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Taylor Swift Cleans Up at AMAs

Vanessa Baker — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:26:25 +0000

Country singer Taylor Swift topped the American Music Awards leader-board with five wins, including Artist of the Year, reports E! News. However, the 19-year-old was not present at Sunday’s ceremony in Los Angeles because she was rehearsing for a show at London’s Wembley Arena .

Michael Jackson received four posthumous awards, rounding out his career total to 25. His brother, Jermaine Jackson, was present to accept on his behalf.

“We love you, Michael,” said Jermaine, who sported a sequined glove for the event. “It’s not just about the winnings, the awards, it’s mainly the message. The message that Michael had will live on forever and he saw good in everyone and he wanted them to do good. To start with love and let’s love each other.”

When Swift accepted her win for Artist of the Year, she gave tribute to the King of Pop. “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. And I just want to say I’m sending my love to the Jackson family and Janet.”

American Idol’s Adam Lambert, Lady Gaga and Janet Jackson were among the many artists to perform at the show.

Michael Jackson and Swift received the honours for male and female artist, respectively, while the Black Eyed Peas picked up the award for band, duo or group. Michael’s album Number Ones was named Album of the Year.

Bravado Sues Over Rights To Major Artists

Vanessa Baker — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:53:02 +0000

Bravado International Group is suing Dollar Days International, Alan Shrem and Kennedy-Shrem International for millions, claiming they are illegally using the names of Michael Jackson, the Rolling Stones, the Doors, Guns N’ Roses, Led Zeppelin and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, reports TMZ.

Bravado says they have the exclusive right to merchandise related to these artists, and the other companies have violated this right by selling shirts, watches, posters and other items. They are seeking $2 million per violation.

Billboard Changes Rules

Vanessa Baker — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:07:04 +0000

Billboard will now be including catalog releases when calculating the best-selling albums, which were previously decided based on record sales from the past 18 months, reports Perez Hilton. The Nov. 25 chart will be the first to reflect these changes.

Taylor Swift is the only artist who sold more albums this year than Michael Jackson. Rihanna previously held the record for digital songs, selling 9.9 million, but Swift, Jackson, Lady Gaga and the Black Eyed Peas have all broken that this year.

‘Michael Jackson’s This Is It’ Makes Movie And Album History

Joelle Tomlinson — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:46:56 +0000

What better way to honor the prince?

“Michael Jackson’s This Is It” made motion picture history as the highest grossing concert film of all time. That’s not all. The two-disc companion to the movie released by Sony Music’s Epic Records makes its first week debut in the #1 spot on Canada’s Nielsen SoundScan Top 200 album chart, the U.S. Billboard Top 200 chart, as well as the Soundtrack album chart in both countries.

Sales totaled 44,441 in Canada and 373,100 units in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan, and this figure does not include significant sales from non-traditional retailers. In Canada, “This Is It” is Jackson’s first number one album since the establishment of SoundScan in 1997. With over 40,000 in first week sales, the album claims the third best sales week of 2009, trailing only behind U2 and Eminem’s releases. It’s no surprise that “This Is It” also claimed the #1 spot in 15 other countries, including Japan, France, Italy, Holland, Belgium, Turkey, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Korea, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the Middle East and Colombia. It was also top-3 in the UK, Australia, Argentina, Austra, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland and Spain. Furthermore, a simultaneous #1 album and #1 documentary film as not happened since 1971 when the Rolling Stones did it with the album “Sticky Fingers” and movie “Gimme Shelter.”

Michael Jackson albums now occupy the top five spots of Billboard catalog album chart at #1, #3 and #4; his Number Ones album is this year’s best-selling overall album year to date. Michael Jackson’s accomplishments continue in Canada with eleven albums charting in Nielsen SoundScan’s Top Catalogue Albums including Thriller (Remastered), Thriller 25^th Anniversary Edition, Essential Michael Jackson, and Number Ones. Throughout his career, Michael Jackson has spent a total of 51 weeks at #1 on the Billboard album chart. Only The Beatles and Elvis Presley have spent more weeks at the top.

