Michael Jackson 2001: You Rock My World
In February 2006, Jackson's label released Visionary: The Video Singles, a box set made up of twenty of his biggest hit singles, each of which were issued individually week by week over a five-month period.
Sony officially released the Visionary box set in the US on November 14, 2006. Jackson also visited the London office of the Guinness World Records. There, he received eight awards, among them the First Entertainer to Earn More Than 100 million Dollars in a Year and the First Entertainer to Sell More Than 100 Million Albums Outside the US.
Michael Jackson was awarded the Diamond Award on November 15, 2006, for selling over 100 million albums, at the World Music Awards. This was his second public appearance at an awards show since the trial of 2005. Despite tabloid rumors prior to the event, he did not perform Thriller, instead joining a choir on stage for a verse of We Are the World.
Following the death of James Brown, more than 8000 people – including family, friends and fans – watched as several artists, including Jackson, paid tribute to the 'Godfather of Soul' during his public funeral-turned-concert on December 30, 2006. Reverend Al Sharpton, who was close to Brown, delivered his sermon at the funeral, in which he stated that in the last conversation he had with Brown, he had said that artists like Jackson needed to continue to make positive music for all people.
In the fourth quarter of 2007, Jackson is expected to release a comeback album. There have been reports of collaborations with will.i.am (of The Black Eyed Peas), Teddy Riley, DJ Whoo Kid, Akon, Chris Brown and 50 Cent. Initially, it was thought that the Bahrain-based label Two Seas would release the album, but, in September 2006, it was made apparent that Jackson and Two Seas were no longer affiliated with each other. Consequently, Jackson formed The Michael Jackson Company which will oversee both his finances and the release of his new album. There may also be plans for a world tour to support the album. This would be his first live show since 2002 and first tour since 1997. Jackson hasn't toured the USA since the 1987-1989 Bad World Tour, considered a major reason for his decline in album sales there. Work began on the album in May of 2006. Also, in October 2007, Michael did a photoshoot with Bruce Weber in NYC to commerorate the 25th Anniversary of Thriller. The pics were published in L'Uomo Vogue, the Italian men's version of Vogue magazine .
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