Geez... in 40 days the sun will end up with so much egg on their face... unbelieveable!

Rorywan said:

Ok I said this on this board a bunch of times as a joke. Wow, now we are at the point of having a "Lip Sync" Dancers?

Pretend Singing
now
Pretend Dancing

Sounds like a great show huh? Can the smoke & mirror with this guy get any worse?



pssst you wouldnt have to do any of this if you could sing live. NOW this is the perfect time, like in Janet's concert to break it down - sit on a stool and SING LIVE some slow songs. As MJ has his "Fake MJ Dancers" doing his dancing for him. He now has no excuse to break it down and sing live. IF he doesn't whats the excuse then? He isn't tired, he isn't dancing now... so whats the excuse going to be? Turn your mic ON and sing! You don't have to answer..We all know the reason he doesn't.

http://www.billboard.biz/...196150a807


AEG Rejects Reports Of Jackson Concerns
June 03, 2009 - Global | Touring | Rock and Pop

By Andre Paine, London

AEG Live president and CEO Randy Phillips has rejected U.K. tabloid reports that Michael Jackson told fans that he only wanted to play 10 London O2 Arena shows rather than the 50 that have been scheduled.

The Sun reported that Jackson told fans outside his L.A. rehearsal space that he wanted to play 10 O2 shows and then go on tour.

In a statement, Randy Phillips, president & CEO, AEG Live, commented: "This is not true; Michael Jackson was thrilled at selling 50 shows. The size and scale of this show would not be possible without an extended run, which Michael has been fully on board with from the very beginning. He has not agreed to a world tour at this point, however, he can at any time."

The first four dates of the concert were recently pushed back in order that the show will be completely ready. The first night is now July 13.

rocknrolldave said:

You're right Steven Tyler is a Killer... even if he has sudden an operation of vocal cords !! (maybe that's what Mick needs)

http://www.youtube.com/wa...bUAFRqQU5E

Even if none of them could make it in the style of MJ there's also Stevie Wonder who can hit high notes... Brian Johnson, Al Jarreau, George Benson, Bobby Mac Ferin, Plácido Domingo, José Carreras,... also James Brown/Luther Vandross (R.I.P) could... & some others...


Today MJ is in the same position as Robert Plant... the difference is that Plant knew how to adapt his songs to his new tessitura of voice.

saafiir said:

Your last point is an excellent one - Paul McCartney also changes the keys of some of the Beatles songs to match the fact that his voice has changed over the years.

Some artists, like Morrissey, can't get the same high notes but have a richness they lacked in their youth.
I would argue that anyone who plans to put on a show to a paying audience should either have a strong enough voice anyway that it is not an issue, or should be musically aware enough to adapt the songs and performances to fit their limitations - and that does NOT mean miming!

Swa said:

SoulAlive said:

Dreams about an acoustic set, with Prince on acoustic guitar as Mike croons away...

rocknrolldave said:

There are rumors that the new single will be released on JUNE.

seeingvoices12 said:

It's June now, lol.

Timmy84 said:

Any other rumors? dates? suggestions? speculations?
[Edited 6/3/09 17:42pm]

After the King of Pop Michael Jackson postponed his first five opening shows of the This Is It run of 50 concerts in London’s 02 Arena, the tawdry tabloid tales and rumors have gotten out of control. They escalate and get worse every day.

To clear up all the craziness, I went inside the Jackson camp and got answers to some sensational scoops claimed by British reporters:

Rumor: Michael is dying from cancer!

Fact: Totally untrue, and the top titans producing his show said he’s had another clean bill of health from the insurance company. He’s ready to go!

Rumor: He’s on a hunger strike and angry about doing 50 shows instead of the original 10 that were planned.

Fact: He is not starving himself to beat cancer or protest the rehearsals schedule. He’s getting himself into shape, and both Michael and the AEG producers scheduled the additional 40 shows on the 02 Arena booking calendar if the original 10 shows sold out faster than expected!

Rumor: Michael is worried he’s not strong enough to perform every other night for 50 shows for 1 million fans and has skipped rehearsals.

Fact: He’s attended all of the preparations and rehearsals, and my insiders report that everything is on schedule. Michael, director Kenny Ortega, dancers and choreographers will relocate from Center Staging Studios in Burbank, Calif., to London in the next two weeks to prepare the final elements.

Rumor: Michael will open a $3 billion Thriller casino on the Strip.

