The Girl Is Mine remix featuring Will I Am. It features new vocals from Michael and will be released January 17th as a digital release and a CD single a week later

bboy87 said:

I saw that on MJJC this morning.

bboy87 said:

if it's anything like the solo demo of the girl is mine, I'm looking forward to it! I can't help but wonder if this is a slap in the face to paul either :p

I hope stupid people don't think he's copying brandy and monica, when they copied him!

alphastreet said:

If they think that, they're either dumb or were WAY TOO YOUNG to remember "The Girl is Mine" as it originally was.

Timmy84 said:

basically

I honestly wish he, Sony, and Quincy could have made a documentary on Thriller to remind folks. It could've been shown on VH1 Classic as part of their "Ultimate Albums" series or on CBS and BBC

You know I'm still confused about the remixes. Was it confirmed that he had re-sung the songs with the producers or did they rehash old MJ demos and have them produced under their beats/sound? The dude who heard the album and is a webmaster at MJNO said that he wasn't too sure if the remixes featured new Mike vocals but they probably did. And Mike is still promising a new album (It should be in Jet next week).
[Edited 12/14/07 10:32am]

Michael, We're Not Going To Fight About This, Okay?

bboy87 said:

Exactly, that would've been a nice addition to the DVD.

PANDURITO said:

Timmy84 said:

The vocals might be new or alternates from the original sessions

bboy87 said:

I guess it go down to when Michael and Will have "the talk". Maybe we'll find out if Mike did INDEED record newer vocals. As for "alternate vocals", that's why there should've been a second CD because we could've heard the alternate vocals on there.

PANDURITO said:

Wait? Don't I own your songs? Oh yeah, I do!

now step down, bitch

bboy87 said:

Here's more details:
From MJWN:
http://www.mjworld.net/ne...1207.shtml

New Single And More!
MJWN have attended an exclusive hearing of three songs from Michael’s forthcoming 25th Anniversary Edition of Thriller.

The three tracks played at Sony BMG’s headquarters in London were ‘The Girl Is Mine’ performed by Michael and Will.I.Am, ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’’ performed by Akon and the un-released track ‘For All Time’. Below is a review of what we heard and some never before released details.

THE SINGLE:

‘The Girl Is Mine’ - We can exclusively reveal that ‘The Girl Is Mine’ will be released as a digital single on January 14th, followed two weeks later on January 28th by a three track CD version.

The song, credited as a remix by Michael Jackson and Will.I.Am, has a heavy beat and Paul McCartney’s vocals from the original song have been removed. New unheard vocals from Michael also appear at the end of the song. The song is just over three minutes in length. It’s absolutely FANTASTIC and could easily be a number one single. Probably the best re-mix to be given to a Michael song.

‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’’ – Akon has given this classic song a new modern touch. It’s predominately a cover (rather than remix) with Michael providing backing vocals and one verse.

‘For All Time’ – This is a wonderful ballad with loads of emotion driving through it. Many know that it has unfortunately been leaked in the past. For those who have heard this version around the Internet, this is the same version but re-mastered to sound brilliant as well as featuring a bridge in the song that has previously not been heard. The song is just over four minutes in length.

THE ALBUMS:

The album will be released in four different ways:

Classic CD Edition:
This will be an audio CD featuring the tracklist as per the Press Release. It will have a cardboard slip on case with the traditional ‘Thriller’ picture. The only twist will be that it is a holographic cover.

Zombie CD Edition:
The content is identical to the Classic Edition, but has the famous picture of Michael with the zombies around him as the slip on case display. This will also be a holographic cover.

Deluxe Limited Edition:
This comes as a hardbound book, containing the same CD and DVD as above. However it will also come with a booklet containing more photos and extra content. This will be limited to only 20,000 copies.

12” Vinyl:
The album will be released as a gatefold double LP. A must have for all collectors!

PROMOTION:

As well as planned posters and radio advertising, the album will get a thirty second TV advert; the first time ‘Thriller’ has ever been advertised on TV. The advertisements are due to start on February 11th.

The single ‘The Girl Is Mine’ will get its first radio airplay on the same day as the digital release, January 14th.

The Classic and Zombie CD Editions, with an audio CD and DVD, will be printed up to near the end of 2008. They then plan to revert to just the audio version of the CD being sold.

Source: MJWN

I honestly feel like I'm in some sort of alternate universe of bullshit when reading this . The dude CAN'T be serious, I keep thinking.

VoicesCarry said:

What's ironic, is that while I'm pissed about Akon, Kanye, and Fergie, I'm not really bothered by Will. He's likable and he proved alot with "Songs About Girls"
before that joint came out, hip hop heads completely disowned him, now they're calling it one of the best albums of the year.

It's nominated for Best Rap Album on Okayplayer I think....

bboy87 said:

I didn't know the Tin Man owned Paul McCartney's songs.

Wonderwall said:

You didn't know Michael Jackson owned the publishing rights to the Beatles songs? Where have you been?

Girl Is Mine: The New Master

Cinnie said:

Cinnie said:

I dont mind Will I Am so much but its all this Akon stuff and things like that, that just seem like a 50 year old trying to be "down" with an audience that could give two shits about him.

lastdecember said:

Exactly. I'm ok with Will but I hope Mike still vocally kills him.

