Jackson Spirit: Man In The Mirror by The Filipino Madrigal Singers

My La Toya Jackson-experience

I live in Denmark. And this Saturday I was told that the sister of Michael Jackson, La Toya, came to Denmark to visit her friend Claus Hjelmbak in Middle Sealand. She was to arrive on Sunday and leave on Tuesday, and additionally give an exclusive interview to Danish evening show Go'Aften Danmark on Monday.
The first thought that came to my mind was probably "OMG OMG OMG OMG, a Jackson in Denmark!!!!" - the second being, that I had to go see her. Maybe even talk to her, or get an autograph!

I got the information that she'd go to Denmark from the Danish MJ-fanclub called The Moo-Walkers (http://moo-walkers.com). I discussed her arrival fiercely through the next few days, and we all agreed the best chance to meet her would be at the television studio - 'cus we knew where she'd be, and EXACTLY when!
The interview was to be run on Monday evening at 18:25, so me and another fan called Michael (yeah - ha ha - funny, isn't it? *gives sarcastic look to reader*) decided to meet up there a while before the show would start.

On the day of the interview, Monday, another fan suggested, that they might tape the interview prior to the show, so they could make subtitles, before the show aired.
"Oh shit", I thought. How would I possibly ever know, when she'd arrive, if they taped the interview ahead of the show? I knew I had to contact the television station, and I did very early - about ten in the morning, I think. And I was probably given three different phone numbers to call, and none of the gave me any results. And then my boyfriend gave me an idea. "Email a video to them, and show them how much of a fan you are", he said. "Then they'll probably call you, and tell you when she'll arrive!" A genious of his own, I did exactly what he said.

This was the result: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddegIQr8DWw

Almost exactly half an hour after the email was send, a journalist called me at noon, and the phone conversation went something like this:

Journalist: Hi, is this Bjørn - the Jackson fan?
Me: Yeah, that's me.
Journalist: Great! We got your video, and La Toya will be here at15:30 - so if you want to be here, you'll have to be quick.
Me: Of course I want to be there!
Journalist: Oh, and by the way - we might wanna interview yourself as well. We think the story of a mega-fan is quite good, so if you get here as soon as possible, I'll call you once you arrive!

The journalist had actually prepared train-schedule times for me, so obviously he was very excited about the whole thing too! I just had one final question for him:

Me: Can you guarantee that I will meet La Toya?
Journalist: I can't guarantee anything. That's up to her. And to you, if you're willing to go the long way?

For me, there was no doubt. But my very sweet boyfriend agreed to drive me all the way to Copenhagen (125 miles from Odense) and back, for me to meet my first member of the Jackson family! I was so excited on the way! I had prepared everything - I had my copy of Thriller 25 on vinyl, ready to get singed on La Toya's credits for singing choir on P.Y.T. (which not a lot of people know). I was ready to meet not only celebrity - but royalty! The sister of the king! Woooow!

So I got to Copenhagen in good time - the studio was AT the actual train station, so there was no trouble in finding the place. The ride to Copenhagen was frantic, trying to get a hold of MJ-fan Michael, so he could arrive in good time as well, and preparing to meet Toy - I even got her a bucket of flowers!
So I met up with Michael, ad we waited. There was a television crew behind us, so they could shoot her arrival, and her giving us autographs and such. She was to arrive from the Tivoli Gardens at 15:30, so we waited patiently. While waiting, several journalists turned up, and walked into the studio. Also celebrity make-up artist Dennis Knudsen arrived with his boyfriend (Dennis is some-40 and the boyfriend is 18 - but that's a whole other story..!), so La Toya obviously needed the best care!
After waiting three quarters of an hour, we weren't so patient any more. She was veeery late - the camera crew even began to doubt, whether she'd show up! But that was when I saw a small woman wearing a straw hat and sporting a huge smile walk towards me and Michael from the entrance, accompanied by a security guard, and what looked like some friends. What hit me, seeing her up close, is how much she actually resembles Michael and Janet - their mirror images!
Once she stood in front of us, I gave her the flowers, saying hi - and she answered back! "Hiiiii - oh, are those for me?! Wow, thank you so much!" I know it sounds ridiculous - but just speaking to a Jackson, and her actually answering back - it just blew my mind! I asked her if she would autographs the Thriller vinyl on her choir credits specifically, and she almost shouted "Oh my God, some people actually remember that?! Of course I will!" So she wrote her name, then asked what my name was, I told her it was "Bjørn - B-J-O-R-N" ('cus I figured she'd have no idea how to spell it, lol!), and she wrote "To Bjorn". Wow!
Then she went on to Michael, he got an autograph on his Thriller 25 CD, the exact same place as on my vinyl (copycat!!), and then a lot of school children wanted autographs as well (and we learned afterwards, that they had no idea who she was!! Grrrrr..!) After signing a few more autographs, she headed into the television studio.

