Medienberichte/Reviews zum ALBUM Xscape / Chartplatzierungen

New Michael Jackson Song Backs Jeep Summer TV Campaign

(Watch)News /By Andy Gensler, New York | May 08, 2014 8:32 AM EDThttp://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/ne…er-felt-so-good

Today Epic Records and Jeep launched a global brand campaign for the car company’s Altitude Edition in which Michael Jackson’s new single “Love Never Felt So Good” is featured in four 30-second TV commercials. The campaign will air from today (May and run through summer. The track is from Jackson's second posthumous release “Xscape” (out May 13, Epic) and was co-written in 1983 by Michael Jackson in a session with Paul Anka (who played piano on the track) and Kathy Wakefield. Two new versions of the song were recorded: the one in the ad was produced by John McClain, co-executor of the Jackson estate with John Branca; and another helmed by the trio of Timbaland, J-Roc and Justin Timberlake in which JT duets with Michael debuted this week at No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The campaign's origin came in late-March when Epic chairman and CEO Antonio “LA” Reid played the album for Chrysler CMO Olivier Francois. “I played him almost every song,” Reid says. “When we played 'Love Never Felt So Good' he made the connection and went ‘Bingo! This was what I was looking for!'" Francois, for his part, says that when he first heard the track he got up off the couch in the Epic offices and started dancing and hopes the ad will have the same impact on consumers.

A former music producer and publisher, Francois is credited with rejuvenating Chrysler's music branding strategy with an impressive string of ads featuring major music placements. This includes Eminem’s two-minute Super Bowl ad for Chrysler; the new Fiat spot with Sean “Ciroc" Combs at a desert party while Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” blares; and a previous ad for Jeep with Lenny Kravitz. Jackson, however, provides Francois a greater opportunity to take his work global.

Related Articles Michael Jackson To Unleash World Premiere Experience At Billboard Music AwardsMichael Jackson, Justin Timberlake Storm Onto Hot 100, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ChartsMichael Jackson's Back: How L.A. Reid Planned His 'Xscape' (Cover Story)When asked how big the spend would be on the new campaign Francois wouldn’t give an exact figure but said it would be bigger than the Diddy Fiat spot. According to Kantar Media, Fiat spent $17 million on measured U.S. media in the first three months of 2014, when the still-active Diddy campaign was just starting to roll out.

Jeep also hired multicultural ad agency GlobalHue for the creative who gave the commercial a summer-y outdoor feel. One ad is shot primarily at the beach, another is more World-Cup-friendly and shows celebratory Latin American soccer fans while another focuses on basketball and features Cleveland Cavalier point guard Kyrie Irving. That campaign was co-sponsored by USA Basketball, which holds global b-ball tournaments throughout summer.

Nearly five years since Michael Jackson's unexpected passing, his brand shows little sign of flagging. Since his death on June 25, 2009, Jackson's albums have sold 12.8 million in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan. His “This Is It” concert film grossed $261 million worldwide while "Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour," a partnership between the Jackson estate and Cirque du Soleil, last year became the ninth-top-grossing tour of all time with earnings of $325.1 million from 407 shows drawing nearly 3 million concertgoers. A second Cirque du Soleil show, "One," began a residency at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas last year.Music from "Xscape," according to Reid, will also be featured in ads by Xperia, a line smartphones and tablets by Sony, Epic’s parent company. The label chair said the ads will air outside of the U.S. He also confirmed that Pepsi, which has had a long-standing relationship with Jackson, has no immediate plans for a tie-in with this album. A video currently being filmed for the Timberlake version of “Love,” however, will feature one rather large product placement: a Jeep Altitude

US-i-tunes-charts

LNFSG: 8 and 55

Xscape: 10

Essential: 84

http://www.apple.com/itunes/charts/

Worldwide i-tunes-charts: keine Veränderungen

http://kworb.net/aww/

Artist: 2

Xsacpe: 2

LNFSG: 4 and 12

andere Alben:

Number Ones: 54

Bad: 179

Thriller: 223

Update der weltweiten i-tunes-charts:

Xscape unverändert auf 2

LNFSG (Duett auf 6, 2 Plätze gefallen), Solo auf 13 (1 Platz) gefallen.

http://kworb.net/aww/

In den Werbepausen der gestrigen Britain Got Talent-Show (Show mit der
höchsen Einschaltquote) wurde sowohl der Handy-Werbeclip als auch der
Werbeclip zum Albun ausgestrahlt. Das Album kommt in der UK Morgen raus.

