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Would Michael singing his solo childhood hits have worked in This Is It?

StarlightXX

StarlightXX

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I know this sounds a very random question - but I’ve always liked to hear an adult Michael sing “Ben”, “Music And Me” and even “Rockin’ Robin”. Since This Is It was among Michael’s “final” concerts, it might have made sense if he sang some of his solo childhood hits as well as the Jackson 5 melody. He kinda did this in the 90s Dangerous-era Pepsi commercial where he’s playing a piano and a little Michael joins him. Or even the segment in Moonwalker (1988) when there’s a tribute to his early career.

What do you think? With all that Michael went through with the trials and media, coming back to singing songs pre-Off The Wall might have made him look more human (a relatable person with thoughts and feelings that deserves respect) and accomplished? People would also realise: “Hey - this is where Michael started”.
 
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Michael Jackson was initially meant to sing the Jackson 5 Medley ('I Want You Back', 'The Love You Save', 'I'll Be There') during the 'This Is It' shows, according to early set lists.

But he later abandoned that idea, given the fact that this Jackson 5 Medley disappeared from subsequent set lists.
 
I would have preffered it over that damn Jackson 5 Medley.
 
I just wish he would have done different melodies instead of the same one he always did.
 
Yeah, I find it sad that so many MJ fans try to cancel half of his career.

He was a great singer and dancer, from a very young age. All four solo albums have great songs on them. Some examples:

Ben (1st US #1)
Rockin' Robin
Got to be There
One Day in Your Life (1st UK #1)
Ain't No Sunshine
I Wanna Be Where You Are
We're Almost There
Happy
My Girl
Music And Me
A Brand New Day (1st Dutch #1)
We've Got a Good Thing Going

A couple of these would have worked well live.
M&M and Rockin' Robin were both played on the set list of the Thriller Live musical.

Maybe even put a few of them in a medley. I think everybody was tired of Stop and I'll Be There by 2009, no need to keep singing those.

Better still, CHANGE the set list every night, so more songs can be heard.
 
mj_frenzy said:
Michael Jackson was initially meant to sing the Jackson 5 Medley ('I Want You Back', 'The Love You Save', 'I'll Be There') during the 'This Is It' shows, according to early set lists.

But he later abandoned that idea, given the fact that this Jackson 5 Medley disappeared from subsequent set lists.
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Are writing it with AI? You keep using his full name. Jackson 5 Medley was rehearsed just two days before he died.
 
analogue said:
I just wish he would have done different melodies instead of the same one he always did.
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Same here!

The same medley became pretty boring considering it was done the same way on every tour!

I watched some of The Jacksons Unity tour in 2012 and they performed so many of lesser known songs that I wish Michael had added to his set list from time to time.
 
Galactus123 said:
Are writing it with AI? You keep using his full name. Jackson 5 Medley was rehearsed just two days before he died.
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He is likely relying on Michael Prince’s set list from the June 24 rehearsal. (Michael Prince, whom Frenzy has repeatedly called unreliable and someone who has “a memory like a sieve” over the years).

Given that Don’t Stop and Rock With You are placed second on that version of the set list, coming straight after WBSS, I highly doubt that it would have been the final set list used for the shows in London.

It’s also very unlikely, knowing Michael’s preference for familiarity in his shows, that he would have kept the J5 medley out of the show. Especially considering how often he and the band have rehearsed it for This Is It.
 
This Is It setlist was essentially the same old songs that Michael had performed before. They were no surprises, no lesser known songs. Just your standard boring and predictable setlist from MJ.
 
R1chard said:
Maybe even put a few of them in a medley. I think everybody was tired of Stop and I'll Be There by 2009, no need to keep singing those.
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“I’ll Be There” is a powerful, great, Disneyesque song. It’s a staple of Michael Jackson shows. No issue with leaving that song in the setlists.
 
For the hardcore fans, it would work of course.
On the other side of the spectrum for general audience, I don't think so, they had probably mostly missed the existence of Invincible and One More Chance (2003), and if they expected something from an MJ's come back, it was to be impressed with new things and/or his existing legendary performances, not a rehash of stuff from before he was a worldwide superstar.
(And I say that has someone who would also like people to pay more attention to MJ's whole career rather than 3 to 5 albums.)
 
R1chard said:
Yeah, I find it sad that so many MJ fans try to cancel half of his career.

He was a great singer and dancer, from a very young age. All four solo albums have great songs on them. Some examples:

Ben (1st US #1)
Rockin' Robin
Got to be There
One Day in Your Life (1st UK #1)
Ain't No Sunshine
I Wanna Be Where You Are
We're Almost There
Happy
My Girl
Music And Me
A Brand New Day (1st Dutch #1)
We've Got a Good Thing Going

A couple of these would have worked well live.
M&M and Rockin' Robin were both played on the set list of the Thriller Live musical.

Maybe even put a few of them in a medley. I think everybody was tired of Stop and I'll Be There by 2009, no need to keep singing those.

Better still, CHANGE the set list every night, so more songs can be heard.
Click to expand...
I think it wouldve been hard for mj to do it remember he did them when he was young
 
Stop the love you save is fantastic, I would have replaced the other songs of the medley though
 
Nite Line said:
This Is It setlist was essentially the same old songs that Michael had performed before. They were no surprises, no lesser known songs. Just your standard boring and predictable setlist from MJ.
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I can guarantee you that given the chance to fulfill my front row ticket it would've been anything but boring.
 
dam2040 said:
I can guarantee you that given the chance to fulfill my front row ticket it would've been anything but boring.
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Obviously, watching Michael live wasn't boring, but sadly, I never had that experience.

So I can only judge him as a live performer, based on youtube videos. And while he was the greatest performer of all time, his set lists were usually boring and predictable, in my opinion.
 
It made total sense for MJ to play his greatest hits and keep mostly the same setlist. For his big comeback people would want to see everything they love.. Also MJ would have been introduced to a whole new group of people, so playing deep cuts would not have made sense imo.

The production generally was also going to be very good, so I think it would have been a great experience.
 
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