This Is It (Michael Jackson song)

"This Is It"
Single by Michael Jackson featuring The Jacksons
from the album This Is It
Released October 12, 2009
Format CD, Radio airplay
Recorded 1983-2009
Genre R&B, pop
Length 3:37 (Album version)
4:55 (Orchestra Version)
3:43 (Single Version)
Label Epic Records
Writer(s) Michael Jackson
Paul Anka
Producer Michael Jackson
John McClain
Mervyn Warren
Michael Jackson singles chronology
"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008"
(2008)		 "This Is It"
(2009)

"This Is It" is a song written by American musician Michael Jackson and Canadian singer Paul Anka. The song was recorded by the former and featured as a track on the album, This Is It (2009), which accompanies the Sony Pictures motion picture release Michael Jackson's This Is It. The track was premiered worldwide on Jackson's official website on October 12, 2009. The song is the only airplay single from Jackson's compilation album released by Epic Records.

"This Is It" is a power ballad with lyrics that describe falling and being in love with someone. The instrumentation includes piano, guitar, percussion, and strings. Jackson's version, styled as a pop ballad, was his first song to chart on Billboards Hot Adult Contemporary Chart in over seventeen years. Sony misleadingly referred to the song as a "new single" during its promotion, but it was later confirmed that the song would only be released to radio, and not be available to buy or download as a single release. The song was generally well received by critics and had a good chart performance; it become a top twenty hit on charts in Japan and Spain, and peaked at number eighteen on both Billboard's Adult Contemporary and R&B/Hip-Hop song charts.

According to Anka, the song was recorded in 1983 and was intended to be a duet between him and Jackson on Anka's Walk A Fine Line album under the title "I Never Heard", but these plans fell through. Thereafter, recording artist Sa-Fire recorded the song for her second studio album, I Wasn't Born Yesterday (1991). While putting together the This Is It album, Jackson's demo version of the song was found. His brothers' vocals and additional instrumentation were then added to the recording. The song was accompanied by one music video. The video was directed by Spike Lee, and consisted of footage of Jackson as a child and clips of him throughout his career. It also featured footage of tributes from Jackson's fans around the world.

Contents

Background

Despite being featured on the album This Is It, the song "This Is It" was not intentionally written for the 2009 concert documentary Michael Jackson's This Is It. "This Is It" was written by recording artists Paul Anka and Michael Jackson.[1][2] A demo version of the song was recorded by Anka and Jackson in 1983 at Anka's California recording studio.[3] The song was intended to be added as an album track on Anka's 1983 duets album Walk a Fine Line that he was in the process of recording at the time.[1][2] Anka claimed in 2009 that following the release of Jackson's 1982 album Thriller, Jackson "stole the [master] tapes" from Anka's recording studio.[1][3][4]

Soon after the alleged theft, Anka threatened to take legal action against Jackson if the taped recordings of the song weren't returned.[1] Jackson subsequently returned the tapes, though Anka insisted that Jackson had made a copy of the recordings of "I Never Heard", and retitled the track with his voice to "This Is It."[3] In 1990, Anka allowed the Puerto Rican recording artist Sa-Fire to record "This Is It".[2] Sa-Fire recorded "This Is It" under the original title "I Never Heard" on her second studio album I Wasn't Born Yesterday in 1991. Jackson's version of "This Is It" was reportedly found in a box of tapes with only Jackson's voice and a piano accompaniment, the song was described as having been a "bare-bone" recording.[2]

Release

On September 13, 2009, it was reported that a "secret Michael Jackson [promotional music] single" was being produced to promote the film Michael Jackson's This Is It, so that the song's release would coincide with the release of the film.[5] It was reported that Jackson had planned to release "This Is It" for his planned summer tour but after his death it was shelved until producers in Los Angeles decided to remix the vocals with an orchestral accompaniment.[5] Sony said, in response to the reports, that it was a 'coincidence' that his upcoming concert series was also titled "This Is It," with Sony explaining they had no evidence that Jackson had planned to release the song.[6] On September 23, 2009, Sony Music Entertainment announced they were planning on releasing a song entitled, "This Is It" as a single.[7] It was confirmed during the announcement that the song was to feature backing vocals by Jackson's brothers and that the song would be included in a two-disc album, ending out the first disc,[8] Michael Jackson's This Is It.[7] It was also confirmed that the song would be featured during the end credits of the film.[8]

