This Is It Setlist

lubyss

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Hi there :) ;)
I´ve been thinking about this today, when I was listening to the fanmade TII concert where the setlist really left me speechless... We all know the original setlist in the last stage that Johnatan or other member of the band had posted some yrs ago.

If you remember, we could choose the songs on official mj websites back then in 2009, which would have been performed. Do you think that the setlist for TII (Which was mostly a HIStory and Dangerous tour combined) was done by MJ or his team and not hearing the fans voting on the website? Cause I can bet that most of the fans voted for the songs which never been performed live. I can remember that Unbreakable, -Leave me alone, Who is it, Give In To Me had most of the votes, but they were never intended for TII setlist... What do you guys think? Sorry for my bada English, I hope you can understand what I am trying to say...
 
I don't remember voting for a setlist. I remember voting for the KoP CD tracklist.
 
I remember voting for the songs I wanted to hear. - There was something set up for those whi had tickets so people could vote which songs they wanted.

I think it was mostly a PR thing. - I doubt MJ ever saw it - at least none of the never before performed songs that was high on the list was rehearsed for TII... sad
 
I voted for my dream setlist! michaeljacksonlive.com was the URL. I use the way back machine often to remember what the site looked like. I checked it every second of every day lol!
 
I remember voting for the songs I wanted to hear. - There was something set up for those whi had tickets so people could vote which songs they wanted.

I think it was mostly a PR thing. - I doubt MJ ever saw it - at least none of the never before performed songs that was high on the list was rehearsed for TII... sad
In one of the TII extras (if I recall, it was not on the blu-ray but available somewhere digitally), Michael Bearden said that MJ would actually regularly look at the fan vote and would take it into account when working on the setlist. I also remember seeing (probably in the same featurette) a shot of the list of results. It was only partially visible, but I recall that out of the 'rare' songs, Who Is It scored highest. Still, on the whole, the traditional staples scored highest. It's no wonder, really. We have to remember that it was not just us super fans voting, the majority of the voters would have been casual fans who were just eager to see Billie Jean and Smooth Criminal.
 
They never took the fans’ proposed ‘This Is It’ songs into consideration.

Besides, the singer’s contract wth AEG Live strictly stipulated that he was forced to perform only his greatest hits (classics).

The fans’ proposed ‘This Is It’ songs were merely a marketing ploy so as to attract fans to purchase tickets for those shows.

AEG Live announced that only these fans who registered to purchase tickets had the chance to vote for their favourite songs for the set list (via a follow-up email that invited them to vote).

Lesser-known songs (like, ‘Who Is It’, ‘Threatened’, etc) would be played only as brief interludes in these shows.
 
Would've been nice to see some songs that he never perfomed live.
 
The whole “fans choose the songs” ploy always seemed like BS to me since the final set list was as generic as it gets. “Threatened” was a nice change of pace, but everything else was basically paint by numbers.
 
Besides, the singerÂ’s contract wth AEG Live strictly stipulated that he was forced to perform only his greatest hits (classics).
Can you provide proof of this? I remember reading the contract when it became available, but do not remember seeing this.

The fans’ proposed ‘This Is It’ songs were merely a marketing ploy so as to attract fans to purchase tickets for those shows.
This is nonsense, because the fan vote was announced on March 20, 2009 (I still have the old e-mail), while tickets had immediately sold out on March 13.

They never took the fans’ proposed ‘This Is It’ songs into consideration.
I looked up an old post I made about the fan vote here 6 years ago. According to Michael Bearden, they did take it into consideration, and in that featurette (which was available on iTunes, it might still be), you also get to see some of the results.

In the 'Musical Experience' featurette Michael Bearden said one of the first things he did with Michael after he was hired was going over the fan vote results. He said Michael pulled out the list and was incredibly interested in it. Of course MJ and his team still made the final call (it was never suggested otherwise), but it does seem like Michael took it into account. In the featurette they show the list as well (though numbers 7 to 12 were not visible). The number of votes for the top songs was in the 400,000s. Many of the classic tour staples came out on top. This doesn't really surprise me, as not just fans but everyone who bought a ticket was asked to vote, and I'm sure many non-diehard fans did. Plus, especially because it had been such a long time since Michael last performed, I think many diehard fans also voted on the classics, and not just rarities.

These were the results that were shown in the featurette:


1. Billie Jean
2. Smooth Criminal
3. Man In The Mirror
4. Thriller
5. Beat It
6. Dirty Diana
7. Black Or White
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13. Rock With You
14. Remember The Time
15. Earth Song
16. Dangerous
17. You Are Not Alone
18. I Just Can't Stop Loving You
19. They Don't Care About Us
20. Heal The World
21. Human Nature
22. Give Into Me
23. Who Is It
24. Scream
25. P.Y.T
26. Another Part Of Me
27. Stranger In Moscow
28. Jam
29. Liberian Girl
30. Off The Wall
 
The whole “fans choose the songs” ploy always seemed like BS to me since the final set list was as generic as it gets. “Threatened” was a nice change of pace, but everything else was basically paint by numbers.
To be fair, it was never suggested that fans would actually choose the setlist, in the way some other acts have (where they literally just play the songs with the most votes). Here's the text from the original e-mail that MichaelJacksonLive.com sent out in 2009:

Michael Jackson wants to hear from you!

