This Is It (Michael Jackson Concerts)
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This Is It was a planned concert residency 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 Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
, scheduled to take place at the O2 Arena in London, England, between July 13, 2009, and March 6, 2010. However, the concerts were cancelled following Jackson's death on June 25, 2009, 18 days before the first slated performance. Jackson announced This Is It at a press conference at the O2 Arena and said it would be his final series of concerts in London. AEG Live, the concert promoters, released a promotional video that used an entire commercial break on ITV, setting an ITV record. Initially, only 10 concerts were announced, but 40 more were added following public demand. Ticket sales broke several records and Jackson's album sales increased following the announcement. More than 1.5 million fans caused two sites offering pre-sale tickets to crash within minutes of going online. In the space of four hours, 750,000 tickets were sold. Two million people tried to buy pre-sale tickets in the space of 18 hours. AEG Live estimated that the first 10 concerts would have earned Jackson approximately £50 million. In preparation for the concert series, Jackson had collaborated with figures including fashion designer Christian Audigier, choreographer Kenny Ortega and bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno. Prior to his death, Allgood Entertainment sued him for $40 million, claiming that he had breached an exclusivity agreement by agreeing to the This Is It concerts; the case was dismissed. After Jackson's death, AEG Live offered either refunds to ticket holders or a special "souvenir" ticket designed by Jackson. The cancelled shows, record-breaking ticket sales and potential for a world tour led to This Is It being described as "the greatest concert that never happened".
Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...
acquired the footage of the rehearsals and released a
documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
, '' Michael Jackson's This Is It,'' accompanied by a soundtrack album.


Announcement

Jackson announced ''This Is It'' at a press conference at the O2 Arena in London on March 5, 2009. The conference was attended by fans from several countries and 350 journalists. He told the crowd: "This is it. When I say this is it, it really means this is it. This is the final curtain call." Immediately after the conference, a statement confirmed that Jackson would play 10 shows at the London O2 Arena, "performing in London for the last time". The statement promised "an explosive return with a band of the highest calibre, a state-of-the-art stage show and incredible surprise support acts". Jackson had not toured since the
HIStory World Tour The ''HIS''tory World Tour was the third and final worldwide solo concert tour by American singer and songwriter Michael Jackson, covering Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa and North America. The tour included a total of 82 concerts spanning the gl ...
, in 1997. In 2005, he was
acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal means that the criminal prosecution has failed to prove that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the charge presented. It certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an o ...
of child sexual abuse charges, and kept out of the public eye in the years following. Reports circulated that he was facing financial problems; he had closed his Neverland Ranch residence and auctioned more than 2,000 possessions. The ''
Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
'' reported that "for a man who has been absent for 10 years from the stage, after a messy court battle to shake off the paedophilia charges, a reputed cash crisis and the loss of his ranch, Michael Jackson looked surprisingly rehabilitated". Hours before the press conference, promotional posters for the residency were displayed around London. Further promotion took up an entire
commercial break A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...
period on ITV London during '' Dancing on Ice'', the first time this has ever happened for a musical artist. The advert, which cost £1 million to air, was viewed by 11 million people. The shows, Jackson's first significant concert events since the ''30th Anniversary Celebration'' in 2001, had been deemed one of the year's most important musical events. Randy Phillips, president and chief executive of AEG Live, stated that the first 10 dates would earn Jackson approximately £50 million (about US$80.1 million). ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' characterized the concerts as an "astonishing comeback for a man who in recent years has been dogged by controversy", adding that Jackson still had "enormous commercial clout". The ''
Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...
'' stated that the deal was the "showbiz coup of the decade" for AEG Live, while ''
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 ...
'' remarked that the finalized 50 concerts would provide London with a "much-needed" economic boost. Joe Cohen, chief executive of Seatwave, told BBC 6 Music that the shows would generate £1 billion for the economy.


Response

Sales of Jackson's albums increased following the press conference. Some websites offered early tickets, which the Association of Secondary Ticket Agents warned were fake. Jackson's website allowed fans to register early for a "pre-sale" draw. The website was not able to deal with the number of registrations—reportedly up to 16,000 applications a second. In the space of 24 hours, nearly a million people from around the world registered for pre-sale tickets, enough to fill the venue 50 times over. Tickets that had not even been printed were selling on auction website
eBay eBay Inc. ( , often stylized as ebay) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail sales through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. ...
for £300. The two-day pre-sale began on March 11, and 40 extra dates were added to meet high demand; five dates were reserved in their entirety for the public sale. More than 1.5 million fans caused two sites offering pre-sale tickets to crash within minutes of going online. In the space of four hours, 750,000 tickets were sold. Two million people tried to buy pre-sale tickets in the space of 18 hours. Veronica Schmidt of ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' said that "Michael Jackson has floored his critics", while organizers proclaimed it a "cultural phenomenon". Jackson was set to break the record for number of shows performed by an artist at a single venue, which had been set by
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
, who hosted a residency at the same arena for his 21 Nights in London: The Earth Tour concerts. According to Jackson's website, the following records were or would have been broken: "The biggest audience ever to see an artist in one city", "The greatest number of people to attend a series of arena shows", "The fastest ticket sales in history". Randy Phillips acknowledged that Jackson could have sold out even more dates, but this would have conflicted with other career plans. On March 13, the other 50% of seats for dates 1–45 and all the seats for dates 46–50 went on sale to the general public. Within four hours, all 50 dates had sold out. At this stage, the sales of '' King of Pop'' were up 400% and the sales of ''Thriller'' were up 200%. Tickets appeared on eBay for as much as £10,000.


