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Immortal is a remix compilation album of music originally recorded by American recording artist Michael Jackson, and featuring The Jackson 5/The Jacksons, released from November 18, 2011 - November 25, 2011. The compilation of remixed songs is a soundtrack to the theatrical performing act Cirque du Soleil's show Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour, which debuted on October 2, 2011 in Montreal, while a permanent show will reside in Las Vegas.

Background and release

On October 3, 2011, Sony Music Entertainment announced that over 40 Jackson's original recordings was redesigned and reimagined by the Justin Timberlake and Rihanna producer Kevin Antunes throughout a year-period work in the studio with original multi-track master recordings. Hence it's expected that Immortal will continue a similar mixing production to the soundtracks to previous Cirque du Soleil's shows: 2006's Love, with the remixed music of The Beatles (to the show of the same name), and 2010's Elvis Presley-themed remix compilation Viva Elvis (to the show of the same name).

Being released by Epic Records in conjunction with estate of Michael Jackson, Immortal features an alternative version of The Jackson 5 song "ABC", as well as a series of mashups and remixes such as a choir-assisted rendition of "They Don't Care About Us". Despite over 60 songs had been used for the stage show, the album release will be available as a 20-track album or a deluxe 27-track album only.

Immortal will be the eighth album, and the third set of remixes of Jackson's music released posthumously, following two 2009 collections, The Stripped Mixes, Jackson's early songs with most of rhythm section edited out, and four EPs under the common title The Remix Suite.

Promotion

The debut track from this album entitled "Immortal Megamix", which was composed of four of Michael's greatest hits - "Can You Feel It," "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," "Billie Jean," and "Black Or White" had been unveiled on AolMusic on October 31, 2011. Following the premiere on AOL, the track became available to stream at www.MichaelJackson.com and on Jackson's Facebook page. On November 1, 2011, the track became available as a digital download on iTunes and amazon.com.

The week before it's release, several tracks were unveiled on SoundCloud & Billboard.com:

• "You Are Not Alone"/"I Just Can't Stop Loving You" on November 14th.

• "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" on November 15th.

• "I'll Be There" and "Dancing Machine"/"Blame It On The Boogie" on November 16th.

• "This Place Hotel"/"Smooth Criminal"/"Dangerous" and "Is It Scary"/"Threatened"/"Thriller" on November 17th, 2011.

NOTES:

The whole album was unveiled via NPR on November 18, 2011.

As a Cirque du Soleil show soundtrack, this album had almost no pre-release publicity, just like the way Michael did, and the first week sales were pale.

Commercial performance

In the United States, an early estimate of this albums selling was 50,000-60,000 copies in its first week, but only 43,000 copies had been sold actually, and it debuted at No. 24 on the Billboard 200. That's less than the arrival of the Beatles' Cirque-presented "Love" (No. 4 with 272,000 in 1996), but bigger than the acrobatic troupe's take on Elvis Presley: "Viva Elvis" debuted and peaked at No. 48 in 2010 with 13,000. In Japan, 14,707 CD copies of this album had been sold during the first week of its release.

Critical reception

The debut song "Immortal Megamix" received mixed reviews from music critics. Scott Shetler from Popcrash said the original songs were "left intact on this remix with only slight musical embellishments, such as a "Michael! Michael!" chant that appears during 'Billie Jean'", and despite other mixes as the "HIStory Megamix" that preceded his 1995 double-album were better, "with his (Michael Jackson's) legacy of musical gold, it would be nearly impossible to create a bad mix." Bill Lamb from About.com said, "All four songs included on the megamix sound astonishingly current and contemporary."

The album received mixed reviews. Ann Powers from NPR said, this soundtrack "adds another dimension to the Jackson omnibus," and it "crafts a new version of Jackson's life story through remixes of his biggest hits and a few obscurities, as well as his own stated favorite songs. " Kevin Antunes the musical designer for Immortal said, "There are jewels throughout this entire CD … put there so you can truly appreciate Michael's musicality," and "It lifts you up, it challenges, it makes you feel. Being a super-fan myself, having the ability to work on this music is a true honor." Randall Roberts from latimes.com gave this album two and a half stars out of four, "the soundtrack is beholden to the Cirque/Immortal story line and therefore sequenced not for the dance floor but for a Las Vegas-style production." Chad Grischow from IGN said, "the collection at least does a fine job pulling from the various eras of his career", and "most of the songs are simply clipped into a shorter version of themselves, with the occasional sound effects to enhance the choreography left feeling odd without it."

