Since Michael Jackson’s death June 25, fans have clamored for a listen to his unreleased songs, which Sony says there are at least 100 of. They got their first taste of fresh Jackson material with the release of “This Is It” at midnight on Sunday, Oct. 11.
The song, which is based on a recording Jackson left behind of just vocals and piano, has since been augmented with his brothers’ backup vocals and a string arrangement. The song is titled “This Is It,” the same name that his farewell tour was to have, and is rumored to have been recorded circa his 1991 album Dangerous.
“We just found the song,” said Rob Stringer, a Sony division chairman. “It was titled ‘This Is It.’ It was in a box, and we listened to it.”
Stringer also recently said, “We probably have at least 100 [Michael Jackson] songs in varying degrees of being finished. And we think there probably is a lot more. We haven’t gone into the archive to search it properly yet. It’s just too complicated to do that.”
On Oct. 27, Sony will release the two-disc soundtrack for the film This Is It, which captures Jackson’s last tour rehearsal the eve before his death. The song “This Is It” will be included on that soundtrack, as will the following songs:
This Is It Soundtrack Tracklist
This Is It Disc One
1. “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’”
2. “Jam”
3. “They Don’t Care About Us”
4. “Human Nature”
5. “Smooth Criminal”
6. “The Way You Make Me Feel”
7. “Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)”
8. “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You”
9. “Thriller”
10. “Beat It”
11. “Black Or White”
12. “Earth Song”
13. “Billie Jean”
14. “Man In The Mirror”
15. “This Is It”
16. “This Is It (Orchestra Version)”
This Is It Disc Two
1. “She’s Out Of My Life (Demo)”
2. “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ (Demo)”
3. “Beat It (Demo)”
4. “Planet Earth (Poem)”