Shamoozal.com - Smorgas Board

Virt's version of Thriller a few years ago

http://www.biglionmusic.com/music/arran ... r#comments

Virt is also upset with the news and is apparently working on an MJ tribute, which will probably be awesome.

Michael Jackson's Final Rehearsal To Air
29 June 2009 3:21 AM, PDT


The final rehearsal for Michael Jackson’s planned concert tour will likely be broadcast internationally, Chicago Sun-Times entertainment columnist Bill Zwecker reported today (Monday), citing a source at Anschutz Entertainment Group, the Los Angeles-based concert promotion and touring company that was staging Jackson’s comeback. A similar report appeared on Sharon Waxman’s blog, TheWrap.com. It was not immediately clear whether the company intends to distribute the rehearsal performance to theaters or whether it is planning a television special. According to the reports, the rehearsal was shot with multiple “state-of-the-art” cameras (presumably meaning high-definition equipment) and the audio was captured in SurroundSound. Besides Jackson, the material also included performances by dancers, musicians and aerial performers.

Last week, Kenny Ortega, the show’s choreographer and director, told the Los Angeles Times that during the rehearsal, “Michael stood at my side and we looked at the stage together and were just beaming with gladness that we had arrived at this place. ... And he was happy. We all felt that and shared that. We were four or five days from finishing in Los Angeles and heading to London and feeling in really good shape.” Aeg Live CEO Randy Phillips added: “It was fantastic, he was so great.” Others who watched Jackson on stage commented that he appeared to be performing “at his peak.”

The rehearsal was reportedly taped at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on June 24, the day before Jackson’s death. The Aeg source told Zwecker and Waxman that the video could also be released as a DVD and the audio, as a live CD. “We have a live album in the can,” an Aeg official boasted to a colleague over the weekend, according to Waxman’s account.

Timing of the concert broadcast and CD and DVD releases is apparently still up in the air. Zwecker said that they may not materialize before September when a proposed tribute to Jackson is likely to be staged. He said that the special will include performances by Madonna, Diana Ross, Wyclef Jean, Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Wonder, although he did not indicate whether the tribute would be staged as a live concert or a television special.

Meanwhile, the New York Post, citing a source close to the Jackson family, reported today that the singer had recorded “a treasure trove of songs for his three children” instructing that the songs not be released until after his death.

I just want to get the Matrix of Leadership and jam it into Jackson's chest.

This was supposed to have been taken during his rehearsal the day before he died.

I totally forgot about this video. I loved it when I was younger because it was so weird.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5KAJw4y8wE

Michael Jackson Breaks Billboard Charts Records

As predicted, Michael Jackson is once again the King of the Pop charts.

Based on preliminary sales numbers from Nielsen SoundScan, the entire top nine positions on Billboard's Top Pop Catalog Albums chart will house Jackson-related titles when the tally is released in the early morning on Wednesday (July 1). Nielsen SoundScan's sales tracking week ended at the close of business on Sunday (June 28) night.

Jackson himself has a record eight out of the top 10, while a Jackson 5 compilation also finds its way into the upper tier.

The King of Pop's "Number Ones" will fittingly lead the pack at No. 1 with 108,000 (an increase of 2,340%) while "The Essential Michael Jackson" and "Thriller" are in the Nos. 2 and 3 slots with 102,000 and 101,000, respectively. Last week "Number Ones" was the only Jackson title on the chart, at No. 20 with 4,000 copies; both "Essential" and "Thriller" re-enter the tally this week.

Additionally, his classic 1979 studio set "Off the Wall" re-enters at No. 4 with 33,000 while his 1987 album "Bad" returns at No. 6 with 17,000. At No. 5, the Jackson 5's "The Ultimate Collection" debuts with 18,000. Jackson's fourth studio album for Epic Records, 1991's "Dangerous," re-enters at No. 7 with 14,000 while his 2001 compilation "Greatest Hits: HIStory -- Volume 1" also comes back to the list at No. 8 with 12,000. Finally, Jackson's 2004 box set "The Ultimate Collection" charts its first week on the Pop Catalog chart, arriving at No. 9 with 11,000.

The lone non-Jackson-related set in the top 10 is a reissue of the "Woodstock" movie soundtrack, which bows at No. 10 with 8,000.

Collectively, Jackson's solo albums sold 415,000 this past week. That's extraordinary, since his titles sold a combined 10,000 in the week that ended June 21. Of the 415,000 total, 58% were digital downloads.