Despite Sony not releasing the song as a single, it was confirmed that "This Is It" would be released to radio stations for airplay, but that the song would not be able to be downloaded.[9] Sony had chosen to release the song as an album-only track as part of a strategy to encourage fans of the song to buy the entire album.[9] John McClain, a co-producer of the This Is It album said of the song, "This song only defines, once again, what the world already knows -- that Michael [Jackson] is one of God's greatest gifts."[4][7] "This Is It" premiered, as scheduled, on Jackson's official website MichaelJackson.com, on October 12, 2009, at midnight.[10][11] The preparation of "This Is It" was described as having been "eerily similar" to how the surviving Beatles took outtakes from John Lennon following his death and added their voices and instruments to create the "Real Love" and "Free As a Bird" songs that were released as part of the first two "Anthology" albums in 1995 and 1996.[6] Representatives of Jackson's estate said, in a prepared statement, that "This Is It" was "picked because the lyrics were appropriate because of the name Michael [Jackson] gave his tour" and that they were "thrilled to present" the song.[2]

Conflict with Paul Anka

A caucasian male holding a microphone with his right hand.
After the release of "This Is It" Anka came forward confirming that he was a co-writer to the song.

Within the same day of "This Is It"'s release, via MichaelJackson.com, listeners drew comparison of the song to Sa-Fire's "I Never Heard" (at the time the song's background was unknown.)[12][13] Soon after, media outlets New York Times and TMZ.com informed Anka of the similarities between the two songs.[2] After being informed, Anka told the New York Times, that "This Is It" was "exactly the same song" as "I Never Heard" only the titles were different.[14] Anka also stated that he was planning on taking legal action against Jackson's estate.[2][12] Soon after Jackson's estate acknowledged that Anka was a co-writer to the song and agreed that Anka would receive fifty percent of the publishing rights from "This Is It".[2][12][14] Anka commented on the agreement, stating that Jackson's estate "did the right thing," and that he felt that he did not think "that anybody tried to do the wrong thing " and it was "an honest mistake."[2][14] Anka further stated "They realize it's a mistake, they realize it's my song, they realize it's my production of his vocal in my studio and I am getting 50% of the whole project, actually, which is fair."[4]

Rob Stringer, the chairman of the Epic Label Group, stated that at the time of the release of "This Is It" he did not know when Jackson’s original tape had been recorded and that he had not known about its similarity to Sa-Fire's version until it was discussed online over the weekend by Jackson's fans.[13] Prior to Jackson's estate and Anka reaching an agreement, Sa-Fire’s manager, Sal Abbatiello, stated that he was contemplating filing a lawsuit on behalf of his client, commenting "This is a terrible mistake [..] I’m pretty sure Paul Anka has a big case. I don’t know if Sa-Fire has any legal right as the artist. I’ll have to contact my lawyers. But, hopefully. They’re advertising this movie everywhere."[14] Abbatiello also criticized Sony for not researching the possibility that the song might have had been previously released before releasing "This Is It".[13]

Composition

"This Is It" is a pop power ballad[15] and a simple mid-tempo keyboard ballad[16][17] that lasts three minutes and thirty-six seconds.[18] "This Is It" begins with Jackson singing, “This is it, here I stand/I’m the light of the world, I feel grand/Got this love I can feel/And I know yes for sure it is real” and then he tenderly hits his signature high notes about a new lover he feels he’s known "since 1,000 years."[15] Jackson's brothers (credited as The Jacksons)[7] are featured as background vocals throughout the song.[15] Background music includes fingersnaps, a "soaring chorus," big-build strings[16] and "bubbly guitars."[17] The song is played in the key of Bb Major.[19] Throughout "This Is It", Jackson's vocal range spans from F4 to C6.[19] The song's tempo is moderate and it's metronome is 96 beats per minute.[19] According to the music published on Musicnotes.com by Alfred Music Publishing and the Winnipeg Sun, the song is written in the time signature of common time.[19][17] The lyrics "toggle between grandiosity" (This is it, here I stand / I'm the light of the world, I feel grand) and "shy, romantic yearning" (I never heard a single word about you / Falling in love wasn't my plan).[17] Darrly Sterdan felt that Jackson's voice and the background music sounded "like a demo that's been fleshed out with overdubs and doowoppy backup vocals from his brothers."[17] Anthony McCartney, of the Associated Press, felt that the finger-snap percussion "echoes" Jackson's 1982 song "The Girl Is Mine" with Paul McCartney.[6]

