Michael Jackson produced Billie Jean. Anyway, one song cannot define a producers entire works. What Will.I.Am can do with the Black Eyed Peas could be completly different to what he can do with Michael Jackson. That track that he plays for Michael during the AH interview sounds nothing like BEP.

I think you are all misinterpreting Michael's decision to work with Will.I.Am. It's not about charting. What's Michael got to prove? He's got the biggest selling album in history, he's sold 185 million albums around the world. He's had 13 #1 hits. He's had enough chart success.

In the AH interview, Michael said he choose Will because he's making "innovative, positive great music at the moment". Will also told Michael that he wants to create tracks like the Off The Wall album.

I think Will is perfect for Michael. He wants to dial it back to Off The Wall, and that would be so frickin awesome because that's Michael's best album by far. I listen to it more than Thriller. Michael's got to have someone who can bring out the Off The Wall/Thriller in him. Back in the early 80s, that someone was Quincy Jones. Now, that person could very well be Will.I.Am.
[Edited 11/7/06 2:31am]

Actually Mike gets co-producer credit for his four songs on Thriller.

Couldn't disagree more. Of course choosing him is about charting, his music doesnt sound too innovating to me. And if he wants to 'dial it back to Off The Wall' thats even worse.

I wish Michael would just make his own music without producers and especially without co-writers (as most of my most favourite songs by Michael are the ones he wrote himself) and without trying to fit in with the current music scene and just writing honest to god great melody driven pop songs. Invincible was atrocious because of it. I'm a huge Michael fan but I've now just lost the last shred of faith in him that he will make good music again.

The intention of working with Will.I.AM, is to get his juices flowing. The drum track that they played on the show was different from anything Michael had ever used before. He needs new fresh ideas. Working with new produers will give him those ideas. Also, just because others have not been given credit for working with Michael does not mean that he has worked on his music alone. The fact that his might have been working with a "Ghost" co-producer, has not been written for a reason. In my opinion, there isn't a need for him to work with Q. To me, this is a step backwards. Michael knows music and knows good music. He just needs to get to know and trust his own jugement again.