Earlier this week we saw photos from Michael Jackson‘s dress rehearsal performance at the Staples Center on Tuesday June 23, just two days before his death. Today we get to see video from that dress rehearsal performance. CNN has obtained video footage from Michael Jackson‘s full dress rehearsal that was recorded on Tuesday June 23 which features MJ performing with his crew to his single They Don’t Care About Us. Here is a screencap from that dress rehearsal performance:
Michael Jackson appeared healthy in a video clip — obtained by CNN — of his rehearsal two nights before he died. AEG, promoter of Jackson’s planned London shows, released the short video of Jackson rehearsing on a stage in the Staples Center arena on June 23, 2009. Jackson sang “They Don’t Care About Us” — a song from Jackson’s “HIStory” album — as he danced along with eight male dancers. The Staples Center will also be the site of Jackson’s memorial service, which is scheduled for Tuesday at the 20,000-seat Los Angeles arena, according to a person briefed by a family representative. No other details have been revealed about the service.
It’s clear to me from this footage that MJ‘s This Is It Tour was going to be something special. To be completely honest, I didn’t think he still had the pizazz in him to pull off a mega concert performance but if this footage is any indication, I was sorely wrong. It’s such a shame that Jackson did not live long enough to prove his detractors wrong. In the performance clip, which you can see behind the cut, it looks like MJ‘s old guitarist Jennifer Batten (featured in, among other things, MJ‘s Dirty Diana music video) performs with him!
Does this mean that she was going to be a part of his This Is It Tour?! She mentions this clip on her official Twitter account so I’m guessing that it is her in the clip. After the jump, check out MJ performing his song They Don’t Care About Us on stage with his back-up dancers and possibly Ms. Batten …
HMMM, this female guitarist does look really young so mebbe it’s not her after all. UPDATE: It turns out that the female guitarist in this video is not Jennifer Batten but is actually a woman named Orianthi (thanks Lisa). But anyways, I digress … I have no doubt that we will be able to see MJ in action in rehearsals for his tour when a live DVD/CD is eventually released of the entirety of this footage. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if more of this rehearsal footage was unveiled at his upcoming public memorial service at the Staples Center next week. That event looks like it’s shaping up to be quite a spectacle.
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that was amazing if he had lived on the tour would have been something real special.atleast we willl be able to get rehersal footage.you can tell he is focused and prepared.R.I.P MJ thanks for posting
WOW. That was amazing!!! It looks like it was going to be a phenomenal tour for him. I think that it would have totally jump-started him back to the music world. What a loss of great talent.
Glad there is at least video of the dress rehearsal. His smile as the lights go down during the last few seconds of the video seem to capture some type of peace and self-satisfaction. Yes, we truly did lose a great talent.
Yeah, that does look like it would have been a fantastic show, just based on that clip. Dude still had it, all these years later. I think we all took him for granted, and we’re all realizing now what a talent we lost. RIP, MJ. You are definitely missed.
People keep talking about how frail he was –which could very well be true– but you didn’t see that in this clip. It seems like every time he goes on stage, he just comes alive. The energy and excitement shows through. And you see a little glimpse of a smile at the end of the clip. How wonderful to see him doing what he loves best just before he died. I’m very anxious to see the rest of the footage of this concert… looks like he was going to put on one hell of a show.
Legends never die.
This concert would have been really good. This footage makes me sad.
that was really good, i loved it…
:( sucks that we didn’t get to see him live
one last thing i HAVE to add, who is the dancer with the striped hoodie? and white tank? he’s so good looking.. omg!!
eerie…
Only Michael Jackson would be 50 yrs old and still be able to do this. Sad that the world lost such a great talent.
My favorite part of this is MJ;s smile at the end of the clip..makes me happy :)
RIP MJ
I totally agree with everything you all have said. Dana absolutely nailed it that we took him for granted. How unfortunate to realize it too late; isn’t that always the way?
Way too heartbreaking.
Do you think he would have lip synched at the concert if it had taken place?
@BLo — Yes, undoubtedly.
I have question! Did Michael sing live and dance or just lipsynch and dance? I never saw him on any live performances except for that 2001 special he did but he sang live then, I believe. But, when I saw the media showcase his live performances it seemed like he lipsynched? Like in Mowtown and what not? I mean, it doesn’t matter because he was amazing but I’m just wondering… anyone got information?
Those back-up dancers were awesome!! It would’ve been an amazing show – lip syncing or not.
Am I the only person who is not surprised he died?? … People are talking as if Michael was the picture of health until his death … Some form of denial has taken over … No, he’s not being sick or visibly dying in his last clips, but that is not a healthy person.
Victoria Beckham, Courtney Love are not healthy to me either, but we’ve just got too used to seeing celebrities looking frail and/or weird.
:( Oh my gosh that would have been such a fantastic concert… he’s still amazing and still riveting to watch. He still had it even after being away from the stage for so long.
@ BLo and Trent – I was watching I think Anderson Cooper and the 4 men who were with him the night of that rehearsal all said that he was actually singing and not lip syncing during rehearsal, which leads me to believe that he planned to sing on the tour
I gotta say after watching the video it really truely is a shame that we lost Michael Jackson on the eve of what looked to be probably the most spectacular show of his life… besides being a little on the thin side, he looked great, moved great and sounded great in the video… and entertainer until the very end…
@Michelle — No one ever admits to lipsyncing, of course they’re gonna say he sang live. Even Britney claims to sing live.
@Michelle
I find to defend a lot of artists i like when they lip-synch. But i can also admit that they do, do it.
Michael Jackson has an amazing voice. HAS an amazing voice. But he was an even greater dancer and entertainer. From what i believe, he only started to lip-synch his concerts during the HIStory Tour. He probably had lip-synched in previous tours during only certain songs (he did state Billy Jean was a tough performance and impossible to sing live, dance great and sound great hence why he would usually lip-synch most parts).
But during the HIStory Tour he was suffering from a throat infection or some sort of throat virus. So he lip-synched basically every song except around 5 or 6 which were mainly his biggest hits i think.
I have reason he would have done the same with THIS IS IT Tour. Sing majority of his main hits live or partially live. But i do believe his, “Aoh!” and high pitch screams were live. They at least sound it in videos of HIStory Tour and other performances.
Either way, R.I.P. Michael Jackson. Let’s hope we can move on and celebrate your amazing life and the way you inspired manys and will continue to do so. The greatest entertainer of all time, the King of Music. Lets move on from rumours, previous bad encounters and celebrate who you are, Michael Jackson!
I am so gutted, he looked just as he always has done! amazing.
I live in the UK and had tickets to go see him, im devastated!
RIP MJ
Hello Trent,
It’s not Jennifer Battent, it’s Orianthi
http://www.myspace.com/orianthi
honestly….it still hasn’t even settled in with me that he’s gone…What a talent
Trent, I always thought it was Steve Stevens on the Dirty Diana track and video. It says so on his Wikipedia page.
Anyway, this is sad to watch. He definitely still had it, he died much too young.