Additionally, the 415,000 albums sold just last week is nearly 40% more than what Jackson's catalog had sold the the entire year up through June 21 (297,000).

Speaking of digital albums, on the Top Digital Albums chart, Jackson has a record six out of the top 10 slots, including the entire top four. "The Essential Michael Jackson" leads the Top Digital Albums list with 80,000 downloads sold, while "Thriller" is No. 2 with 57,000.

With the Black Eyed Peas' "The E.N.D." moving back to the No. 1 slot on the Billboard 200 chart with 88,000, this week marks the first time that a catalog album has sold more than the No. 1 current set on the Billboard 200 albums chart. (All three of Jackson's top sellers on the Pop Catalog chart outsell "The E.N.D.")

Ironically, the feat almost occurred was when Jackson re-issued "Thriller" in February 2008. The set relaunched with 166,000, re-entering at No. 1 on the Top Pop Catalog chart. That week, Jack Johnson's "Sleep Through the Static" led the Billboard 200 chart with 180,000 while Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black" was at No. 2 with 115,000.

Catalog albums are ineligible to appear on the Billboard 200 albums chart, though they can chart on the all-encompassing Top Comprehensive Albums list. On the latter chart, Jackson's "Number Ones," "Essential" and "Thriller" are at Nos. 1-3, followed by the Black Eyed Peas' "The E.N.D." at No. 4.

Jackson places a record 25 songs on the 75-position Hot Digital Songs chart (21 solo hits and four with his siblings), smashing the mark of 14 charting titles established by David Cook in the June 7, 2008 issue. Jackson's Halloween radio staple, "Thriller," moves 167,000, which is good for second place on the chart behind the 203,000 shifted by the Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling."

"Thriller" was also Jackson's best seller in the week before his death with 5,000 downloads, which translates to a 3,551% jump. Jackson's total volume of downloads this week -- including his tracks with the Jackson 5 and the Jacksons -- account for 2.6 million downloads, a remarkable number considering last week's cumulative sum was 48,000. Moreover, Jackson becomes the first act to sell more than 1 million song downloads in a week.

Besides "Thriller," Jackson places five other songs in the top 10 including "Man In The Mirror" (No. 3, 165,000), "Billie Jean" (No. 4, 158,000), "The Way You Make Me Feel" (No. 6, 136,000), "Beat It" (No. 7, 134,000) and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" (No. 8, 125,000).

Not surprisingly, each of the tracks in the top 10 of Hot Digital Songs were among the top 10 most-played Jackson selections at radio following his passing. According to research provided by Nielsen BDS of monitored airplay from over 1,600 terrestrial and satellite radio stations and cable music channels, "Billie Jean" was the Jackson track with the most spins for the week ending June 28 with 4,540 -- 97% of which occurred after news of his death became public. The track posted only 318 plays in the prior week.

Yeah, crying and suicide aren't really comparable but I still find it pretty ridiculous people would get THAT worked up over a celebrity's death to warrant crying. I can see if you knew the him personally. Eh, whatever. That's what makes people people I guess. Who knows, when Sean Connery or Patrick Stuart dies, I might cry.

Yeah, crying is one thing, killing yourself is another... you can't even compare the two things.

And yeah, the mega hardcore fans never went away man. Who do you think the 2 million were that bought Invincible? I was actually thinking about the Elvis impersonator thing and how there are going to be so many more Michael impersonators now. Also, at this point they might as well make money off Neverland to pay off his debts and turn it into a tourist attraction. It would be like Michael's Graceland.

I remember crying when optimus prime died .

I was gonna put a picture of Optimus Prime on the cross but this thread is about MJ..
His dad is a piece a trash. He kinda apoligized the other day but this is still ridiculous. Watch the whole thing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRlAkZOS6b8

Yeah I heard about this but didn't see it. This video pretty much sums up why Michael was the way he was. His father didn't truly care about him aside from using him as a tool to earn himself money and fame. Using his death as a way to show up to the BET awards knowing full well that people would ask him questions as a means to spread around the idea of his stupid label is the most disrespectful thing a father could do. He never seems to be truly heart broken or upset, and that's probably because he's not. Michael and his father had a huge falling out when Michael started telling everyone that his father was a piece of shit. I'm also positive that at that point his father also knew that Michael had left nothing behind for him in his will. What a waste.

It makes me mad that at the end of the day Joe Jackson has won in his own little way. Sure, Michael's work will live on forever, but Joe just cares about what he gets in the present. Pile of crap.