Killian Fox of The Observer said, "not much here is new", "the album tries to justify its bulky existence", "but they add little to a catalogue of music that has already been superbly produced." Arwa Haider from metro.co.uk said, "the original songs are obviously fantastic", but "without the accompanying Cirque du Soleil acrobatics, these slightly spooky mixes don't add much to his canon. " Michael Langston Moore from African American Entertainment Examiner said the album "deemed to be a bit sacrilege". Gary Trust and Keith Caulfield from Billboard pointed out that "consumers surely didn't seem that interested in the mash-up style album." Nekesa Mumbi Moody from The Associated Press said, "much of the album seems disjointed. Some songs are oddly chopped up, others are spliced together without much finesse, and there are a myriad of sound effects — bullets firing, glass shattering, the whistle of a train, basketballs bouncing — that just sound like noise," and "on stage, it probably all makes sense beautifully", "but without that visual picture, the listening experience is a disappointment."

Track listings

Sony Music Entertainment announced the titles of the tracks on Immortal and Immortal Deluxe as follows:

Deluxe

Charts

Release history

See also

• List of unreleased Michael Jackson material
• List of works published posthumously

References

1. ^ Schneider, Marc (2011-10-04). "Michael Jackson's 'Immortal' Won't Be His Last Album, Says Estate". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2011-10-05.
2. Tony Hicks, Contra Costa Times. "People: Cirque du Soleil mounting Michael Jackson tour – San Jose Mercury News". Mercurynews.com. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
3. "IMMORTAL, the highly anticipated musical tapestry for Cirque du Soleil's Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour". Sony Music Entertainment. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
4. Clarke, Suzan (2011-10-03). "New Michael Jackson Album, 'Immortal', to Be Released". ABC News. abc.go.com. Retrieved 2011-10-06.
5. Kaufman, Gil (2011-10-03). "Michael Jackson Immortal Album Due November 21". MTV.com. Retrieved 2011-10-05.
6. ^ Peter Fowler (2011-10-31). "Michael Jackson "Immortal Megamix" Released". Newsroom America. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
7. "Listen to the "Immortal Megamix" Now!". SonyMusic. The Official Michael Jackson Site. 2011-10-31. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
8. "Listen to "Immortal Megamix" – the debut track from the upcoming album IMMORTAL now and let us know what you think!". 2011-10-31. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
9. "Amazon.com: Immortal Megamix: Can You Feel It/Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough/Billie Jean/Black Or White (Immortal Version): The Jacksons;Michael Jackson: MP3 Downloads". amazon.com. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
10. "You Are Not Alone/I Just Can't Stop Loving You by MJImmortal on SoundCloud". Sony Music. SoundCloud. 2011-11-14. Retrieved 2011-11-14.
11. "Listen to a Brand New Track from IMMORTAL". Sony Music. The Official Michael Jackson Site. 2011-11-14. Retrieved 2011-11-15.
12. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' by MJImmortal". Sony Music. SoundCloud. 2011-11-15. Retrieved 2011-11-15.
13. "Listen to Another Track from IMMORTAL", Sony Music, The Official Michael Jackson Site, 2011-11-15, retrieved 2011-11-15
14. "I'll Be There by MJImmortal on SoundCloud". Sony Music. SoundCloud. 2011-11-16. Retrieved 2011-11-16.
15. "Listen to "I'll Be There" from IMMORTAL", Sony Music, The Official Michael Jackson Site, 2011-11-16, retrieved 2011-11-16
16. "Dancing Machine/Blame it on the Boogie by MJImmortal". Sony Music. SoundCloud. 2011-11-16. Retrieved 2011-11-16.
17. Erika Ramirez, N.Y. (2011-11-16). "Michael Jackson Song Premiere: 'Dancing Machine/Blame It On The Boogie' - The Juice". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2011-11-16.
18. "This Place Hotel/Smooth Criminal/Dangerous by MJImmortal on SoundCloud". Sony Music. SoundCloud. 2011-11-17. Retrieved 2011-11-17.
19. "Is It Scary/Threatened/Thriller by MJImmortal on SoundCloud". Sony Music. SoundCloud. 2011-11-17. Retrieved 2011-11-18.
20. ^ Ann Powers (2011-11-18). "First Listen: Michael Jackson, 'Immortal' : NPR". NPR. Retrieved 2011-11-18.