Litigation

In June 2009, concert promoter Allgood Entertainment, represented by Ira Meyerowitz and Jon Kekielek of MJlawfirm, sued Jackson for $40 million. He claimed that Jackson, through his manager Frank DiLeo, had agreed to a single and a $30 million reunion concert with
the Jackson 5 The Jackson 5, later known as the Jacksons, are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was formed in Gary, Indiana in 1964, and originally consisted of brothers Jackie, Ti ...
and his sister
Janet Janet may refer to: Names * Janet (given name) Surname * Charles Janet (1849–1932), French engineer, inventor and biologist, known for the Left Step periodic table * Jules Janet (1861–1945), French psychologist and psychotherapist * Maur ...
. According to the concert promoter, the alleged contractual agreement prevented Jackson from performing elsewhere before the reunion concert and for a three-month period after it. Thus, agreeing to a 50-date residency at the O2 Arena was an alleged breach of the Allgood Entertainment contract. The filing company stated that AEG Live knew of the alleged agreement with Jackson and used their dominance in the industry to coerce Jackson into agreeing to the residency. In August 2010, the judge dismissed the case, stating that there was no evidence of a binding agreement, no contracts were signed. The case was in limbo as of 2013.


Preparation and concert details

The 50-concert run was originally slated to start on July 8, 2009 and conclude on February 24, 2010. Each of the shows would have been performed at the O2 Arena in London, to approximately 15,000 people per show; approximately a total of 750,000 people would have been attended all 50 shows. New York designer Zaldy was head costumer. Jay Ruckel of La Crasia Gloves recreated Jackson's iconic single glove. The costumes were encrusted with 300,000 Swarovski crystals. From April 13–15, 2009, more than 700 dancers auditioned for Jackson, who helped select the 11 finalists. Kenny Ortega, who had collaborated with Jackson previously, was to work on the overall design and direction of concerts. Ortega said that the final product would have been a "theatrical musical experience". According to Randy Phillips, $20 million was to be spent on producing the concerts, which would have included 18–22 songs and 22 different sets. There also would have been aerial dancing similar to routines by
Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; ) is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, Montreal, Saint-Michel, Montreal, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Jun ...
. Carla Ferrigno told
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
that her husband Lou had been helping Jackson train in advance of the shows. Jackson and Ferrigno had previously worked together. On May 20, 2009, it was announced that the first concert would be postponed five days to July 13, and three other July 2009 dates would be postponed to March 2010. AEG Live said that the delay was necessary because more time was needed for dress rehearsals. The revised schedule called for 27 shows between July 13 and September 29, 2009, followed by a three-month break, before resuming in the new year with 23 more shows between January 7 and March 6, 2010. Some fans petitioned for the reversal of AEG Live's decision. On June 24, 2009, several hundred seats for each show went on sale. These seats were held back until production logistics were finalized. It was suggested that after the London concerts, Jackson might head to
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
,
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
,
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
and
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
before moving on to North America. Randy Phillips, the CEO of AEG Live, told the ''LA Times'' that Australia was part of Michael Jackson's international tour plans.


Rehearsals

Rehearsals took place six days per week at three locations in
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
from April to June 2009. Jackson skipped the June 13th rehearsal due to advice from his doctor Conrad Murray. From mid-April through May 29, rehearsals took place at Center Staging in
Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...
. From June 1–20, rehearsals took place at the Forum in Inglewood. From June 22–25, rehearsals took place at the
Staples Center Crypto.com Arena (originally and colloquially known as Staples Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in downtown Los Angeles. Opened on October 17, 1999, as Staples Center, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along F ...
in
downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) is the central business district of the city of Los Angeles. It is part of the Central Los Angeles region and covers a area. As of 2020, it contains over 500,000 jobs and has a population of roughly 85,000 residents ...
. On June 23, Jackson rehearsed "for 90 minutes until nearly midnight on June 23" according to music photographer Kevin Mazur. On June 24, Jackson met with the production team to finalize some visual elements of the show. Afterwards, he attended a meeting about a planned television special that was scheduled to air on October 31, on CBS, featuring footage of " Thriller" and " Threatened" from the shows. Later, Jackson rehearsed the two songs and " Earth Song". This was ultimately Jackson's final performance on stage before his death the next morning. Prior to Jackson's death, production rehearsals were scheduled to continue at the Staples Center through July 2. Rehearsals were scheduled to resume at the O2 Arena from July 7–12. ;List of confirmed rehearsal dates that Michael Jackson attended.


