The video game that will recreate the famous dance movements of Michael Jackson, will be named “Michael Jackson: The Experience”, and it will be released in November this year. This game was conceived before the megastar’s death. “Michael Jackson: The Experience” will benefit of the newest technology, compatible with Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. The Xbox version will utilize Kinect software, meaning the gamer will be able to “see himself” on the screen. The goal of this game is to learn how to dance like Michael, said Tony Key from Ubisoft. The gamer will receive points depending how well he dances.
A South Korean newspaper has filed legal papers against the Jackson family matriach, claiming she owes millions from a loan that was taken out in 1994.
According to a report on TMZ.com, the Segye Times is going after every dollar Katherine makes until she pays off the alleged $13 million debt.
The publication has filed legal papers with the Michael Jackson estate, informing the court it got a judgment against Katherine in 1994 for $4 million.
The newspaper claims it advanced Katherine, Joe and Jermaine $5.5 million for a series of Jackson family concerts back in 1994 that never took place.
The Segye Times now claims that with interest the judgment exceeds $13 million, and it wants an order from the judge forcing the estate to pay the paper any money the estate might give to Katherine.
Since the death of Michael Jackson, the King of Pop’s estate has generated a massive $783 million from CD sales, ‘This is It’ theatrical and DVD releases, a 50 percent stake in the Sony/ATV catalogue as well as owning most of Mijac Publishing. I hope that the late singer’s kids are seeing that cash and that it’s not just going to paying off debts or legal fees and whatnot. It’s been a year since Michael has passed yet he still has such a tremendous effect in the music industry. He just might end up as the pop equivalent to rock and roll’s Elvis Presley.
Rihanna’s last album ‘Rated R’ was a big disappointment and I am hoping that whatever new music she has in store would be much better. The Vice President of Def Jam, Bu Thiam, recently shared a little about the singer’s upcoming album. He told Vibe, “I’m trying to push her to where every song will be a hit from 1 to 12. I’m talking about NO album fillers. Our bar for this album is Michael Jackson’s Thriller. We got smashes from Stargate, Ester Dean, Mel & Mus and Rock City. We’re definitely going in with Ne-Yo, The-Dream and other writers and producers that have always been a part of her creative process since day one.” I hope they deliver the goods.
Elizabeth Taylor has hit out at Michael Jackson’s doctor for claiming that the singer was gay, according to reports.
The veteran Hollywood star, 78, who was close friends with the music legend before his death in June last year, took to Twitter to criticise Jackson’s dermatologist Dr Arnold Klein for saying Jacko had had a romantic relationship with his office manager.
Earlier today, she tweeted: “Dr Arnie Klein declared on 2 May that he did not betray Michael Jackson by saying publicly that he had a homosexual relationship with someone in ‘Arnie’s’ office.
It seems he supplies not only women (Debbie Rowe), but men too… how convenient. Just what we want in our doctors.
And then to say he did not betray Michael’s confidence. No wonder he has death threats.
She added: “I thought doctors, like priests, took an oath of confidentiality. May God have mercy on his soul.”
Michael Jackson’s classic video Thriller has been voted the most influential in history. A MySpace-commissioned poll interviewed more than 1000 music fans who selected from a shortlist of 20 videos selected by music and entertainment critics.
According to ABC News, Britney Spears’ song Baby One More Time came in third, followed by A-Ha’s part-animated Take On Me.
Thriller, famous for being the first to knock down boundaries between music and film-making, garnered 15.2 per cent of the votes, ahead of Here It Goes Again, the 2006 internet hit featuring OK Go dancing on treadmills.
A voicemail tape allegedly recorded from the phone of Conrad Murray on the morning of Michael Jackson’s death surfaced over the weekend.
The fleeting 18-second recording is alleged to be that of Murray informing a patient of a cardiac-related diagnosis. News Of The World reports the voice tape, which has the time stamp of 11.54am, a time when Murray was alleged to be giving Jackson CPR, has the potential to clear the doctor of his involuntary manslaughter charge.
In the tape, Murray says calmly: “This is Doctor Murray, Bob. Hi, how are you? Um, sorry I missed you. Just wanted to talk to you about your results of the EECP. You did quite well on the study. We would love to continue to see you as a patient even though I may have to be absent from my practice for, uh, because of an overseas sabbatical.”
The tape, however, could be open to several interpretations that go beyond media reporting at this time. Jackson, according to police records, was discovered to have stopped breathing by Murray at 11am after an IV dose of Propofol. Jackson, 50, who died on June 25, 2009, used the drug, an anaesthetic, to sleep. His death was declared a homicide by Los Angeles authorities. Murray, who is out on $75,000 bail, must appear before court on April 5 for an evidentiary hearing.
