morinen
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I saw someone's question to Joe Vogel on twitter today
and I remembered about this interview someone did with Gil Cang, co-writer of "Whatever Happens", some time ago. It was posted on a French site, and I've never seen an English translation. And I think it's pretty interesting. Here is is:
BOS: Hello Gil, you are the creator of the song "Whatever Happens, can you tell us the story of this track appearing on Michael Jackson's album Invincible released by Epic / Sony Music in 2001?
Gil Cang: Geoffrey and I wrote the song in my "studio room" in 1999...
BOS: Did you write "Whatever happens" especially for Michael Jackson?
Gil Cang: The song was first offered to artist Mario Vasquez (who was signed to Atlantic and later featured in "American Idol" performing "Whatever Happens" at the audition). He recorded the song, but it was never released.
BOS: What happened next?
Gil Cang: Mario Vasquez went to Teddy Riley's lawyer to see if Teddy would be interested in producing him. It didn't work out, but Teddy thought the song would be great for Michael. He played the song for Michael, and Michael loved it.
BOS: Did you meet Michael Jackson and Teddy Riley? Did you watch the song's evolution from your demo to the final version on Invincible?
Gil Cang: I was not in the studio, and I have not met any of them.
BOS: How was your song selected? Did you suggest any other demos to Riley, and if so, do you remember their names? Did they record any other demos or final versions?
Gil Cang: Riley didn't select anything else. They recorded this song among 200 songs they worked on for Invincible, and they kept it. An honor for me because I've always been a huge fan.
BOS: Do you know if "Whatever Happens" was planned as a single by Sony Music?
Gil Cang: Unfortunately, the song was never released as a single because the promo campaign was stopped after only 2 songs from the album. "Whatever Happens" was planned as the 4th single from Invincible. But still it is my musical dream come true.
BOS: What is this song about, and what do you think is Michael Jackson's version about?
Gil Cang: I love Michael's version. The song is about a girl who discovers that she is pregnant. People mistake the first sentence of the song, it's actually "He gives a nervous smile," not "He gives another smile." It always makes me nervous! They had it wrong in the album booklet.
BOS: Who sings and plays instruments on the demo?
Gil Cang: Geoffrey Williams sings, and I play instruments.
BOS: Who decided to invite Carlos Santana?
Gil Cang: It was their idea.
BOS: When listening to your demo and the final version on Invincible, there is no real difference in melody, text, etc. Why are Teddy Riley and Michael Jackson credited? Was it a copyright issue, as in "Give us credit, otherwise you will never see your song on the album?"
Gil: Exactly.
BOS: Gil, thank you for this short interview, "Whatever Happens" remains one of the major titles on Invincible and it is very much appreciated by the public.
Gil: Thank you.
http://mjfrance.com/actu/index.php?...r-Happens:-La-génèse-de-cette-chanson.../1791
Deborah Ffrench mentioned that even though only Gil Cang and Geoffrey Williams wrote "Whatever Happens", Michael (along with Teddy Riley and Jasmine Quay) were given songwriting credits due to the publishing rights, among other reasons. Did this same process happen with other songs that MJ received writing credit for, despite having not written or co-written them (either on Invincible or any other record/album)?
Joe: This seems to be much more the case on Invincible, though he usually added some element (whether lyrics, arrangement, or melody) to justify a co-writing credit.
and I remembered about this interview someone did with Gil Cang, co-writer of "Whatever Happens", some time ago. It was posted on a French site, and I've never seen an English translation. And I think it's pretty interesting. Here is is:
BOS: Hello Gil, you are the creator of the song "Whatever Happens, can you tell us the story of this track appearing on Michael Jackson's album Invincible released by Epic / Sony Music in 2001?
Gil Cang: Geoffrey and I wrote the song in my "studio room" in 1999...
BOS: Did you write "Whatever happens" especially for Michael Jackson?
Gil Cang: The song was first offered to artist Mario Vasquez (who was signed to Atlantic and later featured in "American Idol" performing "Whatever Happens" at the audition). He recorded the song, but it was never released.
BOS: What happened next?
Gil Cang: Mario Vasquez went to Teddy Riley's lawyer to see if Teddy would be interested in producing him. It didn't work out, but Teddy thought the song would be great for Michael. He played the song for Michael, and Michael loved it.
BOS: Did you meet Michael Jackson and Teddy Riley? Did you watch the song's evolution from your demo to the final version on Invincible?
Gil Cang: I was not in the studio, and I have not met any of them.
BOS: How was your song selected? Did you suggest any other demos to Riley, and if so, do you remember their names? Did they record any other demos or final versions?
Gil Cang: Riley didn't select anything else. They recorded this song among 200 songs they worked on for Invincible, and they kept it. An honor for me because I've always been a huge fan.
BOS: Do you know if "Whatever Happens" was planned as a single by Sony Music?
Gil Cang: Unfortunately, the song was never released as a single because the promo campaign was stopped after only 2 songs from the album. "Whatever Happens" was planned as the 4th single from Invincible. But still it is my musical dream come true.
BOS: What is this song about, and what do you think is Michael Jackson's version about?
Gil Cang: I love Michael's version. The song is about a girl who discovers that she is pregnant. People mistake the first sentence of the song, it's actually "He gives a nervous smile," not "He gives another smile." It always makes me nervous! They had it wrong in the album booklet.
BOS: Who sings and plays instruments on the demo?
Gil Cang: Geoffrey Williams sings, and I play instruments.
BOS: Who decided to invite Carlos Santana?
Gil Cang: It was their idea.
BOS: When listening to your demo and the final version on Invincible, there is no real difference in melody, text, etc. Why are Teddy Riley and Michael Jackson credited? Was it a copyright issue, as in "Give us credit, otherwise you will never see your song on the album?"
Gil: Exactly.
BOS: Gil, thank you for this short interview, "Whatever Happens" remains one of the major titles on Invincible and it is very much appreciated by the public.
Gil: Thank you.
http://mjfrance.com/actu/index.php?...r-Happens:-La-génèse-de-cette-chanson.../1791