Critical reception

The song gained average to positive reviews. Gary Trust of Billboard reported that "response among radio programmers to the song has been almost universally positive."[20] Despite receiving positive reviews, the song's reception was overshadowed after it emerged as an old demo of a song Jackson wrote for Sa-Fire in 1991. Among the positive reviews were Jay Lustig of The Star Leder, felt that the song was a "sweet, mid-tempo love song" that, with "orchestral strings" and "creamy backing vocals" by Jackson's brothers, gave it a "crisp beat".[21] Darryl Sterdan, of The Winnipeg Sun's gave it 3 out of 5, saying, "This may be something, but it's not 'It'... On the whole, it's a sweet little number -- but it doesn't live up to its authoritative title."[17] Todd Martens, of The Los Angeles Times' Pop & Hiss music blog, called the song "a trifle" and while the song "certainly won't embarrass Jackson's legacy or break the hearts of fans eager to hear Jackson's voice again" it does "bring the fallen pop icon a little back down to earth."[22] Jessica Robertson, an AOL music editor, said, "It's a safe, mid-tempo pop ballad that features what his fans love: his trademark breathy vocals and confident delivery. I don't think it will set the world on fire, because it's missing what fans and critics love most about his songs, which is a strong and powerful groove to carry it."[22]

Caryn Ganz of Rolling Stones felt that, "musically" the song sounds familiar to Jackson's 1987 song "I Just Can't Stop Loving You",[15] and Leah Greenbatt, of Entertainment Weekly felt that "some listeners may pick up shades" of Jackson's 1993 song "Will You Be There".[16] Cori Murray, an entertainment director at Essence magazine, described the song as being "not bad," and felt that the song sounded "like something" Jackson "could have put on an album."[22] Dan Aquilante, of the New York Post, who described the song as "an optimistic, R&B ballad with an upbeat, percolating rhythm that has all the bombast and power of the New Jack Swing period of the early '90s."[22] James Montgomery, of MTV News, felt that the song was the "perfect MJ tune" and that Jackson "was a hell of a singer".[23] Montgomery also stated that he felt that Jackson had a "wonderous voice" that, along with the song, was "a prime showcase for Jackson's prodigious pipes".[23] Montgomery went on to say that when he 'ignored' the negative elements surrounding the song and 'focused', that he felt the song was "wonderful". Stating,

"Ignore the trilling strings, and the soft-jazz/light-funk backing track (which sort of make['s] the song sound like Off the Wall's "I Can't Help It.") Block out the hype surrounding the song's release and the drama surrounding Jackson's death. Focus on those vocals — the way Jackson counts it in with a boyish "one, two, three, four," the way he glides from verse to verse with breathless, effortless phrasing, the lean-yet-heavy falsetto, the hint of gravel (and gravitas) is the verses, the soaring choruses — it's all there, untarnished by time or tabloids. And it's all wonderful."[23]

Chart performance

A mid-twenties African American man wearing a sequined military jacket and dark sunglasses. He is walking while waving his right hand, which is adorned with a white glove. His left hand is bare.
"This Is It" gave Jackson his first song to chart on Billboard's Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks in over seventeen years.

