Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Saturday, Oct 04, 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

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
×