Top Pop Catalog chart at #1. (During the past 52 week period, the average first week's sales for an album hitting #1 on the Top Pop Catalog chart has been 16.6 thousand pieces; Thriller 25 entered the chart with 10x that number. Because of a technicality in the rules of Billboard charting, Thriller 25 is ineligible to chart on the Top 200. Based on first week's sales, Thriller 25, if eligible, would have entered the Top 200 at #2, nestled between Jack Johnson at #1 and Amy Winehouse at #3.)

Michael Jackson's iconic music film for "Thriller" is currently the #1 music video download on iTunes.

With more than one million copies of Thriller 25 shipped around the world, and re-orders already flooding in, the new edition of Michael Jackson's classic collection has hit #1 in France; #1 in Belgium; #2 in Germany; #2 in Australia; #2 in the Netherlands; #2 in Norway (Thriller's highest position ever in that country); #2 in Sweden; #2 in Switzerland; #3 in the UK; #3 in Denmark; #3 in New Zealand; #4 in Spain; #5 in Austria; #5 in Ireland; #6 in the Czech Republic; and #6 in Italy.

Global response to the release of Thriller 25, the newly expanded deluxe 25th anniversary edition of Michael Jackson's Thriller, the world's top- selling album of all-time, reached a fever pitch across the planet with surprise hit singles, an ongoing 40-episode "ThrillerCast" podcast event, the premiere of the "Thrillicious" Sobe Life Water ad campaign at the Super Bowl, the presentation of a Lifetime Achievement Award to Michael Jackson at the NRJ Music Awards at Cannes and a host of upcoming events and surprises.

In one of the most groundbreaking aspects of the Thriller 25 campaign, fans will soon be able to go online and star in Michael's signature "Thriller" video. Using newly developed technology from innovative media company Big Stage, fans can create photo-realistic 3-D avatars of themselves to be inserted into Michael's role in the classic clip. (Full details TBA.)

The Michael Jackson Thriller 25th anniversary celebration runs throughout 2008 with a multi-faceted global marketing campaign featuring high-profile television, radio and online events around the world and the major re-launch of Michael's official website, http://www.michaeljackson.com/

Originally released in the US on November 30, 1982 by Epic Records, Thriller, Michael Jackson's sixth solo album and second with producer Quincy Jones, first entered the Billboard Top 200 album chart at #11 in December 1982. The original Thriller went on to spend an astounding 80 consecutive weeks in the American Top 10, 37 of those at #1, while making history as the first and only record to be America's top-selling album two years running (1983 and 1984). Thriller has been certified 27x platinum by the RIAA, giving it Double Diamond Award status in the US. In 1985, the Guinness Book of Records named Thriller the Best Selling Album of All Time, an achievement which remains unsurpassed to this day.

Source: Sony BMG / Billie Jean

Thriller 25 Sells 166,000 In U.S. - #1 Top Pop Catalog Albums. 20-02-'08

With sales that surprised both Sony BMG and the music industry as a whole, Michael Jackson's Thriller 25th Anniversary Edition sold a reported 166,000 copies its first week within the United States alone, and easily made its formal début at #1 on Billboard's Top Pop Catalog Albums, pushing "Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers: Greatest Hits" back down to #2 after one week at the top.

Since Thriller 25 is a back catalog reissue and not a new studio album, it is not eligible for placement on any other official Billboard charts within the United States. Were it permissible on the Billboard 200, Thriller 25 would have made its entrance at #2, ahead of Amy Winehouse and behind Jack Johnson. U.S. sales predictions for Thriller 25 ranged from 90,000 to 120,000, but the final tally from Soundscan of 166,000 copies sold toppled any and all prior predictions. In fact, by the middle of last week, Thriller 25 was sold out at many retail stores across the United States and elsewhere, while other stores hadn't even gotten their shipment in before the end of the week; which undoubtedly affected sales to a degree.

Thriller 25 debuted in the Top 3 throughout many countries around the world, and even went gold in Poland on its very first day. Not bad! Also, according to Billboard.biz, the last time that a catalog title sold as many copies as Thriller 25 was more than 11 years ago.

Source: Sony BMG / Billie Jean

Thriller25 Charts Update. 18-02-'08

Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller 25th Anniversary Edition’ has debuted on the Album Charts this week.
Italy Album Charts #6
Dutch Album Chart #2
Belgium Album Charts #21
Australian Album Charts at #2
German Album Charts #5
UK Album Charts #3

Source: Billie Jean

T25 Deluxe Fan Pack. 17-02-'08

In the USA, a Thriller 25 Deluxe Fan Pack is available. It includes 'Thriller 25' as well as the 'Number Ones' DVD. It is only available at Walmart, click here

Source: Walmart / Billie Jean

Michael featured in German media. 16-02-'08

Since the promotion of 'Thriller 25' started, Michael Jackson has become more and more popular again in the media. In Germany, 'Thriller 25' is "Album Of The Week" on the German radio station HR3 and Michael the "Superstar Of The Month" on German TV station Sat.1.
HR3 a local German radio station choose ´THRILLER 25´ as the "Album Of The Week".
Sat.1, an important German TV station, chose Michael as "Superstar Of The Month" and airs promotion for 'Thriller 25'. They play a 30 second video clip with information about the album.

Source: Sat 1 / Billie Jean

Great T25 sales in Poland. 16-02-'08

A Polish fan has forwarded the information that Sony BMG Poland announced 'Thriller 25' achieving gold status in Poland on the first day of its release.
The official day of release was February 11, 2008 but from February 8-10 there was a special T25 weekend in Empik megastore and there was big promotion during whole week in these shops before this special weekend.

Source: Sony Music Poland / Billie Jean

Jackson offered $30 million to perform at The O2? 15-02-'08

The King Of Pop, Michael Jackson, has been offered $1 million-a-night to play London’s Millennium Dome. AEG Live, wants Jackson to play its Millennium Dome in London. The deal that’s been offered could total up to $30 million. It begins with a $10 million guarantee for 10 nights, with a maximum of 30 nights adding up to $30 million. It’s not a hard show to do, either. The proposal, is for Jackson to stage his bestselling album “Thriller” from beginning to end at each show. Then, for encores, he would add in several hits from “Off the Wall” and other albums.
AEG people really wanted Jackson to make some kind of appearance at the Grammy's on Sunday to drum up excitement. “He was too scared,” a source said. “He was nervous about tripping or doing something wrong. He’s paranoid. He’s got to get over it.”

