Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration
| New York City Revue concert by Michael Jackson | |
 Promotional poster for Jackson's New York show | |
| Venue | Madison Square Garden New York City, New York, United States |
|---|---|
| Associated album | Invincible |
| Date(s) | September 7 – 10, 2001 |
| Legs | 1 |
| No. of shows | 2 |
| Michael Jackson concert chronology | |
The Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special was a 2001 New York City revue show by American megasuperstar Michael Jackson. It took place on September 7, 2001 and September 10, 2001. In late November 2001, the CBS television network aired the concerts as a two-hour special in honor of Michael Jackson's thirtieth year as a solo entertainer (his first solo single, "Got to Be There", was recorded in 1971). The show was edited from footage of two separate concerts Michael had orchestrated in New York City's Madison Square Garden on September 7 and September 10 of 2001. The shows sold out in five hours. Ticket prices were pop's most expensive ever; the best seats cost $5,000 and included a dinner with Michael Jackson and a signed poster. Jackson reportedly earned $7.5 million for each of the two concerts, which is over $150,000 per minute. The concerts are mentioned in the VH1 biopic Man in the Mirror: The Michael Jackson Story, which notes that the last of the two concerts wrapped up just hours before two hijacked jet planes crashed into the Twin Towers of Lower Manhattan's World Trade Center (see September 11 attacks).
Marlon Brando appeared a few hours before Jackson's performance to speak about humanitarian work but it was not broadcast due to poor response from the audience. Raw footage can be found online.
Televised program
First hour
Opening the show was Samuel L. Jackson's presentation of Usher, Whitney Houston & Mýa, performing a rendition of Michael's hit song "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'", from his 1982 album, Thriller. Among other performers and guests were Liza Minnelli singing "You Are Not Alone"; young Billy Gilman's performance of the 1972 song "Ben"; and James Ingram with Gloria Estefan singing Jackson's 1987 ballad, "I Just Can't Stop Loving You". Marc Anthony also sang "She's Out of My Life".
Second hour
The second hour featured the reunion of Michael and his brothers Jermaine, Jackie, Randy, Marlon, and Tito for a "greatest hits" medley, including their headlining songs "Can You Feel It", "ABC", "The Love You Save", "I Want You Back", "I'll Be There", "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" and "Dancing Machine" (with special guests, *NSYNC).
Following a short intermission, Chris Tucker then appeared onstage, recalls a humorous conversation between him and Jackson (imitating his voice) before announcing a live performance of "Billie Jean" (The broadcast version is different showing "The Way You Make Me Feel"/"Black or White"/"Beat It" and then "Billie Jean"). The superstar once again hit the stage, this time flanked by scores of dancers dressed as gang members for "Beat It". As Michael glided and danced his way across the floor, the crowd roared all the louder in appreciation. Immediately afterward, Slash was properly introduced for a rendition of "Black or White". Then, to wind things down, Jackson was joined by Britney Spears for a performance of "The Way You Make Me Feel". The broadcast version that aired featured a different dancer than Spears while Jackson sang the whole song due to contractual reasons[citation needed], the removed clip can be found online. After, he performed his newest single, "You Rock My World", from the album Invincible. Michael was joined at the end of the song by Usher and Chris Tucker, who performed a smooth robotic dance routine.[citation needed] (The broadcast version ends after "You Rock My World"). Near the end of the final song, Jackson and Co. sang "We Are the World" onstage in an otherwise elaborate finale. Then the encore of "You Rock My World" was performed while Jackson danced only for the instrumental version of the song and did not sing.
Set lists
Friday, September 7
Monday, September 10
- Both shows took place in September 2001, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The televised special re-sequenced the songs somewhat, and presented the highlights from both concerts.
- Michael did not rehearse the first show. Because of this, he let the public choose songs after "Billie Jean". They chose "You Rock My World", but the band wasn't ready, so they played "Black or White".
- Whitney Houston was supposed to perform "One Day in Your Life" on the second night, but for unknown reasons, she did not perform it.
- The performances of "We Are the World" and "You Rock My World (Reprise)" were never broadcast on television, but were filmed with an amateur camera by a fan. The footage was leaked online in low quality.
Tour dates
| # | Date | City | Country | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 7, 2001 | New York City | United States | Madison Square Garden |
| 2 | September 10, 2001 |
References
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