Edit: Und noch ein paar aktuelle Amazon-Stände von Bubs in der MJJC übernommen

US Amazon

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3 in Music Up 2

#1 in Music > R&B

#3 in Music > Pop

Uk

Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3 in Music Up 5

#1 in Music > R&B and Soul

#2 in Music > Pop

Canada

Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #5 in Music Up 1

#1 in Music > R&B

#5 in Music > Pop

France

Classement des meilleures ventes d'Amazon: 1 en Musique

n°1 dans Musique > Pop

n°1 dans Musique > R&B, Soul & Funk

Germany

Amazon Bestseller-Rang: Nr. 2 in Musik Up 1

Nr. 1 in Musik > Pop

Nr. 1 in Musik > Limited Edition

Italy

Posizione nella classifica Bestseller di Amazon: n. 7 in Musica Down 2

n.6 in Musica > Pop

Michael Jackson's 'Xscape' feels shockingly vital

Randall Roberts
LOS ANGELES TIMES
randall.roberts@latimes.com @lileditQuaint doomsaying. #vinyl #armageddonhttp://t.co/RqponUVjuH

"Xscape" features Michael Jackson's voice. (AP)

How good is 'Xscape'? Michael Jackson's 'A Horse With No Name' re-imagining makes the band America sound funky
Michael Jackson's 'Blue Gangsta' on 'Xscape' is toe-curlingly gorgeous with a 'Smooth Criminal' vibe
Put on 'Xscape' and dance

From the first, there was the voice, and with it Michael Jackson crafted beauty. The sequins and moonwalk came later.

Even as a tyke he captivated with tonal purity, and in the intervening four decades and 10 studio solo albums that voice was a unifier, one nestled not just within universal playlists but our very neurons — as anyone who's ever awakened with the bass line to "Billie Jean" or the chorus to "Rock With You" out-of-the-blue rolling through their heads can attest. "You've got to feel that heat" indeed.

Michael Jackson - Love Never Felt So Good (audio)

Nearly five years after his death, that voice remains, and is at its most powerful on the new album "Xscape." Eight songs that use Jackson demos as blueprints to construct modern, vibrant tracks, the artist's second posthumous album of studio recordings feels shockingly vital, as though the producers charged with re-imagining this work had harnessed dance floor defibrillators.

Equally alive are the eight demos of these songs included with the deluxe package, resulting in a strong addition to the King of Pop conversation. At nearly every turn, "Xscape" succeeds in its intended goal of "finding new and compelling ways to capture the essence, the excitement and the magic that is Michael Jackson," as stated in the liner notes.

Considering one of those eight is a riff on soft rock band America's "A Horse With No Name," that's no small feat. (The deluxe package's final track pairs inheritor Justin Timberlake with Jackson for a fake duet of "Love Never Felt So Good." It's superfluous.)

From the first lines of the first song, the Paul Anka-penned, "Love Never Felt So Good," "Xscape" confirms that hearing Michael sing "new" material can still be a mystical experience, and throughout the freshly produced recordings the sound of a still-vital spirit rushes into the present with revived energy.

You can hear his breath in the slow-burning "Chicago," about an innocent tryst gone wrong, can nearly touch the quiver in his falsetto during "Loving You." "Blue Gangsta" is pure funk, with a vocal take that's toe-curlingly gorgeous and a conceit that ups the "Smooth Criminal" vibe. That crack of emotion, heard in headphones, races to the pleasure center, while the track's producers, including Dr. Freeze, Timbaland and Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon, build a sonic Robocop to support it.

In fact, "Xscape" often passes the skeptic's test.

Does it swing? Yes. Does it feel like a contractual obligation album? No. Does it honor Jackson's legacy? Yes. Can you dance to it? God yes. Can you mash to it? Certainly.

The product of "album producer/curator" Antonio "L.A." Reid and executive producers Timbaland and Jackson's estate overseers, the release offers sonic holograms of the best possible kind. This is especially true of the Rodney Jerkins-produced title track, which closes the album with robotic glory, and the nearly perfect opener, "Love Never Felt So Good."

Which, honestly, comes as a relief, because one sure way to destroy great art is through unchecked exploitation.

By the time Elvis Presley was four years gone, for example, his estate had authorized 12 different releases, and by the 10th anniversary Presley's ghost had been monetized for 24 different authorized albums. The King's reputation suffered. The Jimi Hendrix estate has so diluted the market with the late guitarist's outtakes that it's hard to know where to start and stop.

