Anthony King

Michael Jackson’s Hold my hand originally written for Whitney Houston

Anthony King Team — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:54:08 +0000

Did you know that Michael Jackson’s song “Hold my hand” was originally written for Whitney Houston and Akon?

The original songwriter, Claude Kelly passed the song onto Akon who played it in passing to the King of Pop who loved the song and recorded it.

After 3 years of being in the vault it was resurrected in 2010 for the “Michael” album.

You can see the songwriter tell the story below in his interview with Zack O’Malley Greenburg for Forbes:

I actually think that the song probably would have worked very well with Whitney!

Michael Jackson And Akon Song Originally Intended For Whitney Houston

“In the interview, he told a fascinating story about how a song he’d written called “Hold My Hand” ended up being one of Michael Jackson’s last recordings. Kelly had penned the tune with Akon, originally creating it with Whitney Houston in mind. In the end, Akon liked the song so much that he decided to record it himself rather than giving it to Houston.

In 2008, Akon found himself in the studio with Michael Jackson–and decided to offer the song to The King of Pop as a duet. The two recorded the song together; a version would appear on Jackson’s posthumous album, Michael.”

Continue reading HERE

Hold My Hand Video

“Hold My Hand” is a duet performed by American recording artist Michael Jackson and Senegalese-American singer-songwriter Akon, from Jackson’s first posthumous album Michael.The song was originally recorded by Akon and Jackson in 2008 and was set to be the first single from Akon’s 2008 album, Freedom. Akon recorded additional vocals for the song in 2010. The song was an international top 20 hit in nations such as Germany, Canada, and the United Kingdom.”

———————————————————————————————————
DVDs: Michael Jackson moves Dance like Michael Jackson and learn the moves at home!
———————————————————————————————————

Anthony King’s Thriller Dance Workout DVD!
Two full MICHAEL JACKSON Style dance class routines with the classic moves plus additional lessons: Learn the MOONWALK, Learn the SIDE SLIDE, Learn the CIRCLE SLIDE. Special features include Anthony King’s demonstration Michael Jackson dance videos in London, special video clips, Reverse angle chapters, behind the scenes, interactive motion menus and much more!

Anthony King’s King Of Dance DVD!
Learn to dance like Michael Jackson with the full BILLIE JEAN style workout routine lesson and moves plus additional lessons: JAMES BROWN SHUFFLE! HOW TO SPIN LIKE MICHAEL JACKSON! PLUS a classic MOONWALK, SIDESLIDE and CIRCLE MOONWALK refresher lesson. Special features include slideshow and helpful notes and diagrams, gallery and much more!

Anthony King’s DON’T STOP DANCE WORKOUT DVD!
Learn the classic “MICHAEL JACKSON MOVES” learn the KICKS, turns and “MJ WALKS” in a classic workout routine! Learn the “YOU ROCK MY WORLD” walk, the classic MICHAEL JACKSON SHUFFLE, “SMOOTH CRIMINAL” Robotics and much more! Anthony King is back to teach you NEW moves and a new routine inspired by Michael Jackson’s “BAD”, “SMOOTH CRIMINAL” and much more!

Michael Jackson Dance Moves – The Moonwalk!

Anthony King Team — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:18:33 +0000

You can read the full Learn the Michael Jackson moonwalk HERE or check out the Learn the Moonwalks DVD HERE (or scroll down)

Additional moonwalking tips and advice!

Ideally for this move you will need a smooth surface, comfortable trainers or any light shoes and comfortable clothes. Although it is ideal that you have a smooth surface to execute the moonwalk, it can be executed on carpet or pavement or any surface that doesn’t have a substantially high amount of friction (like sand or mud, for example!). Pavement or less is fine. In fact I suggest that you practice on a rougher floor first to get used to the mechanics of the steps and get used to pushing and transferring the weight into the floor so that it is easier when you want to perform or show off the move on the dance floor!

The illusion of this move comes from the execution of the weight transfer, accurately, as opposed to the sliding which is why the moonwalk is classed as a “popping” move and not necessarily a “glide” as it may seem.

How to Moonwalk Like Michael Jackson

Starting position:

Start with your back straight and your feet together pointing forward.

Step 2: “The L position”:

Lift your right leg and place the toes of your right foot down on the floor approximately a foot behind your left leg.

Try and keep a solid stance, so that you can put weight onto your back foot and toes, while keeping your “L” shape stance. You’ll achieve this by varying the position of your back foot in relation to your front. If it’s too close then it might be unstable. Keep a solid L shape!

