Make Your Own Michael Jackson Setlist/Show

[chris123678]

My Setlist: With Live or Playback
1.) Scream: Playback
2.) They Don't Really Care About Us:Playback
3.) Wanna Be Starting Something: Live
4.) Another Part of Me: Live
5.) Human Nature: Live
6.) Smooth Criminal: Live
7.) Stranger in Moscow: Live
8.) In the Closet: Live
9.) Jackson 5 Melody: Live
10.) Thriller: Playback
11.) Billie Jean: Playback
12.) Remember the Time: Playback
13.)Beat It: Playback
14.) Dangerous: Playback
15.) Working Day and Night: Live
16.) Will You Be There: Playback
17.) Heal the World: Live
18.) Earth Song: Live
19.) Man in the Mirror: Half Live/Half Playback
20.) Just Good Friends: Live with Stevie Wonder.

[Tony R]

My Setlist: With Live or Playback
1.) Scream: Playback
2.) They Don't Really Care About Us:Playback
3.) Wanna Be Starting Something: Live
4.) Another Part of Me: Live
5.) Human Nature: Live
6.) Smooth Criminal: Live
7.) Stranger in Moscow: Live
8.) In the Closet: Live
9.) Jackson 5 Melody: Live
10.) Thriller: Playback
11.) Billie Jean: Playback
12.) Remember the Time: Playback
13.)Beat It: Playback
14.) Dangerous: Playback
15.) Working Day and Night: Live
16.) Will You Be There: Playback
17.) Heal the World: Live
18.) Earth Song: Live
19.) Man in the Mirror: Half Live/Half Playback
20.) Just Good Friends: Live with Stevie Wonder.

Why on God's green earth would you PREFER playback?

Do you not understand music?

Good setlist though!

[chris123678]

Why on God's green earth would you PREFER playback?

Do you not understand music?

Good setlist though!

Because at times, playback sounds much better than his live vocals.
I didn't like Michael's vocals for songs like Billie Jean, and Beat It, for example.
I much more preferred a History style performance of songs like that, rather than Dangerous or Bad.

Furthermore, I see playback as an element used in performing. It's sometimes necessary.

Now, I don't support playback for an entire concert, but here and there doesn't bother me.

[fraroc04]

I made another imaginary setlist recently. For this one, I kind of thought of a hypothetical scenario in my head where if I knew a Michael Jackson impersonator/tribute act who does a big, lavish, Las Vegas like production (Kind of like Navi or Michael Firestone) and they asked me "What songs should I perform?" or if I was tasked with making a setlist for them...This is what I would do

1. Intro Video (HIStory promo video)
2. Jam
3. HIStory medley: They Don't Care About Us/HIStory/D.S
4. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
5. Lovely One (sometimes replaced with Things I Do For You)
6. Heartbreak Hotel
7. Pretty Young Thing (sometimes replaced with Another Part Of Me)
8. Smooth Criminal
9. Slave To The Rhythm (sometimes replaced with You Rock My World)
10. The Way You Make Me Feel
11. Jackson 5 Medley
12. Human Nature

(Horror Interlude)

13. Dirty Diana
14. Thriller
15. Working Day and Night
16. Beat It
17. Billie Jean
18. Shake Your Body
19. Come Together
20. Dangerous
21. Earth Song
22. Who Is It
23. Black Or White
24. Bad

(Encore)

25. Heal The World
26. Man In The Mirror

[Mikky Dee]

I'm going to give this some serious thought and come back with a comprehensive answer in the next day or two. Great thread idea!!!

[Endless2404]

1- Scream / Xscape
2- Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
3- Stranger in Moscow
4- Smooth Criminal
5- You Rock My World
6- Happy
7- Blood on the Dance Floor
8- Jackson 5 Medley
[Egyptian interlude]
9- Remember the Time
10- Thriller
11- Billie Jean
12- The Way You Make Me Feel
13- Dangerous
14- Beat It
[Black Panther interlude]
15- Another Part of Me
16- Workin' Day and Night
17- Black or White
18- Bad
-----------------------------
Encore
19- Butterflies, Dirty Diana, You Are Not Alone (Varies every show)
20- Heal the World

[Harun]

