Princefams.com - Prince News and Pictures

aparantly Michael is going to be playing some shows in Lodnon this year and early 2010 too, not sure how true that is though, if its true it hasnt had very much publicity.

Endre wrote:

It's true, he's playing july, august, september in 2009, and january, february in 2010.
50 shows in total now... 1 million tickets.

50 now? wow!

how long will ech showlast? 30 minutes?

Last edited by Pigg (2009-03-13 19:37:02)

DuranDuran wrote:

Hmmmmmm, well see won't we?...

DuranDuran wrote:

that wa scool, Im so happy for those dancers, it must be an amazing feeling to live out a dream that way.

They all started dancind becasue of MJ & his videos and now theyre all gonna be doing that on stage with him, awesome.

That was indeed a great video !! Can U imagine Prince doing this kind of casting??!!

Very cool of Michael to go and say hi to the dancers!!

Hope they have fun

I kept it together till I saw the video on this thread. I can't help but wonder how devastated these dancers r. OMG!!! I can't seem to wrap my head around this whole thing.

Michael Jackson's personal artist speaks

PICTURES of Michael Jackson's Paintings: http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/l090 … p;aid=5280

SANTA FE — Artist David Nordahl was at home painting in February 1988 when the phone rang at midnight. A voice said, "This is Michael Jackson."
Yeah, riiiight, he thought. But he quickly realized the call was no prank.

While visiting Steven Spielberg's office, Jackson had admired one of Nordahl's paintings of Army troops invading an Apache camp as a young corporal shielded two Indian children. Now the singer was reaching out to the painter. For art lessons.

"He asked if I taught drawing and painting," says Nordahl, whose realist oils of 19th-century Apaches are highly prized. "I told him I didn't, but that I'd think about it. I was really busy."

Their hour-long conversation sparked a close friendship and working partnership that led Nordahl to abandon renown in the art world for a cloistered vocation as Jackson's portraitist. From 1988 to 2005, Nordahl completed thousands of drawings and roughly a dozen epic commissions, seven of which were among 2,000 Jackson items in Julien's authorized auction, which the singer sued to stop last spring.

Many canvases encapsulate Jackson's grandiose fantasies and fairy-tale worldview. In a massive triptych, he is crowned and knighted in royal robes. Along the sunlit path in Field of Dreams, he leads children of all nationalities (plus sister Janet, AIDS activist Ryan White and actor Macaulay Culkin). His firstborn son snoozes on an oversized golden throne in Prince, The Boy King.

Nordahl, 68, became not only Jackson's favorite living artist (Michelangelo led the historic ranking) but a trusted adviser and confidant who designed Neverland carnival rides and joined family outings.

He ducked the media for years, "because they wanted to talk about negative stuff, and I don't know anything bad about Michael," the soft-spoken Nordahl says, sitting with artist/wife Lori Peterson and frisky cat Scooter in a living room crowded with paintings by the couple. He's speaking now in hopes of brightening a picture darkened since Jackson's death June 25.

"I always thought of him as normal," he says. "He's the most thoughtful, respectful person I've ever met. In 20 years, I never heard him raise his voice."

Early days: Brainstorming

Nordahl's Jackson period began after the singer invited him to the Denver stop of the Bad tour in March 1988.

"I didn't know what to expect," Nordahl says. "He was sweet. We went to galleries, bookstores and a private showing of the King Tut exhibit. We sat around and laughed and talked and drew."

Jackson demonstrated talent but was stretched too thin to pursue visual arts. Instead, the two began hatching ideas for Nordahl to paint. The artist conceived the inaugural work, Playmates for a Lonely Child, a 41-inch-square oil of Jackson in a sylvan storybook scene. Next Nordahl embarked on a far bolder statement, Field of Dreams, a 36-by-104-inch oil study for an unfinished workthat would have measured 12 by 38 feet.

He labored non-stop: large portraits, mythical tableaux, 10-foot charcoal drawings, a plaque on the Neverland gate. Nordahl billed Jackson in line with his earlier gallery rates, up to $150,000 for large pieces, and says he was always paid.

