SiriusXM exclusive Michael Jackson channel

NatureCriminal7896 said:

oh wow. i guess they deicide to let the channel stay up until 14th. could this means something? probably not but it pretty cool they letting it stay up for another few weeks.

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Mikky Dee said:

It was always going to be for a month. So a month will be up by the middle of August. It's nothing different to what was first advertised.

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AlwaysThere;4299775 said:

Thank you for the summaries!

Gotta say, this might be the best thing the Estate has done in years. Simple, but so wonderful to see popular artists and producers come around to celebrate MJ’s art and (for the few that had the opportunity to work with him) share stories. Can’t wait to see what else they have planned for the next two weeks!

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Amaya;4299814 said:

As for upcoming stuff, Respect posted this on another forum:
July 31/August 2: Wyclef
August 4/6: Evan Ross
August 7/9: Verdine White
August 8/14: They’re playing the whole Bad at Wembley concert (this will be at 9pm)
August 11/13: Ne-Yo

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• Interesting thing to point out: the commercials promoting this special had a remix version of In The Closet playing in the background. I think it's the Newark remix.
• Evan is broadcasting from his art room. Says it's his safe place during this time, and has been using this time to be creative and listen to things that inspire him. Michael is at the top of that list, and many of these songs are special to him.
• Dirty Diana – Michael touched on rock influence with this song, and that it has a special vibe. Evan thinks he was playing with the public with this song because people thought he was with Ross's mother and Princess Diana romantically so was able to take the name “Diana” and use it here.
• Scream – Evan says this is his favorite music video ever. Loves the sister/brother vibe between Michael and Janet and that they did a project together, and the aggressive feel of this song. Says the first time he heard it, he was at his mom's home during Christmastime.
• Earth Song – His favorite MJ song, and possibly his mother's favorite song too (!). Says this song is more relevant today and the video is one of the most amazing videos he's ever seen.
• Black or White – Like Earth Song, this is about what is going on in the world today. An incredible song that is very relevant right now, and a fun one too. Says Michael could make people feel important no matter who they were.
• In the Closet – Says this is another all-time favorite... actually all of these may be his all-time favorites because he's obsessed with all of them! Says he's friends with Naomi Campbell and loves how she looks in the video and how everything in the video was choreographed. Loves how Michael looks in this video too; says his hair was done by a hairdresser that also did his mom's hair (he said the guy's name but I instantly forgot it... Savik? Savic?).
• Dangerous – This song is an example of MJ being gangsta, which is fun to watch! Evan remembers the performance of this at the 1995 MTV VMA's and how that performance was like watching a movie. Says Michael paints a clear picture for people to visualize with this song.
• Just Good Friends – Evan feels like Michael and Stevie were having a good time recording this. It almost sounds like they're battling and feeding off of each other's energy but he doesn't know for sure what it was like for them recording the song (he must not have seen the Bad25 doc lol).
• I Wanna Be Where You Are – An interesting story for this one: Evan says it was written by his uncle, Arthur “T-Boy” Ross (Diana Ross's younger brother), who he never really knew. His uncle wrote this while he was in jail, because he really wanted to be with his family (Evan says this was around the time Diana's career was taking off). The lyric “please don't close the door on our future” reminds him of young black men getting in trouble for things they didn't deserve during that era, and feels that a lot of this song's content is relevant to what's going on today.
• Stranger in Moscow – Evan says the video for this is incredible with the slo-mo and the rain; says he'd never seen a video like that. He thinks Michael was trying to say things in this song that he never really explained, that there's a big feeling of loneliness with this song. He wishes someone would do another music video the way this song's video was done. (side note: I'm so happy someone played this on a special. About time!).
• Heal the World – He picked this because he feels it's very relevant right now, because we need a lot of healing. Michael wanted more than anything to heal others. Brings up how Michael wasn't afraid to go visit hospitals with sick kids so he could help them and comfort them. That aspect of Michael has always stuck out to him.
• No goodbye from Evan at the end. It immediately goes back into regular song rotation.

