Michael Jackson lives on through “This Is It”

Album art for Michael Jackson's "This is It" courtesy of Michaeljackson.com and AEG Live

The King of Pop is living on through his posthumous single, dual disc set and film, all featured around the song, “This Is It.”

On Monday, Michael Jackson’s first posthumous single, “This Is It,” was released on his Web site. The single is a mid-tempo ballad that is reminiscent of earlier an work, “Man in the Mirror.”

The song starts off with Jackson counting off, “One, two, three, four” and from there on the singer’s smooth voice is accompanied by systematic snaps, light guitar and the harmonies of the Jackson brothers. The single has been met with much anticipation by fans.

“I’m a die-hard Michael Jackson fan and I’m excited that he is has a new single coming out,” said Danielle Flynn, a sophomore Spanish major. “It should be good.”

“This Is It” is the debut single of a dual disc set that will be released Oct. 27, the day before “This Is It” the movie is released. Disc one will contain re-mastering of some of Jackson’s classic hits and disc two will consist of unreleased demo versions of Jackson’s popular singles and a spoken poem entitled “Planet Earth.”

Some students have adapted a more cynical view on Jackson’s posthumous releases.

“I find it surprising that Michael Jackson can still release new material because he’s dead,” said Angela Wu, a freshman biochemistry major.

The film “This Is It” will only be playing for two weeks beginning on Oct. 28. In order to keep up with demand, tickets went on sale Sept. 27.

“This Is It” provides Jackson fans with a behind-the-scenes look at the performer as he develops, creates and rehearses for his sold-out concerts that would have taken place beginning this summer in London’s O2 Arena. Filmed from April to June, the movie contains over 100 hours of behind-the-scenes footage such as Jackson rehearsing a number of his songs for the show.

While the release of new material is enough to keep die-hard Jackson fans satisfied, it is not necessarily enough to garner him new ones.

“I was never a Michael Jackson fan before he died and I doubt that I will be now,” said Zacharia Nakib, a freshman open-option major.

Even though the movie “This Is It” is likely the last time the singer will be seen on video, do not expect it to be the last that you hear of the legend. There are reportedly still over 100 demos and unreleased tracks in the Jackson vault.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Kenna Egbune at [email protected].