You've heard of "This Is It," the documentary of Michael Jackson's concert-tour rehearsal that opens soon. Now hear "This is it" the song, billed as never-before-heard and vintage MJ. But is it? Some critics are saying, sort of. And one music legend is saying, definitely not. Let us explain.
The back story as far as we know is this: As reported by the New York Times, the origins of the recording are a bit cloudy. The King of Pop recorded the tune to piano accompaniment that could have been made any time between the albums "Off the Wall" in 1979 and "Dangerous" in 1991. Sony "discovered" it and added in a full orchestral tracks along with vocal back-up from family members to ready it for release.
The ballad, as music critic Ann Powers points out, doesn't sound new as much as it sounds familiar. Another song, "I never heard," co-written by Jackson and Paul Anka back in 1991 for the Latin singer Sa-Fire, sounds an awful lot like "This is it." As Powers puts it, "Jackson's version could be an older demo or a later reworking of the song."
Coulda, woulda, shoulda. From the mouth of Paul Anka, the release is nothing more than a rip-off. According to TMZ, the co-writer claims Michael Jackson stole the tapes from Anka's studio years ago, then simply recorded the song himself and renamed it. Even though Jackson eventually returned the tapes, Anka still says that the song is not MJ's to claim. So far, no response from Sony.
One thing's for sure: With more than 100 songs in the MJ archives, this is just the first of many releases. And probably, not the last controversy, either.
Listen to the songs 'I never heard' and decide for yourself if they sound alike.