Despite being a radio-only single and non-downloadable album track, the song appeared on many charts on radio play alone.[24] Gary Trust of Billboard.com acknowledged that without "This Is It" having a "digital component" that the song's "potential" to make a "dent" on the Billboard Hot 100 would not be likely.[24] On the week ending October 21, 2009, "This Is It" debuted at number nineteen on Billboards Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks.[25] "This Is It" returned Jackson and his brothers to the chart for the first time since 1970, when, billed as the Jackson 5, the group marked its sole previous entry, "I'll Be There", which went on to peak on the chart at number twenty-four.[25] "This Is It"'s charting ended a thirteen-year, seven-month and two-week absence Jackson had from the chart; his prior entry was "You Are Not Alone", which wrapped a twenty-six week run on the list dated March 16, 1996.[25] "This Is It" is Jackson's twenty-six charted Adult Contemporary title, making Jackson become the seventh male artist to score a top 20 Adult Contemporary single in each decade since the 1970s.[25] "This Is It" eventually peaked at number eighteen on the Adult Contemporary-chart.[26] Also in "This Is It"'s first week of release, the song debuted on Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart at number forty-three.[24] "This Is It" went on to peak at number eighteen on the R&B/Hip-Hop Song-genre chart.[26]

"This Is It"'s most successful charting country was Japan. The song placed within the Top ten, peaking at number five on Japan's Hot 100 chart.[27] "This Is It" managed to chart within the Top 40 in the Dutch, Slovakian and Czech charts. "This Is It" peaked at number thirty on the Slovakian Airplay Chart.[28] "This Is It" also peaked at number twenty-two on the Dutch Singles Chart[29] and peaked at number twenty-seven on the Czech Airplay Chart, respectively.[30] The song had similar success in Canada. "This Is It" peaked on the Canadian Hot 100 chart at number fifty-six.[26] "This Is It" was quite successful charting in Spain. The song peaked within the Top twenty at number eighteen on the Spanish Singles Chart.[29] According to Billboard, within the first twenty-four hours of release the song had over 800 radio plays in Europe.[31] "This Is It" was commercially successful in China. It debuted at number one in Hit FM (Beijing) (China Radio International's western music radio)'s airplay charts - "TOP 20 COUNTDOWN" on October 24, 2009.[32] It held the top position for four consecutive weeks until Beyonce Knowles's Broken Hearted Girl replaced it on November 21, 2009.[33] The song came back to the top position of the chart on November 28, 2009.[34]

Music video

On December 27, 2009, the song's official music video was released.[35] The video was directed by academy award nominated Spike Lee,[36] who had previously worked with Jackson when Lee directed the music video for Jackson's song entitled "They Don't Care About Us" for Jackson's HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I album in 1995.[37][38] The video was premiered on Lee's webpage of his production company 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks[36] and was shortly after added to Lee's Vimeo account, but has since been removed. The video, that is almost five-minutes long, features various scenes of Jackson's hometown and former residence in Gary, Indiana, along with photos and videos of Jackson and tributes from Jackson's fans around the world.[35]

In the photo, a red stop sign can be seen. On the stop sing, the word "Stop" is in the center, and written above it are the words "This Is it" and at the botton of the sign, the word "Hatin'" is written in capital letters; all the words on the sign are written in yellow. In the background, a blue sky, that is mainly full of white clouds, is shown and a metal poll is shown behind the sign.
This sign (pictured) was shown several times throughout the video. The sign is a reference to people's negativity towards Jackson because of all of his controversies during his life.[39]

The music video opens with a clip of a poster in Gary, Indiana pointing fans toward Jackson's childhood home, at the corner of 2300 Jackson Street and Jackson Family Boulevard, during the clip the sound of a vintage recordings of one of Jackson's siblings yelling "Michael" repeatedly.[35] An image, that is shown several times during the video, shows a one-way traffic sign near Jackson's old house that is covered in graffiti honoring Jackson, including "we luv yuh Michael".[35] Images, shown like a slide-show, of Jackson performing as a child are mixed in with shots of play sets, baseball bats and Gary's gritty industrial skyline.[35] A central image captured by the Lee is a 'plea' for tolerance etched onto a stop sign in Gary, someone wrote the message "This Is It" (presumably a reference to the song title) above the word "Stop" under which they've added "hatin'."[35] Interspersed with archival footage of Jackson during his career greeting his fans in various parts of the world and shots of Jackson's fan paying tribute to Jackson following his death by wearing their own silver gloves and 'Jackson memorabilia.' At one point of the video, one of the lyrics from the song, "I never heard a single word about you," floats up out of the concrete, fading into two more shots of fan tributes from around the world and multiple flowers and messages laid at the gates of the Jackson's Neverland Ranch. The video, several times, shows a single red balloon floating in the air and empty swings swaying in the breeze.[35] Towards the end of the video, footage of Jackson doing one of his signature dance moves, the moonwalk. The film ends with footage of a black stool with Jackson's trademark black fedora and silver glove on top of it under a spotlight in front of Jackson's Gary residence at night.[35][38]

