Herewith, via MichaelJackson.com, is the previously unreleased video for “One More Chance,†the R. Kelly–written single from Jackson’s 2003 compilation Number Ones. For the record, that makes it the second big MJ release, following the Akon duet “Hold My Hand,†just this week. So, how is this whole opening-of-the-vaults thing going?
Not great. The release of new music has been marred by claims from multiple Jackson family members that said new music doesn’t actually feature Michael singing. This is both strange — why isn’t the Jackson family in on the plans to release the material? Is it just because Joe Jackson is crazy? — and, based only on the evidence available, hard to dispute unequivocally: After all, Akon gets more shine on “Hold My Hand†than MJ. Also, is this the best of the vaults, or have we not yet gotten the really big single? More to the point: Is there anything from the eighties sessions in those vaults, or is it all post-scandal MJ?
Oh, yeah, this video: Apparently the production of it was disrupted by the 2003 Neverland Ranch raid, and it was eventually swapped out for one of those montage clips. MichaelJackson.com doesn’t mention that, of course, but does say that “prior to the video being shelved, Michael Jackson approved this cut and stored the original source materials in his personal archive.†For the conspiracy theorists: You don’t really get to see all of Jackson’s face during the dancing parts, which suggests a dance double. Then again, none of the dancing is all that strenuous and is definitely on par with what MJ is seen handling during the concert movie This Is It. It all adds up to a decidedly ambivalent feeling. Your thoughts?