Michael Jackson

It’s a demo and it sounds like a demo. And that rough-hewn charm may be what makes the “new’’ single “This Is It,’’ the latest strand in the web of posthumous Michael Jackson products so interesting. (After its unveiling this week, it came to light that Jackson originally co-wrote the song with Paul Anka more than 25 years ago under a different title; the vocal track definitely captures a younger Jackson.) The song, plucked from the vaults for release because of its title, will run over the end credits in the upcoming film of the same name (out Oct. 28)

Michael Jackson's glittery gloves, spangled jackets, stage-worn costumes and personal fashion effects are going on a world tour. Celebrity auctioneer Darren Julien says clothing created by Jackson's longtime costume designers will be exhibited in South America, Europe and Asia before being sold to the highest bidder in December. The exhibit opens May 18 at the Museo de la Moda in Santiago, Chile. It features items such as Jackson's Captain EO shirt, the black spandex outfit from his "Scream" video and the breakaway suit he wore during his BAD tour in the late 1980s.

LOS ANGELES -- Michael Jackson launched a website yesterday designed to tell his side of the story in his child-molestation case, asserting that the allegations are "predicated on a big lie. " "As you know, the charges recently directed at me are terribly serious," Jackson said in a six-paragraph statement posted on the site. "They are, however, predicated on a big lie. This will be shown in court, and we will be able to put this horrible time behind us. " The entertainer's spokesman, Stuart Backerman, said Jackson put the site together so he could communicate directly with the news media and...

NEW YORK - PepsiCo Inc. is going on a reunion tour with The King of Pop. The company has a deal with the estate of Michael Jackson to use the late star's image in its marketing. The promotion will vary by country, but will include cans bearing Jackson's image and a chance to download remixes of some of his songs. Pepsi, which first partnered with Jackson in 1983, did not disclose the terms of its deal with the singer's estate. The promotion is part of a global marketing blitz planned for the year ahead by Pepsi, which is looking to revive its brand and win back...

Phillips Academy grad Tom Mesereau, the lawyer who represented Michael Jackson during his 2005 child molestation trial, spoke at his alma mater last week. He talked to students about why he's defended at least one death penalty case pro bono each year, and about his dedication to such volunteer work. "I woke up one day and everything looked good but I didn't feel good. I was doing everything everyone told me that was exceptional, but I didn't feel exceptional," the graduate of the class of 1969 said.

Pop Michael Jackson Hello World: The Mowtown Solo Collection Hip-oselect.com ESSENTIAL “Got to Be There’’ In the wake of Michael Jackson’s death, sales of his albums have raced up the charts as if it were 1982 all over again. Fans, and surely some new ones who missed out on “Thriller’’ and “Bad’’ the first time around, have been hungry to relive those musical moments that shot Jackson’s fame into the stratosphere. But before that, Jackson was finding his voice and identity as a...

Lionel Richie will be in town Monday to pick up the Peter J. Gomes Humanitarian Award from the Harvard Foundation. The foundation says Richie has "inspired many through his artistic and philanthropic endeavors," which include co-writing "We Are the World" with Michael Jackson , and advocating for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

NEW YORK - A New York congressman who is considering a Senate run has posted a video calling Michael Jackson a “pervert’’ and questioning the exhaustive media coverage of the pop star’s death. Representative Peter King, a Long Island Republican, said in the YouTube video that society is glorifying a “low-life’’ while hard-working teachers, police officers, firefighters, and veterans don’t get the credit they deserve. “This guy was a pervert,’’ King said in the video, shot Sunday by a staff member outside an...

LOS ANGELES -- The Nation of Islam is rallying to support Michael Jackson and has begun handling some security for the pop star as he prepares to defend himself on child molestation charges, sources close to Jackson said, on condition of anonymity. When defense lawyer Mark Geragos held a news conference on Jackson's behalf after charges were announced on Dec. 18, one of those standing behind him was Leonard F. Muhammad, identified on the Nation of Islam's website as its chief of staff.

Sony Pictures Entertainment has agreed to provide a private screening for Dr. Conrad Murray and his defense attorneys to view some 100 hours of raw footage of Michael Jackson’s rehearsals for his “This Is It’’ concert. But according to documents filed in court Thursday they won’t be allowed to make public statements about what they see. A stipulation reached by both sides said that Murray and his lawyers will have access to 21 boxes containing audio-visual recordings of Jackson’s rehearsals which became the basis for a concert movie after his...

Phillips Academy grad Tom Mesereau, the lawyer who represented Michael Jackson during his 2005 child molestation trial, spoke at his alma mater last week. He talked to students about why he's defended at least one death penalty case pro bono each year, and about his dedication to such volunteer work. "I woke up one day and everything looked good but I didn't feel good. I was doing everything everyone told me that was exceptional, but I didn't feel exceptional," the graduate of the class of 1969 said.

The contents of the home where Michael Jackson lived with his three children before his death in 2009 have sold for nearly $1 million at auction. The president of Julien's Auctions was still tallying the totals Saturday after the daylong auction, which brought in nearly triple the company's pre-auction estimate of $200,000 to $400,000. Among the highlights were a chalkboard inscribed with a message from Jackson's children, which sold for $5,000, and an armoire upon which Jackson wrote a message to himself on the mirror, which fetched...

Karen Jackson and Kiki Stafford were moved to tears as they walked among the items that surrounded Michael Jackson in his final days: The Victorian baby grand piano, the wooden armoire where Jackson had written a note to himself on the mirror, the kitchen chalkboard where his children inscribed the message, "I love daddy. " Jackson, 57, and Stafford, 47, were among dozens of Michael Jackson fans who got an early look at items that will be sold at auction from the singer's final home — and left behind tributes to the King of Pop. Julien's...

Lionel Richie will be in town Monday to pick up the Peter J. Gomes Humanitarian Award from the Harvard Foundation. The foundation says Richie has "inspired many through his artistic and philanthropic endeavors," which include co-writing "We Are the World" with Michael Jackson , and advocating for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

LOS ANGELES - The doctor convicted in the overdose death of Michael Jackson was sentenced to the maximum four years behind bars yesterday by a judge who denounced him as a reckless physician whose actions were a "disgrace to the medical profession. " Dr. Conrad Murray sat stoically with his hands crossed as Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor repeatedly chastised him for what he called a "horrific violation of trust" while caring for Jackson. However, Pastor conceded his sentence was constrained by a recent change in...

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- Michael Jackson's lawyer yesterday confronted a 14-year-old boy whose brother was allegedly molested by the singer, pointing to discrepancies between the boy's trial testimony and earlier accounts, and extracting an admission that the youth lied in another case. "I knew more back then," the boy said when the discrepancies emerged during a grueling cross-examination. "It was fresher in my memory. " "Did someone tell you to say that?" defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. asked.