''Michael Jackson's This Is It'' (or simply ''This Is It'') is a posthumous two-disc
soundtrack album
A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...
by American singer
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
. Released by MJJ Music on October 26, 2009, ''This Is It'' features previously released music, as well as six previously unreleased recordings by Jackson. ''This Is It'' was released to coincide with the theatrical release of ''
Michael Jackson's This Is It
''Michael Jackson's This Is It'' is a 2009 American documentary–concert film about Michael Jackson's rehearsals and preparation for the concert series of the same name scheduled to start on July 13, 2009, at the O2 Arena, but cancelled du ...
'', a concert film documenting Jackson's rehearsals for the
This Is It concert series at the
O2 Arena O2 Arena may refer to:
*The O2 Arena (London)
*O2 Arena (Prague)
*The 3Arena
The 3Arena (originally The O2) is an indoor amphitheatre located at North Wall Quay in the Dublin Docklands in Dublin, Ireland. The venue opened as The O2 on 16 Decem ...
in London. ''This Is It'' is the sixth album to be released by Sony and Motown/Universal since
Jackson's death on June 25, 2009.
''This Is It'' debuted at number one in fourteen countries, including the United States, Canada, Japan, Italy, and France. ''This Is It'' also peaked within the top 10 of the charts in several other nations. ''This Is It'' has been certified gold, platinum, or double-platinum in multiple countries. ''This Is It'' was the twelfth best-selling album of 2009 in the United States and the third best-selling album of 2009 based on worldwide sales. By March of 2010, the soundtrack had sold 5 million copies globally. The title track from the album, "
This Is It", earned Jackson a nomination in 2011 for
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award recognizing superior vocal performance by a male in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. It was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season. The award wen ...
at the
53rd Annual Grammy Awards
The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 13, 2011, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. They were broadcast on CBS with a rating of 26.6 million viewers. Barbra Streisand was honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year two nights prio ...
.
Background and concept
Michael Jackson
died at the age of 50 on June 25, 2009, from cardiac arrest (it would later be determined that Jackson died of "acute
propofol
Propofol, marketed as Diprivan, among other names, is a short-acting medication that results in a decreased level of consciousness and a lack of memory for events. Its uses include the starting and maintenance of general anesthesia, sedation f ...
intoxication" with the additional factor of "
benzodiazepine
Benzodiazepines (BZD, BDZ, BZs), sometimes called "benzos", are a class of depressant drugs whose core chemical structure is the fusion of a benzene ring and a diazepine ring. They are prescribed to treat conditions such as anxiety disorders, ...
effect"). Prior to his death, Jackson was planning on performing 50 concerts for his sold-out
This Is It comeback shows in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
at
The O2 Arena
The O2 Arena, commonly known as the O2 (stylised as The O2 arena), is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of the O2 entertainment complex on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the s ...
from July 13, 2009, to March 6, 2010. Shortly after his death, on June 25, 2009,
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...
announced that they were to release a two-disc compilation "soundtrack" for Jackson's concert documentary film, ''
Michael Jackson's This Is It
''Michael Jackson's This Is It'' is a 2009 American documentary–concert film about Michael Jackson's rehearsals and preparation for the concert series of the same name scheduled to start on July 13, 2009, at the O2 Arena, but cancelled du ...
''.
In the announcement it was confirmed that ''This Is It'' would be released on October 26, 2009, one day before the film's theatrical release.
''This Is It'' is the sixth posthumous album to be released by Sony and Motown/Universal since Jackson's death in June 2009. The previous five albums are ''
The Collection'', ''
Hello World: The Motown Solo Collection'', ''
The Stripped Mixes
''The Stripped Mixes'' (released on CD for a limited time as ''The Motown 50 Mixes''), is a collection of American singer and former Jackson 5 member Michael Jackson's classic songs. The songs featured on the album are mainly from Jackson's career ...
'', ''
The Definitive Collection'', and ''
The Remix Suite
''The Remix Suite'' (digital title: ''Michael Jackson: The Remix Suite'') is a compilation of remixed hits by singer Michael Jackson. Although labeled as a Michael Jackson release, the majority of remixes are of hits during his tenure with The J ...
