A few Michael Jackson songs from his posthumous album ‘Michael’ have been removed from music streaming services after fans claimed that the vocals used in those tracks were not his.
Michael was released in 2010, a year after the pop singer’s death. The album consisted of the King of Pop’s unreleased songs.
“We have complete confidence in the results of our extensive research as well as the accounts of those who were in the studio with Michael that the vocals on the new album are his own,” Sony said in a 2010 statement.
Jackson’s estate and Sony Music took down the three tracks, “Breaking News,” “Monster,” and “Keep Your Head Up,” from streaming services Spotify and Apple Music. The ardent Michael Jackson fans claimed that the vocals used in these three songs were not Jackson’s but singer Jason Malachi’s.
According to USA TODAY, Jackson’s estate and Sony Music jointly released a statement saying the step was the “simplest and best way to move beyond the conversation associated with these tracks once and for all.”
“The album’s remaining tracks remain available. Nothing should be read into this action concerning the authenticity of the tracks –it is just time to move beyond the distraction surrounding them,” the statement read.
In 2014, a Jackson fan Vera Serova filed a lawsuit against Sony Music for using fake vocals in some of the songs on the album.
However, the court ruled in favour of Sony Music after both parties failed to determine the identity of the vocals.