Gil Kaufman, of MTV described the video as being "emotional" and "touching".[35] Kaufman stated that he felt that the part of the video showing footage of Jackson doing the moonwalk was "fittingly" and noted that the ending clip with Jackson's trademark fedora and glove under a spotlight in front of Jackson's Gary residence was "a dramatic pan".[35] George Merchan of JoBlo.com felt that the video was "clearly" a "loving patchwork of documentary footage, graphics, and original location shoots."[40] Simon Vozick-Levinson of Entertainment Weekly described the video as being a "heart felt tribute" and stated that, due to the circumstances that Lee had no footage of Jackson performing the song to work with, he felt that Lee did a "very nice job" with the video.[38] Jim Farber, a writer for the New York Daily News, wrote negatively of music video, having expressed his opinion that it showed a "mini retrospective" of Jackson's life and criticized the "Stop Hatin'" stop sign, having felt that it was showing censorship.[39]

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2009) Peak
position
Canadian Hot 100[26] 56
Czech Airplay Chart[30] 27
Dutch Top 40 Chart[29] 22
Japan Hot 100[27] 5
Slovakian Airplay Chart[28] 30
Spanish Singles Chart[29] 18
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks[25][26] 18
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs[26] 18

Track listing

  1. "This Is It" (album version) – 3:37
  2. "This Is It" (orchestra single version) – 3:43
  3. "This Is It" (edited orchestra version) – 4:40
  1. "This Is It" (album version) – 3:37
  2. "This Is It" (orchestra single version) – 3:43