According to the press release, Disc one features the original album masters of some of Michael’s biggest hits such as “Billie Jean,” “Smooth Criminal,” ”Human Nature,” and “Thriller” arranged in the same sequence as they appear in the film. The disc ends with two versions of “This Is It,” the original and an orchestral version. Disc two offers fans a rare listen to the early demo versions of classics “She’s Out Of My Life,” “Wanna Be Startin’,” “Somethin’,” and “Beat It.” This disc also features a recently discovered spoken word poem from Michael Jackson entitled “Planet Earth.”

‘This Is It’ Moonwalks To Success

Joelle Tomlinson — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:27:56 +0000

Though Michael Jackson may have passed on, his ability to entertain and astound certainly has not.

Following on the heels of Tuesday night’s $2.2 million haul at a series of midnight showings, “This Is It” took in another $7.4 million in its first full day of release and another $12.7 million overseas. According to mtvnews.com, overall the film tallied a worldwide total of $20.1 million, a jaw-dropping amount for a midweek release, specifically a documentary.

According to distributor Sony, Wednesday’s total is the best daily gross for a film on a Wednesday in October. Placing nearly $1.5 million ahead of last weekend’s box-office champ “Paranormal Activity,” the movie about the King of Pop now seems poised to reign supreme at movie theaters nationwide on Halloween weekend. It is setting its sights on the all-time champ “Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert,” which tops the list with $65.3 million.

The result of a massive bidding war that ensued in the weeks after MJ’s June 25 death, ”This Is It” was collected from more than 100 hours of the pop singer’s rehearsal for a sold-out 50-date comeback tour in London. Filmed at the Forum and the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Sony paid $60 million for the rights to the footage, which was then compiled by Jackson collaborator and “High School Musical” director Kenny Ortega. It is rumored that Ortega’s dediation to “This Is It” is one of the main reasons for his decision to leave the set of the upcoming film, “Footloose.”

Movie Review: This Is It

Eric Emin Wood — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:00:49 +0000

Dunno if you heard, but a concert documentary, starring a little-known performer who died recently, opened across the country at 12:01 this morning.

This performer, Michael Jackson, would likely have been plagued by scandal through much of his adult life had anyone actually heard of him, so perhaps it’s just as well.

To Sony’s credit, This Is It does not feel like a quickie cash-in on Jackson’s death. A bit over-adulatory perhaps, but that’s to be expected. It must be said, however, that Jackson’s death casts a pall over the movie’s early proceedings; to me, his fake cleft chin and overly manufactured nose make his face look like melted wax, his voice occasionally lilts – not in a good way – and some of his dance moves look robotic.

But as time passes, the rehearsals have an obvious effect on him; his dancing becomes smoother, his singing becomes stronger, and he appears to become younger. Performing came as naturally to Jackson as breathing, and while his voice occasionally disappears, he’s never off-key (and explains more than once that he’s trying to save his vocal cords), and every number yields enthusiastic applause from the gathered technicians and back-up dancers.

If there’s an aspect of This Is It worth complaining about, it’s that a series of early interviews with Jackson’s back-up dancers never mentions their names, nor does the movie return to them, making their initial praise of him and nervousness when auditioning both creepily voyeuristic and shamelessly sentimental. It’s also worth noting that we never learn anything about Jackson himself; whenever he’s talking it’s all business, though it’s enlightening to learn just how clearly he knew his music inside and out. As you might expect, Jackson is very affectionate with the people he works with, and the choreographers, musicians, back-up singers and dancers all speak highly of him.

And what of the performance itself? Jackson and High School Musical director Kenny Ortega created a very cinematic production – show-stopping sequences were filmed for at least five of the songs – and after a clumsy introduction, the movie soon feels like a private concert.

Most of the expected hits are here – half of Thriller (the title track; “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’”; “Billie Jean”; “Human Nature”; “Beat It”), some of Michael’s early stuff with the Jackson 5 (”I’ll Be There,” “Dance and Shout”), half the singles from Bad (”Smooth Criminal,” “Man In The Mirror”; “The Way You Make Me Feel”) and some of his most popular late-period work (”Black or White”; “Heal the World”; “They Don’t Care About Us”).

Watching This Is It, I couldn’t help but think about what Jackson’s detractors would have thought of the final product. Would they have seen his show and enjoyed it, or dismissed it as overproduced fanservice mounted by a fallen icon? Hard to say, since those detractors won’t see the movie; as for his fans, those who haven’t seen it already can expect a fond farewell. Whatever his faults, Jackson wrote some great music and remained a terrific performer until the end, and my impression is that anyone lucky enough to get a ticket would have seen a hell of a show.