Timmy84 said:

I mean if Prince pulled something like this, say with Purple Rain and did a "when Doves Cry" remix with Timbaland and new vocals from Fergie and Akon, would we be dieing for its release?

lastdecember said:

I know I wouldn't. I wouldn't buy a 20th anniversary re-issue of Faith if George included Timbaland or Ne-Yo on his shit either. Legends shouldn't fuck around with classic albums, man. That should be a rule!

Timmy84 said:

I'd actually buy it! Not because of Timbaland, but because my copy is worn out

More details from Paul from MJNO:

I was privileged today to attend an exclusive playback of the new remixes from Michael Jackson's upcoming Thriller 25 release, at the Sony BMG offices in London.

Unfortunately there was no one on hand to answer some of the more detailed questions I had to ask, but I was able to get some basic information about the release, and listened to 3 runs of the new remixes of "The Girl is Mine", with will.i.am, "Wannabe Startin' Somethin'" with Akon, and the remastered, "For All Time" - the Kanye West version of Billie Jean was unavailable.


The Demo Disc

THE RELEASE

There are 4 different versions of the release - the standard version, which comes with 2 different sets of at work ("Zomebie" and "Classic"), and a more expensive hard-bond, 'book-style' "Deluxe" version, which will be limited to 1 european run (of which the UK should get about 20,000). These come with the audio disc, and DVD, and will feature a nice holographic cover.

Also, a 12" vinyl will be available as a gatefold double LP.

These will be produced into next year, and after that point 'Thriller 25' will be available as a "standard" album, without the DVD, featuring the classic cover.

THE SINGLE

As we all know by now, will.i.am's "The Girl is Mine" will be the single released from the edition -- it will be out for digital purchase January 14, and available on CD 2 weeks later. It will feature 3 tracks, one of which may be a demo (though this is as of yet unconfirmed). There are no more details available on the contents of the single.

A video is as of yet unconfirmed, and from what I made out, nothing like this is in the pipeline just yet.

WORLDWIDE ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN

In Sony's presser, they've touted a "worldwide advertising campaign" to launch the release, and they're going the full mile with this - TV advertisements, billboards, posters. We can expect TV ads the Sunday before release, and they've plenty more ideas in mind to do some unique things to launch.

Radio play should take place at least a couple of weeks before launch, so we may have some of these blasting out of our speakers in just a months time.

THE SONGS

The Girl is Mine (running time: 3m12s)

will.i.am's exciting version of "The Girl is Mine" features a funky, bassful hip-hop styled beat, that Will might very describe as being a "club banger". Noteworthy is its use of what might very well be a trash can, giving it a truly unique sound.

This track is much more than a classic remix - Will and Michael have made it a song in its own right, with Will accompanying Michael on the chorus, following "the girl is mine...", with a rhythmic "she mine, she mine" -- and "don't waste your time...", with "your time, your time". Will also interjects with rap-styled vocals: "She likes the way I rock, the-way-I-rock".

Paul McCartney is nowhere to be found on this track, with Will playing "the other guy", who instead of bickering with Michael (as in the classic track), makes a "comeback" with a rap verse nearing the end. The song is more collaborative than the original, which features Michael and Paul arguing back and fourth -- in this version Will is very much a part of Michael's vocals, and vice versa.

You're going to notice a different cut of vocals from Michael for this track. They're not brand-new, though some of the ad-libs questionably may very well be, though it's hard to discern considering the thousands of vocal cuts that must exist in Michael's collection. It's very exciting to hear though, because brand-new or not, they're still new, in that they're being released for the first time just now.

All in all it's an excellent track that you won't be able to resist the urge to bob your head to. The hard beat and funky sounds, accompanied by Michael's incredible vocals and Will's unique rap style are undoubtably going to put it on the top of the club charts.

Wannabe Startin' Somethin' (running time: 4m14s)

The big question everyone has been asking is: Is this the same song I've heard on YouTube? The answer: Yes. Sorta.

Akon's vocals are very much the same as the "leaked" version, which I'd have to assume is a demo. The actual Thriller 25 version is much fuller, and features some of Michael's classic vocals, and a verse from the original song.

It doesn't seem to contain any different vocals from Michael, unlike "The Girl is Mine", though Michael's verse seems to start off a little 'differently' and yet immediately reverts back to the way I've heard it a thousand times. This may be something to do with the mixing, or perhaps they included that little twist just to give it a fresher sound.

It's generally a very smooth track, with a nice piano accompaniment, and what might just be an extremely soft backing by Michael, though it's hard to tell. "Mamma say mama sah ma ma ku sah" features a heavy, hard bass sound, that's sure to knock off a few pictures from the wall at full blast - it's bit of an escape from the underlying soulful sound, which slowly evaporates into what one can only describe as a dance track.

Overall I think it's a great song, but this is probably dependent on your taste for Akon. If you don't like Akon you're not going to like this track, plain and simple - a decision which I know many have made already!

For All Time (running time: 4m4s)

"For All Time" was leaked at least a year, maybe 2 years ago, and this version is not much different, but it is different. Clearly it has been remastered for this release, with a much crisper, clearer sound, bringing out Michael's vocals far more than the "original".

It features a different bridge than the one we all know, more vocal than the original, which most likely is from another cut. If you're a fan of this track already, then you're going to love this version, which sounds more fuller and more complete, but is still very much the same.
[Edited 12/14/07 11:36am]

Eh. I'm just gonna go home and listen to Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection tonight. That makes me happy.

Damn.....re-hashing old material? This is embarrassing.