Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Sep 03, 2025

Three contested Michael Jackson songs removed from streaming services

Three contested Michael Jackson songs removed from streaming services

Three Michael Jackson songs have been removed from streaming services, following persistent claims they feature faked vocals.

Monster, Keep Your Head Up and Breaking News all featured on the posthumous 2010 compilation album Michael.

They have since been the subject of a court case brought by a fan, who claims the vocals are by a session singer.

Sony Music and Jackson's estate said their removal from streaming sites had nothing to do with their authenticity.

In a statement, they described the action as "the simplest and best way to move beyond the conversation associated with these tracks once and for all".

The continued: "The focus remains where it belongs - on the exciting new and existing projects celebrating Michael Jackson's legacy", including the Broadway musical MJ and a recently-announced biopic.

"The album's remaining tracks remain available," the statement concluded. "Nothing should be read into this action concerning the authenticity of the tracks - it is just time to move beyond the distraction surrounding them."

Released in 2010, Michael was the first album of outtakes and unreleased music to emerge after Jackson's death from an overdose of propofol in 2009.

Even before it hit the shops, the star's family were raising doubts over whether he had performed on all of the songs.

"I tried so hard to prevent this craziness, but they wouldn't listen," Jackson's nephew Taryll tweeted. "It doesn't sound like him," added Jackson's sister La Toya.

Sony responded with a statement saying it had "complete confidence in the results of our extensive research, as well as the accounts of those who were in the studio with Michael, that the vocals… are his own."


When it was released, the back cover of the Michael album said: "This album contains nine previously unreleased vocal tracks performed by Michael Jackson. These tracks were recently completed using music from the original vocal tracks and music created by the credited producers."

However, after hearing the music, fans were suspicious about three songs, in particular.

The official story is that Jackson wrote and recorded them with the production team Edward Cascio and James Porte in 2007. Yet rumours persisted that the vocals were provided by an American singer called Jason Malachi, who apparently took credit for them in a 2011 Facebook post. (His manager later denied this, claiming the post was faked.)


Court action


Then, in 2014, Jackson fan Vera Serova filed a class-action lawsuit against Cascio, Porte, Sony Music, Jackson estate co-executor John Branca, MJJ Productions (the estate's music arm) and Angelikson Productions (Cascio's production company).

She accused them all of selling her and others a product that had been misrepresented. Separately, she accused Porte, Cascio and Angelikson of conducting an "elaborate artistic fraud" when they sold their tracks to Jackson's estate for millions of dollars.

Jackson's estate and Sony denied the allegations, and an appeals court ultimately ruled in their favour, removing them from the lawsuit.

"Because [they] lacked actual knowledge of the identity of the lead singer on [Breaking News, Monster and Keep Your Head Up], they could only draw a conclusion about that issue from their own research and the available evidence," court documents read.

In that light, judges concluded, any claims made on the album cover or in promotional materials "amounted to a statement of opinion rather than fact".

A second posthumous album, Xscape, was released in 2014. Since then, the star's estate have focused on his classic albums


Serova's case against Angelikson Productions, Cascio and Porte is ongoing. She has also petitioned California's Supreme Court to revive the lawsuit against Sony, while the company has asked for the earlier ruling to be upheld.

None of the legal action has, to date, established the origin of the contested songs.

Fans can no longer judge for themselves, as they have disappeared from Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and other streaming platforms - although unofficial uploads can still be found.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
×