This was part one.... Part two is coming SOON!

Bizzaro: Billie Jean is not my lover - just my stalker!

A woman claiming to be Michael Jackson's wife has been arrested for trespassing at the star's California home.
Billie Jean Jackson, 60, was detained at the singer's Neverland Ranch on Monday night, and was taken to the nearby Santa Barbara County Jail.

Jackson has been hounded throughout his career by women claiming to be the inspirationfor his hit song "Bille Jean," taken from the best-selling album of all time, Thriller. This woman has however proved to be on of the most troublesome of the lot. This is, at least, the third time she has been arrested for trespassing Jackson's property - including his parents' house in Encino.

More on the Billie Jean phenomena in later blogs..

New album: Fact or fake?

Proposed cover and title for new album (fanmade by Robonics, MaxJax)

"WHEN is the new MJ album coming out?" everyone asks me. "YOU're the MJ-fan, you should know," they say!
And what can I tell them? That it's been on its' way for years, that no one knows anything, and that Michael not tellin' anything is a good sign? Hardly anything a non-MJ fanatic will understand fully.

Michael Jackson always gets the question: "When will you come back to music? When is the big comeback?" And as Michael always tells us: "I never stopped. I'm always writing a potpourri of music, you know, it's how it is.."
According to official press releases, Michael has been in the studio since October/November 2006, working on new material. A press release in 2007 stated that "he's been recording with producers Rodney Jerkins, will.i.am and Neff-U".

But as it turned out in February 2008, the 25th Anniversary edition of Thriller was released - with new remixes and collaborations with will.i.am, Fergie, and others. Many thought that this might be the new material Michael had been recording, and that a new album might not be on its' way after all. There are more things that indicates that Michael has been recording new tunes, instead of just the T25-material.

One of these things comes from collaborator will.i.am. He hinted the new album already in October 2006 - which would be the early stages of recording the tunes: "Something needs to put a jolt back in the music industry. And the only thing that can do that is the jolt itself. The energy that sparked the imagination of the kids that are... me, you know, the Justin Timberlake's, we're all products of this. (Motions to Michael) So the only person that can put that jolt back in to that monstrosity of entertainment and music is the one who created that. (Motions to Michael again)"

We also have several quotes from after the release of T25 to indicate an album release - Ne-Yo talked to 60 Seconds in february 2008: "I think (releasing Thriller 25) is a good idea before he goes with the new album. He's coming up with a new one that I'm working with him on."

Also multiple quotes from will.i.am states, that the album is gonna be fantastic and "the Off The Wall for the new era!"

As any hardcore MJ-fan will tell you, not knowing ANYTHING at all is a good thing, when waiting for a new album - because it's the silence before the storm. The same thing happened in 2001 with the release of Invincible (which was one of the best-selling albums of the year), when the release was only made public very few months prior to release - usually the release on an album is made public at least four months in advance.

As for a release date? No one knows, but as Ne-Yo said in December of 2007: "He's taking his time on it and being extra extra picky, you know. This is gonna be a big album for him - so he's taking his time, yeah."

Well, we're all here waiting for ya, Mike! Good luck!

This article is inspired by a post on the Max-Jax forum by user 'damien', who is their official reporter. He has gathered a series of quotes from MJ Collaborators, concluding that there IS a new MJ-album on the way!
Source: www.maximum-jackson.com

New album: Michael banned women and his kids from the studio?

According to multiple sources, Michael Jackson has banned his own kids from the recording studio of his new album. The reason for this, the source says, is that he will not be distracted, as he records his (so-called) come-back album, which he realises is of great importance.

Michael, who has been rumoured to be dating his (or rather his children's) nanny Grace Rwaramba, has also ruled out any relationships until the album has been finished.
The source added to the New York Post newspaper: “He's not going to be involved in any personal relationships with women until he gets this record done. He has dumped the nanny - she's not around any more.”

Michael started working on the record with music producers RedOne and Akon in Las Vegas on April 23.

While the news of Michael working on his album with new producers is exciting (we heard of Akon before, but RedOne is news), the most of this report is garbage. Grace Rwaramba has been the nanny of Michael's children for ages, and there is no way he would "dump" the nanny, just because he is currently recording - and as for their relationship, I'm not too much into that theory either.
As for him dumping women and his children in the recording studio - that is up for you to decide!