Three songs from the late Michael Jackson’s 2010 album, “Michael,” were suddenly removed from YouTube, Apple Music and other streaming services. The songs have been the subject of an ongoing lawsuit against Sony Music, alleging that Jackson did not sing them.
On Wednesday, a spokesperson from Jackson’s official website addressed the issue with Behind the Mask, a Jackson fan site run by Greg Spinks. While confirming that the three tracks were formally removed and could not be purchased or streamed by Sony Music, it “had nothing to do with their authenticity.”
“Keep Your Head Up,” “Monster,” featuring 50 Cent, and “Breaking News” — three of the 10 songs on the first posthumous album released in 2010, a year following the death of the King of Pop — are no longer posted on Jackson’s official YouTube channel. They are still available via reposts from other channels. Meanwhile, “Michael” is available on Apple Music with only seven songs. The three songs in question are no longer available for purchase. On Spotify, the three melodies are darkened in gray and unable to be streamed.
“The Estate and Sony Music believe the continuing conversation about the tracks is distracting the fan community and casual Michael Jackson listeners from focusing their attention where it should be — on Michael’s legendary and deep music catalog,” the Jackson website spokesperson said.
The back cover of the “Michael” album reads, “This album contains 9 previously unreleased vocal tracks performed by Michael Jackson. These tracks were recently completed using music from the original vocal tracks and music created by the credited producers.”
In 2014, Jackson fan, Vera Serova, filed a class-action suit against Sony and the estate over the three songs produced by Jackson’s friend, Eddie Cascio. Serova stated in her case that Cascio and his production company, Angelikson Productions, sold the songs to Sony to be included on “Michael” recorded by a different singer under the guise of Jackson’s authentic voice.
A judge ruled in favor of Sony and the estate in 2018, as well as in a California court of appeals in 2020. Now, the case is before the California Supreme Court.
Serova is not the only one who believes that Jackson is not the singer featured on the three songs. Just before “Michael” was released, several members of Jackson’s family stated that they believed the songs were fake.
In 2010, Jackson’s mother, Katherine Jackson, stated that “some of the tracks on the album are fake,” according to The Guardian. Jackson’s sister, LaToya Jackson, told TMZ, “It doesn’t sound like him.” Taryll Jackson, his nephew and son of Tito Jackson, stated that he was present when the songs were delivered to Sony in their original form.
“How they constructed these songs is very sneaky and sly,” Taryll tweeted. “I KNOW my Uncle’s voice, and something’s seriously wrong when you have immediate FAMILY saying it’s not him.”
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