In a fascinating development, it has emerged that Conrad Murray may appear in court before a black-dominated downtown LA jury.
But one of Murray’s lawyers, J. Michael Flanagan of Glendale, told TMZ the possibility did not worry him. He said Murray had been just as much of an “inspiration” as Michael Jackson, one of history’s most successful black musicians.
“Dr Murray is as much of an inspiration as Michael Jackson was,” Flanagan said.
The veteran attorney also said the doctor accused of manslaughter in the homicide death of Jackson last year was a man of “humble means who became very successful” and that a jury would appreciate as much.
Murray, who pleaded not guilty, faces an evidentiary hearing on April 5 in Los Angeles.
It has been 25 years since We are the World was released and Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie are planning to record an anniversary edition of the song to benefit the victims of the Haiti earthquake. They already planned to perform on January 28 as part of the anniversary celebration but when the tragedy struck in Haiti, the project formed into a fundraiser for the country. Usher, John Legend and Natalie Cole have been invited and more performers are expected to join. A music video will accompany the new version as well. The original song featured Lionel, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Cyndi Lauper, Billy Joel and many others.
Heidi Montag has invested a lot into her album Superficial. Not only did the attention whore produce it independently but the wannabe singer also spent $2 million on in and believes that it holds up to Michael Jacksons Thriller. She wishes! She said Ive spent as much timemaybe more, eventhan Thriller. Every detail was very important to me, because I take this very seriously. Most artists, its not their own money, but Ive actually gone broke putting every dollar Ive ever made and my heart and soul into this music. For me, I have a different appreciation, a different understanding, and a different love of my music and for my album than any other artist possibly could. Because this is my money. This is my gamble. This is my chance.
According to FBI documents, the guy who threatened to kill Michael Jackson also threatened to slaughter people at a concert of the King of Pop, and it all appears to be a scheme to get a woman to take notice. The guy wrote I’ll commit mass murder at a Michael Jackson concert if necessary, in an attempt to murder Michael, then you will have to deal with my situation in the public eye. The guy appears to be obsessed with a woman and is making these threats to get her attention. He even wrote some letters to newspapers saying I’m 33 years old and never had a real relationship in my life. I can’t even slow dance. Its a good thing they caught the guy because he is seriously whack!
The rapper is apparently a strong believer in the fact that his celebrity status will be much greater after he dies. This is what 50 Cent said on the matter: “As an artist you’re greater in your absence than in your presence. Everyone liked Michael Jackson more the week after he passed away than the week before. Maybe they’ll like me more when I’m gone. I’d definitely like to be remembered as a great artist.” Well, 50 Cent should know that the Michael Jackson thing wasnt all due to the fact that he was such a great artist, but because of all of the media coverage. 50 Cent shouldnt just lay on his back, there is much work to be done before being remembered as a great artist after dying and anonymity during life sure helps.
Michael Jackson and Taylor Swift were the big winners at tonight’s American Music Awards, with Swift narrowly beating The King of Pop in the trophy stakes.
Nineteen-year-old Swift picked up five awards, including Artist of the Year, while Jackson was recognised posthumously in four categories.
Jackson’s awards included Favourite Pop/Rock Artist and Pop/Rock Album for his 2003 album, Number 1s, bringing his total number of AMAs to 25. His brother Jermaine accepted the awards on his behalf.
Swift accepted her awards from London where she is currently on tour and paid tribute to Jackson in her speech.
“I just want to say that music has never been ultimately about competition and to even be mentioned in a category with Michael Jackson who we’ll miss and love forever is an unimaginable honour,” she said. “And I just want to say I’m sending my love to the Jackson family and Janet.”
Michael’s sister Janet kicked off the show with a medley of her hits, and Whitney Houston performed I Didn’t Know My Own Strength, while Jennifer Lopez took an on-stage tumble while performing.
Never one to shrink from the limelight, Lady GaGa gave a typically outrageous performance. Wearing a flesh-coloured bodysuit covered in white flashing piping she used her microphone to smash open a glass box with a piano inside before smashing glass bottles on stage throughout her performance while violinists wearing gas masks played beside her.
Rihanna gave her first solo performance since her domestic dispute with Chris Brown and appeared on stage in a sexy cutout catsuit shackled to a gurney in a mad scientist’s laboratory to perform Hard and Wait Your Turn from her latest album, while Shakira performed her new single Give It Up to Me.
The Black Eyed Peas, Jay-Z, Green Day and Beyonce all went home with awards over the course of the evening.
Michael Jacksons homicide investigation is taking longer than expected. One law enforcement source connected with the case said We’ve had bad luck with big cases like OJ in the past, and we don’t want to repeat those mistakes. The source also spoke of the Robert Blake case, which some experts believe was also botched. The source added There is not a problem with the case. Time is on our side. We want to do this right. Authorities want to make sure that no other pharmacies apart from Applied Pharmacy in Las Vegas sent Propofol to Dr. Conrad Murray. While everyone is hoping to end the investigation before the Christmas holidays, it could get pushed to January.