As such, Jackson's fans are rightly concerned about taggers painting mustaches on his Mona Lisas. Too, they're wary of being force-fed music by those charged with maximizing the estate's profits.

To its credit, Jackson's estate has so far been miserly, only issuing one other posthumous release of studio recordings, "Michael," from 2010. Another offering, the "Bad 25" anniversary edition, came out in 2012. The one aesthetic dud, the oft-ridiculous Cirque du Soleil production "Immortal," nonetheless has been a blockbuster as it's toured the world.

One measure of this effort's success? Jackson accomplishes something virtually impossible when, during "A Place with No Name," he makes soft rock vocal group America sound funky. A lost-in-the-desert re-imagining of the early '70s song, his demo is utterly surprising, like Frank Ocean turning an Eagles song into his "American Wedding." As updated by Swedish dance-pop masters Stargate (Ylvis' "The Fox," Rihanna's "Diamonds," "Firework" by Katy Perry), the new track thumps with classic hooks and melodies.

Thematically, "Do You Know Where Your Children Are" is less effective at its message than Prince's "Sign O' the Times," and showcases the more tiresome touchy-feely side of late-period MJ, the sweet protector of innocents who moralized on youth troubles and absentee parents with an admirable, if indulgent, righteousness. The original "Slave to the Rhythm" sounds more like a Roger Troutman and Zapp jam than an MJ track, with a gravel and growl that's fierce and convincing. Updated by executive producer L.A. Reid and others, its sturdiness is impressive.

By the conclusion, the producers have posited a future for hologram Michael, one that shimmers with surreality, capturing the idea of artist as cipher, and temporarily blinding us to the truth that his remains are entombed in Glendale. At the same time, "Xscape" offers a chance to once again be whisked back to his creative prime and recall the man before his flaws felled him, when he was untouchable.

randall.roberts@latimes.com

X-CELLENT START: On its international release day, Michael Jackson’s Xscape (Epic) has thus far hit #1 on iTunes in 49 territories, including France, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Spain, Norway, Sweden, Poland, Greece, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam (wonder how you say “King of Pop” in Vietnamese). The album has achieved 82 Top 5 iTunes positions, including #2s in the U.K., Germany, Italy, Finland, Portugal, Switzerland, South Africa, India and Israel, in what is an extremely fluid situation. As we’re seeing today, nearly five years after his death, MJ’s appeal remains unprecedented. (5/12a)

http://www.hitsdailydouble.com/news/rumormill.cgi

IV mit L.A Reid...
...der Moderator spricht kurz die neuen Vorwürfe an und L.A. Reid sagt u.a.... Michael was all about Love...

http://www.today.com/video/today/55164747#55164747

Review von Joe Vogel

The Return of the King

A producer resurrects—and transforms—a Michael Jackson song for Xscape.
By Joseph Vogel

Rodney Jerkins worked with Michael Jackson on the original "Xscape" from 1999 to 2001.

Photo illustration by Slate, photos by Reuters, Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

When a version of the title track for Michael Jackson’s posthumous album, Xscape (out
Tuesday) surfaced online in early April, producer Rodney “Darkchild”
Jerkins was still working on it. Holed up in Larrabee Studios in North
Hollywood—where Jackson recorded tracks for his 1991 Dangerous album—he was listening for details. The sole producer for Xscape to
have worked with Jackson on a previous album, Jerkins knew from
personal experience the artist’s relentless pursuit of perfectionism.

“That was our process,” says Jerkins. “That’s the way we worked. We
just kept at it until it was ready. We just worked on ideas, added this
and that to the mix.” Jerkins could still hear Jackson’s soft but
insistent voice pushing him, telling him to “dig deep,” and find sounds
no one had heard before. Returning to the song over a decade since they
last worked on it (and nearly five years since the singer’s death), he
was trying to somehow channel “what MJ would be telling me if he was
right there working with me.”

The track is one of eight mostly-finished songs culled from Jackson’s
vault and “contemporized” by an all-star team of producers hand-picked
by Epic Records CEO L.A. Reid (in addition to Jerkins, Reid tapped the
talents of Timbaland, J-Roc Harmon, Stargate and John McClain). The
concept for Xscape obviously will not appeal to purists. But the album has received surprisingly strong reviews from critics, and lead single “Love Never Felt So Good” is charting higher than any Jackson single has since 2002.
This, of course, has as much (if not more) to do with the quality of
Jackson’s unheard vocal performances as it does the new production.