Source: Fox News / Billie Jean

Janet talks about her ‘Thriller’ performance. 14-02-'08

It’s been 25 years since 'Thriller' and to commemorate its release, Michael Jackson just released a 25th anniversary edition. Now, if only sister Janet had a copy.
Fear not! Access Hollywood to the rescue! They were the first folks to give Janet the new version.
“I love this,” she said when Access’ Shaun Robinson presented her with the CD.
Something most people don’t know — a young Janet is featured on one of the tracks. It wasn’t well publicised 25 years ago, but Janet sang backup on Michael’s single, 'Pretty Young Thing.'
“That ‘Nah, nah, nah?’ That’s me,” she enthused. “I was only like 16-years-old. I never got my platinum plaque for that either.”
“Did Michael ask for you to perform on that?” Shaun asked.
“Yeah!” Janet replied. “There were quite a few girls they had called and we were all in the vocal booth together and they asked everyone to leave except for me. And I stayed and they asked me to sing it, so I sang it!”
Janet has her own new studio project, a dance album called 'Discipline,' coming out February 26. Her long-time beau, Jermaine Dupri, produced the effort for her new label, Island Def Jam.
“While in the studio is he your boyfriend, Jermaine, or is he the producer, Jermaine?” Shaun asked.
“We’re all over the place,” Janet laughed.

Source: Access Hollywood / Billie Jean

Michael Jackson pushes Telecom over 2 Million. 14-02-'08

In New Zealand, Telecom's Music Store reached 2 million tracks with the addition of Michael Jackson's 25th Anniversary Edition Thriller, according to a press release of Telecom New Zealand. The album that has been garnishing world - wide praise, makes Telecom New Zealand's most extensive mobile catalogue of tracks to download.

Source: scop.co.nz / Billie Jean

Birthday of Prince Michael Junior. 13-02-'08

Prince Michael Junior, today it's Michael Jackson's oldest son his Birthday and he may blow out 11 candles. On Thursday February 13th 1997 Prince Michael Junior has been born in Los Angeles.

Source: Billie Jean

MTV calls Thriller "All Killer, no filler". 13-02-'08

According to MTV writer Kurt Orzeck, the lackluster Grammy Awards could have used the help of The King Of Pop, promoting his new reissue of the 25th anniversary edition of the landmark Thriller.
Although the album may be older than many of MTV's viewers, Orzeck notes that it is filled with contemporary appeal. Kayne West, Will.I.Am, Akon and Fergie all did their part as did Chris Brown, Nick Cannon and Imogen Heap participating in a 40 episode podcast series called Thrillercast.
With the nod that Thriller is the top-selling album of all time, of course there is the single going out to promote it. The new version of "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" with Akon, Will and Michael is awesome.
"He's a genius," Akon told MTV News last month. "Just to be in the same room (with Michael) I felt everything I wanted to accomplish in life has been achieved. That aura...that's how incredible that aura is. We about to shake the world up, man."
Orzeck's best picks include Kanye - produced remix of "Billie Jean", Will.I.Am's reworkings of "The Girl Is Mine" and "P.Y.T." Fergie's version of "Beat It"; an outtake of the original Thriller session called "For All Time"; "Someone In The Dark', "Carousel", ad the original "Billie Jean" demo. There is also a DVD with the related Thriller short films that includes Michael's Emmy-nominated performance of "Billie Jean" suring the "Motown 25" TV special.
"Now that's what you call a reissue."

Source: MTV / Billie Jean

Limited Japanese Single Collection. 12-02-'08

In Japan, there has been an announcement of a special 'Thriller 25th Anniversary Limited Japanese Single Collection' to be released on March 26, 2008.
Catalogue #: EICP-945
Number of discs (or other units): 7
Estimated price: 4700 yen / US$44 / 30 €

Source: cdjapan.co.jp / Billie Jean

Jackson marks Thriller's 25th. 12-02-'08

Michael Jackson can't believe it's been 25 years since Thriller came out, launching him into the stratosphere of pop stardom.
While a lot can happen in a quarter of a century, of course, an anniversary version of his multiplatinum hit machine, digitally remastered and featuring a handful of guest stars, will drop Tuesday.
And in honour of the big 2-5, the typically reclusive artist took time out to thank the fans who have stood by him throughout.
"It's hard to believe that 25 years ago Quincy Jones and I embarked on an album named Thriller," Jackson said in a video message released Monday by record company Sony-BMG.
"To be able to say that Thriller still holds the record as the biggest selling album of all time is just mind-blowing. I have you, my fans throughout the world, to thank for this achievement."
The former gloved one has sold more than 750 million albums worldwide, including more than 100 million copies of Thriller, which spawned the tunes "Billie Jean," "Beat It" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin," among others. Seven of the nine tracks were top-10 singles.
And while Jackson's escapades and legal troubles and general weirdness and face masks on his kids and… Anyway, while the man has overshadowed the music for some time now, the 49-year-old icon said his fans haven't heard the last of him.
"There is still much more to come for Michael Jackson," he continued. "My passion for music has never stopped…It's my hope that Thriller continues to live on for each new generation to discover."
A new generation will get to rock with Thriller 25 starting tomorrow.
A massive spin campaign—which, according to a press release, apparently started with the SoBe Life Water Super Bowl commercial featuring Naomi Campbell and a troupe of lizards dancing to "Thriller"—is planned for 2008.
The 21st-century heralding of Thriller will include a 40-part commemorative pod cast, a You Tube dance-video contest and, starting Mar. 1, an XM Satellite Radio station devoted entirely to Jackson's music for a month.
Meanwhile, the actual new album features all of the 1982 original's nine songs, plus seven revamped tracks, including "Beat It 2008," featuring Fergie," and Kanye West's "Billie Jean 2008" remix. Will.i.am and Akon also contributed new vocals to the disc.