Cancellation

On June 25, 2009, 18 days before the first slated This Is It performance, Jackson died after suffering a
cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...
caused by an overdose of propofol and
benzodiazepine Benzodiazepines (BZD, BDZ, BZs), colloquially known as "benzos", are a class of central nervous system (CNS) depressant, depressant drugs whose core chemical structure is the fusion of a benzene ring and a diazepine ring. They are prescribed t ...
s. AEG Live, who persuaded Jackson to sign up for the shows, faced a liability of up to £300 million and an empty venue for the next nine months. The O2 Arena stated that full refunds, including all ticket service charges, would be available to those who purchased tickets through authorized agents, and that fans would also have the option to receive the tickets as souvenirs instead of a refund. Fans who bought their tickets from private sellers potentially faced problems. eBay recommended that purchasers contact their sellers for refunds and stated that those who used PayPal could get refunds if the purchase was made during the last 45 days. PayPal later announced that all ticket buyers would receive a full refund.


Documentary and album

Following Jackson's death, AEG stated that they had "more than 100 hours of footage of preparations and rehearsals for the shows". On August 10, 2009, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff approved a deal between film distributor
Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...
and AEG Live for the former company to purchase and distribute rehearsal footage of Jackson for a film entitled '' Michael Jackson's This Is It''. According to court documents, Columbia paid $60 million (£35 million) for rights to the rehearsal footage. The papers filed in court had reportedly stated that Jackson's estate will get 90% of the profits and that AEG Live will get the remaining 10% from the film's revenue. The film was directed by Kenny Ortega who was also the director of the live concert. It was compiled mostly from footage that was shot as reference for production discussions and was never meant to be shown publicly. Some of the music and vocals in the film were added from previous recordings, though most were from the live performance. The film was released on October 28. An accompanying album to the film was also released. Titled '' This Is It'', the compilation was distributed internationally on October 26, and to North America the following day. The two-disc album features music "inspired from the documentary of the same name". Of the album, Sony said, "Disc one will feature the original album masters of some of Michael's biggest hits arranged in the same sequence as they appear in the film" and stated that "the disc ends with two versions of the 'never-released' ' This Is It' ..This song is featured in the film's closing sequence and includes backing vocals by Michael's brothers and Alvin Chea of take 6." Sony added that the second disc will feature previously unreleased versions from Jackson's "catalogue of hits", along with a spoken word
poem Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
entitled "Planet Earth" and a 36-page commemorative booklet with "exclusive photos of Michael from his last rehearsal".


Dates

The 50 concerts for This Is It were scheduled to start on July 13, 2009, and end on March 6, 2010. The concert series was originally going to be 10 shows starting on July 8, 2009, but it was expanded on March 12 to 50 shows. Four concerts were postponed, including the opening show which was rescheduled to July 13. Each of the shows would have been performed at the O2 Arena to approximately 15,000 people per show; approximately 750,000 people would have attended all 50 shows. ;List of rescheduled dates


Personnel

Musicians *
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 Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
 –
vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...
, show direction,
choreographer Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...
* Orianthi Panagaris –
guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
* Tommy Organ – guitar *Alex Al –
bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
* Jonathan Moffett –
drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...
*Michael Bearden – keyboards, musical director * Morris Pleasure – keyboards *Bashiri Johnson –
percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...
*Dorian Holley –
vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...
, vocal direction * Judith Hill – vocals *Darryl Phinnessee – vocals *Ken Stacey – vocals Dancers *Michael Jackson *Daniel Yao *Nicholas Bass * Daniel Celebre (a.k.a. Da FunkyMystic) * Mekia Cox *Chris Grant (a.k.a. Kriyss Grant) * Misha Gabriel *Shannon Holtzapffel *Devin Jamieson * Charles Klapow *Ricardo Reid (a.k.a. Dres Reid) *Danielle Rueda Watts *Tyne Stecklein * Timor Steffens (a.k.a. Timor Dance) Production and other personnel * Kenny Ortega – show direction *Alif Sankey – associate production *Michael Cotten –
production design In film industry, film and television, a production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and ...
*Michael Curry – production design *Michael Jackson & Travis Payne –
choreography Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...
*Stacy Walker – choreography assistance *Tony Testa – choreography assistance *Patrick Woodroffe – lighting design * Hakeem Khaaliq; graphic design, mobile technology integration * David Elsewhere – dance coaching *Shahzad Perez – Specialty Act *Gregg Smith – casting direction *Karen Faye Heinze – hair and make-up * Zaldy Goco – chief of costume design *Michael Bush – costume design *Dennis Thompkins – costume design * AEG Live – promotion *Dave Polich – synth programming


See also

* Death of Michael Jackson *
List of works published posthumously The following is a list of works that were published posthumously. An asterisk indicates the author is listed in multiple subsections. (For example, Philip Sidney appears in four.) Literature Novels and short stories * Douglas Adams* &mdas ...


References


External links


This Is It Official Website
(Archived April 5, 2009)
Official ticket refund website
(Archived July 9, 2009) {{DEFAULTSORT:This Is It (concerts) 2009 concert residencies 2010 concert residencies 2009 in London 2010 in London Michael Jackson concerts Cancelled concert tours Cancelled events in the United Kingdom