His duties expanded to amusement park design after Jackson began developing the ranch north of Santa Barbara, Calif., and Nordahl juggled several projects while adapting to Jackson's enchanted lifestyle. At Neverland, the two tested rides and tended the exotic menagerie.

They took trips to Disneyland and spent time at billionaire Ron Burkle's La Jolla, Calif., estate, where Jackson's insomnia often meant Nordahl was enlisted for wee-hour practical jokes and beachside chats. (He also was a victim of Jackson's notorious tricks, once finding his briefcase stuffed with bubblegum.)

He discovered the unglamorous Jackson, who in the late '80s often drove by himself in a Chevy Blazer (and relieved himself in a bucket because he couldn't risk being mobbed at gas stations) and lived in a two-bedroom Los Angeles condo.

"I expected a penthouse with maids," Nordahl says. "There was a grand piano pushed into the kitchen, a popcorn machine and a good sound system. The other furniture, you couldn't have gotten 50 bucks for it at a garage sale. Before the kids, Michael lived real simply."

What fueled this bromance?

"I grew up in a difficult home, and he did too," says Nordahl, whom Jackson thanks in liner notes for 1991's Dangerous and 1995's HIStory. "We had no playtime growing up. We're both fanatical about work.

"There was a bond."

...

"I think what Jackson saw in David was a complete artist," Dewey says. "He was a perfectionist. He choreographed everything. Jackson also may have seen his commitment to family. David primarily painted the Apache people's culture and lifeways, but he painted a lot of children, not just warriors. And he painted animals beautifully, especially horses."

What Nordahl saw in Jackson was a wounded and misunderstood genius who felt spiritually obligated to help children.

Though Jackson was acquitted in his 2005 child sexual abuse trial, it "broke his spirit," Nordahl says. "Michael would never molest a child. He always felt so bad for kids who were mistreated or sick. He spent so much time with critically ill kids. If a mother called about a dying child somewhere, he'd jump on a plane.

"People talked about Neverland being his private amusement park. It was always meant for kids. The last time I was at the ranch, they put up a big Sony JumboTron across from a condo building for sick children, so if kids woke up at night, cartoons would be on."

'Michael was a real dad'

Nordahl was bewildered that Jackson seemed to elicit more mockery than sympathy.

"People accused him of trying to be white, which is ridiculous," he says. "When I first met him, his vitiligo (a skin disorder that causes pigmentation loss) had gone to the right side of his face and down his neck. Most of his right hand was white. Stark white patches. He used makeup because he had to. Without it, he was speckled all over."

Nordahl never witnessed drug use by Jackson but was keenly aware of pain problems that lingered after the star's hair caught fire on a Pepsi ad soundstage.

"When they were trying to repair that burned spot, he had a balloon under his scalp that was inflated," Nordahl says. "He let me feel it. It was a huge mound. As the skin got stretched, they cut it out and stitched the scalp. He was in excruciating pain."

Jackson seemed an unlikely addict, Nordahl says, noting his avoidance of cigarettes, alcohol, soft drinks and sugar.

"He was mostly a vegetarian," he says. "When he was on tour, the cooks would make him eat fish and sometimes chicken. He loved little chicken wings. He always drank water. I shared wine with him only twice, once with (ex-wife) Lisa Marie (Presley) and once at Ron Burkle's house. Michael had one glass."

The clearest evidence of Jackson's responsible nature emerged in his parenting of Prince, Paris and Blanket.

"Michael was a real dad, not a Hollywood dad," he says. "He'd get up at night to feed them bottles. He'd change them, bathe them, everything a mother does.

"All the time I spent with those kids, I never heard them beg for anything or throw a fit. I never heard them cry. They were so well-adjusted."

Jackson took pains not to spoil his children, says Nordahl, recalling a modest eighth birthday party in L.A. for Prince. (Jackson's mother, Katherine, and sister Rebbie came over but skipped the festivities because of their Jehovah's Witness beliefs, he says.)