Dancers Around the World Try for Thriller Record

Vanessa Baker — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:47:09 +0000

People all over the world tried to break the Guinness World Record for the most people dancing simultaneously to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” reports CBC. Saturday night, approximately 20,000 people in more than 200 locations in 37 countries performed the famous dance.

230 people gathered in downtown Vancouver for the event. Participants brought food and monetary donations for the city’s food bank.

“When we take our first step, people in China will take their first step,” said Graeme Lea, who co-ordinated the event. Cell phones were used to ensure groups around the world began dancing at the same time.

Thriller is the bestselling album of all time, selling 100 million copies worldwide.

It is yet to be determined if Saturday’s events will top the previous record, set Aug. 29 of this year in Mexico City on what would have been the singer’s 51st birthday. The final count on that date was 13,597 dancers.

Advance Clips for Michael Jackson’s Documentary Released

Sara Harowitz — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:08:46 +0000

Michael Jackson was in the midst of planning his sold-out comeback shows in London when his untimely death shocked the world. But thanks to a film crew that documented the rehearsals, the world will once again be able to fall in love with the King of Pop. And now fans can start to get excited, because Sony Pictures has released four preview clips from “This Is It” to the media, reports MTV News.

The clips have been released to help promote the documentary, that will be out on Oct. 28.

MTV News describes the four clips:

“‘Human Nature’ — Making comments like ’something there,’ Michael choreographs his dance moves for a performance of ‘Human Nature,’ the fifth hit single off his 1983 Thriller album. As he points and does some of his signature footwork, the band kicks in behind him with the beloved tune.

‘Human Nature Extended’ — A longer version of the earlier clip, this one cuts Michael’s footage with shots of his backing musicians, then extends into a shot of MJ performing in front of a lit stage, making it seem as though we’re in the crowd watching the legendary performer in concert.

‘The Way You Make Me Feel’ — ‘I’ve gotta cue that; I’ve gotta cue that,’ Michael insists to the people helping him design the stage show. ‘That can’t trigger on its own.’ The footage then cuts to shots of silhouetted backup dancers as ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’ kicks in on the soundtrack. Wearing a hat and black armband, Michael watches a female backup dancer strut past, then begins singing out the love song to her. His exaggerated motions invoke the playful, quick-on-his-feet MJ we all remember from his ’80s heyday.

‘They Don’t Care About Us’— ‘There’s the man,’ you can hear a crewmember’s voice saying as MJ walks onto a soundstage. ‘There’s Michael.’ Looking over a storyboard, Michael says, ‘That’s a cool move — we spread out at the end.’ We then see Michael teaching his backup crew some basic steps, as sound effects sneak in to beef up the action. The effects carry us into a cool, ‘Unplugged’-like version of ‘Bad’ that is cut with footage of MJ and the dancers on various stages, banging out the routine. The number then flows into a rap-like take on ‘They Don’t Care About Us,’ from MJ’s HIStory album.”

“This Is It” could very well turn out to be the comeback that originally died with Jackson. The film is one last hurrah – one last chance for the world to embrace, and say goodbye, to one of the most legendary performers of our time.

“This Is It” opens in limited engagement on Oct. 27 and everywhere on Oct. 28.

Debbie Rowe Sues for Defamation

Vanessa Baker — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:24:12 +0000

Debbie Rowe, the mother of the late Michael Jackson’s three children, is seeking $490,000 in a defamation lawsuit against Rebecca White, a close fried of Debbie Rowe, reports TMZ.

Rowe says White was lying when she said in a television interview that she had an e-mail from Rowe stating, “Do I want the kids? Hell no. Does it look good for me to ask for them? Absolutely.”

Rowe filed the suit in July. A hearing is scheduled for November.

Michael Jackson’s Glove Makes Big Bucks

Vanessa Baker — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:16:24 +0000

A glove worn by Michael Jackson on his 1984 Victory Tour sold for $70,800 at a Los Angeles auction last week, reports Perez Hilton.

Also on the auction block was the Martin D-28 guitar Elvis Presley used in his final Las Vegas performance, which sold for $106,200, and Harrison Ford’s bull whip from Indiana Jones, which brought in $56,050. A velociraptor from Jurassic Park was purchased for $76,700.