Source: E! News / Billie Jean

Michael "Featured Icon" on MySpace; Quincy interview. 12-02-'08

Michael Jackson is featured on the MySpace Celebrity home page as this week's "Featured Icon." Along with a spotlight feature showcasing some rare Thriller-era pictures, Quincy Jones has also provided an exclusive Thriller-related interview to MySpaceTV.com
MySpace Celebrity visited multi-Grammy-winning producer Quincy Jones, spokesperson for Thriller 25, to chat about working with Michael and crafting the album that would raise the bar on pop music forever.

Source: MySpace / Billie Jean

Thriller 25 available. 11-02-'08

Michael’s ‘Thriller 25th Anniversary Edition’ CD is now available to buy in the shops. The album features the original nine classic tracks as well as five new remixes and the previously un-released track ‘For All Time’. Each copy comes with a colour booklet and DVD featuring some of Michael’s groundbreaking videos from ‘Thriller’.

To buy the Classic Edition of the album click here
To buy the Zombie Edition of the album click here

Source: amazon.co / Billie Jean

Sweden Chart update. 11-02-'08

‘'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008' rises three places to #2 on the Swedish Digilistan (chart week 6 in 2008). Digilistan is the chart for sales to computers, cell-phones, and other media players.
On Tracksslistan (February 9, 2008) the single debuted at #19. Tracksslistan is one of Sweden's most popular music charts. It is not based on sales or airplay but voted directly by the Swedish people. Tracksslistan is aired on Sveriges Radio P3.

Source: Sveriges Radio P3 / Billie Jean

Jackson not at Grammy Awards. 11-02-'08

Michael Jackson did not attend the 50th Annual Grammy Awards which took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles (USA) Sunday evening.

Source: Billie Jean

Michael Jackson's ex is furious over pictures of kids. 10-02-'08

The surrogate mother of pop superstar Michael Jackson's children is furious they have been pictured for the first time without their usual veil disguises.
Debbie Rowe - who conceived ten-year-old Prince Michael I, and nine-year-old Paris through artificial insemination - was shocked last week after photographs of her children unmasked and dressed in sneakers and baseball caps were published in newspapers around the world.
And the 49-year-old - who divorced the Thriller hitmaker in 1999 after three years of marriage - insists the disguises are necessary to protect their offspring from kidnap threats.
She says, "The veils were my idea, not Michael's. I had kidnap threats when they were babies. I did not want them to be recognized. I'm not happy they've been photographed without the veils."

Source: starpulse.com / Billie Jean

Power 106's radio big boy meets Michael Jackson. 10-02-'08

One month ago, on January 11, 2008, Big Boy of Power 106 was invited to Vegas to meet Michael Jackson with will.i.am and to preview the Thriller 25 album. The visit lasted several hours, and consisted mostly of just Michael, Blanket, will.i.am, Peter Lopez, Big Boy, and Fuzzy chilling out and taking pictures. On Big Boy's January 12, 2008 show, he spent over seven minutes describing this surprising, once in a lifetime experience.

Source: Radio Big Boy (Power 106) / Billie Jean

Chart update. 10-02-'08

‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ 2008′ has risen 12 places on the Singles Chart and the Digital Track Chart at #8 and #4 respectively.
‘Thriller’ has re-entered the album charts this week because music retailers broke the embargo and started selling “Thriller 25″ one day early (on Friday). The ARIA chart week is from a Saturday to a Friday. The album has entered the Albums Chart and the Physical Albums Chart at #44 and #40 respectively. It’s still only certified 12X PLATINUM.
‘Number Ones’ has re-entered the Physical Albums Chart at #50. It has now finally been certified 3X PLATINUM, which represents shipments of 210,000 units nationwide.
'The Girl Is Mine 2008' has entered the Swiss Charts at #47.

Source: Billie Jean

Thriller25 update. 09-02-'08

The Thriller 25th Anniversary Edition will be available in 4 versions:
Standard CD Edition: a cardboard slip on case with the traditional ‘Thriller’ picture; holographic cover.
Zombie CD Edition: the same as the Standard Edition but with the picture of Michael surrounded by zombies as the slip on case display.
Limited Casebook Deluxe Edition: comes as a hardbound book & a booklet containing more rare photos and lyrics and extra content. Limited to only 20,000 copies.
Vinyl: a gatefold double LP.
The Standard and Zombie CD Editions, with an audio CD and DVD, will be available until the end of 2008. Afterwards Sony plans to revert to just the audio version of the CD.
In Japan, the album will include an additional, previously unreleased track. The song, titled `Got The Hots`, was originally planned to be included in the 2001 Remastered Edition of Thriller.
The First Singles
1. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008
In the USA and Italy, the first single to be released from Michael Jackson’s 'Thriller 25 Anniversary Edition' will be the newly recorded rendition of 'Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ '. It is a new track produced by Akon and Michael, featuring Akon's vocal and a brand new 2008 Michael Jackson vocal track. Not a remix but a new version of this classic!

2. The Girl Is Mine
In many European countries (excluding Italy) and also in Korea, 'The Girl Is Mine 2008' with will.i.am is the first single to be released.
Since January 14, 2008 'The Girl Is Mine 2008' is available as a one track digital single version - for example at iTunes.
On January 25, 2008, the CD single has been released in Germany and Switzerland, and on February 4 in the UK.
In Switzerland, the first single is a 2-track single:
The Girl Is Mine 2008 with will.i.am
The Girl is Mine 2008 with will.i.am (Club Remix)
The release in the UK is a three track CD single which will be released simultaneously with the three track digital version:
The Girl Is Mine – Will.i.am Single Version
The Girl Is Mine – Will.i.am Club Remix
The Girl Is Mine - Original Demo

The previously unheard original demo of 'The Girl Is Mine' was recorded in the early 1980’s and features Michael singing both parts of the vocals (later shared by him and Paul McCartney).
A three track 12” Vinyl release is also planned, however the track list is still to be confirmed.