"I was curious to see what Prince was going to get," Nordahl says. "I figured it would be pretty extravagant, but he didn't get one thing that cost over $2. He got Play-Doh, little action figures, things we'd call stocking stuffers.

"The kids were not allowed to watch TV or DVDs or play video games" except through points earned by their schoolwork. "Nothing was given to them. Michael said, 'I want them to grow up as close to normal as possible.' Those kids were so respectful and courteous, just sweet."

Surprise visit to Santa Fe

Nordahl grew close to all three. Typically, the artist spent time with the Jackson brood on the West Coast. But over Memorial Day weekend in 2004, the star and his tykes surprised Nordahl by visiting Santa Fe via Jackson's plush private bus (with a 60-inch plasma TV). Jackson suggested a movie outing.

"I thought we were going to a screening room," Nordahl says. "His driver pulled into DeVargas Mall. He was friends with (Roland Emmerich), the director of The Day After Tomorrow, and it was opening weekend. The mall was jammed, and there was no place to park. I took the kids, got the tickets and popcorn, and we went in. Michael came in after the lights went down.

"The lights came up, and nobody noticed him. He had on a baseball cap and these Chinese silk pajamas. The kids had no masks on. Any of those rags would have paid $100,000 for that picture."

Paintings' future unclear

He last saw Jackson in 2005, when the singer moved to Bahrain and vowed never again to live on U.S. soil. Accustomed to lulls when Jackson was overseas or overextended, Nordahl resumed painting Apaches and presumed he'd be summoned once Jackson found a new home and showcase for his treasures.

The fate of Nordahl's Jackson paintings is in limbo, though they may be part of a touring exhibition of the singer's memorabilia proposed by the estate administrators. "I would like to see them in a Michael Jackson museum," Nordahl says. "That was always Michael's goal. He was very self-effacing, but he understood he was a music icon."

Nordahl, represented by Settlers West Galleries in Tucson and Sherwoods Spirit of America in Santa Fe, has returned to painting Apaches and other subjects.

Whether his extended hiatus from the public eye damaged his authority or reputation "is difficult to gauge," Dewey says. "I don't know if it furthered his career. An artist who does commissions for one patron often is just isolated unless the patron publishes or exhibits the work. David's always been independent, and he's never sought publicity."

And how many patrons are the King of Pop?

"We got to be such good friends that I forgot who I was hanging out with," Nordahl says. "Then he'd break into these dance moves, quick as lightning, and it would dawn on me: He's the best entertainer in the world."
http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/200 … ings_N.htm

Janet Jackson's Greatest Hits Celebrated on NUMBER ONES


Two-CD Package Also Features Brand-New Single 'Make Me' In Stores November 17

Janet Jackson has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, and is one of the best-selling artists in contemporary music. For the first time ever, 33 of Janet's global #1 hits, plus the newly recorded single, "Make Me," will be available on one album--NUMBER ONES. Made possible by a partnership between Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) and EMI Music, the two-disc set, to be released November 17, 2009, in the USA (November 23, worldwide titled JANET JACKSON: THE BEST), celebrates the career and artistry of one of the most successful and influential artists in music history.

Among the album's many highlights is new single "Make Me," which was produced by Janet and Rodney Jerkins. Along with "Make Me," NUMBER ONES spans more than 20 years of chart-toppers, every #1 track spun off from Janet's original albums, from her 1986 blockbuster breakthrough CONTROL to her most recent, 2008's DISCIPLINE. CONTROL sold more than 14 million copies worldwide, with five #1 singles. The best-selling album of 1990, RHYTHM NATION 1814 sold more than 14 million copies worldwide, making Janet the first and only artist in history to produce seven top 5 hits from one album. JANET, sold 20 million albums worldwide, with six hit singles and a nomination for an Academy Award® for Best Original Song, "Again." THE VELVET ROPE has sold more than 10 million worldwide, with six hit singles. ALL FOR YOU was Janet's fifth consecutive album to debut at #1, with more than seven million in worldwide sales. For Janet's seventh consecutive platinum album, DAMITA JO, Janet took its title from her middle name.