1. Opening
2. Medley of Jam | Scream | Unbreakable
3. WBSS
4. The Drill
5. They Dont
6 Smooth Criminal
6. Break Of Dawn
7. j5 Medley (Can You Feel It | Walk Right Now | Hearbreak Hotel)
8. I´ll Be There
9. Billie Jean
10. Thriller
11. Beat It
12. Black Or White
13. Of The Wall Medley 9 min (I Cant Help It | Rock With You | Dont Stop)
14. Working Day And Night
15. Bad Medley (The Way you Make me Feel | Fly Away | Leave Me Alone)
16. Bad
17. Dangerous Medley 9 min ( Why You Wanna | In The Closet | Who Is it)
18. Dangerous
19. History Medley 9 min (Little Susie | Smile| Ghosts | D.S.)
20: Money
21. Invincible Medley (What Ever Happens | Butterflies | Privacy | Xscape)
22. The Lost Children
23. Anti War Medley (Earth Song & We Ve Had Enough)
24. Heal The World
25. Speech
26. Man in The Mirror

[83magic]

mine would take place either at the very end of '83, or at the start of '84 (the pepsi commercial and victory tour never would have happened). it would also be outside of America, in an indoor venue similar to where motown 25 was filmed, and broadcast worldwide. all song would be performed in their original key.

list:

startin' somethin' (naturally!) - he'd be wearing a buttoned up jacket and glove

p.y.t - jacket is opened at this point, and glove is removed

human nature - jacket is off to reveal sparkly shirt

say say say

rock with you

off the wall

*changes to the red and black shirt, with red jeans he wore when he visited Disneyland with john landis in '83*

*set transforms into a replica of the area where the hayvenhurst interview took place. complete with mock clock tower and water fountain. he begins singing at the top balcony, and makes his way down

the wiz medley ('when you wish upon a star', 'follow the yellow brick road', 'ease on down the road) - for the latter two songs, he's joined for the first time by back up dancers. only they're dressed as animals such as llamas, chimps, and other Disney characters.

someone in the dark

thriller - set changes to horror theme. Michael now has on the red jacket from the video. he performs the first three verses as one, freestyling solo before zombies join him for the full choreography and big chorus. they perform a disappearing illusion on michael

beat it - Michael is wearing the trademark red zipper jacket

[83magic]

sorry, was having some technical issues..

billie jean - in motown 25 outfit

don't stop til you get enough

that's it! short and sweet I wanted to focus on the main solo hits, with a dash of rarities thrown in. I haven't thought everything through, but I knew I wanted a more intimate setting, with broadway sensibilities. this would be a solo show with no guest appearances. I wanted to give people outside the states a chance to experience these hits in person

[Seldervi]

Triumph Release Party, 9/30/80 & 10/1/80

1. Can You Feel it
2. 1st Night: Get It Together | 2nd Night: Your Ways
3. Things I Do For You
4. 1st Show: Give It Up | 2nd Show: I Am Love
5. Walk Right Now
6. Heartbreak Hotel
7. Time Waits For No One
8. Wondering Who
9. J5 Medley: IWYB/ABC/TLYS/DM
10. 1st Show: Never Can Say Goodbye | 2nd Show: I'll Be There
12. Rock With You
13. Off The Wall
14. 1st Show: Lovely One | 2nd Show: Blame It On The Boogie
~~OTW Band Groove: ICHI/Girlfriend/BTDO ~~
15. Working Day & Night
16. Don't Stop
17. Shake Your Body

[Olodum]

Fantastic concept for a thread! Loving these posts so far.

I'm not sure what kind of concert I would produce, or what theme I would incorporate (Anniversary, Album, Benefit/Charity, Celebration, etc etc.) However, I know what my perfect set-list is. In short: I would pay good freaking money to see this.

1. Intro/Scream
2. Jam
4. Wanna Be Startin Somethin'
5. Workin' Day and Night
6. Human Nature
7. The J5/Jacksons Extended Medley; ABC, I Want You Back, Dancing Machine, Blame it on the Boogie, I'll Be There, Shake Your Body
8. Off The Wall
9. Rock With You
10. Smooth Criminal
11. Remember the Time
12. Leave Me Alone
13. Beat It
14. Thriller
15. Billie Jean
16. They Don't Care About Us
17. Earth Song
18. Heal the World
19. Black or White
20. Will You Be There
21. Man in the Mirror

Also, I had this neat idea the other day.