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Kaufman, Gil (2009-10-13). "Michael Jackson Estate Admits Paul Anka Co-Wrote 'This Is It'". MTV. Viacom. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1623670/20091013/jackson_michael.jhtml. Retrieved 2010-01-15. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 McCartney, Anthony (2009-10-13). "Anka Gets Credit for Co-Writing Jackson Single (Page 1)". ABC News. The Walt Disney Company. http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=8814230. Retrieved 2010-01-15. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 TMZ Staff Members (2009-10-12). "Paul Anka Claims 'This Is It' is a Rip-Off". TMZ.com. Time Warner, Inc. http://www.tmz.com/2009/10/12/paul-anka-michael-jackson-this-is-it-I-never-heard/. Retrieved 2010-01-15. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Jill Serjeant, Dean Goodman (2009-10-13). "'New' Michael Jackson Single Written In 1983". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. http://www.billboard.com/news/new-michael-jackson-single-written-in-1983-1004021580.story#/news/new-michael-jackson-single-written-in-1983-1004021580.story. Retrieved 2010-01-16. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Michael Jackson new single set to be released". Mirror.co.uk. Trinity Mirror plc. 2009-09-13. http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2009/09/13/jackson-single-in-pipeline-115875-21669134/. Retrieved 2009-09-21. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 McCartney, Anthony (2009-10-13). "Anka Gets Credit for Co-Writing Jackson Single (Page 2)". ABC News. The Walt Disney Company. http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wirestory?id=8814230&page=2. Retrieved 2010-01-15. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Herena, Monica (2009-09-23). "New Michael Jackson Song, Album Due In October". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. http://www.billboard.com/column-chartbeat/chart-beat-wednesday-michael-jackson-taylor-1004029017.story#/news/new-michael-jackson-song-album-due-in-october-1004015054.story. Retrieved 2010-01-14. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "New Jackson song to be released". BBC News. BBC Online. 2009-09-23. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8271752.stm. Retrieved 2010-01-14. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "'New' Jackson song to miss charts". BBC News. BBC Online. 2009-10-16. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8310795.stm. Retrieved 2010-01-14. 
  10. ↑ Labrecque, Jeff (2009-09-23). "New Michael Jackson song and album due next month". Entertainment Weekly. Times Warner, Inc. http://news-briefs.ew.com/2009/09/23/michael-jackson-this-is-it/. Retrieved 2010-01-14. 
  11. ↑ Carr, Edward R. (2009-10-09). "New Michael Jackson Single Will Debut Online". NBC. NBC Universal. http://www.nbcwashington.com/entertainment/music/Jacksons--63890652.html. Retrieved 2009-10-10. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Sisario, Ben (2009-10-13). "Anka Given Credit for Jackson Song". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/arts/music/13anka.html?_r=4&hp. Retrieved 2010-01-15 (subscription required). 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Collins, Clark (2009-10-12). "Michael Jackson single controversy: 'This Is It' is 'exactly the same' as song he wrote with Paul Anka". Entertainment Weekly. Times Warner, Inc. http://music-mix.ew.com/2009/10/12/michael-jackson-song-controversy-this-is-it-is-exactly-the-same-song-as-paul-anka-song/. Retrieved 2010-01-15. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Kreps, Daniel (2009-10-13). "Paul Anka Strikes Deal With Michael Jackson’s Estate Over “This Is It” Rights". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media LLC. http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/10/13/paul-anka-strikes-deal-with-michael-jacksons-estate-over-this-is-it-rights/. Retrieved 2010-01-14. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 "New Michael Jackson Song, “This Is It,” Premieres Online". Rolling Stone. 2009-10-12. http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/10/12/new-michael-jackson-song-this-is-it-premieres-online/. Retrieved 2010-01-14. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Greenblatt, Leah (2009-10-12). "Michael Jackson's new single, 'This Is It': Stream it here". Entertainment Weekly. Times Warner, Inc. http://music-mix.ew.com/2009/10/12/michael-jacksons-new-single-this-is-it-stream-it-here/. Retrieved 2010-01-14. 
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 Sterdan, Darryl (2009-10-13). "This may be something, but it's not 'It'". Winnipeg Sun. Sun Media Corporation. http://www.winnipegsun.com/entertainment/columnists/darryl_sterdan/2009/10/13/11381131-sun.html. Retrieved 2010-01-14. 
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Amazon.com : This Is It : Michael Jackson: Music". Amazon.com. Amazon.com, Inc. http://www.amazon.com/This-Michael-Jackson/dp/B002Q4U9YU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1263509133&sr=8-1. Retrieved 2010-01-14. 
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 "This Is It - Michael Jackson Digital Sheet Music (Digital Download)". MusicNotes.com. Alfred Publishing Co. Inc. http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0079653. Retrieved 2010-03-29. 
  20. ↑ Trust, Gary (2009-10-13). "Michael Jackson Returns To Radio". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. http://www.billboard.com/column-chartbeat/chart-beat-wednesday-michael-jackson-taylor-1004029017.story#/column-chartbeat/michael-jackson-returns-to-radio-1004021657.story. Retrieved 2010-01-14. 