Janet's eighth consecutive platinum album, 20 Y.O., acknowledged her love affair with her fans. Janet encouraged her fans around the world to design the 20 Y.O. cover artwork and she chose her favorites for the U.S. pressings. DISCIPLINE was Janet's 6th number one album and 10th studio album.

NUMBER ONES is the first greatest hits compilation from Janet in this century. Janet's last hits collection was released in 1995.

About Janet

Janet is an iconic figure in the worlds of music, entertainment, fashion and philanthropy.

Mega-award-winning artist, singer, songwriter, producer, actor, dancer, Janet Jackson is all of these things and more. She possesses an unprecedented list of achievements, and remains at the forefront of her craft, a true inspiration. As an artist, Janet excites, enlightens, leads, and embraces her audience with insights into life's meaning and our deepest feelings. Her vocal gifts, musical style, choreography, lyrical exploration, and awareness of the human condition has made her one of the top artists of our time as well as a leading influence on people around the globe. Through words and actions, she has set an example of generosity, of empowerment, of compassion, and helped to lead efforts addressing some of society's greatest challenges.

As an actor, Janet made her big screen debut in 1993 with Poetic Justice, in which she starred opposite hip-hop legend Tupac Shakur and actress Regina King. Her ballad "Again" was featured in the film and received both a Golden Globe and Academy Award nomination. In the box office smash Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, Janet made her second feature film appearance as Denise Gaines, opposite Academy Award nominee Eddie Murphy. Nutty Professor II became her second film to open at number one at the box office. In her third feature film, Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?, Janet starred opposite Tyler Perry and received an Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Feature Motion Picture. The film was yet another number one opener at the box office. Janet's fourth film, Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too, will be released in 2010.

Janet is the only artist having Grammy nominations spanning the Dance, Pop, Rap, Rock, and R&B categories and to have number one hits on every chart except country. Among her many honors, she has accumulated 5 Grammys, multiple MTV Awards, Billboard Music Awards, and Soul Train Music Awards. Janet's concerts are stunning events that stimulate all the senses--engaging mind, ears, eyes and the soul. Unbelievable choreography performed to perfection has become synonymous with Janet.

MTV presented Janet with the inaugural mtvICON Award solidifying her accomplishments and effect on pop culture. Some of the world's most recognized musical artists were enlisted to recreate the music videos and performances of her classic hits in honor of her work, influence and overall impact in the arena of music. The title of ICON was and continues to be hers.

Janet continues to focus on speaking out and giving back. Several of her tours have raised money for charities such as the Cities in Schools, and America's Promise. She has supported the Watts Willowbrook Boys & Girls Club of America, the Starlight Foundation, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, A Place Called Home providing after school programs in South Central LA, the American Foundation for AIDS Research, S.O.S. Children's Villages in South Africa, Cartier's Love Bracelet Program benefiting OCNA and sponsored an Airlift of Food and Medical supplies to famine-stricken Rwanda. Janet established the Rhythm Nation Scholarship with the UNCF and has assisted countless students striving to meet their educational goals.

She has been honored with many Humanitarian Awards due to her intense dedication to helping others. Recent honors reflecting the range of her involvement in charitable and social causes include the 2008 Humanitarian of the Year award from the Lisa Lopes Foundation, the 2008 Vanguard Award from GLAAD, and the 2004 Touching a Life Humanitarian and Philanthropic Award from the NBA. Janet's efforts have also been recognized by AIDS Project LA, the Congress for Racial Equality, and by the NAACP with their Chairman's Award. In September 2009, Janet chaired amFAR's inaugural fundraising event in Milan, Italy during Fashion Week and raised over 1.1 million dollars.

Next year, Janet will publish her first book, providing an intimate look at her life and how she has dealt with issues of self-esteem. Janet will reveal aspects not known before about her uniquely successful career in music, television and films.

Janet's next studio album is slated to be released in 2010.