Source: Billie Jean

Official T25 poster. 09-02-'08

Amazon UK is offering an official poster for the 25th anniversary of Thriller (see image on the right).
The poster meets 36 x 24 Inches (91.5 x 61 cm).
Please note that delivery is only possible within the UK.
For more details please visit the Amazon UK web site, click here

Source: amazon.uk / Billie Jean

TF1's Video For WBSS2008. 09-02-'08

French TV channel TF1 has compiled a video collection of previous clips of Michael to accompany the new song 'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008' featuring Michael Jackson and Akon. The video has been authorized by SonyBMG Music Entertainment France.
To view the video click here

Source: TF1 / Billie Jean

UK fans catch The Grammy's on ITV2. 08-02-'08

UK Fans will get their chance to watch this years very special Grammy's Award Show on Monday 11th February on ITV2 @ 9pm.
Coverage of the 50th annual award ceremony from Staples Center, Los Angeles. Featuring performances from this year's nominees including Beyonce, Aretha Franklin, Alicia Keys, Mary J Blige, Rihanna and the Foo Fighters. Presenters include Bette Midler and Bonnie Raitt.

Source: Billie Jean

Thriller 25th available. 08-02-'08

Since Friday 8th February are "25th Anniversary of Thriller" (CD / DVD) available in our little country (Belgium), for the price of 21 €.
The album debuts seven bonus tracks including new collaborations with Akon, Fergie, Will.i.am and a Kanye West remix of "Billie Jean 2008."
Michael Jackson's "Thriller 25th Anniversary of Thriller" (CD / DVD) is something to have for each collector.

Source: Billie Jean

Charts update Sweden. 08-02-'08

In its second week on the Swedish Singles Charts (week 6), 'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008' rises four places to #3! And it's on #20 on the Swedish Real tones Charts.
At the same time, 'The Essential Michael Jackson' climbs to #37 on the Swedish Album Charts (week 6)

Source: Billie Jean

Rolling Stone review. 08-02-'08

The important Rolling Stone magazine has published a review of the Thriller 25 Deluxe Edition and the album received 5 out of 5 stars:

Thriller is the sound of Michael Jackson in 1982, when he was the coolest, slinkiest, prettiest pop star alive. He was Boy George times Rick James and beat both of them at their games, although he did nothing but make the competition sound even better. He taught Boy George fans and Rick James fans to hear each other's music, just as he taught Van Halen, Lionel Richie, ZZ Top, Stevie Nicks and Bruce Springsteen to play to this grand new pop-thrills audience he'd called to the floor. After this, nobody claimed disco sucked again. "Billie Jean" was the hit, with MJ's voice aching with erotic longing and dread, and nearly five minutes of creepy strings and seductive bass and breathy gasps, though there wasn't a station on the dial that faded the song out early. "Beat It" was the one designed to get on rock radio — but "Billie Jean" got there first, since the rock stations played it, along with the rest of the world. They couldn't resist that bass. Who could?

Thriller has been the world's favorite pop album ever since, and this deluxe expanded edition shows why, even with six lame new remixes from artists like Fergie, Akon and Kanye West, as well as the mediocre ballad "For All Time," a rerecorded outtake from the original sessions, tacked on. The twenty-fifth-anniversary edition is like the I'm Not There soundtrack: All the new artists sound cowed by the originals, and they know nobody will ever play their versions twice. Even Kanye can tell he's in over his head, so he sends "Billie Jean" out there without the bass line, which is like putting Bobby Orr on the ice without a hockey stick. And in an early fast-track contender for the year's most pointless musical moment, there's Fergie's "Beat It 2008." How funky and strong is her fight?

Akon's "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" is actually kind of great — he slows it down into a piano ballad, lingering over the easily obscured lyrics. Paul McCartney doesn't show for "The Girl Is Mine 2008," but that would be a sore subject anyway. (What can it mean that the music on "The Girl Is Mine" was played by the guys from Toto, who had that song about Rosanna Arquette — who has recently been linked to McCartney?) Instead we get Will.i.am, whose idea of production is dumb-thug bluster and trying to hide the goofy "doggone" hook, which is the whole point of the song, dude. "The Girl Is Mine" without "doggone" is like "Same Girl" without the Waffle House. Note: Though MJ's original vocals are on here, Jackson himself doesn't participate much in the new versions, showing previously well-hidden instincts of self-preservation.

So that leaves the original Thriller, which hasn't lost any of its fizz. One of the funny things about the album is that even though it's as close as you can get to timeless, it really only could have happened in 1982. That was a watershed year for pop music, with New Wave synth pop and disco feeding into each other, the year of Madonna's "Everybody" and George Clinton's "Atomic Dog" and the Human League's "Don't You Want Me" and Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing." Jackson got this whole era grooving a few years earlier with Off the Wall, but at the end of 1982, right when everybody was still reeling from Prince's 1999, he dropped Thriller and shocked everyone. Madonna made her own version of "Billie Jean," retitled "Like a Virgin." Stevie Nicks called her version "Stand Back," Pat Benatar called hers "Love Is a Battlefield." Bob Dylan called his "Tight Connection to My Heart." Yet none of them could touch the original.

Thriller has MJ at his breathiest and most salacious ("PYT"), and his most beautifully fragile ("Human Nature," so open and brave it makes "She's Out of My Life" seem phony). The one hit that sounds tired now is "Thriller," killed off by the video, with its bid for middlebrow respectability. ("Billie Jean" and "Beat It" are great videos — "Thriller" is just a crap John Landis movie.) But the wiggly bass that kicks off the album in "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' " feels like the sound of MJ's soul, and you can hear it all over his voice. (A big hand for bassist Louis Johnson, please, who also played on "Billie Jean.") By the time he came back with Bad, the wiggle was gone from his bass and his voice. Yet the weirdest thing about Michael Jackson will always be that he gave the world this work of genius.

Source: Rolling Stone / Billie Jean

Thriller25: order your copy on vinyl! 08-02-'08

Thriller25 will be released on vinyl for a second time, this time as a double LP on vinyl! Yes vinyl! This special cut is now available to order through HMV online: click here

Source: hmv / Billie Jean

Win official Thriller25 Ipod. 08-02-'08

The Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang has gotten hold of one of the 300 exclusive iPods that feature the upcoming Thriller 25th Anniversary album. This is not the first time Michael uses the iPod to promote his products, he also did it when Visionary: The video singles were released in 2006.
If you live in Norway you have the chance to win the iPod by answering three questions about Michael. To get to the competition, click here

Source: vg.no / Billie Jean

Quincy Jones' 'Thriller' memories. 07-02-'08

Legendary producer Quincy Jones just gave an interview to Entertainment Weekly where he for example talked about 'Thriller' and meeting Michael again. Below follow some excerpts from that interview:

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How do you feel when you look back at Thriller, 25 years later?
QUINCY JONES: I can't believe it's that long ago. When I go to Shanghai or Cairo or wherever, it's shocking to see that they're still playing it all over the world 25 years later. It's an honour to me.

