Michael Jackson to Appear on Pepsi Cans
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Pepsi has struck a deal with the Michael Jackson estate to create a series of soda cans featuring an image of the late pop icon. One billion cans celebrating the 25th anniversary of Jackson’s album Bad will be produced around the world as part of the soft drink company’s Live for Now campaign. Pepsi has also worked with Sony Music and the Jackson estate to create new mixes of songs from Bad to share with fans as part of this project. In addition to normal cans, there will also be limited-edition 16 oz. cans bearing the singer’s image.
Michael Jackson’s relationship with Pepsi dates back to 1984, when the singer and other members of the Jacksons filmed an ad for the soda company. Jackson was injured in the shoot, and was treated for second-degree burns on his scalp after pyrotechnics accidentally lit his hair on fire. Jackson never fully recovered from this incident, and he won a $1.5 million settlement from Pepsi, which he donated to the Brotman Medical Center in Culver City, California. It has since been renamed the Michael Jackson Burn Center.
Hologram Michael Jackson to Go on Tour With Jackson Brothers?
Robyn Beck – Pool, Getty Images
PopCrush readers, you may get your wish. The King of Pop is your overwhelming choice as the artist you’d most like to see ‘resurrected’ as a hologram. Now Jackie Jackson, inspired by the virtual appearance of Tupac Shakur at Coachella last weekend, tells E! Online that a hologram version of their brother Michael could join him and Jermaine, Tito and Marlon on next year’s tour to support the Jacksons’ new album.
“It could have Michael — absolutely,” Jackie says. “Wouldn’t that be wonderful? As a matter of fact, we had that idea two years ago for Michael’s Cirque du Soleil show.”
The Jackson Brothers are kicking off the Unity Tour 2012 in June — that’s probably too soon to integrate a Michael Jackson hologram into the show. However, Jackie points to next year’s tour, which will be in support of a new album with Motown, as a great opportunity for the old Jackson 5 to perform together again, with MJ in hologram form. We’d bet that lots of fans would pay big money to see Michael Jackson on stage again, even in computer-generated form.
As for the Unity Tour, Jackie says the guys are still figuring out exactly which hits to sing. “There are so many songs,” he says. “That’s the hardest part because we want to include all the favorites and not leave anything out. We’re going to sing some of Michael’s stuff, too. We’re going to honor him on the stage. He’d want us to do our thing to the best of our ability.”
Jackie adds, “I just wish Michael was here with us, but I’m sure his spirit will be in the house.”
Cirque du Soleil’s reverence to King of Pop comes to Columbia
Sugarfoot should know.
He began his career more than 30 years ago with a group of kids calling themselves “Jackson 5.” After Jackson’s tragic passing cancelled what was to be his comeback tour, Moffett couldn’t have been happier to receive a call to play those tunes one last time on stage.
“I was excited about it, but I tried to keep calm,” Moffett said of being approached about the Cirque du Soleil tour. “It really made me feel like I was coming full circle. It means everything; it’s the breadth of my career. Everything I’ve done stems from playing with the Jacksons.”
Moffett, who earned the nickname Sugarfoot due to his abilities on the kick drum, has toured with some of the world’s biggest artists for decades, including Madonna, Elton John and Janet Jackson, and many more have stood in front of him on stages throughout the country.
But the memory of watching Jackson is one that will resonate with Sugarfoot for life.
“While I’m playing on stage, I look for him,” Moffett said. “I visualize where he would be on stage, the costumes he would wear, and it gives me the emotion and passion to perform as if he were there. And what I learned from Michael was that we should be able to perform as if we were recording a record every single night.”
As for the show, Sugarfoot promises that if the King of Pop would have enjoyed it, fans will be blown away.
“I tell people to imagine their wildest expectations and forget about that; it’s beyond that,” Moffett said. “The show is driven by Michael’s voice, but it adds to the unique experience. It’s like already written story boards. It’s like new, living, on-the-fly videos.”
Tickets for both nights are still available and range from $52 to $177. They can be purchased by visiting www.coloniallifearena.com.
Chris Walsh is the arts and entertainment reporter for the Aiken Standard. He graduated from Valdosta State University and hails from Atlanta, Ga.
