Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards
A hologram of Michael Jackson appeared tonight at the Billboard Music Awards, almost five years after the singer's death. Jackson's hologram was materialized sprawled on a shimmering golden throne amid a host of backing dancers both real and ethereal. Stepping away from the incorporeal backdrop, Jackson's hologram threw out a host of his signature shapes, moonwalking its way through pyrotechnics as it performed the singer's recently released Slave to the Rhythm. The song comes from Jackson's posthumous Xscape album, released this month, which is made up of unreleased material remixed by artists such as Timbaland.
Jackson joins a growing list of musicians — both living and dead — who have had their images projected onto stages for "live" performances. Janelle Monáe and M.I.A were able to share a stage in April, even though the artists were 3,000 miles apart, while deceased rappers Ol' Dirty Bastard and Eazy-E made hologramatic appearances at concerts in 2013. The practice of resurrecting dead artists for posthumous performances was popularized by the appearance of Tupac Shakur's hologram at 2012's Coachella festival. The likeness was created by visual-effects studio Digital Domain, which reportedly took four months to create the projection of the rapper at a cost of up to $400,000.
Digital Domain filed for bankruptcy in 2012. The companies that purchased the studio's assets had attempted to halt the performance of Jackson's hologram at tonight's awards. Hologram USA and Musion Das Hologram argued that the show violated their patents, but the show went ahead after a Las Vegas judge agreed that the technology was in the public domain.
The technology to project apparent holograms on stage has existed since the 16th century, and was given a name by British chemist John Pepper in Victorian Britain. But while the "Pepper's Ghost" illusion is not a new invention, the advent of lifelike CGI has only recently allowed us to resurrect celebrities and musicians, and to make them sing and dance for us on stage once more.
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Michael Jackson Album 'Xscape' to Be Released in May
Epic Records and Michael Jackson's estate have announced they'll release "Xscape," an 8-song collection of previously unreleased tracks from the late King of Pop, on May 13.
Label ceo, and the project's executive producer, L.A. Reid, took the lead in cultivating recordings from Jackson in which his vocals were completed, and went about "contemporizing" each. The album's lead producer was Timbaland, with additional work courtesy of Rodney Jerkins, Stargate, Jerome "Jroc" Harmon and John McClain.
"Michael left behind some musical performances that we take great pride in presenting through the vision of music producers that he either worked directly with or expressed strong desire to work with," Reid said in a statement on Monday. "We are extremely proud and honored to present this music to the world."
"Xscape" continues the tradition of naming Jackson's albums after one of its songs. The title track was written and produced by Jackson and Jerkins, who recorded the original with the singer.
Epic will release a deluxe edition of the album that will include all the sourced recordings in their original form. Both the standard and Deluxe Editions are available Tuesday (April 1) for pre-order on iTunes and elsewhere.
A global campaign will incorporate One Sony sister companies, including Sony Network Entertainment. In February, Sony and Jackson's estate announced a partnership with Sony Mobile that saw the release of an ad incorporating a new version of the track "Slave to the Rhythm."
More information, including track listing, will be released soon.
Jackson's history on Billboard charts is, of course, legendary. He tallied 13 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1s, the best sum of any male soloist. (And, that's not including his four No. 1s as part of the Jackson 5.) He also scored six No. 1s (as a soloist) on the Billboard 200, from 1982's "Thriller" through 2009's posthumous "This Is It" soundtrack. "Thriller" is the all-time top-selling studio album in the U.S., according to the RIAA, which has certified the landmark set as 29-times Platinum. His total U.S. album sales stand at 75.5 million, according to the RIAA.
Via billboard