This Is It (Michael Jackson song)
| "This Is It" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
"This Is It" is a song from Michael Jackson's, posthumous, sixth compilation album, This Is It, which accompanies the upcoming Sony Pictures motion picture release Michael Jackson's This Is It, and according to Epic the song is "available exclusively on the forthcoming album".[2]
Sony misleadingly referred to the song as a "new single" during its promotion, but it later emerged that the song would only be released to the radios, and not be available to buy or download as a single release.[3]
Paul Anka, who co-wrote the song, stated that it was recorded in 1983 for a duet intended between him and Jackson on his album Walk a Fine Line under the original title of "I Never Heard".[4][5] The song was later included in Sa-Fire's album I Wasn't Born Yesterday. The demo of the song was recorded in Anka's studio in Carmel, CA and the tape was sent to a studio in Hollywood for finishing touches. However, Anka claims Jackson "stole the tapes" from the studio.[6][7] However, only Jackson is credited writing the song in the booklet of the "This Is It" Album.
Jackson's copy of the original recording of "This Is It" was apparently found in a box of tapes with only Jackson's voice and a piano accompaniment. Strings were then added to the bare-bones recording, along with backing vocals from Jackson's brothers and finger-click percussion.[5] The Extended Orchestra version in the album also has the orchestra playing in the beginning before the conductor taps his baton.
The song premiered worldwide on October 12, 2009, at midnight on MichaelJackson.com[8]
Reception
The song's reception was overshadowed after it emerged as an old demo of a song Jackson wrote for Sa-Fire in 1991. It mostly gained average reviews. The Winnipeg Sun's Darryl Sterdan gave it 3 out of 5, saying, "This may be something, but it's not 'It'... On the whole, it's a sweet little number -- but it doesn't live up to its authoritative title."[9] In the Los Angeles Times' Pop & Hiss music blog, Todd Martens called the song "a trifle, and while it's one that certainly won't embarrass Jackson's legacy or break the hearts of fans eager to hear Jackson's voice again, it does bring the fallen pop icon a little back down to earth."[10] AOL music editor Jessica Robertson said, "It's a safe, midtempo pop ballad that features what his fans love: his trademark breathy vocals and confident delivery. I don't think it will set the world on fire, because it's missing what fans and critics love most about his songs, which is a strong and powerful groove to carry it."[10]
Among the positive reviews were Dan Aquilante of the New York Post, who described the song as "an optimistic, R&B ballad with an upbeat, percolating rhythm that has all the bombast and power of the New Jack Swing period of the early '90s." The style's founder, Teddy Riley, was a principal producer on Jackson's Dangerous album.[10] MTV's James Montgomery called it "a perfect MJ tune", saying, "Michael Jackson was a hell of a singer," going to to add that his "wonderous voice" was incredibly versatile and often over-looked by other features such as dance moves. "In a lot of ways, "This Is It" might be the perfect Michael Jackson tune. And by that I mean, while it's by no means his best, or his most memorable, it might be his most representative. It's a mixture of his yearning early years and his messianic later period, and it shines a light on the best aspects of both: His voice."[11]
Charts
Despite being a radio-only single, the song appeared on many charts on radio play alone.[12][13] In the first 24 hours it had 800 radio plays in Europe.[14]
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Japan Hot 100 | 10 |
| Japan Hot Top Airplay | 7 |
| Japan Adult Contemporary Airplay[15] | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks[16] | 19 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | 36 |
| Canadian Hot 100 | 56 |
| UK Radio Airplay Chart[17] | 1 |
Versions
- Original Version – 3:37
- Orchestra Version (Single Edit) - 3:43
- Extended Orchestra Version - 4:40
- Extended Orchestra Version (Album Version) - 4:55
References
- ^ http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/10/exclusive-michael-jacksons-posthumous-album-will-be-sold-in-itunes-afterall
- ^ Epic Records Claim Album-Exclusivity, Epic Records
- ^ "'New' Jackson song to miss charts". BBC. 2009-10-16. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
- ^ "Anka Given Credit for Jackson Song", The New York Times, October 12, 2009
- ^ a b http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10602996&pnum=0
- ^ http://www.tmz.com/2009/10/12/paul-anka-michael-jackson-this-is-it-I-never-heard/
- ^ http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=123&title=that_new_michael_jackson_track_it_s_been&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
- ^ New Michael Jackson Album and Single
- ^ http://www.winnipegsun.com/entertainment/columnists/darryl_sterdan/2009/10/13/11381131-sun.html
- ^ a b c "Michael Jackson's 'This Is It': Consensus is 'it's not bad'". USA Today. 2009-10-13. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
- ^ http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1623610/20091012/jackson_michael.jhtml
- ^ http://www.billboard.com/column/chartbeat/chart-beat-thursday-michael-buble-michael-1004022719.story#/column/chartbeat/chart-beat-thursday-michael-buble-michael-1004022719.story
- ^ http://www.billboard.com/column/chartbeat/chart-highlights-adult-contemporary-rap-1004023681.story#/column/chartbeat/chart-highlights-adult-contemporary-rap-1004023681.story
- ^ http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3iad5ddf5ece450a18cd527d64aef7d99c
- ^ http://www.billboard-japan.com/system/jp_charts/adult_airplay/
- ^ http://www.billboard.com/column-chartbeat/chart-beat-wednesday-michael-jackson-taylor-1004029017.story#/column-chartbeat/chart-beat-wednesday-michael-jackson-taylor-1004029017.story
- ^ http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3iad5ddf5ece450a18cd527d64aef7d99c
