Debut

Passionate King of Pop fans can get excited for MJ’s “This Is It” album release arriving in stores internationally on Oct.26 and in the U.S. on Oct. 27. The album is available for fans to purchase just a day before the worldwide release of the documentary/concert film of the same name. The “This Is It” film hitting theaters on Oct. 28 will chronicle MJ’s rehearsals and preparations for his London concert series which sadly never happened due to his untimely death. Columbia Pictures acquired rights to the footage of the “This Is It” concert series’ rehearsals and created the film tribute to give MJ fans something to hold on to, as well as creating a historic pop culture milestone.

This posthumous full 2-disc deluxe album release from MJ is meant to be a companion piece to the film and features music that inspired the film, meaning it’s primarily a compilation of Jackson’s greatest hits in their original mastered versions. New material includes previously unreleased demo recordings of classic hit tracks, a never-before-heard spoken word poem titled “Planet Earth” read by MJ and 2 versions of the previously unreleased song, “This Is It.” The album arranges the songs in the same order as they appear in the film.

The title track, “This Is It,” first emerged in 1983 when it was co-written by Michael Jackson and former teen star from the 50’s and 60’s, Paul Anka. The song was recorded by Jackson backed only by a piano accompaniment right around the time that “Thriller” was a billboard smash. The recording was found in an old box of Michael Jackson’s tapes. Studios added strings to the recording as well as back-up vocals from Jackson’s brothers. For added flavor, fans can catch finger-click percussions performed by MJ himself that were borrowed from his recording of “The Girl Is Mine.”

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