When the title track seemed to leak in April, the response was overwhelmingly positive. Huffington Post called it “vintage MJ.” Spin called it “chrome-bright funk pop.” And BuzzFeed praised it as “the best new Michael Jackson song in forever.” Yet as Slate’s Forrest Wickman
notes, that version of “Xscape” was not the production Jerkins was
working on. It was the version Jackson and Jerkins last recorded
together from 1999 to 2001. The new version, on the album, allows us to
hear Jackson in new, reinvigorating ways. Jerkins’ work is emblematic of
the transformations on Xscape; the song doesn’t replace, so
much as it complements Jackson’s original track, accenting different
features, textures, and possibilities inherent in the song.

Jerkins co-composed the song with fellow R&B hit-makers Fred
Jerkins III and LaShawn Daniels (the trio previously co-wrote such
late-’90s classics as Brandy’s “The Boy Is Mine” and Monica’s “Say My
Name”). “Xscape” was first presented to Jackson in skeletal form (with
partial lyrics) in 1999 over the phone during the early stages of the Invincible project.
When Jackson heard the song, “he went crazy,” Jerkins recalls. “He was
like, ‘That’s what I’m talking about! That’s what I’m talking about!’ It
made him want to dance.” Anyone who worked with Jackson knew that was
the ultimate barometer for a rhythm track.

Jackson was so excited about the song he insisted that recording
begin right away. Since Jerkins was in New Jersey and Jackson was in Los
Angeles, they utilized the latest technology from EDNet—a company that
originated within George Lucas’ post-production facility, Skywalker
Sound, and became popular in the music industry after its equipment was
used on the 1993 Frank Sinatra album, Duets—to allow Jerkins to
hear and record Jackson through a phone line with near-perfect fidelity
while in different studios. Jackson laid down all his background vocals
that day in Record One, as Jerkins recorded them from New Jersey. The
producer flew out to L.A. soon after and recorded Jackson’s lead.
Sonically, the track juxtaposed clipped, percussive, climbing verses
with an airy, harmony-driven chorus. Jackson loved to tell stories in
his music, so he and Jerkins came up with an introduction to the song
(“he called them ‘vignettes,’ I called them ‘interludes,’” says Jerkins)
of a prison break. Early versions of the song begin with the sound of a
jail cell door being unlocked; the prison guards have come to check on
an inmate, but his cell is empty. For Jackson, the introduction, like
the song itself, was a metaphor for his own unusual life, trapped behind
gates, mocked, stalked, cornered, and labeled by a public that demanded
he be anything but human.

The pair continued to tinker with the track even after it wasn’t included on Invincible.
It first leaked online in 2002 and quickly became an underground fan
favorite (in spite of the leak’s relatively poor sound quality). Yet
Jerkins always felt bad the track never got its moment to shine. When
Epic CEO L.A. Reid approached Jerkins about “Xscape” in 2013, the
producer felt ready to address the song again. If Jackson were alive, he
reasoned, he would want it to sound current. He wouldn’t play it safe
or nostalgic; he would want the song to feel fresh and be heard. Jackson
himself frequently returned to unreleased songs years or even decades
after they were first recorded and tried out new production,
arrangements, and lyrics; “Earth Song” was first conceived in Vienna during the Bad Tour in 1988, but wasn’t released until 1995’s HIStory.

Jerkins’ goal for the new version of “Xscape,” then, was to bring the
production up to the present the way he felt Michael would. His new mix
adds a bone-vibrating bass, punchy, disco-flavored horns, and cinematic
strings to heighten the track’s drama and intensity. He wanted the song
to capture elements of the past and present, but not to feel busy or
showy; he wanted it to be leaner. “I wanted it to hit right away,” says
Jerkins. “Just to get the energy of the song.” In place of the original
intro, Jerkins allows Jackson to showcase his singular, syncopated
beatboxing and trademark percussive vocal exclamations. There’s also
Jackson’s voice from a long-ago recording, intoning “Darkchild,”
Jerkins’ nickname. The glitchy, electronic feel of the 2001 version is
supplanted by a balance of tight hip-hop beats and live instrumentation.