  21. ↑ Lustig, Jay (2009-10-12). "This Is It: New Michael Jackson song heard on Web". NJ.com. Jersey On-Line LLC. http://www.nj.com/entertainment/music/index.ssf/2009/10/this_is_it_new_michael_jackson.html. Retrieved 2010-01-14. 
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 Jones, Steve (2009-10-13). "Michael Jackson's 'This Is It': Consensus is 'it's not bad'". USA Today (Gannett Company, Inc). http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2009-10-12-jackson-this-is-it_N.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-14. 
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 Montgomery, James (2009-10-12). "Michael Jackson's 'This Is It': The Past, The Present, A Perfect MJ Tune". MTV. Viacom. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1623610/20091012/jackson_michael.jhtml. Retrieved 2010-01-14. 
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 Trust, Gary (2009-10-15). "Chart Beat Thursday: Michael Buble, Michael Jackson, Kiss". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. http://www.billboard.com/column/chartbeat/chart-beat-thursday-michael-buble-michael-1004022719.story#/column/chartbeat/chart-beat-thursday-michael-buble-michael-1004022719.story. Retrieved 2010-01-14. 
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 25.4 Trust, Gary (2009-10-21). "Chart Beat Wednesday: Michael Jackson, Taylor Swift, Norah Jones". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. http://www.billboard.com/column-chartbeat/chart-beat-wednesday-michael-jackson-taylor-1004029017.story#/column-chartbeat/chart-beat-wednesday-michael-jackson-taylor-1004029017.story. Retrieved 2010-01-13. 
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 26.4 26.5 "allmusic ((( Michael Jackson > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:kifuxqe5ldae~T51. Retrieved 2010-01-14. 
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 "Japan Hot 100: Week Of November 21, 2009". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. http://www.billboard.com/charts/japan-hot-100#/charts/japan-hot-100?chartDate=2009-11-21. Retrieved 2010-01-26. 
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 "Radio Top 100 Official - Jackson Michael - This Is It". IFPICR.cz. IFPI. http://www.ifpicr.cz/hitparadask/index.php?a=titul&hitparada=18&titul=145870&sec=53cf6ae18a02193b76f31f4fa5193958. Retrieved 2010-01-14. 
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 29.3 "Michael Jackson - This Is It - Music Charts". aCharts.us. http://acharts.us/song/51449. Retrieved 2010-01-14. 
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 "Radio Top 100 Official - Jackson Michael - This Is It". IFPICR.cz. IFPI. http://www.ifpicr.cz/hitparada/index.php?a=titul&hitparada=2&titul=147384&sec=394f536ca81bfcd4c13e90357c5ff553. Retrieved 2010-01-14. 
  31. ↑ Paine, Andre (2009-10-13). "Jackson's 'This Is It' Rules U.K. Airplay". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3iad5ddf5ece450a18cd527d64aef7d99c. Retrieved 2010-01-14. 
  32. ↑ "China Radio International Hit-FM Countdown TOP20 (2009/10/24)". Hit FM. http://www.hitfmfans.com/wap/index-wap2.php?p=3663. Retrieved 2010-05-01. 
  33. ↑ "China Radio International hit-FM Countdown TOP20 (2009/11/21)". Hit FM. http://www.hitfmfans.com/wap/index-wap2.php?p=3883. Retrieved 2010-05-01. 
  34. ↑ "China Radio International hit-FM Countdown TOP20 (2009/11/28)". Hit FM. http://www.hitfmfans.com/wap/index-wap2.php?p=4214. Retrieved 2010-05-01. 
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 35.3 35.4 35.5 35.6 35.7 35.8 35.9 Kaufman, Gil (2009-12-28). "Michael Jackson's 'This Is It' Video, Directed By Spike Lee, Premieres". MTV. Viacom. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1628820/20091228/jackson_michael.jhtml. Retrieved 2010-01-13. 
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 Kreps, Daniel. "Spike Lee Reveals Video for Michael Jackson’s “This Is It”". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media LLC. http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/12/28/spike-lee-reveals-video-for-michael-jacksons-this-is-it/. Retrieved 2010-01-13. 
  37. ↑ "Michael Jackson: Spike Lee Directs New Video for “This Is It”". Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company. 2009-12-28. http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2009/12/28/michael-jackson-spike-lee-directs-new-video-for-this-is-it/. Retrieved 2010-01-13. 
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 38.2 Simon Vozick-Levinson (2009-12-28). "Michael Jackson's Spike Lee-directed 'This Is It' video: Watch it here". Entertainment Weekly. Times Warner, Inc. http://music-mix.ew.com/2009/12/28/michael-jackson-this-is-it-video/. Retrieved 2010-01-13. 
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 Farber, Jim (2009-12-28). "Spike Lee's video for Michael Jackson's 'This Is It' is mini retrospective of singer's life". New York Daily News. Mortimer Zuckerman. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/2009/12/28/2009-12-28_spike_lees_video_for_michael_jacksons_this_is_it_is_mini_retrospective_of_singer.html. Retrieved 2010-03-21. 
  40. ↑ Merchan, George (2009-12-29). "Spike's This Is It". JoBlo.com. JoBlo Media Inc. http://www.joblo.com/index.php?id=30193. Retrieved 2010-01-13. 
  41. ↑ "Michael Jackson - This Is It (chanson)". LesCharts. Hung Medien. http://www.lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Michael+Jackson&titel=This+Is+It&cat=s. Retrieved 2010-03-24. 

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