The tracklisting of Number Ones:

Disc 1:

What Have You Done for Me Lately
Nasty
When I Think of You
Control
Let's Wait Awhile (Remix Version)
The Pleasure Principle
Diamonds (Herb Alpert with Janet Jackson)
Miss You Much
Rhythm Nation
Escapade
Alright (7")
Come Back to Me
Black Cat
Love Will Never Do (Without You)
The Best Things in Life Are Free
That's the Way Love Goes


Disc 2:

If
Again
Because of Love
Any Time, Any Place
Scream (feat. Michael Jackson)
Runaway
Got 'Til It's Gone (ft.Q-Tip and Joni Mitchell)
Together Again
I Get Lonely (ft. Blackstreet)
Go Deep
What's It Gonna Be?! (ft. Busta Rhymes)
Doesn't Really Matter
All for You (Video Single Mix)
Someone to Call My Lover
All Nite (Don't Stop)
Call on Me (ft. Nelly)
Feedback
Make Me

Here is an interview done this week by Michael Bearden, the musical director for This Is It

DuranDuran wrote:

Interview with The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty executive producer Jodi Gomes

http://gossiponthis.com/wp-content/uplo … ckson5.jpg

Prior to last weekend's premiere of A&E's "The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty," both keen interest and skepticism were brewing as to the reality show airing not long after Michael Jackson unexpectedly passed away this summer. Manipulative ploy to earn high ratings or a sincere look inside a family wanting to set the record straight after decades of tabloid drama and rumors? Regardless of the divided camps of supporters and critics, Nielsen reported 3.2 million people tuned in to the premiere last Sunday with an additional 1.8 million for the encore presentation immediately following. To get the scoop on the origins of the series featuring Jermaine, Tito, Marlon and Jackie, the role that Michael was going to play in the show and how the Jacksons are one family that cannot be broken, our Jim Halterman talked with "Jacksons" Executive Producer Jodi Gomes.