When you were in the studio recording that music, did you ever imagine it would be that timeless?
You don't think about that kind of stuff when you make records. You want it to be played next week! [Laughs] It's astounding. I picked one of the most incredible teams in the world, the guys that I worked with — [songwriter] Rod Temperton and [engineer] Bruce Swedien and [keyboardist] Greg Phillinganes and [horns/strings arranger] Jerry Hey — it was a divine situation. Everybody had this incredible respect and love and affection for each other. A team that is real honest with each other, that's the key. Because there's nothing in the world like getting a group of guys [like this] around.... I've seen a lot of people [whose] friends and cousins tell them everything they do is perfect. That's a big mistake.

Have you listened to the whole Thriller album start to finish in one sitting recently?
God, no. I haven't done that in 20 years.

Why not?
I have it in my system in my home, but I'm not going to sit there attentively listening to every song. We had a lot of music out in the '80s and the '70s. So it's never been a situation where I just sit down. Maybe I will one day, when I get time. Just sit down and relax and count the blessings, really. Because that's what they are.... Michael came by here the other day.

What was that visit like?
It was great. We just hung out and talked. It was nice to see him. He came with [attorney] Peter Lopez. I hadn't seen him in a long time.

What kind of things did you talk about?
He told me that they were doing some remixes [of songs from Thriller] and so forth. Somebody sent it to me, and they're fantastic. Akon worked on one, will.i.am did one. They were beautiful.

Some people think it's almost blasphemy to remix Thriller.
Look, man, stuff happens. What happens happens, right? Lord knows, Thriller's certainly had its time, and it still does. It's still doing whatever it's supposed to do, which is shocking in itself. I think the way the record business is now, it'll never happen again.

Why do you say that?
It was the very beginning of MTV, back when MTV wasn't even playing black music. In a way, Michael and MTV rode each other to glory, in terms of establishing the format for videos. I still see every day, videos that were made last month that look just like the videos that he made 25 years ago. It's amazing. And, you know, everything grows. It has its natural evolution and it evolves. When you've been in the music business this long, nothing surprises you. I started back with 78 [rpm] records — that's how long I've been in the business. [...]

Michael's also been recording an all-new album of his own. As someone who's collaborated with him closely, where would you like to see him go with his music?
I don't know. Right now, I haven't been concentrating on that. I've been involved in a lot of things, mainly my foundation — running all over the world, trying to figure out what to do about these kids that are having a real difficult time in Cambodia, Rwanda, the favelas, Katrina, everywhere. I care about that more than anything in the world. I'm going to be 75 this year. At that age, you've got to come up with some big solutions. [...]
To read the complete interview, click here

Source: Entertainment Weekly / Billie Jean

SoBe Life Water: Thrillicious - Part 2 (Grammy's). 07-02-'08

Naturally, when Pepsi launches a major promotional campaign which centres around a very distinct catchphrase: "Thrillicious!" and proceeds to puts out a ~$5,500,000 Super Bowl commercial based entirely on the Thriller theme, coupled with an elaborate Web site Thrillicious.com, one would expect for the "Thrillicious" campaign to continue well beyond the Super Bowl event. In fact, according to reports that is exactly what Pepsi plans to do at the next biggest television event--the 2008 GRAMMY Awards.

The Super Bowl commercial starring Naomi Campbell has become an online viral sensation, and has received several hundred thousand more views on You Tube than any other Super Bowl commercial. If those views translate into votes, there is a good chance that this commercial will be featured on the You Tube home page on February 12th, the same day that Thriller 25 is released. Widespread polls, surveys, and ad meters have also consistently placed the SoBe Life Water commercial as one of the top ads of the Super Bowl.

EURweb advises its readers: "Look for a continuation of the Thrillicious momentum and more links between SoBe Life Water and "Thriller" during Sunday's telecast of the 50th Annual Grammy Awards at 9 p.m. on CBS."
As reported previously, the 2008 GRAMMY Awards will be featuring an "All-Star Thriller Tribute" so what better time could there possibly be to further promote the Thrillicious campaign than right in the middle of this event?

Further promotional strategies remain unclear and unannounced. Will additional "Thriller-themed" commercials be produced, perhaps with different celebrities dancing with the lizards? Will billboards and posters be produced to promote the "Thrillicious" Life Water beverage? Presumably, more downloadable 'episodes' of Lee the Lizard will be produced and put up for download on the official Thrillicious site.

Source: EURweb / Billie Jean

Hear Thriller25 now. 07-02-'08

You've been waiting, now you can hear the Thriller 25th Anniversary CD right now! EXCLUSIVELY at Clear Channel.
Thanks to Clear Channel, you can hear the Thriller 25th Anniversary CD before it hits stores next week exclusively in the USA. Simply click here
While you are there, you can also check out Michael's videos, photos, and a preview of the brand new Thriller cast pod cast series.
Please note that the audios are accessible for US residents only.

Source: michaeljackson.com / Billie Jean

The Grammy All-Star Tribute to Michael Jackson's Thriller. 06-02-'08

Commercials have started airing in promotion of this Sunday's live musical ceremony, the 2008 Grammy Awards. There have been at least three variations of the commercial, one of which mentions the special 25th anniversary tribute to Michael Jackson's landmark Thriller album.
It is anticipated that will.i.am, Akon, Fergie, and perhaps Kanye West and other artists will take part in honouring Michael Jackson's Thriller by putting on tribute performances.
Please note that it has been neither confirmed nor denied by any official party whether or not Michael Jackson will be in attendance. Some reports have speculated that he will attend but will NOT be performing, while other sources have stated that he will be sending a video statement to the show instead.
Look here to the commercial.

Source: michaeljackson.com / Billie Jean

Sony Press Release On 'Thriller25'. 06-02-'08

MICHAEL JACKSON'S THRILLER 25

IS ROCKING THE PLANET!