As time passes, more and more people are trying to cash in on Michael Jacksons death. You can add another one to that list. The original marriage certificate which was issued to the King of Pop and Lisa Marie Presley, from when they were married in the Dominican Republic in 1994, is going up for auction in January. Phillip Weiss, who is auctioning off the paper, says when you have an item that combines his name and legend with the Presley name and legend, their marriage certificate no less, with both of their signatures on it, youve got something thats almost impossible to predict what it will bring at auction. Hes got a valid point.
It was recently announced that the Michael Jackson documentary This is It will remain in theaters through Thanksgiving weekend. In a press release, the chairman of Sony Pictures, Jeff Blake, explained In just 5 days, Michael Jacksons THIS IS IT has become the highest grossing concert film of all time and we are elated by the response to this special film by fans, critics and moviegoers from all over the world. With this kind of global response, its clear that the motion picture deserves an extended run and we are going to do everything we can to make the film available to everyone who wants to see Michael Jacksons THIS IS IT on the big screen. Considering the weekend turn out, I think they are seriously over-estimating the public interest in the movie.
Director Kenny Ortega has recalled his memories of the last time he spoke to pal Michael Jackson before his death.
Ortega, 59, was working on preparations for Jackson’s This Is It shows in London when the star tragically died from a heart attack.
Talking about their final meeting, he said to the UK’s The Times Magazine: “He said: ‘I’ll see you tomorrow. That’s exactly what he said to me. Then he left, with a big smile on his face, waving goodbye to everybody.
“One of our movie producers ran over to thank Michael for the work we had done that night to finish the films.
“He came running back to me and said: ‘You won’t believe what Michael just said to me: ‘Make sure those ghosts come through the screen!’”
He added: “It was just funny, because with all the 3-D stuff, Michael was always insistent: ‘Make sure everything’s coming out at the audience so they’re ducking out of the way of it.’ The fan’s wouldn’t have known what hit them.”
Ortega worked on new movie This Is It, which recently had its world premiere, which shows footage of Jackson working on preparations for the shows.
A video of a postman doing a moonwalk to a Michael Jackson hit has become an internet hit.
Mike, 36, was filmed by colleagues doing the King of Pop’s legendary dance moves in a five-minute routine at his delivery office to the Jacko hit Billie Jean.
The footage was shot in St Albans, Herts, in the UK and has had over 3,500 hits since it was posted on the website YouTube.
DVDs of the hit routine have also been made and hundreds have been sold off to raise money for charity.
Mike, who filmed the smash-hit video before the star’s death, said: “Michael was my idol. The dance was a bit of fun, I’d no idea I’d get such a response.”
<p>Michael Jackson’s estate will pay half of the profits it reaps from his new song, This Is It, to Paul Anka.
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<p>Anka hit the airwaves immediately after the song’s release yesterday to claim his authorship as a co-writer with Jackson of a song with the title I Never Heard in the 1980s.
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<p>This Is It is a prelude to a movie and a two-disc album of the same title due out on October 26.
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<p>Anka, who declared the track was “exactly the same song” as I Never Heard, threatened to sue before the estate’s executors moved to assuage him. “We acknowledge that Michael and Paul wrote this song together,” said John Branca.
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<p>John McClain, the estate’s other executor and a co-producer of the album, said of the song: “[It] only defines, once again, what the world already knows – that Michael is one of God’s greatest gifts.”</p>
<br />Source: Splash News
The LAPD is reportedly on schedule to present the case against Dr. Conrad Murray to the LA County DAs office this week. LAPD detectives planned to wrap up their case and present it by the second week in October and were only waiting for some written evaluations by medical professionals who reviewed the evidence surrounding Michael Jacksons death. Sources say that Dr. Murray is still the sole target. One well-place law enforcement source says that theres a 70/30 chance that the DA will take the case to the LA County Grand Jury rather than charge the suspicious doctor directly. As one source said, it can be a complicated case and a lengthy prelim hearing wouldnt have a whole lot of good for prosecutors but a grand jury indictment would be easy to get.
For several weeks, Michael Jacksons tomb at Forest Lawn Memorial Park was under maximum round the clock security. Its now being said that the extra protection has been scaled back. Sources say that the mausoleum that houses the late singers body was being monitored by a private security firm hired specifically to protect the King of Pops grave. As of last week, the extra protection was nowhere to be seen. Sources at Forest Lawn confirm the security change but insist that Michaels resting place will still be under constant watch of the guards under their employment, 24-hour cameras and alarms.