21. Roger Friedman (2011-11-29). "Michael Jackson New "Immortal" Album Sells A Sad 45,000 Copies". Showbiz 411. Retrieved 2011-12-4. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
22. "JINGLE BUBLE ALL THE WAY". hitsdailydouble.com. 2011-11-23. Retrieved 2011-11-28.
23. ^ Gary Trust, N.Y. and Keith Caulfield, L.A (2011-12-1). "Chart Moves: Lady Gaga's 'Marry' Moves Up, Michael Jackson Misses With 'Immortal', Divas Duke It Out". Billboard.biz. Retrieved 2011-12-3. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
24. ^ Template:Ja icon"CDアルバム 週間ランキング-ORICON STYLE ランキング". Oricon. 2011-11-28. Retrieved 2011-11-30.
25. Scott Shetler (2011-11-03). "Michael Jackson, 'Immortal Megamix' – Song Review". popcrash.com. Retrieved 2011-11-07.
26. Bill Lamb (2011-11-2). "Michael Jackson's Immortal Megamix Reimagines Classic Hits". about.com. Retrieved 2011-11-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
27. Carly Mallenbaum (2011-11-16). "Exclusive: Michael Jackson 'Immortal' remix – USATODAY.com". USAToday. Retrieved 2011-11-19.
28. Randall Roberts (2011-11-21). "Album Review: Michael Jackson's "Immortal"". latimes.com. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
29. Chad Grischow (2011-11-21). "Michael Jackson: Immortal Review - MJ tribute too cluttered, chopped to offer good look at his career". IGN. Retrieved 2011-11-28.
30. Killian Fox (2011-11-20). "Michael Jackson: Immortal – review". The Observer via guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
31. Arwa Haider (2011-11-21). "Michael Jackson's Immortal is full of hits but a bit of a circus". metro.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
32. Michael Langston Moore (2011-11-21). "Michael Jackson's 'Immortal' review: Good album or money grabbing scheme?". African American Entertainment Examiner. Examiner.com. Retrieved 2011-11-28.
33. Nekesa Mumbi Moody (2011-11-28). "Album reviews: Michael Jackson, Mary J. Blige, Daughtry". The Associated Press. northjersey.com. Retrieved 2011-12-4. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
34. "Immortal by Michael Jackson - Preorder Immortal on iTunes". itunes. Retrieved 2011-11-08.
35. "Immortal: Michael Jackson". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-11-08.
36. "Immortal (Deluxe Version) by Michael Jackson - Preorder Immortal (Deluxe Version) on iTunes". itunes. Retrieved 2011-11-08.
37. http://www.theofficialcharts.com/albums-chart/
38. http://www.billboard-japan.com/system/jp_charts/hot100/
39. ^ "MICHAEL JACKSON - IMMORTAL (ALBUM)". DutchCharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
40. "Album Top 50 KW 48". mtv.de. 2011-12-2. Retrieved 2011-12-4. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
41. "iTunes - Muziek - 'Immortal (Deluxe)' van Michael Jackson". Sony Music. iTunes.com. Retrieved 2011-11-19.
42. "iTunes - Musik – „Immortal (Deluxe)" von Michael Jackson". Sony Music. iTunes.com. Retrieved 2011-11-19.
43. "Immortal: Michael Jackson: Amazon.de: Musik". Sony Music. Amazon.de. Retrieved 2011-11-19.
44. "Immortal by Michael Jackson - Preorder Immortal on iTunes". Sony Music. iTunes.com. Retrieved 2011-11-19.
45. "Immortal de Michael Jackson - Pré-commander Immortal sur iTunes". Sony Music. iTunes.com. Retrieved 2011-11-19.
46. "Immortal by Michael Jackson - Preorder Immortal on iTunes". Sony Music. iTunes.com. Retrieved 2011-11-19.
47. "Immortal de Michael Jackson - Pide por anticipado Immortal en iTunes". Sony Music. iTunes.com. Retrieved 2011-11-19.
48. "Immortal di Michael Jackson - Ordina in anteprima Immortal su iTunes". Sony Music. iTunes.com. Retrieved 2011-11-19.
49. "Amazon.co.jp： イモータル デラックス・エディション(初回生産限定盤): マイケル・ジャクソン: 音楽". Sony Music. Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved 2011-11-19.

External links

• Official website

• Pages with empty short description
• Articles created via the Article Wizard
• Epic Records compilation albums
• Michael Jackson compilation albums
• 2011 compilation albums
• Cirque du Soleil albums
• Epic Records soundtracks
• Epic Records remix albums
• English-language compilation albums
• English-language remix albums
• English-language soundtracks
• 2011 remix albums
• Albums produced by Michael Jackson
• 2011 soundtracks
• Theatre soundtracks
• Double soundtracks
• Double compilation albums
• Double remix albums
• Compilation albums published posthumously
• Soundtracks published posthumously
• Remix albums published posthumously