Jim Halterman: When did planning for the Jacksons reality show begin?
Jodi Gomes: Every network has always wanted the Jacksons to come to television. About a year and a half ago, Jermaine and I sat down and we knew the 40th anniversary for the Jackson 5 was upcoming and we wanted to do something to dedicate back to the fans and find a close connection to the fans. He got together with his brothers and there was a lot of decision-making and they felt that it was time to tell their story in their own words. We started developing in 2008 in prepping for the 40th anniversary but the show started recording in January 2009.
JH: A lot of these reality shows have a specific tone such as the Kardashians being pretty humorous, for example. How did you and the brothers decide on the tone of the show?
JG: People have never heard or seen their personalities except on stage or in group settings so we wanted to show that these guys have four different personalities. Marlon has a comedic sense of humor, Tito is a bit more on the serious side...I think our show just inevitably, in capturing their personalities, is going to have a bit of drama, it's going to have a bit of comedy. I think that's what's going to set us apart from the other shows.
JH: In the show you get to see these famous brothers bicker and essentially behave like brothers. Did you know that was what you were going to get before you started filming?
JG: I think every producer hopes to get honesty on camera and I've done a lot of reality show pilots that didn't get to air because, especially celebrity shows, [the subjects] tend to be very guarded or only want to market and promote certain aspects of their lives. With the Jacksons, anytime they make a decision to come to television or to set a new record or do a live show they go for it 110%. I was blessed and fortunate enough that they came at this with open minds and unfiltered worlds. It was just amazing and our entire crew and camera staff were amazed at the camera access with these guys.
JH: What were the expectations for the show before it even aired?
JG: Here's the bottom line and I've never seen this before. We have hundreds of thousands of hits on a daily basis on our website and on our Facebook pages from fans all over the world. I have never seen this before. I'd say 90% of it is with extreme support for the family. People are anxious to see the show and I've seen on Facebook where for every 30 comments of people sharing their excitement you will see the one or two people saying 'They're capitalizing on Michael's death' or 'It's bad timing' and I don't have to respond to it because the fans go full-throttle and say 'This is who they are. They're entitled to make a show about their lives. It started long before Michael passed away and their name is Jackson, too, so how do you exploit something you're a part of?' In fact, Michael was very supportive of the show.
JH: How did Michael's death affect the production of the show?
JG: I've been with this family almost every moment of the journey. I live close by to the family and when I heard about Michael's death I was with one of the brothers and I was on the phone with another. As a production team, we literally had lived moment to moment with this family. We are family with these guys and so we went out of our way to make sure...people will never understand what they went through at that moment of publicly finding out that the most famous man in the world passed away and it's their brother. Little things like they weren't even able to go out and get food for 3-4 days because they couldn't step out of their homes. I found myself bringing them food to their homes and making sure they had water to stay hydrated. It was a very intense situation. The last thing on my mind as a professional was the TV show. We basically sat back and said when they're ready they'll either go forward or they won't and I had no opinion on it one way or another. I just wanted to make sure that mentally I was there for them. What I want people to understand is it still is a very heavy time for them. It hasn't been any less raw for them. It's just something they're learning to live with but what happened was they came to a certain point a couple of months after Michael had passed and they finally put him in the ground and they said 'We have to carry on with our lives and move on with business.' The TV show actually became therapeutic for them because it was the one thing that forced them to be together everyday. With that they get a chance to share their mourning with each other. I tell people that are naysayers, look at the flipside of this, these guys get to stay together every day at a moment of time that was a most crucial moment of time in their lives.
JH: If Michael hadn't passed away, were there plans for him to be a big part of the show?
JG: Absolutely Michael was a future plan of the show. We had plans locked in to go to the O2 arena to visit Michael and support Michael. Michael, in fact, was very close to our project and I had numbers of conversations with him in regards to the music choice selections to accompany the show. He was going out of his way to make sure the brothers had clearance on his music, which is the hardest music in the world to clear for television. He went out of his way to make sure that the brothers were taken care of and he was so thrilled and they were thrilled.
JH: Ever since they became famous, controversy has often swirled around the Jacksons. How much of that is dealt with on the show?
JG: The guys live moment to moment literally. We shadowed them so whatever happened on a particular day we captured it from their perspective. I would say you have to tune in to see how they deal with things that are thrown at them whether it's negative or positive. Everything gets thrown at these guys. The one comment I will make is that no matter how much people try to shake the family or twist what they're doing or twist what's going on they will always find their way back to center with family. At the end of the day people don't understand the bond that this family has had from their youth they haven't been able to trust or lean on anyone but themselves and nothing and nobody will ever penetrate that bond. They lean on each other and support each other through the thick and the thicker and the rest of it is all myth.
JH: You also get to see a lot of the kids and grandkids that these guys have. Is that next-generation group going to also be a part of the show?
JG: With the Jacksons it's kind of one for all, all for one. It's impossible to do a show about these guys who are icons and not touch upon their close relationships with their children. We have a cast of 23 Jackson members in the television series. We do officially have the largest cast ever in television.
JH: Of course, there are some somber moments in the show because of Michael's death but are there lighter moments to come, as well?
JG: Absolutely. What you're going to see is genuine Jacksons. These guys are performers and no matter what is thrown at them they still know how to have a good time. They grew up on the road on small busses together so they've learned how to entertain each other really well and I think that comes across in the episodes. They're human so they have every complexion of emotions that we all have. They're happy, they're sad, they're angry, they're athletic. They play basketball, they breathe, they brush their teeth. Just the normal everyday things and they wanted to communicate to the world. 'We've ascended to heights that nobody can understand and we're still human.'

"The Jacksons; A Family Dynasty" airs Sundays on A&E at 10:00/9:00c.

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/rant.aspx … 8_jacksons

I don't like this idea at all...

Mike just posthumously attained a contract that is the biggest one in music history 250 Million USD!!

I think that is a bit of a gamble on the part of SONY as he has not released a killer album in a long while.

Funny they can shell out this amount of money when he's DEAD!!! It's complete trash...

smilingjoe wrote:

someone has wrote "he hasnt released a killer album in a while" but now he is dead that makes all the difference what a strange world we live in.

He may be dead but so was "Blood on the Dance Floor", "Invincible", and "Dangerous"

He wasn't dead when those failed in the US market was he?


btw...I think the "Jackson estate" owns his masters...at least I think it was implied in the lingo of the new Sony contract.