Well, it’s official. Michael Jackson is going to garner more posthumous press than Tupac. Despite already having his name in our headlines three times this week, it looks like MJ has no qualms about haunting us from the grave. His camp has just announced that the lead single from his upcoming album of unheard material is going to be a duet with Akon titled “Hold My Hand”.
The Senegalese crooner expressed his discontent when an unfinished version of the song leaked two years ago, but now Akon (who also wrote the song) says the “time has come, [“Hold My Hand’] has become and incredible, beautiful, anthemic song.” The original leak was already pretty uplifting, so it’ll be interesting to hear how the song has been fleshed out on November 15th, which is when the single gets the streamed on Jackson’s website, then released for digital consumption and pirating.
While the news comes in the wake of controversy regarding another “new” Michael Jackson song and a little bit of drama involving The Purple One, we’re more surprised by some of the other collaborations on the new album. The official tracklist was also released and finds The King of Pop coupled with Lenny Kravitz and 50 Cent on a couple of tracks.
The single becomes live on Jackson’s offical website at 12:01 EST, and Michael officially hits store shelves and online retailers on December 14th. The full tracklist is available below.
Update: You can hear a tagged version of “Keep Your Head Up” at You Heard That New.
Michael Tracklist:
01. Hold My Hand (feat. Akon)
02. Hollywood Tonight
03. Keep Your Head Up
04. (I Like) The Way You Love Me
05. Monster (Feat. 50 Cent)
06. Best Of Joy
07. Breaking News
08. (I Can’t Make It) Another Day (feat. Lenny Kravitz)
09. Behind The Mask
10. Much Too Soon