How to Moonwalk Like Michael Jackson

Step 3: Balance:

If you feel off balance you can increase the width between your legs to create a wider centre of gravity.

Step 4: The slide:

Lean back onto your rear leg and slide the left heal back and into the floor, so that it finishes behind the right leg. At the end of the movement snap the heel of your left foot up, off the floor. It’s important that you keep the heels of your feet at opposite positions and then only snap them and reverse the positions very quickly in one swift step.

The aim, is for one foot to be vertical and the other to be horizontal, and then snap, keeping the form in reverse. Only snap your heel down at the END of the movement. Although this is difficult at first, you’ll get used to it.

How to Moonwalk Like Michael Jackson

Purposefully keep your heel upright, until it’s physically impossible to sustain your L shape because of your weight transfer and heel snap while sliding, push the heel of your foot backwards but most importantly DOWN, into the floor. This is important. The pressure of your heel should push into the floor so that it is an effort to slide the foot backwards.

It is this effort that creates the illusion and the force of the snap. Really focus on pushing your heel into the floor and back rather than just dragging your foot backwards. Again, it’s the up and down thinking and movement that will create the illusion of the move.

The toes of both feet should never come off the floor even if your heels do.

Step 5: The Snap:

As you snap your left heel up off the floor, your right heel should simultaneously snap down on to the floor. This is a solid weight transfer, which is a very quick and heavy movement. It might help if you think of your body movement as “up and down” as opposed to “forward and back”, because the weight transfer is from heel to heel and up and down. Remember to keep your back straight and head and body up right while you carry out this step.

How to Moonwalk Like Michael Jackson

From the finishing position of the last move duplicate the slide on the other foot. It takes time to join up the steps so that they flow. While you practice, it might make sense to pause and rest in between each step. It is an unnatural position and movement, so it takes practice and getting used to as well as getting used to strengthening your feet and toes.

Step 6: The head:

To help to create the illusion of the move, add a head movement. As you slide your leg back slowly move your head forward as if it’s being left behind the movement and then pull it back towards the body as you switch to the other foot.

Really stretch your neck forwards, pushing your chin forward. If you focus on your chin and under neck area, while still keeping head up right, you’ll be able to extend your head further forward. Slowly push forward and pull your neck back with speed, in sync with your legs and the snap.

Step 7 “The arms”:

To make the step look even better, swing your arms as if you’re walking forward normally, while keeping them in time with your leg movements. As your left leg slides back your right arm should swing forward.

It might seem near impossible at first, which is completely normal. Practise the sequence a lot! It takes at least four hours of solid practising just to get used to the concept, but after practice and focusing on your form and stance, you’ll be busting the step everywhere and impressing all your friends and more importantly yourself!

By Anthony King ©
Images (c) Anthony King

How To DVDS! Dance Like Michael Jackson! anthony-king.com

Michael Jackson’s $900 million art collection!

Anthony King Team — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 03:23:14 +0000

Did you know that Michael Jackson had an massive art collection that is now worth at least $900 million (US)?

Roger Friedman has reported that lawsuits are now flying that it is now to be reclaimed. The collection is held in a AEROPLANE HANGER in Santa Monica! That’s a lot of art. You can read his piece HERE

Blouinartinfo have wrote a piece “The 10 Craziest Things About the $900 Million Michael Jackson Art Feud”:

“When the news broke recently that Michael Jackson had a $900 million art collection, most people probably had the same reaction: Michael Jackson had a $900 million art collection?!

Furthermore, all but the most fanatical of Jackson fans were probably unaware that the late singer was himself a visual artist. (Though, to be honest, did anyone really know much of what he was up to behind the gates of his mansion/playground/amusement park/zoo?)

Word of the collection, which contains many original works by the singer as well as valuable presidential memorabilia, came to light due to a legal feud surrounding the sale: At the request of his family, lawyers running the Jackson estate are attempting to block the $87.7 million sale of the art collection to an unnamed buyer by Jackson’s former art mentor, who claims legal right to the trove.

Like most things surrounding the late music legend, the details are convoluted and crazy”

You can continue reading HERE

Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston increased memorabilia sales – TIME

Anthony King Team — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:32:22 +0000

In the past few days Whitney Houston’s digital music sales has increased to over 900,000 as opposed to 15,000 the previous week – TIME magazine took a closer look with references to Michael Jackson:

“We all know what the death of a famous singer can do for music and memorabilia sales. Just look at Michael Jackson, or much more recently, Whitney Houston. In the days after Houston passed, fans bought nearly 900,000 digital tracks of her songs. Compare that to the week before, when just 15,000 were sold. But does a high-profile celebrity death cause a similar sales boost to real estate tied to the rich and famous?”