• Not related to the special, but the 2Bad Refugee Camp Remix played just before this... pretty nice to hear this as I don't think any of the other remixes from BOTDF have been played (unless I'm just forgetting). Hell I'm surprised Wyclef didn't play this when he hosted.
• Skyes says it's always been his dream to play Michael on Broadway. Reminds everyone that previews for the musical will start in March 2021. He had to convert rooms in his home to a recording studio and dance space so he can continue to work on the show.
• Never Can Say Goodbye – One of the first songs he heard. His mom would put this on while cleaning, and it reminds him of waking up in the morning and doing his chores. Loves the chord progression and praises Michael's voice.
• I Wanna Be Where You Are – Praises Michael's vocal performance again, and says this also reminds him of his mother cleaning the house. Has a very spring/summer feel.
• Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day – Ephraim says this song is one of the funkiest things he's ever heard. He points out how this was originally done by Stevie Wonder, his favorite singer of all time (yet playing Michael on Broadway had always been his dream? Hmm...).
• You Can't Win – This was maybe his favorite scene from The Wiz. Loves how trippy the movie was and says Michael was a good actor. He was in a stage production of the Wiz and got to be the understudy for the Scarecrow role, and he watched the movie every night as preparation so he could study Michael's movements. Says the first night he performed the role was the day that Michael had passed, so it cut pretty deep. He praises Quincy Jones a bit before playing the song as well.
• I Can't Help It – His favorite Michael song ever. Praises the whole OTW album for the funk and disco fusion and loves the sexy groove of this song.
• Get on the Floor – Says he's going to play something funkier, and encourages listeners to dance to this song.
• Another Part of Me – Loves the message of this song and says that message gets overlooked: that all humans are connected to each other. This is also song number seven, which is his favorite number.
• Speed Demon – Talks about how visually stunning the video for this was to him, and loved the dance-ff with the bunny character (he says the bunny won dance-off, though, which I'm pretty sure is incorrect). Sykes says when this comes on in his car, he's at risk of getting a speeding ticket!
• Liberian Girl – One of the sexiest songs he's ever heard, and it's special to him because Michael is singing about an African woman.
• Earth Song – This has a special place in his heart, and hopes the listeners have a special place for it in theirs. Believes Michael was trying to leave a message with the world and thinks he succeeded. Sykes says this song is a call to action to fix the corruption in the world and to bring people together. Says the video (or short film as Michael would have called it) impacted him and was visually stunning.
• Butterflies – Says this is a beautiful song and is actually a cover of a song by a duo called Flowetry, but Michael did this song even better.
• Heaven Can Wait – A true, heartfelt romantic love song. Says the song has a profound message about someone wanting to stay on Earth to be with their loved one even if they were going to heaven. Sykes also thinks the musicality of this song was ahead of it's time, and says Michael working with Darkchild was a “crazy collaboration”.
• Ephraim thanks everyone for listening and thinks his song choices portray what Michael wanted to say. He hopes the Broadway show illustrates what a humanitarian he was and portrays the complexities of his life in a beautiful way (…). He encourages everyone to see the musical and to stay safe with social distancing and wearing masks and gloves (he quickly points out how Michael did the same thing!).

NatureCriminal7896 said:

i haven't heard speed demon or you can't win so those are "new" songs to me. i still have doubts about this musical. i just pray it will be good and at least try to leave out all of negative stuff in michael life and that era.

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Amaya said:

They seem to have expanded the "artists influenced by" song list too. Heard Lady Gaga (Poker Face and Just Dance), The Weeknd (D.D., a cover of Dirty Diana), 2Pac (Letter 2 My Unborn, which samples Liberian Girl), and Bruno Mars (Uptown Funk) on the channel.

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Amaya;4300115 said:

A good playlist, lots of variety. No talk of demons, thankfully, but I'm a bit concerned about what he meant by the “complexities” they're going to address in the musical. Then again he says the complexities will be portrayed in a “beautiful” manner, so maybe it won't go too negative on him after all?

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• He's broadcasting from his home and hopes everyone is safe. He's been using this time to catch up on his reading.
• Billie Jean – Loves the groove and the bassline (he is a bass player after all). The video for this raised the bar for all other music videos.
• Beat It – Loves it cause it's rock. There's a story/urban legend about this song that says Quincy Jones said “we need one more song!” and Michael played this for him.
• Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough – White says they called this “Don't Off the Wall”. Says this album broke MJ though into maturity.
• Never Can Say Goodbye – This is one of those where you listen and go “how can someone so young hit these notes?”
• Can You Feel It – Sounds great on the record and live! He saw them perform at The Forum and says they opened with this. Great show!
• The Way You Make Me Feel – White loves the shuffle on this, and says Latoya was on this too (I assume he means the video)
• Dancing Machine – Verdine saw this performed on Soul Train. Says it was great because all the kids watching got to see Michael and his brothers performing and they used to dress real great. Good memory for him.
• Say Say Say – Michael and Paul were a good combo. He praises both of them and says they changed the paradigm shift on what pop music was. This song brings back memories for him.
• Got To Be There – Praises Michael for having a great vocal range and sound at such a young age. Says we have to go back to Michael's beginnings.
• Off the Wall – Great production, great horns, and Quincy worked on it.
• Thriller – Groundbreaking video, brings up how Michael was the first African-American artist to be shown on MTV and how Thriller became the biggest selling album of all time and saved the record industry. Says everyone should thank MJ for the music videos.
• Human Nature – Loves the vocals and how sexy it sounds. Mentions Miles Davis's cover of this and how he introduced many jazz musicians to MJ by doing that cover.
• Wanna Be Startin' Something – Calls this song “appropro” (I guess that's a term for appropriate) for today.
• Ends the show by thanking everyone for listening and encouraging them all to stay safe. Smooches!