• The Collab Concert •

1. Intro/Scream (Feat: Janet Jackson)
2. Wanna Be Starting Something/Segments of 'Don’t Stop The Music' (Feat: Rihanna.)
3. They Don't Care About Us/'Tennis Court' (Feat: Lorde)
4. The J5 Medley; ABC, I Want You Back, I'll Be There (Feat: The Jacksons)
5. Off The Wall Medley; Off the Wall, She's Out of My Life, Rock With You (Feat: Bruno Mars)
6. I Just Can't Stop Loving You (Feat: Beyoncé)
7. Smooth Criminal (Feat: Alien Ant Farm, and a Guitar Solo by Slash)
8. Billie Jean (Feat: All Aforementioned Artists as backup vocals)
9. Just Good Friends (Feat: Stevie Wonder)
10. Baby Be Mine/'Get Lucky' (Feat: Daft Punk)
11. Human Nature (Feat: Sam Smith)
12. Man in the Mirror (Only Michael)
13. 'Purple Rain' (Feat: Prince)
14. We Are The World (Feat: Everyone)

[dam2040]

Jam
TDCAU
WBSS
This Place
Stranger
Smooth Criminal
The Way You Make Me Feel
Jackson 5 Medley
Off the Wall medley
Dangerous
Thriller
Beat It
Bad
Heal The World/Earth Song medley
Billie Jean
Man in the Mirror

[Robbsaber01]

Because at times, playback sounds much better than his live vocals.
I didn't like Michael's vocals for songs like Billie Jean, and Beat It, for example.
I much more preferred a History style performance of songs like that, rather than Dangerous or Bad.

Furthermore, I see playback as an element used in performing. It's sometimes necessary.

Now, I don't support playback for an entire concert, but here and there doesn't bother me.

I have never heard someone actually prefer Playback performances of Billie jean/Beat it in concert...
I'd take live vocals from the Bad tour (first or second leg) over history tour any day. Rehearsals proved Mj could sing several songs just as good if not better than playback. It's simply his dancing that will obviously affect his singing. IMO Billie Jean/Beat it should always be live. Vocally, Beat it on the victory tour was amazing because the choreography was not as refined as later tours. Although I respect your opinion, I can't agree.

[83magic]

I've decided to ditch the Disney medley and off the wall songs, and just focus on thriller singles (minus the girl is mine) and say say say. mine would be more of a one off showcase for the bits of '83

[MJ&TLKlover]

Here's my idea for an ideal Michael concert. The setlist is as follows:

HIStory teaser
1. Jam+2Bad
2. They Don't Care About Us+In The Closet(with excerpts from She Drives Me Wild and HIStory)
3. Wanna Be Starting Something(2nd verse removed)
4. Human Nature(2nd verse removed)
5. Smooth Criminal
6. The Way You Make Me Feel(shortened version)
7. You Are Not Alone
Compliation of childhood videos: Home
8. Jackson 5 medley(I Want You Back+The Love You Save+I'll Be There)
9. Off The Wall medley(Rock With You+Don't Stop Till You Get Enough)
Egyptian Fantasy
10. Thriller(music video version)
11. Working Day And Night(shortened version)
12. Beat It(2nd verse removed)
13. Billie Jean
The Invincible Man(music used: This Land- by Hans Zimmer)
14. Why You Wanna Trip On Me(shortened version)
15. Dangerous(combination of 1993 live version+MTV performance version)
16. You Rock My World(2nd verse removed)
17. Come Together+D.S.
18. Speechless+Best Of Joy
Panther Dance
19. Black Or White
20. We've Had Enough+Earth Song
Children Of The World(music: solo version of We Are The World)
21. Heal The World(2nd verse removed)
22.Bad(2nd verse removed)
23. Will You Be There(shortened version)
24. Blood On The Dance Floor(2nd verse removed)
25. HIStory/Man In The Mirror(2nd verse removed)

Michael's look for this show would be straight, messed up hair(like in the video for Earth Song), with different jackets for each song(there are exceptions). Also, Michael will have his Invincible-era physique for this show.

The show opens with the HIStory teaser. Michael uses the toaster illusion for the opening song. He wears the black and gold Jam jacket(the one he wore at the Super Bowl show in 1993). He wears the same jacket for They Don't Care About Us. His pants are black, with silver buttons(like the one used during Dangerous tour, but a bit baggy-looking).