''.
''This Is It'' was released on Sony Music's
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America
Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...
, though, in certain countries, ''This Is It'' is listed under Sony Music Entertainment. The album was made available for pre-order – on
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
as a compact disc and on the
iTunes Store
The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...
as a
digital download. As planned, ''This Is It'' was released on October 26, 2009, in the US and worldwide on October 27. Currently, the CD is only available to order from Amazon.com by members of the Amazon Prime service. A limited-edition tenth-anniversary box set of the album was released on December 11, 2019.
Music
The press release announcing the two-disc album describes it as a "stand-alone companion" to the motion picture.
''This Is It'' was released as a two-disc compilation album. The first disc consists of 16 tracks, 14 of which were already released on Jackson's previous studio albums: ''
Thriller'' (1982), ''
Bad
Bad or BAD may refer to:
Common meanings
*Evil, the opposite of moral good
* Erroneous, inaccurate or incorrect
* Unhealthy, or counter to well-being
* Antagonist, the threat or obstacle of moral good
Acronyms
* BAD-2, a Soviet armored troll ...
'' (1987), ''
Dangerous
Dangerous may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Dangerous'' (1935 film), an American film starring Bette Davis
* '' Dangerous: The Short Films'', a 1993 collection of music videos by Michael Jackson
* ''Dangerous'' (2021 film), a Canadian-Ameri ...
'' (1991) and ''
HIStory
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
'' (1995), and one from
The Jacksons
The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...
' album ''
Destiny
Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual.
Fate
Although often ...
'' (1978). The album does not include any of the songs from ''
Off the Wall
''Off the Wall'' is the fifth studio album by American singer Michael Jackson, released on August 10, 1979, by Epic Records. It was Jackson's first album released through Epic Records, the label he recorded under until his death in 2009, and t ...
'' (1979) or ''
Invincible
Invincible may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Invincible'' (2001 drama film), a drama by Werner Herzog about Jewish cabaret during the rise of Nazism
* ''Invincible'' (2001 TV film), a fantasy / martial arts TV movie starring Billy Zane
...
'' (2001), although a demo version of "
She's Out of My Life
"She's Out of My Life" is a song written by American songwriter Tom Bahler and performed by American singer Michael Jackson. The song was released as the fourth single from Jackson's 1979 album '' Off the Wall'' released on April 19, 1980. In 20 ...
" is featured on the second disc. Fourteen of the already released tracks were arranged in order of how they would have appeared on the This Is It setlist and how they appeared in the concert film.
On September 23, 2009, Sony Music Entertainment announced that it would release the song "
This Is It" as a single to promote both the album and film.
However, shortly after "This Is It"'s digital debut on MichaelJackson.com, it was confirmed that the single's planned physical release was cancelled.
''This Is It'' contains previously unreleased music by Michael Jackson, which consists of
demo
Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to:
Music and film
*Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release
* ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes
* ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...
s and instrumental versions of his songs. The first disc contains "This Is It", which was written by Michael Jackson and
Paul Anka
Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter and actor. He is best known for his signature hit songs including " Diana", " Lonely Boy", "Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and " (You're) Having My Baby". Anka also ...
in 1983; the song had originally been planned as a
duet
A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...
between the two for Anka's ''Walk a Fine Line'' album.
After Michael Jackson's death, his brothers found a demo of Michael Jackson's version of the song, described as a "bare bone" recording. They added their voices and instruments into the background of the track.
[ ] Two versions of "This Is It" were added to the album; the original and an
orchestra version that is over one minute longer.
The second disc consists of four unreleased versions of Michael Jackson's classic hits.
The disc contains three demo versions of Michael Jackson's "
She's Out of My Life
"She's Out of My Life" is a song written by American songwriter Tom Bahler and performed by American singer Michael Jackson. The song was released as the fourth single from Jackson's 1979 album '' Off the Wall'' released on April 19, 1980. In 20 ...
