Normally, introductions to a single are packed with details about the artist's past endeavours and future plans, but, you'd imagine, most people are pretty up to date with the background of this particular artist, and, well, it's difficult to have future plans when you're dead.
If you've just escaped from a padded cell however, Michael Jackson was a pop singer who sold a lot of records and spent a lot of money. Check him out. He made some decent records.
Key word there, "Was", as in no longer, not anymore, dearly departed and very much missed. Jackson died in 2009. Yet he's still making records apparently, with the mystinfingly successful Akon. They've done a duet. Yes, a duet, they've called it a duet. To emphasise this, Akon even shouts "Akon and MJ" over the hammy synthesised strings that start the song. This is Jackson's record label saying "This is real, this is genuine, we've got Derek Acorah in and apparently Michael's fine with it."
The track itself is non description blandness of the worst kind, much like many of Jackson's later releases. Akon does his stereotypical pleading whine over the top of a sickly sweet backing track, while bits of Jackson float in and out, cut and pasted with the skill and delicacy of a five year old making a collage.
It's cringe worthy in the extreme and goes well beyond homage territory and into downright exploitation.
When artists die young, it's only natural that people want to know more about them and find lost treasures. Take Nirvana or Jeff Buckley, who's careers both ended with only meagre back catalogues built up. There's a need and clearly a market for releasing whatever you can find in those cases.
Jackson though is different. He made albums for forty years and has more than enough material released with his living approval for this to be completely unneccessary. Tracks like this, should be left alone, on the cutting room floor where they belong.
Scraping the barrel? That's much too dignified for what this is. If it flops, as it deserves to, then hopefully this will stop any future plans. If it succeeds? Jackson may be the new Tupac.
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