International Anticipation For Thriller 25,
The New Edition Of The World's Biggest Selling Album Of All Time,
Reaches Fever Pitch With New Hit Singles, An All-Star 40-Episode "Thriller Cast" Pod cast Event, The "Thrillicious" Sobe Life Water Ad Campaign Launch At Super Bowl, Michael Jackson Lifetime Achievement Award At NRJ Music Awards At Cannes & More

Thriller 25
-- 2008's Most Eagerly-Awaited Album --
Available Worldwide Week Of February 11, 2008

(dateline - New York - February 6, 2008; source: Legacy Recordings)

Global anticipation for the release of Thriller 25, the newly expanded deluxe 25th anniversary edition of Michael Jackson's Thriller, the world's top-selling album of all-time, is already reaching a fever pitch across the planet with surprise hit singles, an ongoing 40-episode "Thriller Cast" pod cast event, the premiere of the "Thrillicious" Sobe Life Water ad campaign at the Super Bowl, the presentation of a Lifetime Achievement Award to Michael Jackson at the NRJ Music Awards at Cannes and a host of upcoming events and surprises.

Thriller 25 will be available around the world the week of February 11. The album debuts seven bonus tracks including new collaborations with Akon, Fergie, will.i.am and a Kanye West remix of "Billie Jean 2008."

The Michael Jackson Thriller 25th anniversary celebration runs throughout 2008 with a multi-faceted global marketing campaign featuring high-profile television, radio and online events around the world and the major re-launch of Michael's official website, www.michaeljackson.com

The first single from Thriller 25, “The Girl Is Mine 2008” featuring will.i.am, is a surprise smash hit climbing up the radio airplay and digital sales charts around the world.

One of the best-received commercial highlights of Super Bowl XLII was the premiere of "Thrillicious," PepsiCo Inc's Sobe Life Water spot starring supermodel Naomi Campbell and a cast of animated lizards busting out a series of fiercely choreographed dance moves to the tune of Michael Jackson's "Thriller."

Michael Jackson was recently honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the prestigious NRJ Music Awards ceremony at the opening of MIDEM in Cannes, France. Following a video tribute to the artist, Michael Jackson delivered a personal message via satellite to NRJ attendees and a television audience of more than 7 million viewers.

A recent Thriller 25 promotion in London featured professional dancers re-enacting the iconic "Thriller" zombie choreography on the London Underground, Trafalgar Square and other unusual locations. A competition has been launched for UK Michael fans to submit their own versions of the "Thriller" dance to You Tube.

"Thriller cast," a groundbreaking 40-episode pod cast event, launches on February 12th and will be updated weekly throughout 2008. The series features icons of music, screen and culture including hip-hop legend Darryl "DMC" McDaniels, superstars Nick Cannon and Chris Brown, choreographers Shane Sparks and Mia Michaels from the hit show "So You Think You Can Dance," and dozens of other special guests. Each episode takes us behind the scenes into their lives to explore their own personal experiences with Thriller and its influence on them, both personally and professionally. "Thriller cast" will be available for free through iTunes, Zune, and all major pod cast providers, as well as directly through www.michaeljackson.com

Thriller 25 includes all nine of Thriller's original performances as well as seven bonus tracks including five mind-blowing 21st century homage's to Thriller featuring some of the hottest performers in contemporary pop and soul music:

"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008," produced by Michael Jackson and Akon, is a brand new version of Thriller's opening cut showcasing newly recorded 2008 vocals by Michael Jackson and Akon.

Previously unreleased in any form, "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) 2008" by Michael Jackson with will.i.am is Michael's original pre-album demo remixed by Michael and will.i.am with newly added vocals and production from will.i.am.

"The Girl Is Mine 2008" is another Michael Jackson with will.i.am collaboration based on a demo predating Michael's duet with Paul McCartney. This is a new, previously unreleased track, newly produced and mixed by Michael and will.i.am featuring a will.i.am rap. "The Girl Is Mine 2008" is being introduced as the album's first single in numerous international territories and is already charting in Brazil, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Poland, South Africa, Switzerland, the UK and Japan, where it entered the Top 10 at #5.

"Billie Jean 2008" features the original tracks of Michael's watershed signature hit, newly remixed by Kanye West.

"Beat It 2008" is both a remix and a new track featuring Michael's vocals and many instrumental tracks from the Thriller original coupled with seductive new vocals by Fergie with new band tracks and production by Michael Jackson and will.i.am.

Thriller 25 closes with "For All Time," a nascent classic recorded by Michael during the original Thriller sessions in 1982 but never completed or released until now. Michael has added new vocals and band tracks to his original recording. Mixed by Mick Guzawski and newly-produced by Michael Jackson, "For All Time" provides a sublime and fitting close to this new, definitive edition of Thriller, the top-selling album of all time.

As an added bonus for fans, Thriller 25 includes a DVD featuring Michael Jackson's groundbreaking short films from Thriller ("Thriller," "Beat It," and "Billie Jean") and the artist's Emmy-nominated breakout performance of "Billie Jean" from the legendary "Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever" television special (first broadcast on NBC on May 16, 1983).

The Thriller 25 CD/DVD set will be available in three collectible editions: a standard version with the album's original cover art; a standard version with a new "Zombie" cover; and a deluxe edition in a hard-bound casebook format with a 48-page booklet. Both standard versions contain the CD and bonus DVD in a brilliant box with a rainbow holographic O-card and a 20-page booklet. Thriller 25 will also be available in the US as a Platinum Music Pass Album Card, a digital album card which will enable consumers to download Thriller 25, and special bonus content in the form of high-quality MP3 files.

Originally released 25 years ago early December 1982 by Epic Records, Thriller, Michael Jackson's sixth solo album and second with producer Quincy Jones, rocketed the former child-star lead singer for the Jackson 5 into the stratosphere of international superstardom. Introducing the "robot" and the "moonwalk" into the international lexicon of club land dance moves via the pulsing sounds of Thriller, Michael Jackson revolutionized all aspects of mainstream pop culture -- from radio airwaves to the newly emerging art form of music videos -- becoming the world's most popular entertainer in the process.

The original Thriller spent an astounding 80 consecutive weeks in the American Top 10, 37 of those at #1. Seven of the album's original nine tracks became Top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 while Individual singles from Thriller reached #1 chart positions in the US, the UK, France, Italy, Australia, Denmark, Belgium, South Africa, Spain, Ireland, New Zealand and Canada.

