bboy87 said:

That's original.

He's nabbed the Talauega brothers again as dancers. They really started out with him and Lavelle and now he's back on the scene, they've dumped Madonna. Or at least I like to think so.
[Edited 3/30/09 13:46pm]

more pictures




the studio where he's rehearsing

Ellie said:

LOL no they are still working with her, though they don't have much to do since Sticky and Sweet is just rehearsing a show that's all ready been done... much like a Michael Jackson tour.

ehuffnsd said:

midnightmover said:

If he can't sing a lot better than in that '96 clip, I hope he lip-synchs 100% of the time at O2!! Of course, then people like me will slag him for not singing live!

Also, I'd forgotten just how crummy those MSG shows were.

Well, well, this will sure be interesting. Believe it or not, I hope he hits a home run and successfully does 50 or whatever great shows. But I'm quite skeptical that will happen.

bboy87 said:

hahaha!

bboy87 said:

muck like Ike you are in the wrong.

The Jacksons are NOTORIOUS for doing the same damn show with identical choreography and similar costumes and almost identical running order. NO creativity whatsoever!

BTW domestic abuse is far from a joke.
[Edited 3/30/09 21:45pm]

ehuffnsd said:

Umm.. I know that, I was simply joking with you, but whatever...


http://www.dailymail.co.u...gain.html#

Jackson at 50: Learning to moonwalk all over again

By James Tapper
Last updated at 12:03 AM on 29th March 2009



It is a demanding dance move that few 50-year-olds would even hope to attempt – but a Michael Jackson concert just wouldn’t be the same without his signature Moonwalk.

So the ageing pop superstar has embarked on a rigorous training programme to ensure he will be fit and agile enough to perform his famous shuffle night after night during his London concerts this summer.

It has been eight years since he even attempted a public Moonwalk, in which he appears to glide backwards while walking forwards, but he is determined not to disappoint fans at his 50 comeback dates at the O2 Arena.

He has been spending hours studying old footage of his famous moves and is working with acclaimed choreographer Kenny Ortega and a team of fitness trainers to ensure he is step-perfect in time for the first dates this July.

Fellow musician Lionel Richie said an ‘insecure’ Jackson was discovering that the ageing process had affected his athletic abilities – and told his friend to concentrate more on singing than spectacular dance moves he may be too old to pull off.

Richie said: ‘He’s not that 25- or 30-year-old any more so he will have to discover some things about himself that he didn’t quite want to face up to.

‘But what he does have is a mound of hit records. He has to just get it in his head that we [as performers] are on that stage because people want to see us singing those songs.

‘Whether you moonwalk or skywalk or float in from the back of the stage, that’s all extra added attractions, but the most important thing is to pick up the microphone and sing Thriller, that’s all that matters.

‘Speaking from an artist’s point of view, there is an insecurity of being away for a while, and you wonder, “Do I know what I’m doing?”.’

A tour source said: ‘Michael has started working with a choreographer and trainers to get him in shape because he wants to perform the moves that made him famous.

‘He is spending hours watching his past performances and videos because he wants to put on a show that is as good as – if not better than – those he’s done before.

‘He is determined he’s going to do the Moonwalk because the fans will go crazy for it. He also wants to do his other famous moves from throughout his career.

‘The shows will be his swan song so he wants them to be the best ever. And he knows that what the fans love is the whole Michael Jackson package – not just the songs, but the dance moves too. He will deliver.’

Jackson last went on the road in 1996 and 1997 with the HIStory World Tour and he last performed the Moonwalk in September 2001 at a one-off concert celebrating his 30th anniversary as a performer.

His spokesman last night refused to comment on preparations for the comeback shows.

http://english.ohmynews.c...7&rel_no=1

Entertainonomics: Is Recession Just a Myth?
Michael Jackson is recession-proof

Bhuwan Thapaliya (Bhuwan)

With the economic downturn deepening, attracting private money to the financial industry may be difficult. But that is not the case with the entertainment industry -- if the entertainer is Michael Jackson, undisputed "King of Pop."

Recession or not, it seems that his popularity is not subjected to diminishing returns.

The very fact that more than 750,000 tickets were sold out in 4 hours testifies the man's greatness as the most influential musical icon in the entire history of the Pop.

Michael Jackson sold out 50 planned concerts at London's 02 Arena for his historic comeback concerts in July and next January.

"The shows will start on July 8 and run through September before resuming in January and February of 2010," according to the media reports.

