After several quiet years, it seems we were back in action, thanks to the release of Thriller 40 which has kept the conversation flowing and our earbuds rejoicing, especially in the final months of the year. While there has been a few missed opportunities, the general consensus was that Thriller 40 was a success, especially with regards to the release of the 4K short films and hearing unreleased music.
But Thriller 40 wasn’t the only event which dominated our interests. Here’s our top picks for Michael Jackson – 2022 Year In Review.
Janet Jackson releases her official documentary ‘Janet’. Four years in the making, the documentary arrives in two parts and features never before seen footage of Michael and Janet writing Scream. Parts of the documentary explore Janet’s career in parallel to situations in Michael’s life. Janet categorically states she 100% knows her brother and supports his innocence.
MJVibe, (that’s us!) reached three million views in January 2022! From the moment we began in 2006 as ‘Mijac’ to today, we’ve been delighted to share information with Michael’s fans around the world. We only began tracking views several years ago, so to achieve 3 million in such a short time is incredible. Thank you to all of you!
The results of MJVibe’s Ultimate Anthology Poll 2021 are announced. The yearly poll allows fans to vote for their favourite Michael Jackson songs, albums and tours. This year, fans voted Man In The Mirror as their Number 1 song, This Is It as their favourite posthumous song, Dangerous as their favourite album and Bad as their favourite solo tour.
MJ The Musical officially opens on Broadway after previews complete. The launch event is attended by all three of Michael’s children, Spike Lee, Kenny Ortega.
An artist and illustrator named ‘Nate’ paints a brand new mural in Los Angeles, celebrating Off The Wall. The location is the same alley where Michael shot the original album cover for Off The Wall. The mural was revealed on March 12 and is located at 7771 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, California 90036
It is announced that long-time musical collaborator John Barnes passes away. Barnes worked with Michael on Bad, Dangerous, HIStory & Blood On The Dancefloor as well as Victory for the Jacksons and albums for Janet, Jermaine and Rebbie. Barnes was instrumental in Michael’s musical success and will be missed by the entire community.
The copyright to Michael Jackson’s first ever song with the Jackson 5, Big Boy was purchased by media giant Ayozat as part of a deal which included songs by the Bee Gees, Snoop Dogg and Sex Pistols.
A selection of Michael Jackson items goes up for auction through Knaisz Auction. Included is a vibrating ball from the Scream Short Film, a pair of signed loafers, a HIStory Tour helmet and Michael’s 1993 World Music Award for World’s Best-Selling Pop Artist Of The Year.
Legend Of The King Of Pop: Michael Jackson Exhibition opens in Budapest, Hungary. Curated by fan and collector Balaz Nagy, the exhibition features items worn by Michael, short film props, documents, signed items, a glove, shoes and more.
Sony Music and The Estate announce new project Thriller 40, which will be released on November 18, 2022 and will include a double disc CD with never-released tracks. Various versions of the album will be released including a limited edition vinyl, 40,000 copies of a Mobile Fidelity vinyl release and an SACD of the original album.
Paying homage to the 40th Anniversary of Thriller, singer Maxwell performs The Lady In My Life at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards, concluding with “We Love You, Michael Jackson!”
The spaceship used for Michael’s grand entrance on to the stage on the HIStory World Tour went up for auction at Juliens. The ship sold for just $3,750! A bargain for a piece of HIStory.
As a result of ongoing legal action regarding the authenticity of the Cascio tracks on the Michael album, the songs are finally removed from streaming platforms, and further production of the physical album is discontinued. After 12 years of fans enduring three fake songs tainting Michael’s catalogue, the Estate finally gave in to the pressure ahead of a judgement and removed the songs – jumping before pushed perhaps?!
A seven-track version of the physical album was made available shortly after, while existing inventory still appears to be clearing out.
Local French radio station ‘Allier Pop Rock’ dedicate their programming to Michael on June 25th. Songs from the King of Pop were included into regular rotation in the morning shows and hourly from 9pm to midnight.
The official Michael Jackson biopic, titled ‘Michael’ begins casting with casting director Kimberly Hardin at the helm. Hardin was also casting director for the TV Movie ‘Searching For Neverland’ which featured Navi in the role of Michael Jackson and The 1992 miniseries, The Jacksons: An American Dream.
MJ The Musical wins four Tony awards at the annual ceremony. MJ scooped Best Lighting Design, Best Sound Design, Best Choreography and Best Actor. Prince and Paris Jackson were in attendance to introduce a performance from the production.
In perhaps one of the most important episodes in the show’s history, The MJ Cast released episode 145 Vindication Day Special with Brett Barnes. The episode marked Barnes’ first public interview in over 20 years, where he finally addresses all the ludicrous assertions about him. Charles Thomson leads the interview and does a fantastic job of ensuring that the right questions are asked, allowing Barnes to open up and add vital pieces of information to the puzzle.
This episode is essential listening and can be found on all streaming platforms and the MJ Cast website
Italian Brand ‘Throwback’ release a line of official Michael Jackson merchandise as part of a new capsule collection ‘Throwback X Michael Jackson’. The designs are relatively uninspiring, and one features a design with a Bad Tour image and the date 1983 underneath – Surely this should have been corrected by the licensor before release?
New YouTube Channel ‘The Big MJ Debate’ makes its debut on YouTube with a two-part special discussing the recent announcement and logo reveal for Thriller 40. MJ fans Pez Jax, Ilia Mizani and Char McLachlan discuss and debate their thoughts and hopes for the release.