Thriller made history as the first and only record to be America's top-selling album two years running (1983 and 1984).

Thriller has been certified 27x platinum by the RIAA, giving it Double Diamond Award status in the US. In addition, the album has achieved Diamond or Multi-Platinum status in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. In 1985, the Guinness Book of Records named Thriller the Best Selling Album of All Time, an achievement which remains unsurpassed to this day.

In February 1984, Michael Jackson held a record-breaking 12 Grammy nominations, going on to win eight, which stands as the record for most Grammy Awards to be won by anyone in a single year. Seven of Michael's Grammy's that year were for Thriller: Album of the Year; Record of the Year ("Beat It"); Best Male Pop Vocal Performance ("Thriller"); Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical (Thriller); Best Male Rock Vocal Performance ("Beat It"); Best Male R&B Vocal Performance ("Billie Jean"); Best R&B Song ("Billie Jean"). (Michael's eighth Grammy that year was in the Best Recording For Children - Single or Album, Musical or Spoken category for "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial"). That same year, Michael Jackson took home eight American Music Awards and three MTV Video Music Awards. The following year, "The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller" took home the Best Video Album trophy at the 27th Annual Grammy Awards.

Named the "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time" by the Guinness World Records, Michael Jackson is among the most highly acclaimed and influential artists in pop culture. He was named the World Music Award's Best-Selling Pop Male Artist of the Millennium and received the American Music Award's Artist of the Century Award. He has been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice: in 1997 as a member of the Jackson 5 and as a solo artist in 2001.

THRILLER - 25
The World's Biggest Selling Album of All Time

Thriller - original track listing - US Billboard Chart Peaks
"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" - (#5 Hot 100, #5 R&B)
"Baby Be Mine"
"The Girl Is Mine" (with Paul McCartney) - (#2 Hot 100, #1 R&B, #1 Adult Contemporary)
Thriller" - (#4 Hot 10, #3 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks)
"Beat It" - (#1 Hot 100, #1 R&B)
"Billie Jean" - (#1 Hot 100, #1 R&B, #9 A/C)
"Human Nature" - (#7 Hot 100, #2 Adult Contemporary)
"P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" - (#10 Hot 100)
"The Lady in My Life"

Bonus Material:
10. Vincent Price Excerpt
From "Thriller" Voice-Over Session

Previously Unreleased Tracks for 25th Anniversary Edition
11. The Girl Is Mine 2008 with will.i.am
12. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) 2008 with will.i.am
13. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008 with Akon
14. Beat It 2008 with Fergie
15. Billie Jean 2008 Kanye West mix
16. For All Time (unreleased track from original Thriller sessions)

DVD
The Short Films
1. BILLIE JEAN
2. BEAT IT
3. THRILLER
4. BILLIE JEAN – The Legendary Performance from Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, and Forever

25th Anniversary Executive Producer: Michael Jackson
Original Album Produced by Quincy Jones for Quincy Jones Productions

Source: Sony Switzerland / Billie Jean

Fergie`s version of 'Beat It'. 06-02-'08

Singer Fergie has contributed her version of 'Beat It' to the 'Thriller 25th Anniversary Edition'. Apparently she begged her Black Eyed Peas band mate will.i.am to let her re-record the song - because it's one of her all-time favourite tunes:
"When I found out nobody was doing it I had to do it... Thriller was such a huge album for me growing up.
I just tried to sound like Michael Jackson, I just imitated him."
And now Fergie is desperate to hear what Michael Jackson thinks of her cover:
"I met him over the phone, we have yet to meet in person."
Source: Contactmusic / Billie Jean

'WBSS' and 'The Girl Is Mine' entered the charts. 06-02-'08

Michael's 'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008' featuring Akon has entered the Australian Singles Charts at a great #20 this week (issue date February 4. 2008)!
Also 'Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ 2008' entered the Sweden Digital Chart at #5 and 'The Girl Is Mine 2008' featuring Will.I.Am is at #60.
Source: Billie Jean

No performance by the King Of Pop @ Grammy’s? 05-02-'08

Michael Jackson will appear on the 50th anniversary Grammy Awards show, we hear, but he has vowed not to perform. Jackson appears to have won a stare-down with the Grammy-givers at the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Show producer Ken Ehrlich wants to feature guest stars from the re-released Thriller.

Source: NY Daily News / Billie Jean

'The Girl Is Mine 2008' out today. 04-02-'08

Michael’s new single with Will.i.am, ‘The Girl Is Mine 2008’, is out in the shops today as a three track CD and a three track digital release.
To purchase your copy on CD through Amazon.co.uk click here

Source: Amazon / Billie Jean

Ebony/Jet Magazines: officially sold out! 04-02-'08

MJJMAGAZINE can exclusively reveal that, according to Johnson Publishing, both EBONY and JET magazines featuring Michael are out-of-print and sold out.
Also, a special digital issue will be available soon at EBONY/JET's official web site and/or on the Zinio.com e-magazines web site. Both magazines are still available, in limited quantities, at MJJSHOP.COM !!!
MJJMAGAZINE members will have the opportunity to participate in contests, receive a special 10% discount at MJJSHOP.COM, special reduced entrance to MJ fan events and much more..!

Source: MJJMAGAZINE.COM / Johnson Publishing / Billie Jean

Michael interested in Kehinde Wiley art. 04-02-'08

Acclaimed painter Kehinde Wiley, whose buyers include Denzel Washington and Sir Elton John, is famed for his portraits of urban black men in classic Renaissance scenes. In an interview he said that he was recently approached by Michael Jackson and initially thought it was a hoax:
"Michael Jackson is calling me. We're discussing exactly what it will involve. He saw my work at the Brooklyn Museum and was taken with it, so he had his people contact me.
I thought it was a joke at first, so I ignored it for the longest time. Then he contacted a friend of mine who's an actor, so I knew it was for real."
Kehinde Wiley is a New York based painter from Los Angeles who has situated himself firmly within art history's tradition of portrait painting. He appropriates the signs and visual rhetoric of the heroic, powerful, opulent, majestic, and sublime in his representations of young, urban, black men. His portraits are based on photographs of young men who Wiley sees on the street. Dressed in street clothes, they are asked to assume poses from the paintings of Renaissance masters, such as Titian and Tie polo.