“In some cases, a celebrity association can actually hurt the value of the home. At one point, the late Michael Jackson’s “Neverland” estate was appraised at $50 million. Right before his death, he sold it for $22.5 million to investors who were involved with his comeback tour”

Continue reading HERE

USA TODAY – In depth sales statistics

The USA Today’s article HERE includes in depth analysis:

“I Will Always Love You, Houston’s biggest hit, sold 195,000 downloads in the week ending Sunday, up from 3,000 copies the week before, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The 1992 hit makes its debut on the digital songs chart at No. 3. Fans bought 887,000 digital tracks by Houston, compared with 15,000 the week before. A total of 22 Houston tunes landed on the digital songs top 200″

Continue reading HERE

Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston and crazy talk

Anthony King Team — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 03:17:18 +0000

Whitney Houston was a friend of Michael Jackson and supported him by performing “Wanna be starting Something” at his 30th anniversary celebration concert with Usher and Mia. Whitney Houston passed away this week and condolences to her friends and family.

I will be writing a full and proper article about the relationship, performances and meeting between the two but I noted an article today in the Independent and i’ll quote a little below:

“Quincy Jones, the king of black American showbiz, says he wrote Whitney a letter a few years ago, pleading with her to put the pipe aside, get clean and get her career back on track; her response, reportedly, was that she was rich enough not to care about her career any more. Which one imagines wasn’t the point for Q, a man with a keen appreciation of black culture’s, and black society’s, need for worthy figureheads. To watch the greatest voice of her generation cast that talent aside must have been intensely frustrating.

Because Whitney, more than any other single artist – Michael Jackson included – effectively mapped out the course of modern R&B, setting the bar for standards of soul vocalese, and creating the original template for what we now routinely refer to as the “soul diva”. Jackson was a hugely talented icon, certainly, but he will be as well remembered (probably more so) for his presentational skills, his dazzling dance moves, as for his musical innovations. Whitney, on the other hand, just sang, and the ripples from her voice continue to dominate the pop landscape.

There are few, if any, Jackson imitators on today’s TV talent shows, but every other contestant is a Whitney wannabe, desperately attempting to emulate that wondrous combination of vocal effects – the flowing melisma, the soaring mezzo-soprano confidence, the tremulous fluttering that carried the ends of lines into realms of higher yearning. But while some young, energetic dancers may be able to effect first-rate impressions of Jackson’s routines, how many of the singers come close to the singular skills displayed by Whitney? Barely any. Most seem like cartoons, darting up and down the scale in vain search of the right note, while copying the lip-tremble that conquered the world in “I Will Always Love You”, as if that was where the secret lay.”

Crazy Talk

It’s probably not appropriate to compare artists at all and especially when it is so close to their passing, objectivity can be difficult but this is crazy talk, especially when Michael Jackson wrote most of his biggest hits and had the biggest hits in the world, performed to the most people in the world and certainly had and has the most fans on the world. You can read more of the article HERE

Simon J Bailey – Whitney’s opening act on her last tour

I was in a restaurant with my lawyer, sorting out some nonsense when my best friend phoned me and said that it’s very possible that he would be opening for Whitney on her UK leg of her last world tour. We were both very excited and we said, we’d say a prayer and that he’d call back! Well … it came through and Simon J Bailey did indeed open her tour over here and had a great time performing on Whitney’s stage. Her band also comprised of some of Michael Jackson’s band (percussionist) and they were all humble and inspirational. Simon had nothing but positive things to say about Whitney, after meeting her said that she still has a massive aura and that her vocals were strong. After his performance he stayed to watch the show and her perform her hits and, contrary to reports – she performed well and the audience loved it!

“Simon J Bailey, 30, opened for Whitney on the Manchester dates of her Nothing But Love tour. Last night he told The Sun: “You could see in her eyes that she had been through some tough times.

Simon J Bailey … ‘tough times’

“I think you can always see that a person has been through turmoil.

“All I ever saw her drink was water, I never saw any drink or drugs.” Simon said he spoke only briefly to Whitney — but would never forget her.

He added: “I am just lost for words after hearing what has happened. She was such an amazing talent and a beautiful person too — it’s just devastating. It was such an honour to perform with her.

“You just think people around her could have helped her, although I know they must have tried.”

This week Simon spoke with the UK’s Sun newspaper and you can read the full article HERE

I was and am very proud of Simon for this one – what an achievement to open on the last tour of one of the worlds biggest artists ever! There are some things in your life that you will achieve that nobody will ever take away from you – and THAT is one of them … and what a thing to have!

