Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration
The Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration was released in November 2001 by the CBS Television Network as a two-hour special to mark Michael Jackson's thirtieth anniversary as a solo entertainer. His first solo single, Got To Be There, was released 30 years earlier, in 1971. The recordings consist of two concerts that took place on September 7th and September 10th, 2001 in New York's Madison Square Garden . The tickets were sold out within 5 hours. The prizes became some of the most expensive in pop history: the best seats were $ 20,000 . In addition to the concert, these tickets also included dinner with Jackson.
Reportedly, Jackson made $ 7.5 million per concert, which is over $ 150,000 for every minute. A few hours before the show started, Marlon Brando appeared to talk about humanitarian work; however, this was not broadcast due to the poor response from the audience.
Concert program
Opening of the anniversary concert by Samuel L. Jackson and the subsequent appearances of Usher , Whitney Houston & Mýa on Michael Jackson's song Wanna Be Startin 'Somethin' from his 1982 album Thriller .
In addition to the aforementioned artists, other guests sang in honor of the "King of Pop":
- Liza Minnelli - You Are Not Alone
- Billy Gilman - Ben
- James Ingram & Gloria Estefan - I Just Can't Stop Loving You
- Marc Anthony - She's Out of My Life
The second hour began with the Jackson Five reunion . In addition to Michael Jackson, Jermaine , Jackie , Randy , Marlon and Tito appeared. They played a Greatest Hits Medley consisting of the following songs:
- Can you feel it
- ABC
- The Love You Save
- I want you back
- I'll be there
- Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground) .
Then the surprise guest * NSYNC danced to the song Dancing Machine .
There was a brief interruption in which Chris Tucker stepped on stage and imitated Jackson. With the announcement about Billie Jean , the concert continued. Jackson's most successful song followed.
Then the following songs were played:
- Beat It featuring Slash
- Black or White featuring Slash
- The Way You Make Me Feel featuring Britney Spears
- You Rock My World featuring Chris Tucker and Usher
The concert ended with the song We Are the World .
Concerts
Friday 7th September 2001
| song | Interpreter |
|---|---|
| Opening and greeting | Samuel L. Jackson |
| Wanna be startin 'somethin' | Usher , Mýa , Whitney Houston |
| Humanitarian message (not broadcast on TV) | Marlon Brando |
| Ben | Billy Gilman |
| Angel, It Wasn't Me | Shaggy , Ravyon, Rikrok |
| You Can't Win (from The Wiz , not broadcast live) | Jill Scott as the scarecrow |
| Ease on Down the Road (from The Wiz , not broadcast live) | Monica as Dorothy, Jill Scott as the Scarecrow, Al Jarreau as the Tin Man, Deborah Cox as the Lion |
| I just can't stop loving you | James Ingram , Gloria Estefan |
| She's Out of My Life | Marc Anthony |
| Heal the World | Mýa, Deborah Cox, Rah Digga , Monica , Tamia , The Brooklyn Youth Choir |
| You Are Not Alone , Never Never Land (not broadcast live), Over the Rainbow (not broadcast live) | Liza Minnelli |
| Bootylicious | Destiny's Child |
| Crying Time (not broadcast live) | Ray Charles , Casandra Wilson |
| Speech (not broadcast live) | Elizabeth Taylor |
| Medley: Can You Feel It, I Want You Back , Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground) , ABC, The Love You Save, I'll Be There | The Jacksons |
| Dancing machine | The Jacksons, * NSYNC |
| The Way You Make Me Feel | Michael Jackson , Britney Spears |
| Billie Jean | Michael Jackson |
| Black or White , Beat It | Michael Jackson feat. Slash |
| You Rock My World | Michael Jackson, Usher |
| We are the world | All performers, Kenny Rogers , Yoko Ono , Quincy Jones |
Monday September 10, 2001
| song | Interpreter |
|---|---|
| Opening and greeting | Samuel L. Jackson |
| Wanna be startin 'somethin' | Usher , Mýa , Deborah Cox |
| Ben | Billy Gilman |
| Home (from The Wiz , not broadcast live) | Monica as Dorothy |
| Ease on Down the Road (from The Wiz , not broadcast live) | Monica as Dorothy, Jill Scott as the Scarecrow, Al Jarreau as the Tin Man, Deborah Cox as the Lion |
| You Are Not Alone , Never, Never Land (not broadcast live) | Liza Minnelli |
| Speech (not broadcast live) | Elizabeth Taylor |
| Get Ur Freak On | Missy Elliott , Nelly Furtado |
| Man in the Mirror | Usher, Luther Vandross , 98 Degrees |
| I want candy | Aaron Carter |
| I will survive | Gloria Gaynor |
| I'll Never Love This Way Again | Dionne Warwick |
| Midnight Train to Georgia | Gladys Knight |
| I Do (Cherish You) | 98 degrees |
| My baby, I want you back | Romeo Miller, Master P |
| Medley: Can You Feel It, ABC, The Love You Save, I'll Be There, I Want You Back , Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground) | The Jacksons |
| Dancing machine | The Jacksons, * NSYNC |
| The Way You Make Me Feel, Billie Jean | Michael Jackson |
| Black or White , Beat It | Michael Jackson feat. Slash |
| You Rock My World | Michael Jackson, Usher, Chris Tucker |
Nominations & Awards
- Nominations
- 2002: Primetime Emmy Award in the “Outstanding Choreography” category for the choreographers Brian Thomas and Glenn Douglas Packard
- Awards
- 2002: NAACP Image Award in the category "Outstanding Variety Series / Special"
- 2002: NAACP Image Award in the category “Outstanding Performance in a Variety Series / Specia” for Michael Jackson
Web links
- Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration at the Internet Movie Database (English)