Amaya;4300276 said:

Verdine White (bassist for Earth, Wind and Fire) hosted tonight's show. Unfortunately something came up with my work and I had to put in overtime while listening to this, so my notes weren't the greatest and I ended up missing part of it because my tablet trolled me. That combined with the stress of work just put me in a bad mood. But here's the rundown anyway:

• He's broadcasting from his home and hopes everyone is safe. He's been using this time to catch up on his reading.
• Billie Jean – Loves the groove and the bassline (he is a bass player after all). The video for this raised the bar for all other music videos.
• Beat It – Loves it cause it's rock. There's a story/urban legend about this song that says Quincy Jones said “we need one more song!” and Michael played this for him.
• Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough – White says they called this “Don't Off the Wall”. Says this album broke MJ though into maturity.
• Never Can Say Goodbye – This is one of those where you listen and go “how can someone so young hit these notes?”
• Can You Feel It – Sounds great on the record and live! He saw them perform at The Forum and says they opened with this. Great show!
• The Way You Make Me Feel – White loves the shuffle on this, and says Latoya was on this too (I assume he means the video)
• Dancing Machine – Unfortunately my tablet decided to interrupt the app with an update for said app, and when I switched to my desktop and clicked “go live” it automatically went to the song. The replay isn't available yet so unfortunately I have no idea what he said here. Will update later but I feel awful having this be incomplete.
• Say Say Say – Michael and Paul were a good combo. He praises both of them and says they changed the paradigm shift on what pop music was. This song brings back memories for him.
• Got To Be There – Praises Michael for having a great vocal range and sound at such a young age. Says we have to go back to Michael's beginnings.
• Off the Wall – Great production, great horns, and Quincy worked on it.
• Thriller – Groundbreaking video, brings up how Michael was the first African-American artist to be shown on MTV and how Thriller became the biggest selling album of all time and saved the record industry. Says everyone should thank MJ for the music videos.
• Human Nature – Loves the vocals and how sexy it sounds. Mentions Miles Davis's cover of this and how he introduced many jazz musicians to MJ by doing that cover.
• Wanna Be Startin' Something – Calls this song “appropro” (I guess that's a term for appropriate) for today.
• Ends the show by thanking everyone for listening and encouraging them all to stay safe. Smooches!

Good playlist. Just wish I was in a better mood for it.

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83magic said:

I think the jacksons and verdine white have the best playlists so far

the most fascinating insight has to be about 'I wanna be where you are'. I knew that diana ross' brother wrote it, but I had no idea the backstory behind it. it's the same with 'never can say goodbye' really being about a child having to split time between divorced parents. the 'romantic relationship' angle was often used as a metaphor for an entirely different subject.

thank you @amaya for taking the time to post all of this it's so helpful for those of us unable to listen in for whatever reason.

I think a radio station is a wonderful way to preserve Michael's musical legacy

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Amaya;4300365 said:

I'm glad to provide these to everyone since not everyone would be willing to pay for the service.

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Mikky Dee said:

Such a great thing for MJ fans. In the words of Michael, "it makes my heart smile."

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NatureCriminal7896;4300381 said:

That would be a great idea if they ever deicide to make it permanent.

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NatureCriminal7896;4300381 said:

That would be a great idea if they ever deicide to make it permanent.

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• Says he's honored to be here and thanks people for tuning in. Says he's a lifelong fan and it's no secret that there would be no Ne-Yo if there was no Michael Jackson.
• First song is Off the Wall. No special notes on this.
• Wanna Be Startin' Something – He recites the “mama se mama sa ma ma cu sa” bit and says he doesn't know what it means but it's fun to sing. He encourages listeners to sing along if they know it.
• Thriller – Ne-Yo says everything Michael did was iconic, but this song was the one that made people go “Ok this dude is a superstar and there's nothing we can do to deny that”.
• Leave Me Alone – Says he really feels this song sometimes, especially lately since he's been getting phone calls non-stop since he can't go anywhere.
• Smooth Criminal – To this day Ne-Yo is still trying to perfect the lean from this video. He knows it was done with hooks/special effects but he thinks he can do it without those if he gets his toes and calves trained well enough. He'll let us know how it turns out!
• Dirty Diana – As a kid he didn't really know what this song was about, but his mom really liked it. Being an adult now he understands it more but doesn't want to understand why his mom liked it (lol). Don't play this one, mama!
• Remember the Time – Teddy Riley is a musical genius and proved that with this song. He says the video and dance routine for this song are among his favorites of all time. Gives a shout-out to the choreographer for that dance routine and to MJ also.
• In-between songs, Ne-Yo says it's really hard to pick a favorite MJ song. Michael could sing pretty much anything and it could become someone's favorite song just because of his voice.
• Butterflies – Praises Flowetry for writing this one. Another of his all-time favorites.
• I Can't Help It – MJ was great for those haunting melodies that get stuck in your head, and this is no exception.
• Another in-between thing: He says there are no bad Michael Jackson songs. If you do know of any bad MJ songs, Ne-Yo would like to know!
• Lady in My Life – His favorite MJ song of all-time.
• Thanks everyone for tuning in again. Thinks people would be telling him he'd be good at this radio thing. Was happy to share songs from one of his biggest inspirations. Long live the King!