What are your favorite songs? What would your dream set list include? Old and new, popular or obscure, your favorite songs may have a special meaning to you, recall a fond memory, or simply be a great dance tune.

Everyone can vote! Everyone should create your ideal set list. Even if you weren't one of the lucky ones to buy tickets to the sold out concerts at The O2 arena in London you may still see songs from your ideal set list performed! The Michael Jackson shows are being recorded for future viewing, more details to follow in the upcoming months!

So hurry, your votes must be received by Tuesday, 24th March, 2009.

I don't think anyone at the time thought that even if we voted for rare tracks in droves, this would mean that Billie Jean would not be played. It just seemed possible that one or two high-ranking rarities could make the cut.
 
To be fair, it was never suggested that fans would actually choose the setlist, in the way some other acts have (where they literally just play the songs with the most votes).

I don't think anyone at the time thought that even if we voted for rare tracks in droves, this would mean that Billie Jean would not be played. It just seemed possible that one or two high-ranking rarities could make the cut.

DoesnÂ’t that defeat the entire purpose of the voting system then? Of course the classics would (and should) be included, but if youÂ’re not seriously going to take fan requests into consideration, whatÂ’s the point? And honestly, referencing the results you shared, itÂ’s even more obvious to me that it was all a marketing ploy.

Like, “Remember the Time” wasn’t included, even though it outranked nine songs that made the cut — including “Jam,” which landed third from the bottom. No way.

This Is It remains the best show Michael ever put together, even as a rehearsal, but it was woefully generic, straight down to the running order.
 
Doesn’t that defeat the entire purpose of the voting system then? Of course the classics would (and should) be included, but if you’re not seriously going to take fan requests into consideration, what’s the point? And honestly, referencing the results you shared, it’s even more obvious to me that it was all a marketing ploy.

Like, “Remember the Time” wasn’t included, even though it outranked nine songs that made the cut — including “Jam,” which landed third from the bottom. No way.
But why do you assume the vote was not taken into account? The fact that RTT didn't make the cut, doesn't mean that it was not considered. Perhaps it was, and MJ and the crew decided it would be too difficult to replicate in a live setting? And why couldn't he pick a lower-ranking track like Jam, if he happened to like how that track sounded himself? Again, it was never stated that the results would dictate the setlist... Perhaps the return of Dirty Diana, a track he had not performed since 1988 and which was not a very obvious song for him to perform, was inspired by the vote? We also know that Rock With You was rehearsed multiple times, another song that was not the most obvious choice but which did rank pretty high in the vote.

I think the fan vote was just a survey that allowed MJ and the crew to see what the fans were most eager to hear - nothing more, nothing less. It was probably just one of many things that factored into their decision-making process when picking the setlist. Sure, it was probably also used to drum up some excitement, but again, all shows had already been sold out for a week when this idea emerged, so I doubt that was their primary concern.
 
The Michael Jackson shows are being recorded for future viewing, more details to follow in the upcoming months!

This just made me sad... If only he had got to perform a few concerts... With costumes, full energy, a crazy crowd... What a magical concert release it could have been. - The This Is It we have could just have been the extra materiale...

We also know that Rock With You was rehearsed multiple times, another song that was not the most obvious choice but which did rank pretty high in the vote.

I think Rock With you seems pretty obvious. - One of his biggest hits - also rehearsed for the Dangerous Tour - also on the medley on some HIStory concerts.

Not many OTW songs was in the setlist - and RWY was the most obvious to add IMO.
 
I was watching an interview between Danny Oliver and Travis Payne recently and he revealed that they were considering opening with 2bad!

How epic would have that been!!
 
It felt strange to me having the show start with WBSS and then having Jam be the 2nd song. I was so used to it being the other way around.
 
I must say - as I think Jam would be playback - the show HAS to start with a live sung. - Scream was a disaster. First song and then playback... Sad really.

But I am 100 % sure WBSS would have been sung live. - So to me that was the best choice.
Had Jam been sung live it would be ok to start with Jam and the WBSS.

Overall I think WBSS is the best choice to open the show. - so much energy, a lot going on, the party is startet. Great opener.

2BAD would NOT be a great opener IMO - many non-fans don't even know the song.
 
I was watching an interview between Danny Oliver and Travis Payne recently and he revealed that they were considering opening with 2bad!

How epic would have that been!!

Seeing the 2bad choreography live on stage would have been so epic.
 
I must say - as I think Jam would be playback - the show HAS to start with a live sung. - Scream was a disaster. First song and then playback... Sad really.

But I am 100 % sure WBSS would have been sung live. - So to me that was the best choice.
Had Jam been sung live it would be ok to start with Jam and the WBSS.

Overall I think WBSS is the best choice to open the show. - so much energy, a lot going on, the party is startet. Great opener.

2BAD would NOT be a great opener IMO - many non-fans don't even know the song.
Jam was playback at Dangerous tour and it was a fantastic opener. I hate lip syncing but I can make exceptions for songs like Jam.
 
Jam was playback at Dangerous tour and it was a fantastic opener. I hate lip syncing but I can make exceptions for songs like Jam.

I disagree. I would have preferred WBSS any day with live singing. The Play-Back is so very obvious - and it's the first song.
I do like the performance of Jam - but I just feel that the first song - welcome to my show - should at least be live. Actually I can't explain why I feel like that, it just bugs me to start a concert with play-back, like Jam and Scream.
 
I like the idea of 2 Bad but definitely not as an opener.
 
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