One of my favourite Whitney songs, that will never be the same and one that I can’t bring myself to play right now is actually “Exhale” … a very beautiful song, a long time ago, my older brother would play this a lot at 3 o’clock in the morning …exactly about now ..

Whitney Houston RIP

More MJ memorabilia: $1.8 million of Michael Jackson memorabilia man being investigated

Anthony King Team — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:36:04 +0000

Yesterday we had a $45 million fraud with the ill gotten gains being used to buy Michael Jackson memorabilia and today we have a French investigation into Teodorin Obiang who is said to have used ilegal money to acquire $1.8 million of Michael Jackson memorabilia – maybe it was the SMOOTH CRIMINAL costume!

“At 42 Avenue Foch, the tree-lined boulevard that is one of Paris’s most expensive streets, looms a five-storey private mansion complete with disco, spa room, hair salon, gold- and jewel-encrusted taps, a lift, pastel-pink dining room and a breathtaking balcony view of the Arc de Triomphe.

Local people always knew when there was about to be a visit from its 41-year-old “playboy” resident, Teodorin Obiang, oldest son of the autocratic president of Equatorial Guinea.

Days before Obiang Jr’s private jet touched down, two massive lorries would pull up outside and disgorge a sea of fresh flowers to dress the interior of the mansion.

When Obiang was in residence, passers-by would see a parade of couturiers from Paris’s top design houses waiting to be admitted for fittings before returning with trucks loaded with made-to-measure clothes. Crates of the most expensive burgundy wines were another regular delivery.

On one occasion 15 000 DVDs were hauled in on wooden pallets.

But the most public statement of opulence was the fleet of luxury, turbocharged sports cars, parked in garages or in the cobbled courtyard.

“The noise factor was extreme,” one local said. “He seemed obsessed with security, so when he wanted to go out between midnight and 2am he’d order the chauffeur to warm up four cars so that no one knew which one he’d take. Can you imagine the noise of Ferraris, Porsches and Maseratis all running at once? Then he’d come down and decide to take a fifth car and that would have to be started.”

But the courtyard has fallen quiet, the mansion empty of occupants. Three months ago French police towed away 11 luxury cars in a raid.

The raid was the first in the landmark French inquiry known as the case of the “ill-gotten gains”. In an unprecedented move, three serving African leaders and their families are under investigation in Paris over whether they embezzled state funds to acquire vast assets in France, including bank accounts, Riviera villas and fleets of luxury cars.”

Continue reading HERE

Michael Jackson memorabilia – $45m fraud!

Anthony King Team — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 04:01:11 +0000

“When these boxes were searched, police found large quantities of jewellery, fountain pens, champagne, crystal and Michael Jackson memorabilia,”

“A Sydney accountant who stole $45 million to spend on items including jewellery and Michael Jackson memorabilia has been jailed for up to 15 years.

Rajina Subramaniam was arrested by Australian Federal Police at Sydney Airport in 2009 as she boarded a flight to Sri Lanka to attend a wedding.

The 42-year-old was then charged with defrauding the multinational financial group ING, where she worked as a senior account manager.

She siphoned the money from her employer into her own personal accounts.

The Castle Hill woman faced sentencing this morning in the New South Wales District Court.

Judge Michael Finnane told the court the amount of money taken was “staggering”.

Subramaniam’s haul included several luxury properties in Sydney suburbs such as Bondi Beach and Kirribilli.

She also bought $16 million worth of jewellery, plus handbags, make-up and clothing from designers including Armani, Chanel and Hugo Boss.

Some of the clothing was never worn.

Many of the purchases were stored in boxes under her desk at ING’s central Sydney offices.

Subramaniam pleaded guilty to multiple fraud charges.

Justice Finnane told the court he accepted her crimes were “not motivated by greed”, but by the “desire to be noticed”.

He sentenced her to 15 years in prison with a non-parole period of seven”

Continue reading HERE

Life Magazine – Michael Jackson and the Jackson family, as well as stars like Elton John at home (photos)

Anthony King Team — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:11:59 +0000

The Daily Mail have published photographs from the US “Life” magazine of celebrities, from the 1970′s at home with their families. We have Michael Jackson, Elton John with his parents and even Frank Zapper.

Missed out Michael!

The Daily Mail writers are obviously on a quick deadline because it looks like they have missed somebody pretty important out in their caption!