"The 50-year-old 'King of Pop' will play the 20,000-seat venue near Docklands. The 02 has hosted comebacks by artists such as Prince, who staged 21 concerts, and was the venue of the Led Zeppelin reunion in 2007," according to the report published by the Bloomberg.

People all over the world are very skeptical about spending and the consumer demand has deteriorated a lot, but it seems that Recession is not having any effect on Michael Jackson's fans. Michael Jackson is recession-proof.

Governments all over the world are fighting hard to revive their economy. The World Bank has already forecasted that 2009 will be the worst year for the global economy and economic forecasts suggest that the solution is not just around the corner.

Considering so, nobody and not even Jackson, who has sold more than 750 million records and won 13 Grammy Awards, would have thought that his 750,000 tickets would be sold out in 4 hours.

But it did and the king of pop whose last series of concerts was the History Tour way back in 1996-1997 is all set to take the musical world by storm.

"Is recession just a myth?"

We are forced to ask this question after the enormous monetary craze shown towards Michael Jackson's expensive concert in England, a nation said to be hard hit by Recession.

750,000 tickets were sold and they say that the world is in recession. And then you may have scratched your head thousand times and said, "How it happened, how the concert tickets were sold out in such a little time?"

A hard fact to digest, isn't it? But it would be a sign that the world has understood what it is to be a great entertainer.

One irony though, these people are spending so much to see Michael Jackson but why aren't they spending a little more to boost consumer demand and revive their economy.

Perhaps, they believe more in Jackson and in his entertaining power than their belief in their economy and its stability.

Maybe the Michael Jackson concert will have a spillover effect and at least give some boost to the faltering British economy.

Let us hope for the best. Hail! Entertainonomics.

ehuffnsd said:

As a Michael fan I agree somewhat with your statement, but I think unfortunately Michael boxed himself in a little with his videos. In all honesty he is in a no win situation - if he performs Thriller with no zombie dance, Beat It with no street dance, and billie jean with no moonwalk then people are going to feel ripped off. They expect to see the dance routines they know with the songs they love. And if he does them, people say he's doing the same old same old.

I think you have to go into a MJ show knowing you are going to get certain routines, certain effects, etc and just go with it. When he surprises with a new intro to something (like the suitcase tease to Billie Jean) it adds an extra level of excitement.

I hope this tour he throws in some reworkings of songs to delight those of us who have seen the tours over and over, but also know he will deliver those routines people want in one way or another.

Swa

Swa said:

he should rework his tracks so the live versions sound like the album versions instead of the awful arrangements he did live before, so the tracks he performs retain some of the charm that people liked when they bought the records, instead of the awful sped up arrangements from the past, that gave the impression that they were playing through the track as fast as possible to get it over with, which was weird considering the band members didn't perform the tracks together that many times compared to most other bands who have to play the same tracks over and over again on numerous tours for numerous years

prince will rework tracks over the years, but he has the excuse of playing some of his hits dozens or hundreds of times each year, and has been playing some of them for 20 to 30 years, but most people tend to like them better when they are played in full in the same style as the original album versions. and it's the same with most long running acts, if i want to see bowie or the stones, i want to hear the hits played like i know them, i don't want to hear brown sugar turned into a calipso track or ashes to ashes turned into reggae. people are paying a lot of money to see MJ and most will be dissapointed if the tracks don't sound like they expect them to sound. as he hasn't played live in years he has no real excuse to change them, that's if he keeps to the hits, but if he throws in some less well known album tracks such as from dangerous, invincible or history, then he could do far worse than completely rearranging them to a less tired sound. the older tracks with live drums and bass should stick the same, but the stuff from the 90s onwards that is more percussion based with drum machines and minimal keyboards is very dated and needs an update if he wanted to pull them off live. the ballads are fine, but it's the mid tempo stuff that doesn't work well

if i go to see prince i expect him to play his hits in the main shows, and i expect them to sound the same as i've heard before, as those shows are his bread and better, his day job that brings in money to pay the bills, the aftershows are where i expect to hear radical rearrangements, cover versions, obsure tracks and jamming, as there is a smaller audience of hardcore fans who expect the unexpected and will appreciate anything played

some acts like kylie and the pet shop boys can pull off rearrangements well at times, but they tour more often and do this to keep things more interesting, and some of the original arrangements are a bit tired or crap, so the live versions sometimes improve on the original, especially when the original versions have a cheesy 80s sound like i should be so lucky, but if tracks like beat it and billie jean were changed to a different tempo, beat or bassline it would be disappointing