Fact: Untrue because nobody believes the Nevada Gaming Commission would give Michael a gaming license. The hope is that part of Michael’s memorabilia and Thriller successes could be used inside a casino as an entertainment attraction

I was told that the shows will be “truly spectacular” and unlike anything ever seen. Michael has wrapped the video sequences for the giant projection screens being used in the staging. R&B singer Akon made British headlines, too, saying the King of Pop wouldn’t be singing live. Again, another exaggerated story, my insiders say. “Michael will perform, he will dance, he will sing,” I was told. “You can’t do all three at once live, so of course there will be some pre-recorded tracks. But the fans won’t have a second to be disappointed about what they will see and hear! Akon has promised to be in the front row of the July 16 premiere concert.

I am reliably told that the only reason Michael’s original July 9 comeback premiere was delayed to July 16 was because of the time needed for the load-in and construction of his giant stage and special effects. “It was the only reason,” my top insider told me. “Nothing else. It was just logistics.”

Madonna ends a two-night run at the 02 Arena on July 5, and Michael’s production people take over July 6.

“We are totally confident Michael will be onstage, healthy, strong and well. The insurance is in place for exactly that, and his doctors have given the green light. It will be the best ever show ever seen anywhere in the world,” my top insider told me.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Source: http://www.lasvegasweekly...son-rumor/
[Edited 6/3/09 17:56pm]

suga10 said:

That, and the fact that other projects already underway have halted or been scaled back due to the economic mess! The museum in an existing Vegas venue might work.



I'm pretty sure any such major tour or engagement is covered by similar insurance. The promoters don't want to end up holding the bag if the performer can't perform! But I've never before heard so much public concern and discussion about the chances of that happening and about the insurance itself.

CandaceS said:[quote]


Sorry, but if they were so confident in him- why would they be even bringing up the whole insurance thing???

That makes no sense what he just said.

Translation: He's saying that if anything goes wrong with the tour, AEG won't be screwed.





First off its not about the rehearsal schedule, its about the amount of concerts that he has to do. I have a feeling that he's not being entirely truthful here.

We're talking about a singer who has admitted in the past to not enjoying the whole touring process.




Damage control Mr. Phillips? If Mr Phillips was not around while MJ was talking to fans, that how the heck would he know whether Michael did indeed say what he did. The sun is not a reputable source, but they have used Michael's words for once in their article and not the typical "A source stated" to get their point across:D


I believe MJ will do fine with his concerts, but I don't trust every single thing these AEG insiders spew out. Just like the bogus bullcrap they went on about not knowing that Madonna was booking at the O2 venue.
[Edited 6/3/09 18:48pm]
[Edited 6/3/09 18:49pm]
[Edited 6/3/09 18:53pm]
[Edited 6/3/09 18:53pm]

i used to diss mj and didnt bother listening to his music but after a while i learned to respect him and enjoy his music

i picked up thriller and bad from the shop the other day. WHOS BAD?

This song is as good today as it was nearly 40 years ago:

http://www.imeem.com/mzgi...-be-there/

Even then Mike was hiccuping (check the ending, OOH-AH! ).

minneapolisFunq said:

that doesn't suprise me because of your age.

Cinnie said:

Cute!

suga10 said:

WTF?!? Doesn't singing + dancing = performing? How is that doing three things at once?

How about saying MICHAEL can't do three (really two) things at once, instead of implying it's impossible?! Prince is able to sing, dance, play an instrument and conduct a band with a heel tap.

Leach is such a kiss-ass and frequently gets stuff wrong and exaggerates like crazy. Some of his info on Prince, when he was at the Rio, was way off.

Two tickets, face value, September 3rd:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/...%26otn%3D1

McCartney Check-Mates Jacko, For Old Times’ Sake

Thursday, June 04, 2009
Music / By Roger Friedman

Look, let’s face it, Paul McCartney is fuming day and night about Michael Jackson. The former King of Pop has literally lived off of McCartney’s songs for the last twenty five years. If Jackson (spurred by his attorney John Branca) had not purchased the Beatles catalog in 1984 out from under Paul and Yoko, The Other Thin White Duke would be living in a cardboard box by now. Jackson has leveraged Lennon-McCartney for hundreds of millions of dollars to sustain his crazy lifestyle.

So what’s McCartney to do? How can he upstage Jackson’s comeback this summer? It’s brilliant, really: Paul is playing two shows at Citi Field in New York, the new Shea Stadium. The shows are slated for July 17th and 18th, right after Jackson may (or may not) debut his comeback extravaganza in London at the O2 Arena on July 13th and 14th.

Check, check-mate, Paul! Don’t mess with Macca!

And, get this: Paul’s shows, like Michael’s, are being produced by Randy Phillips and AEG Live. So Paul has taken the Jacko game, and done it one better because — realistically — McCartney’s return to “Shea,” where the Beatles had their greatest live successes, is going to be a world event. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ringo make an appearance since this fall the Beatles are launching a major promotional push with their “Rock Star” game and all their remastered CDs coming on September 9th.