Cover photo: This shot of Marlon, Tito, Jermaine, and Jackie Jackson, as well as father Joe, and mother Katherine, appeared on the September 24, 1971 cover of LIFE Magazine

They continue; “LIFE Magazine photographer John Olson followed some of these big name stars home to see their parents to tell the inside story of the private lives of famous musicians and show their person histories”

Kanye West – ‘I’m gonna be the next Michael Jackson.’ MJ phoning up …

Anthony King Team — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:20:57 +0000

We’ve already had Kanye West dressing as Michael Jackson in Thriller with the full jacket, wig and hat and “Billie Jean 2008″ …

“Kanye West once declared to a chairman at Sony Music he would be ”the next Michael Jackson.’

Kanye West once declared he would be “the next Michael Jackson.”

The ‘POWER’ hitmaker is renowned for his outspoken nature and even in his early days as a young rapper he was given to making outlandish statements.

Producer No I.D. – who has worked with Kanye since the start of his career – said: “One day, we took Kanye to meet former Sony Music Chairman Donnie Ienner, and he danced around singing this song and saying, ‘I’m gonna be the next Michael Jackson.’

“To us, it was like, ‘This is hip-hop! What are you talking about? Are you kidding me?’

“When we met with former Columbia Records president Michael Mauldin he said ‘I want to be better than Jermaine Dupri!’ I’m like, ‘Are you crazy? That’s Jermaine’s father! Why would you say that?’

“A lot of silly things happened that day.”

No I.D. – real name Dion Wilson – said the story came back around years later when Kanye had become a star and actually had Michael phoning him up.

He added to Complex.com: “Michael Jackson called him and asked him about his jacket that he wore in the video for ‘Stronger’. I said, ‘Oh my God! This dude got Michael Jackson calling him!’

“It was just the irony of it all. I was like, maybe this is this generation’s ‘that’ guy- in the sense of Michael Jackson with the beaded jacket and the Billie Jean socks.”

“Smooth Criminal” Single Featuring 2CELLOS and GLEE’s Grant Gustin and Naya Rivera Debuts At #10 on the Billboard Digital Songs Chart

Anthony King Team — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 02:15:25 +0000

Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” Glee official press release:

Marks The Third-Highest Sales Week For a GLEE Single This Season

2CELLOS Self-Titled Debut Album Garners Highest Sales Week To Date

No. 1 on The Billboard Classical Crossover Chart

Re-enters Top 200 Chart at No. 92

“NEW YORK, Feb. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — The GLEE version of Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” featuring 2CELLOS debuts at No. 10 on Billboard’s Digital Songs chart and is the show’s third-highest sales week for a single this season. The GLEE appearance bumped the 2CELLOS’ self-titled debut album to No. 1 on Billboard’s Classical Crossover chart and back on to the Top 200 chart at No. 92. With a sales increase of 664 percent, this marks 2CELLOS’ highest sales week to date.

The 2CELLOS (Sony MASTERWORKS) made their debut last week on Fox’s hit TV series GLEE performing their signature version of “Smooth Criminal” with Santana (Naya Rivera) and Sebastian (Grant Gustin) in the show’s special tribute episode to the “King of Pop” Michael Jackson. The performance emulated their self-made music video of “Smooth Criminal” that went viral on YouTube, getting millions of views, and subsequently lead to a record deal with Sony and a slot on tour with Elton John. This is the first time that the show had ever featured an instrumental group as their guest artist. The episode caused a lot of chatter on social media as well – both #cellos and #smoothcriminal were trending topics throughout the episode.

2CELLOS’ self-titled debut album was released this Summer and features Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser’s unique spin on hits by Michael Jackson, Guns N’ Roses, U2, Coldplay and Kings of Leon among others. They are currently on a worldwide tour with Sir Elton John.

About GLEE:

Since its debut, GLEE has become a bona fide cultural phenomenon, received prestigious honors including Golden Globe and Peabody Awards, covered music ranging from Adele to “West Side Story,” to date over 40 million Glee songs have been digitally downloaded, with over 12 million albums sold worldwide and single-handedly made glee clubs cool again. GLEE stars Lea Michele (Rachel), Cory Monteith (Finn), Amber Riley (Mercedes), Chris Colfer (Kurt), Kevin McHale (Artie), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester). Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina), Mark Salling (Puck), Dianna Agron (Quinn), Naya Rivera (Santana), Heather Morris (Brittany), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike) and Darren Criss (Blaine). GLEE is produced by Ryan Murphy Television in association with 20th Century Fox Television. Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan are co-creators of the series. Murphy, Falchuk, Brennan and Dante Di Loreto serve as executive producers. Become a fan of GLEE on Facebook at www.facebook.com/glee. Follow the series on Twitter at www.twitter.com/gleeonfox and join the conversation at #Glee.”

Continue reading HERE