" (1979), "
Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson recorded for his sixth studio album '' Thriller'' (1982). It is the opening track of the album and was released as its fourth single on May 8, 1983, by Epic Records. It wa ...
" (1982) and "
Beat It
"Beat It" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his sixth studio album, '' Thriller'' (1982). It was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. Jones encouraged Jackson to include a rock song on the album. Jackson l ...
" (1982).
The disc's fourth track is a spoken word poem by Jackson, entitled "Planet Earth", which was already published in the liner notes of Michael Jackson's 1991 album ''
Dangerous
Dangerous may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Dangerous'' (1935 film), an American film starring Bette Davis
* '' Dangerous: The Short Films'', a 1993 collection of music videos by Michael Jackson
* ''Dangerous'' (2021 film), a Canadian-Ameri ...
''.
Reception
Critical reception
Upon its release, ''This Is It'' received mixed to positive reviews from
music critic
''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...
s. Simon Vozick-Levinson of ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'', praised the album and gave it an overall rating of a B+. Vozick-Levinson described the album's track "This Is It" as being an "uplifting ballad" and felt that "if you're feeling generous" you can "count the minimally distinguishable" orchestra version of "This Is It" having thought of it as being a "decent if slight addition to Jackson's songbook." Vozick-Levinson stated that while the album's second disc only contains four tracks that were unreleased, that included a "fairly unremarkable" spoken-word poem, after hearing Jackson "work out the vocal harmonies" for "
Beat It
"Beat It" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his sixth studio album, '' Thriller'' (1982). It was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. Jones encouraged Jackson to include a rock song on the album. Jackson l ...
," he, in particular, felt that ''This Is It'' was "well worth the price of admission (or at least a healthy chunk of it)."
Brian Linder of ''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' described ''This Is It'' as a "freshly designed" release of a greatest hits album, and that the album's tracks of an all-vocal arrangement of "Beat It" was "particularly awesome" and the acoustic version of "
She's Out of My Life
"She's Out of My Life" is a song written by American songwriter Tom Bahler and performed by American singer Michael Jackson. The song was released as the fourth single from Jackson's 1979 album '' Off the Wall'' released on April 19, 1980. In 20 ...
" allows Jackson's "vocals to shine without the distraction of dated '70s musical underpinnings." Linder did note that he felt that the album was both a "fitting tribute" to Jackson and a "crass, commercial double-dip."
Will Hines of Consequence of Sound gave ''This Is It'' a rating of four and a half out of five stars. Hines commented that: "On one level
f the album
F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''.
Hist ...
it's an attempt to focus and draw attention to what Michael Jackson lived for, and not what he did. On a more superficial level, this is Sony milking his legacy. Any true MJ fan will already own 90% of the songs that make up this two-disc set. It is, however, that 10% which justifies this album’s existence."
Negative reviews from critics were mainly centered around them feeling that the album was released only for profit. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of ''
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
'' gave ''This Is It'' two and a half out of five stars. Erlewine commented that "An important thing to remember when considering the soundtrack to This Is It: this entire film and CD project was never supposed to happen". He noted that Jackson's death had "created considerable demand" for his final rehearsal footage and that ''This Is It'' was an "accompaniment" to the film.
Andy Gill of ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' strongly criticized ''This Is It'' describing it as being a "shoddy apology for an album" and felt that it was made just for a profit, commenting,
Commercial performance
''This Is It'' debuted at number one on the
''Billboard'' 200, selling 373,000 copies in its first week according to Nielsen SoundScan.
The album had the fifth-best sales week for an album in the United States in 2009.
''This Is It'', which also debuted at number one on ''Billboard''s Soundtrack chart,
marked Jackson's sixth number one entry on the chart.
''This Is It'' slightly outsold Jackson's first-week sales of his previous album ''
Invincible
Invincible may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Invincible'' (2001 drama film), a drama by Werner Herzog about Jewish cabaret during the rise of Nazism
* ''Invincible'' (2001 TV film), a fantasy / martial arts TV movie starring Billy Zane
...
'' which sold 366,300 units in 2001.