Introducing Orianthi, the guitar phenomenon who is featured prominently in the upcoming Michael Jackson concert documentary, This Is It. Already a renowned musician, Orianthi has been playing guitar since the age of eleven and was discovered by legend Carlos Santana. After playing with artists like Carrie Underwood, ZZ Top, and Prince, she received a MySpace message from Michael Jackson’s musical director asking her to audition for his comeback tour. Following a test run with the King of Pop himself, she was selected as his lead guitarist for his O2 arena dates in London – a crowning acheivement for the 24 year old from Adelaide, Australia.
Now Orianthi is preparing to release her solo debut album, Believe, on October 27th. In addition to her talent at guitar, Orianthi has a gorgeous voice and even sang at Michael Jackson’s Staples Center memorial service. Even before starting rehearsals for his tour though, she was hard at work writing and recording the album with her band. Believe is full of anthemic rock tracks with a sound reminiscent of Paramore or Evanescence, but entirely Orianthi thanks to her signature shreds and thunderous hooks. Her first single, “According to You” is a catchy tale of an ungrateful boyfriend, featuring a killer guitar solo.
To hear the story in her own words, watch Orianthi in this segment from Australia’s Today show. Visit Orianthi.com for updates on this rising star, and be sure to check her out in This Is It out on October 28th.
Orianthi Panagaris Interview On Today Show:
Michael Jackson boasted that he was the first black performer to make Scottish and Irish girls scream, according to a new book.
The singer allegedly said that he was a sex symbol to a whole generation of white girls – which he claimed angered the “white press” so much, they began to invent bizarre stories to discredit him.
Jackson made the claims in a series of taped interviews from 2000-2001, with his pal and former spiritual adviser, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, which have now been published in a new book, The Michael Jackson Tapes.
In one interview, Jackson said: “You had [Harry] Belafonte, you had Sammy [Davis Jr], you had Nat King Cole. People loved their music, but they didn’t get adulation, they didn’t get crying.
“I was the first one to break the ice, break the mould, where white girls, Scottish girls, Irish girls are screaming, ‘I’m in love with you, I want to…’ “And… the white press, they didn’t like that, and that’s why they started the stories – ‘He’s weird, he’s gay, he sleeps in a hyperbaric chamber, he wants to buy the Elephant Man’s bones.’
“Anything that turned people against me. They tried their hardest.”
Boteach said on the Today show earlier today that Jackson had once told him that he didn’t want to appear in public anymore because I am like a lizard. It is horrible”.
The new single from Michael Jackson, entitled This is It, will be released posthumously on October 12th followed by a 2-disc album of the same name on October 27th. The album release will also coincide with the worldwide premiere of the film documenting the King of Pops preparation for his comeback tour. The first disc will feature the original album masters of the late singers greatest hits arranged in the same order as they appear in the film, ending with 2 versions of the new song. The second disc offers unreleased versions of Michaels classic tracks, including a spoken word poem from Michael called Planet Earth. It also includes a 36-page commemorative booklet with exclusive pictures of his last rehearsal.
Conrad Murray’s girlfriend, Nicole Alvarez, has testified before a grand jury in Los Angeles.
Prosecutors in LA sought a grand jury in determining their indictment in a homicide investigation of Michael Jackson’s death in June. That inquiry now centres on Murray, Jackson’s personal doctor.
Murray was with the singer in the early hours of the day he died and has admitted to administering drugs found in Jackson’s body to lethal levels.
The deliberations of a grand jury are sealed from the public. Joseph Low, lawyer for Alvarez, said his client co-operated in providing a statement.
He said: “The grand jury is a tool that a very professional and thorough prosecutor will use to conduct an investigation, and that’s what was done here. We willingly participated in that.”
Michael Jacksons homicide case is almost complete. Sources say that the investigation itself is finished and is expected to be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney in about a month. Medical professionals have been called upon to pitch their thoughts about the evidence and the treatment that the King of Pop received from Dr. Conrad Murray, which should be complete into two to three weeks. LAPD detectives will then round up their report and organize the necessary facts before taking it to the DA. According to insiders, the late singers doctor will not be arrested until hes officially charged with a crime.
Madonna was at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards which were held at New York Citys Radio City Music Hall last Sunday. The 51-year old singer spoke during the Michael Jackson tribute at the beginning of the show and even introduced for Janet Jacksons performance. The Queen of Pop spoke about her love of Michael and the things that were parallel in their lives. She said that the late singer was so unique, so original, so rare. He was a king. I only have one comment for Madonna though. When talking about someone youre supposed to be paying a tribute to, I dont think talking about yourself more is an appropriate thing to do.
<p>Michael Jackson’s estate will pay half of the profits it reaps from his new song, This Is It, to Paul Anka.