The song succeeds in large measure through its subtlety, allowing the listener space to focus on the details, from the contrasting key switches in the verses (listen to the transition at the 1:40 mark, as the ricocheting drums give way, and Jackson launches over a wave of horns) to the isolated harmonies in the bridge. Perhaps the most impressive moment comes in a second bridge at the 2:50 mark, after Jackson sings “This problem world won’t bother me no more,” when the momentum of the song suddenly stops. There is a kind of sublime tranquility as the harmonies repeat like a trance. Jerkins lets us hear Jackson’s finger-snaps, giving the moment an intimate quality. Then the music intensifies: The funky rhythm guitar sneaks in, the deep bass re-emerges and Jackson ad-libs to the finish.

“I’m proud of it,” says Jerkins of the final product. “The rhythms, 808s, and horns against MJ’s vocal. It’s intense. It’s the perfect storm.” Indeed, for all the updates, Jerkins leaves Jackson’s virtuosic vocal front and center: urgent, pleading, gasping, soaring—longing to escape “a system in control, [that’s] all ran by the book.”

Both this updated version and the leaked version Jackson and Jerkins last recorded together will appear on the deluxe edition of Xscape. Jerkins doesn’t know exactly how close he got to what Jackson would have wanted were he alive. But as the album deadline neared, he worked around the clock just as Jackson would have, listening for any last-second guidance. New rap verses were tested, including an incredible mix featuring Tupac, which was played at a listening party at Top of the Rock in New York City. (According to Epic Records executive Lauren Ceradini, this version will not appear on the album.)

After the party, as we descended in the illuminated Rockefeller Center elevator, Jerkins seemed both excited and relieved. When he began working with Jackson onInvincible in the late ’90s, the artist painted a vision of what they would achieve with the album. That vision—and that album—were in many ways derailed by a charged (and very public) dispute between Jackson and then-Sony head Tommy Mottola. Seeing “Xscape”—and Jackson—back in the spotlight after all these years offered a kind of redemption. “It’s amazing,” says Jerkins, shaking his head. “You can’t kill greatness.”

Joseph Vogel is the author of Man in the Music: The Creative Life and Work of Michael Jackson.

http://www.slate.com/articles/…ackson_s_song_xscape.html

Michael Jacksons "Xscape": Das Gegenteil von Leichenfledderei

Acht Songs aus Jacksons Archiv wurden soundtechnisch aufgepeppt - mit feinem Resultat.

So ein posthum zusammengeschustertes Album aus Studio-Überbleibseln, die
es – meistens völlig zu Recht – nicht auf ein reguläres Werk geschafft
haben, ist tendenziell eine grausliche Sache. Fans von Michael Jackson
kennen die Pein nur zu gut, das Vermächtnis ihres Idols durch solch
musikalische Leichenfledderei angepatzt zu sehen. Das betreffende
Machwerk erschien 2010 und hörte auf den schlichten Namen "Michael".
Jetzt erscheint mit "Xscape" das zweite "King of Pop"-Album aus der Gruft.

Und, oh Wunder, es ist gut geworden. Richtig gut sogar. Unter der
Aufsicht von Produzenten-Guru Timbaland hat eine Riege hochbezahlter
Studioknöpferldreher acht Songs aus dem Nachlass Jacksons soundtechnisch
ordentlich aufgemascherlt. Wirkte "Michael" hastig und ohne Gespür
kompiliert, mit Songs, die Jackson zu Lebzeiten sofort in der Rundablage
entsorgt hätte, so fügt sich "Xscape" ohne Bauchweh in das Lebenswerk des größten Popstars aller Zeiten ein.

In guter Form

Die jetzt erstmals veröffentlichten Songs, an denen Jackson zwischen
1983 und 2001 gearbeitet, die er aber nie fertig aufgenommen hat, zeigen
den "King of Pop" in guter, ja teils ausgezeichneter Form. "Xscape"
betört, swingt, groovt geschmeidig und setzt sich in den Gehörgängen
fest. Bereits der zusammen mit Paul Anka geschriebene Auftaktsong "Love
Never Felt So Good" ist ein auf angenehme Weise altmodischer Pop-Funk,
der auf "Off The Wall" (1979) perfekt hineingepasst hätte.

"Blue Gangsta" erreicht zwar nicht die Klasse des thematisch ähnlich gelagerten "Smooth Criminal",
steckt aber Jackson-Epigonen wie Pharrell Williams oder Bruno Mars
locker in die Tasche. Auch "Chicago", "Do You Know Where Your Children
Are" und "Slave To The Rhythm" (während der Sessions zu "Dangerous" aufgenommen) funktionieren bestens als stampfende Disco-Heuler.