On July 15th the Broadway Cast Recording of MJ: The Musical was made available. Featuring the stage cover versions of Michael’s classic hits by Myles Frost and the current cast.
Kygo, famed DJ who had recent commercial success with remixed versions of tracks with Whitney Houston, Donna Summer and Tina Turner took on Say Say Say at a sold-out show in Oslo. The version featured Kygo’s signature loop of a key part of the song, which in this case was Michael’s line “You know I’m crying”.
Photos of Michael and the Jacksons together feature at a special exhibit at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Taken by famed photographer Bruce Talamon, the collection titled ‘Hotter Than July’, also feature images of other music legends including Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder.
For the third consecutive year, Michael Jackson took the crown as Smooth Radio’s ‘Smooth Icon’ as voted for by listeners. Beating out Queen, Whitney Houston, George Michael and Elvis Presley, Michael took the top spot while the Jacksons came in at number 13.
To mark Michael’s birthday, RIAA recertified four songs from Thriller. Thriller and Billie Jean were re-certified Diamond, with over 10 million sales each, while Beat It and PYT were certified Platinum.
In addition, The Girl is Mine was re-certified Platinum and The Lady In My Life was certified Gold.
The official Michael Jackson Birthday Celebration occurred at MJ One in Las Vegas. For the first time, fans could join in part of the celebrations via a Livestream to watch the Q&A with long-time collaborator Greg Phillinganes as well as a special performance of The Girl Is Mine by the Cirque Cast.
In the now traditional lack of effort, the other activity included the Michael Bush Book Signing, which has been part of the event for nearly ten years. 2023 marks ten years of the show, so perhaps they’ll be the opportunity to get your hands on a signed copy of a different book released in the last decade.
Following the backlash from fans over the Thriller 40 logo and a defensive statement from the Online Team, the Estate did in fact change course with the Thriller 40 logo on both the double disc CD and digital versions of the album. Though no announcement was made, the artwork was quietly reissued.
Former Michael Jackson backing singer Marva Hicks passes away at the age of 66. Hicks performed with Michael during his special show in Brunei and on the HIStory World Tour. In 2009 while on tour, Hicks recalled how as soon as Michael learned her mother was ill he thanked her for performing and promised to get her to her mother as soon as possible. He ensured Hicks travelled home the following day and when she reached the hospital to see her mother, flowers arrived at the ward from Michael.
Kingvention – The Michael Jackson Fan Convention returns to London for its first outing since 2019. The event welcomed Kevin Dorsey, Lavelle Smith Jr, Bill Bottrell and Al Scanlan and was attended by over 350 fans. For the first time, a second day was introduced creating a full Michael Jackson weekend.
Day 1 Highlights
Day 2 Highlights
This Is It became available on Netflix in the UK for the first time, providing the streaming platform with an actual Michael Jackson documentary
It was confirmed by Chart Data that Michael Jackson has sold one-million total album units in the USA since the beginning of 2022. This achievement is announced ahead of Halloween and before the release of Thriller 40.
To promote both MJ The Musical and Thriller 40, the Estate organised a flashmob in Times Square New York to Michael’s classic ‘Thriller’. This was preceded by MJ The Musical ringing the Nasdaq bell.
Michael features on the cover of the Italian Magazine Raropiu for their 104th issue.
Unreleased songs ‘Dream Away’ and ‘Chicago 1945’ appear online after being played at an event by Steve Porcaro. The songs were illegally recorded by a fan attending the event and put online in poor quality. This renewed conversations within the fan community about copyright and ownership.
Michael Jackson Thriller 40 Immersive Experience opens in Dusseldorf Germany and New York, USA for a limited engagement. The events feature Thriller and Beat It in 4K for the first time, recreations of the Billie Jean, Beat It and Thriller short films and exclusive merchandise. The events are both free to attend.
Several cities play host to an official Thriller 40 album launch party. Among those selected were Paris, Stockholm and Chile. Parties continued in host cities for the next few weeks.
Thriller 40 is released worldwide. Though physical copies appear hard to acquire, the strength of pre-order + the large digital reception ensures that Thriller charts across the world once again, continuing the achievements Michael set with the album during his lifetime.
An unfinished version of the forthcoming Thriller 40 Documentary premieres exclusively to fans in key cities around the world. Los Angeles, London and Amsterdam are among host cities and feedback is generally mixed with an appreciation for rare footage and the fact the documentary is yet to be completed.
Footage from a lost Michael Jackson Sega Game surfaces online as gaming fan Ben Bizley discovers the tape at a UK flea market and pays £300 for it.
The footage came from the game “Scramble Training” – Sega Simulator Advanced System-1
Having only had short, bad-quality clips online, Bizley found a way to transfer the full footage and share it online with fans.
That’s your full rundown of key moments in the world of Michael Jackson in 2022. Many celebrations focused on Thriller’s 40 anniversary and the subsequent album release. It felt great to have Michael’s music and artistry return to the forefront of discussions, and with Thriller’s continued success, his artistic merits cannot be ignored.
So what’s to come in 2023? We know the Thriller Documentary will see its official release once completed and there’s also the rumours that the biopic will arrive at the end of the year, though casting and principal photography have yet to begin. Whatever happens, Michael’s fans will keep the torch alive as they do every year.
Don’t forget Thriller 40 continues with the release of its singles which also celebrate their own 40th anniversary. Billie Jean already started something (bad pun) celebrating 40 years, and the rest of the singles will follow. There should be endless non-stop celebrations for Thriller 40 with the milestone of the singles as well. Particularly Thriller in which the short film will also mark 40 years since it first premiered on MTV.