Source: Wikipedia / Billie Jean

Olay Ray talks about Thriller video shoot. 03-02-'08

Ola Ray was a 22-year-old model trying to break into acting in 1982 when she beat hundreds of other hopefuls to the part of Michael Jackson's girlfriend in the short film for the song Thriller. The former Playboy centrefold was a huge fan of the singer and says she was always confident of landing the role.
"The minute I walked into the audition I knew it was mine," she says. "I read a few lines, danced to some music and the rest is history."

Ola still had to wait two weeks until she got the good news. But she'll never forget her first meeting with Michel Jackson.
"I was getting changed, so I was crouched down half naked on the dressing room floor and he came in and giggled. I was used to taking my clothes off in front of strangers. Michael seemed very relaxed about it."
Ola, meanwhile 47 and a full-time mum living in California, knew Thriller was going to be no ordinary video.
"It helped that I was crazy about Michael and he seemed taken by the fact I was a Playboy model."

She says she loved to flirt with the star, who was then dating actress Brooke Shields.
"I teased him, saying I wanted to be his girl.
After we shared a limo, I sprayed my perfume around so he'd remember me. He was cute but childlike. Michael then was nothing like the Michael of today. He loved chasing me or jumping out from behind a wall."

The album is still the biggest seller of all time, with 104 million sold. But Ola didn't have a share of the honey pot and ended in financial trouble. She says Michael used to help out with cheques of around £2,500:
"I did lots of TV commercials but I wasn't exactly flooded with work. Everyone thinks I made millions but I don't care... I wouldn't change anything. I'm just so proud to have been part of something that's still so special."

Source: Sunday Mirror / Billie Jean

SoBe Life Water: Thriller dance feat. Naomi Campbell. 03-02-'08

The much anticipated and widely speculated Pepsi commercial for SoBe Life Water finally made its debut yesterday during the Super Bowl game on FOX and also on the official Thrillicious site.
The commercial stars supermodel Naomi Campbell and a horde of CG lizards (including Lee the Lizard). This comical, minute-long commercial centres The video is also viewable online, click here
The official site that accompanies this commercial, which includes high resolution downloads of the various "Lee the Lizard" episodes, can be accessed at Thrillicious.com

Source: Sony / Billie Jean

Thriller25: new video & interview. 03-02-'08

The following video has been released by Sony to promote Thriller25.
The worlds biggest selling album just got bigger featuring collaborations with Akon, Kanye West & Fergie with brand new vocals from Michael Jackson. In this video, artists discuss his Genius and Why he is the King Of Pop.

Source: Sony / Billie Jean

Akon talks about Super bowl Ad. 03-02-'08

It's supposed to be top secret - but Akon is giving out a titbit of information about the rumoured ad that Michael Jackson is involved in for the upcoming Super Bowl. Akon told The Associated Press on Friday at Maxim's pre-Super Bowl bash:
"We just did a commercial - it's a Pepsi commercial. He actually involved me in it so I feel like I'm a part of that process."
While Akon did confirm a commercial does exist, he was closed-mouthed when asked how to describe it:
"Oh, he (Michael) might kill me. But it's goanna be funny. You're going to love it. He's not even in it. But it's crazy. I want to tell you so bad!"
Talking about his and other artists' contribution to the 'Thriller 25th Anniversary Edition he added:
"It's really more so Mike picking a lot of the acts that he liked and admired today, and kind of getting them the big songs that they like and reinventing it like it was their own. Everyone has their own taste of how that would have been."

Source: AOL Music / Billie Jean

Sheikh Abdullah: "Michael is a dear friend". 02-02-'08

In an interview to Times Online, prince Abdullah bin Hamad al-Khalifa of Bahrain talked about his friendship with Michael Jackson. After the child molestation trial, Michael had spent several month in Bahrain as a guest of the sheikh and the two had also worked on musical projects. In 2007, the sheikh sued Michael Jackson in London’s High Court (United Kingdom).
“All I will say is that Michael is a dear friend,” says Sheikh Abdullah. “It is a business problem. It is not personal. But let me tell you: Michael is not at all weird or bizarre. He is one of the most down-to-earth, sweetest guys I’ve ever met.”

Source: AOL Music / Billie Jean

AOL Music launches all MJ Radio Channel. 02-02-'08

Just in time for the release of the 'Thriller 25th Anniversary Edition', AOL Music launched a new streaming radio channel entirely devoted to Michael Jackson! It's a free channel streaming 24/7 that plays CD-quality sound. The play list goes from the Jackson 5 to 'Thriller' to 'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008' and everything in-between.
Click here to listen All Michael Jackson Radio

Source: AOL Music / Billie Jean

Official Thriller Pod cast. 01-02-'08

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of Michael Jackson’s multi-platinum, multi-award winning album Thriller, Legacy Recordings is proud to present Thriller cast: A groundbreaking pod cast event dedicated to the 25th anniversary celebration of the world's biggest selling album of all time, "Thriller".
The free pod casts will start February 1 with "Episode 0", a teaser of what's to come, with a new episode available (roughly) each week starting on February 12. Subscribe to the series via iTunes or Zune, through the RSS Feed, http://feeds.feedburner.com/thrillercast, or listen directly from the Official Michael Jackson Web Site, http://www.michaeljackson.com/podcast.

Source: Sony / Billie Jean

Billboard Charts updates. 01-02-'08

'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008' featuring Michael Jackson and Akon, the first single from the Thriller 25th Anniversary Edition in the USA, debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 charts this week (issue date 09-02-2008) at #81.
Simultaneously it debuted on the Billboard Pop 100 charts on #48.
And it debuted on the Hot Digital Tracks charts at #38 and on the Hot Digital Songs charts at #47.
The current position on the Billboard Pop 100 Airplay charts is #49, falling just 2 positions from #47 last week.
Keep requesting the song on your local radio station!
Source: mjfc / Billie Jean

Announcement: UK HMV Thriller25 official launch. 01-02-'08

For the release of Thriller25 - the official UK launch event will take place at HMV, Oxford Street, London.
Sony have teamed up with the Thriller Live Tour - and plan to put on a very special event!
We're looking for as many fans as possible to turn up and show their support!!!

MONDAY 11th February 2008
HMV
150 Oxford Street, London, 10.30am

Source: Sony / Billie Jean

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