Die beste Nummer ist aber zweifellos "A Place With No Name", Jacksons
eigenwillige Re-Interpretation von "A Horse With No Name" der
70er-Jahre-Combo "America". Jackson sampelt das prägnante Gitarren-Riff
des Softrock-Hits von 1972 und bastelt daraus einen extrem funkigen
Track, der zeigt, wie gut sein letztlich missglücktes "Invincible"-Album von 2001 hätte werden können. Aus den Sessions zu jenem Album stammt auch der schwächste Song von "Xscape":
der Titeltrack ist eines jener hastig und unentschlossen vor sich hin
groovenden Stücke, die Jacksons späte Jahre kennzeichneten.

Fans sollten sich unbedingt die Deluxe-Version von "Xscape" zulegen. Auf der zweiten CD gibt’s die Original-Demos – frei von jeglicher Nachbearbeitung.

http://www.nachrichten.at/nachrichten/ku…i;art16,1384646

UK:

Michael Jackson is well on his way to claiming the Official Albums Chart
Number 1 this weekend with his second posthumous release Xscape.

Back in March it was announced Epic Records had teamed up with the late
Michael Jackson’s estate to compile an album of previously unheard
tracks.

Xscape
features ‘contemporised’ versions of the original track recordings and
high-profile producers include Timbaland, Rodney Jerkins, JRoc, Stargate
and John McClain.

Michael Jackson has an impressive chart history scoring 30 Official
Albums Chart Top 40s and nine Number 1s, to date. And, selling over
25,000 copies so far this week, Xscape looks on track to be the late King Of Pop’s 10th UK Number 1 album.

http://www.officialcharts.com/

..weitere heute erschiene Artikel...eigentlich ist die Flut der meist positiven Artikel wirklich unerschöpflich...

-'Xscape' proves worthy of Michael Jackson's legacy (album revieW) (The Plain Dealer)

-Michael Jackson resurrected in 'Xscape' album out today (Kansas City Star)

-Michael Jackson's Xscape a reminder of the man's gift (Toronto Star)

-Michael Jackson’s posthumous “Xscape”? Not bad! But not “Thriller,” either. (The Washington Post)

-REVIEW: Michael Jackson’s Legacy Gets Honored (Mostly) on Xscape (TIME Magazine)

..aus dem forever:

Zac Efron bei Queen Latifah....

Zuerst gibt es Applaus für das neue Album "Xscape". Zac sagt, Michael sei eine große Inspiration für ihn gewesen. Im Auto seiner Mutter habe es eine einzige CD gegeben - die größten Hits von Michael Jackson. Sie spielen ein kurzes Video ein, in dem Zac moonwalkt.Er habe MJ nie getroffen, aber er habe mit Kenny Ortega zusammengearbeitet, der viel über Michael gesprochen habe und wusste, dass MJ Zacs Idol war. Eines Tages waren sie bei einem Essen mit der Besetzung des High School Musical, als Kenny einen Anruf bekam und plötzlich quer über den Tisch zu Zac schaute, ihn heranwinkte und sagte, jemand wolle mit ihm sprechen. Zac ging ran und jemand sagte, "Wer ist da?" "Hier ist Zac." Die Person am anderen Ende sagte, "Hier ist Michael", und Zac begann zu weinen und stammelte nur noch in unvollständigen Sätzen, "Ich kann nicht... Du bist der Grund warum ich..." usw. Michael bedankte sich und sie legten auf. Kenny kommentierte, "Na, das hast du ja wohl vermasselt." Alle lachten, und Zac war das etwas peinlich, aber gleichzeitig war er hin und weg, dass er gerade mit Michael gesprochen hatte. Da klingelte das Telephon wieder. Kenny ging ran, hörte zu und sagte, "Klar, Michael, sicher!" und winkte Zac wieder heran. Zac nahm das Handy und Michael sagte zu ihm, "Warte mal, bist Du ZAC? Hi!! Ich wusste vorhin nicht, mit wem ich sprach!" Zac: "Du weißt, wer ich bin?!" Michael antwortete, "Ja, und ich liebe dich!", worauf Zac völlig ergriffen meinte, er solle das nicht zu ihm sagen, und schon wieder losweinte. Er sagte MJ, dass dieser schon von klein auf seine Inspiration gewesen sei und der Grund für das, was er tue. Daraufhin musste auch Michael weinen, und sagte zu ihm: "Siehst Du, Zac... Träume werden tatsächlich wahr."