The only real question: will Randy Phillips, the architect of all this, live through the summer? He’ll need his own Grammy award at this point!

http://www.showbiz411.com...times-sake

Very interesting that Randy Phillips is producing Paul's shows as well
[Edited 6/4/09 7:15am]

Unmasked: A rare glimpse of Michael Jackson's kids faces as they visit a recording studio
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER


Since Michael Jackson's children were first unveiled from their masked existence a year ago, they haven't been seen since without their face covered.

But yesterday Prince Michael I, 12, and Paris Michael, 11, were seen enjoying the fresh air with their faces revealed to the world as they joined their famous father at a Los Angeles recording studio.

Not realising they could be seen from the street, Prince and Paris looked like regular pre-teens as they strolled through the car park.



It was only when they left the studio two hours later, they were wearing masks again.

Also joining the Jacksons at the building was High School Musical director Kenny Ortega, who is creative director of the star's This Is It UK tour.

Michael has been hard at work in recent weeks preparing for his 50-date residency at London's O2 Arena, which kicks off on July 13.

He recently upset fans when he postponed the first four dates by a week, meaning many are frantically trying to rearrange travel plans.

The Thriller singer has kept his children's lives shrouded in mystery since he first became a father in 1997.






As well as fathering Prince and Paris with ex-wife Debbie Rowe, Michael also has a seven-year-old Prince Michael II, aka Blanket.

While the physical similarities between the elder Prince and Paris is striking, Blanket is much darker than his older siblings in skin tone and hair colour.

Blanket was the child famously dangled off a hotel balcony in Germany in November 2002.

In an interview last year, former nurse Debbie insisted it was her choice to have the children's faces covered.



She said: 'The veils were my idea, not Michael's. I had kidnap threats when they were babies. I did not want them to be recognised.'

Despite widespread belief the children are not biologically his, Michael insists he is the father of all three.

During his infamous 2003 interview with Martin Bashir, he said: 'I used a surrogate mother (for Blanket) and my own sperm cells. I had my own sperm cells in my other two children.

'They are all my children but I used a surrogate mother and she doesn't know me, I don't know her.'

Debbie reiterated in 2008: 'Of course it was artificial insemination. Paris was conceived in Paris, that's how she got her name.

'I turned out two pretty good-looking kids. For that I am proud.'



http://www.dailymail.co.u...tudio.html
[Edited 6/4/09 7:45am]

I don't care what Michael says, these children here are not his biological kids. I'm sorry.

Michael Jackson Gets Soaked On Rare Outing With Children - Pictures
In Los Angeles...
Thursday 04th Jun 2009

Michael Jackson struggled to avoid an unexpected rain shower on a rare outing with his children in Los Angeles yesterday.

The singer, who was sporting his curly 90s haircut, took shelter under a black umbrellas as he made his way through a parking lot outside a recording studio.

Jackson's children originally appeared alongside their father without their trademark masks, but later put them on when the singer's entourage spotted paparazzi.



It is not clear what the purpose of Jackson's visit to the Los Angeles studio was.

But his decision to appear once again in public without his surgical mask comes as tabloid reports in the UK maintain the star is battling skin cancer.

As Entertainmentwise reported yesterday, The Sun newspaper claims Jackson has gone on hunger strike and now weighs less than 9st.

But the singer appeared in high spirits yesterday, despite the bad weather, waving at photographers.
Jackson is currently rehearsing for his 50-night concert residency in London, which begins on July 13.

Promoters have insisted the gigs will go ahead.

http://www.entertainmentw...--pictures

No Word Yet From Michael Jackson in Contract Dispute

Will Jacko be a no show?

With the first court date in the civil suit between Michael Jackson and his former publicist, Raymone Bain, set for next week, the pop star has yet to officially name his lawyer or make any contact with the court. Bain’s attorneys from Cahn & Samuels have asked Judge James Robertson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for a default judgment. That would leave the singer on the hook for $44 million.

Early last month, Bain sued Jackson for breach of contract, claiming he had failed to pay her for work she did brokering several major financial deals on his behalf.

In court documents filed last week, Bain’s lawyers said they did not know who Jackson’s lawyers were and that the lawsuit itself was served to a security guard at Jackson’s Los Angeles home. A hearing is scheduled for Monday on whether the judge should grant Bain an injunction that would freeze some of Jackson’s assets.

Cahn & Samuels partner Frederick Samuels declined to comment on whether he had made any contact with Jackson’s representatives since last week.

http://legaltimes.typepad...spute.html

Oh great. Now those kids have started to look British to me.

musicjunky318 said:

I'm sorry but prince does look like michael, its paris that doesn't look anything like him.