''This Is It''s chart performance tied Jackson with several other artists for the most number-one albums on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart; among the solo male artists, Jackson currently is tied with
Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...
for second place with 51 entries.
Jackson's ''This Is It'' album was the twelfth best-selling of 2009, having sold an estimated 1.29 million units in nine weeks.
It has sold a total of 1,735,000 copies in the US as of August 2013. Its video is also being sold as USB flash drive by Kingston Company, first time ever in the company's history, according to a deal done with Sony Music, published as Limited Edition.
Internationally, ''This Is It'' had similar commercial reception. The album was released worldwide on October 26 and October 27, 2009, and debuted at number one in fourteen countries. The fourteen countries include Italy, France, Sweden and the Netherlands, the album stayed at number one in the Netherlands for two consecutive weeks.
Other countries where ''This Is It'' didn't debut or peak at number one were, placing at number two, Denmark, Australia and Switzerland, placing at number three, Norway and the United Kingdom, placing at four in Germany and sixth in Ireland.
In the album's second week of release its chart positions saw both an increase and decrease.
''This Is It'' increased from four to three in Germany and sixth to fifth in Ireland while it held onto its second and third positions in Switzerland and Norway respectively.
By its third week of release, the album went on to peak at number three in Ireland.
''This Is It'' sold 78,000 units in its first week of release in the United Kingdom.
''This Is It'' has received multiple certifications since its release from different countries worldwide; although sales per certificate vary per country. Four days after ''This Is It''s release in the United Kingdom, it was certified gold for 100,000 units sold on October 30, and platinum for 300,000 units sold on November 27, 2009.
The album was certified 2× platinum by
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA) on December 4, 2009.
''This Is It'' was certified Platinum by the
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...
for the shipment of over 70,000 units in Australia.
The album was also certified Gold by the
Canadian Recording Industry Association
Music Canada (formerly Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)) is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It a ...
for the sales of over 40,000 units in Canada
and was certified 3× Platinum by the
Federation of the Italian Music Industry
The Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy. It was established in 1992, when major corporate labels left the previously exist ...
for the sales of over 210,000 units in Italy,
as well as 2× Platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of New Zealand
Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded Mus ...
for the sales of over 30,000 units in New Zealand.
It was the third best-selling album of 2009 based on worldwide sales. By march of 2010, the soundtrack sold 5 million copies globally.
Accolades
The title track, "This Is It", earned Jackson a posthumous Grammy nomination in 2011 for
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award recognizing superior vocal performance by a male in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. It was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season. The award wen ...
at the
53rd Annual Grammy Awards
The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 13, 2011, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. They were broadcast on CBS with a rating of 26.6 million viewers. Barbra Streisand was honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year two nights prio ...
.
Track listing
;Notes
* The two versions of "
This Is It" along with the second disc contents are available separately as the digital-only EP ''Selections from Michael Jackson's This Is It''.
* "
Smooth Criminal
"Smooth Criminal" is a song by the American singer Michael Jackson, released on November 14, 1988, as the seventh single from his seventh album, '' Bad'' (1987). It was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. The lyrics add ...
" is excluded from the China release.
* Despite that a sticker on the album claims all songs on the album are in their original full-length album versions, "
Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)
"Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" is a song recorded by The Jacksons for their 1978 album ''Destiny'', and released as a single the same year. It peaked at No. 7 in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in May 1979.
Background
The most successful of th ...
" is included in its 7" edit version.
* An eco-friendly version sold only at
Walmart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
includes only the first disc.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
See also
*
List of music released posthumously
The following is a list of music released posthumously.
19th century and earlier
* Frédéric Chopin's opuses 66–74 contain more than twenty posthumous works:
** ''Fantaisie-Impromptu''
* " Beautiful Dreamer", published in 1864, shortly after ...
References
External links
*
{{Good article
2009 compilation albums
2009 soundtrack albums
Albums produced by Michael Jackson
Epic Records soundtracks
Michael Jackson compilation albums
Compilation albums published posthumously
Soundtracks published posthumously
Documentary film soundtracks