For WBSS, he wears the jacket for that song from Bad tour. He wears a smooth, silky, gold jacket for Human Nature.

For Smooth Criminal, the opening is the one used in This Is It(the video featuring those old movies), but it also has the narration from Bad and Dangerous tours, as beautiful ladies and well-dressed gentlemen strut and freestyle across the stage. Michael then comes on stage, and opens the song with a "pow!!!".

For TWYMMF, Michael wears his famous blue dress shirt(with buttoned cuffs). The girl he chases around wears a sexy black dress with gold embroidery at the edges. The dress is the same type as the silver dress worn by the girl in the 30th Anniversary show. There are five street boys(including Michael).

For YANA, Michael has one of the girls in the audience come and dance with him. He wears his famous black shirt from the music video.

Michael wears the multi-colour Jam jacket for the J5 medley. He then wears a black jacket with cuffs for the OTW medley.

Michael wears the classic red Thriller jacket(embroidered with blood, instead of quilting, but with a collar), and he doesn't transform into a werewolf in this version. The werewolf appears only in the video introduction.
Michael wears the WD&N outfit from Dangerous tour. He also used the disappearing chair trick to switch to Beat It.

The Beat It jacket has a duller red colour than the one usually used, but the zippers and the shoulders are bright, sparkling silver. The outlines of the sippers are black. There are more than 10 dancers who appear as gangsters in this show(both men and women).

The Billie Jean outfit is the same as the one in Bad Tour. He opens the song with the suitcase segment.

WYWTOM is performed wearing a black Beat it jacket(with fully silver zippers).
Michael then switches to the outfit for Dangerous. Everyone wears smart suits, and only Michael's shirt is red. Everyone else wears white.
You Rock My World opens with a section of the short film. Michael performs the song wearing the blue Blood On The Dance Floor jacket from HIStory tour.

Michael performs Come Together/D.S. wearing a red jacket with a white armband. Speechless+Best Of Joy is performed wearing the Man In The Mirror shirt from Dangerous tour.

Michael performs Black Or White wearing a lighter version of the studded jacket for This is It- it has metal plate instead of studs on it, which reduces the weight of the jacket. He also performs the song very much like the music video- the opening has him dancing with Maasai warriors, and then Balinese dancers come in for the first verse. During the second verse, he dances with a Mohiniyattam dancer from India. He then dances with hopak dancers(male and female), before going to sing the bridge. A smoke vent opens up and sends smoke flying up as silk flames rise up behind Michael and his female guitarist.
He then performs the rap section with a group of street kids, aged 12-16. Then when he comes out after the pause, he has Arab sword dancers and Arab women weaving their hair back and forth. After they leave, a giant display of world landmarks slide on stage(Taj Mahal, Burj Khalifa, Eiffel tower, Statue of Liberty, etc.).

Michael wears his tattered-up Earth Song shirt for WHE+Earth Song. He gets on a cherry picker for the "What bout yesterday" section. If the timing is right, he gets back on stage just before the "whoo! whoo!" section. Then, a group of soldiers come on stage and begin to point their guns at the villagers. Michael tries to stop them, but then they all point their guns at him. He then prays silently, before rising to make a speech on human greed and how it has affected the earth. The soldiers drop their guns and then, one of them hugs Michael. A little boy and girl present him with flowers, which makes the soldiers feel touched.

Michael wears the Global jacket from This is it for HTW.

Michael wears the classic Bad jacket for Bad. He wears a plain white shirt for Will You Be There. At the end, a female dancer dressed as an angel descends from the top of the stage, and hugs Michael.

Michael wears a silky red jacket for Blood On The Dance Floor. The ending section has a young woman come out on stage and dance with Michael. The audience sees that she has a knife handle sticking out from her belt. She moves in front of Michael, and then he falls down, clutching his stomach, at which point, the song stops. The girl walks away, appparently having stabbed Michael.

Michael wears the silver jacket from HIStory tour. HIStory is performed the same way as in the HIStory tour- there is great marching parade weaving flags, and the dancers and singers bow to the audience.The jumbotron plays clips of important incidents from Michael's career. Man In The Mirror is performed wearing a black jacket with gold decorations on it. He ends the song the same way as in the Royal Concert in Brunei.