Scream is a Halloween-themed compilation by Michael Jackson released on 29 September 2017 by Epic Records. It collects scarier and dance-floor-edge tracks from his catalogue, including “Thriller”, “Ghosts” and “Blood on the Dance Floor”, plus two new megamixes assembled from outtakes. The compilation reached #6 on the Billboard 200.
Era: Posthumous
Xscape is the second posthumous Michael Jackson studio album, released on 13 May 2014 by Epic Records. Executive produced by Epic chairman L.A. Reid, the album takes eight unreleased Jackson recordings spanning Bad through Invincible and reworks them with new production from Timbaland, Rodney Jerkins, Stargate and others. A standard edition pairs the new versions with the original Jackson demos.
The lead single “Love Never Felt So Good” (recorded 1983, finished posthumously with Justin Timberlake) reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album debuted at #2 in the U.S. and at #1 in the UK and 10 other countries.
Immortal is a companion soundtrack album to the Cirque du Soleil show Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour, released on 21 November 2011 by Epic Records. Music director Kevin Antunes restructured Jackson’s catalogue into mashups and segues for the show, weaving together hits, deep cuts and unheard stems. The album reached #6 on the Billboard 200.
Michael is the first posthumous album by Michael Jackson, released on 10 December 2010 by Epic Records, 18 months after his death. The album was compiled by Sony from a vault of unreleased recordings spanning Jackson’s solo career, with new production additions from Akon, Lenny Kravitz, Teddy Riley and Theron “Neff U” Feemster.
Three of the ten tracks (“Breaking News”, “Keep Your Head Up” and “Monster”) became immediately controversial. Jackson family members publicly disputed that Jackson’s vocals were authentic, claiming the tracks featured a soundalike singer named Jason Malachi. Sony and the estate stood by the recordings; the dispute eventually led to a 2018 lawsuit in which Sony admitted the tracks may not be authentic, though no recall was issued.
Despite the controversy, Michael debuted at #3 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and reached #1 in 14 countries. The album shifted approximately 3 million copies worldwide. The duet “Hold My Hand” with Akon, originally recorded in 2008, became the lead single and reached the top 10 in 11 countries. “Hollywood Tonight” and “Behind the Mask” (a Yellow Magic Orchestra cover originally recorded for Thriller) were also released as singles.
Michael Jackson’s This Is It is the two-disc soundtrack to the posthumous 2009 concert documentary of the same name, released on 26 October 2009 by Epic Records. It includes a previously unreleased song (the title track), Jackson’s spoken-word poem “Planet Earth”, and remastered versions of his hits as performed in rehearsal for the cancelled This Is It tour. The album debuted at #1 in 14 countries and sold over 5 million copies worldwide.