it's probably fair to say that most fans who have bought tickets has never seen him play live before, and of the remaining few that have seen him live before, they haven't seen him live in 12 years, so why would they want to hear tracks done in a different arrangement to the original? that would be best kept for a future tour when people are sick of him playing the standard arrangement. have a tv special like the elvis 68 comeback special and play a raw stripped down set, or an unplugged set, stripped down with no dancing and theatrics, and just the music, after all when you hear the cd you only get the music, you don't have lights and lasers to distract you. most prince fans will tell you that he is best when he plays his stripped down sets, like accoustic guitar or piano solo, or the new power trio type sets, they prefer the band as small as possible, no horns, no backing singers, no second guitarist, just prince, bass, drums, and perhaps one keyboard player

i completely agree about his dancing, he's just a three trick pony, but that's what seems to keep the fans happy, so he should stick to what most people expect him to do, the backslide, the crotch grab, and the arms in the air whilst standing on tip toes. he's probably better off leaving the shake your tailfeather routine to the younger dancers whilst he sings thriller live instead of miming. thousands of people aren't paying £50-£75 plus booking fee to hear memorex, and if he is trying to sing properly whilst dancing, it's not going to give a great sound

Ellie said:

lol,if Madonna wanted these guys to choreograph her next tour,all she has to do is snap her fingers Nobody turns down the chance to work on a Madonna tour!

Swa said:

I disagree I think that if he "american idols" some of his hits- change the arrangement and choreography the fans will love it. It would put a fresh new spin on hits. He definitely needs to think out of the box and get more than one choreographer. He needs to take his swagger to a whole different level.

I heard that Mike is gonna make a grand entrance onstage.....on an elephant! With parrots and other exotic birds flying around him Remember that setlist that I came up with? Somehow,I can't imagine him getting off the elephant and launching into "Rock With You"!!

Evvy said:

ITA. I would love to see that!

he also needs to ditch his video look as far as the costumes. Mike needs to come current and fresh with his look- and be down with us in the "now". When I see this show I don't want to be reminded of all that. But at some point he can throw it back and drive the crowd wild.

Evvy said:

if he don't wear the red leather jacket, half mast trousers, white sox and glove, folks gonna be pissed. that would be like seeing prince without his heels

NaughtyKitty said:

I want to see the midtempo version of PYT

unique said:

that would be cool for a throw back portion of the set. But don't come out the box with it. Come out the box dapper- serious and swank. Do the thing- knock it out vocally- then bust into some awesome choreography- I want him to talk to the audience- reminisce a little about the good times- tell us how he felt during hard times and sing a song relating to it- bring us into his world- make us feel it.

I don't want a bunch of space ship rocket count down mess- I want him to wow us with a sense of realness- sure he can throw in some mystery - but not old Mike craziness

bboy87 said:

I could toatally see him starting that off real slow and sultry (lickin the mic sexy)[take a note from Ciara and Justin- they sold it]- even dancing with a chick- and then when the beat goes up- the other dancers come out- and tearit up- I want the spotlight to be mostly on Mike and his magic

I want him to be grown and sexy

not a crotch grabbin peter to the pan teenager

Evvy said:

Abso-freakin-lutely! : He needs to do something like that and show off a more down to earth and accessible side of him. I would love to see him interact with the audience and even with his backup dancers or band. I like how he interacted with his backup dancers for the Bad tour.

bboy87 said:

unique said:

please... prince gave up the heels all ready and she who shall be named has always done whatever she wants when it comes to arrangements and costumes and choreography and makes millions.

ehuffnsd said:

He gave up the heels for the socks and sandals combo

not a fair trade

NaughtyKitty said:

The mere image of MJ, sitting on a stool (in an oxygen tent), telling yarns about his past... for that, i would go to all 50 shows at the O2

SoulAlive said:

Patrick Leonard did.....

eireboy34 said:

during Blonde Ambition when he was going through a divorce? cause he was the MD for The Virgin Tour and Who's That Girl.

Mike McKnight left the U2 tour to work on DWT.

PatrickS77 said:

Aaah, how sweet. You know almost exactly how long I've been away. You've been counting the days, haven't you?


He can put together a decent vocal performance in the studio by recording each line separately and patching it all together. Floetry has described how hard she had to work with him to get a decent vocal for "Butterflies".
[Edited 4/1/09 4:21am]