On November 25th, Shout Magazine held a party at the Shocking Club in Milan to celebrate the release of Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection, Michael sent a message to his Italian fans…

“Hi everyone, this is Michael Jackson.

I’m sorry I cant be at your celebration tonight. I would love to be there with you in Italy. I hope everyone’s having fun and having a good time. I wanna say hello and send my love to everyone that is there. Your support means everything to me.

I love my European fans, you are the greatest. You are my second family, I love you so much. I’m so blessed to have fans like you all over the world that are so loyal to me and continue to see beyond all the negative press and the lies of people that claim to be friends but they really hurt me. I cannot defend myself against every lie that is told, but I am so grateful that I have such amazing supporters that stand up for the truth no matter what.

I hope that you’ll have a wonderful time tonight, have fun and enjoy the boxset. I’m with you there in spirit, I hope to see you all soon, very soon. I love you so so much and thank you from the bottom of my heart. From Prince, Paris, Blanket and myself: we love you!

Thank you, I love you Italy, bye bye.”

It is hardly surprising since there has been virtually no promotion whatsoever by Sony Music, but sadly the brand new (and probably one of the best Michael Jackson releases to date) has bombed in the official UK Top 100 Album Charts.

Midweek figures put the Box Set at No.50, but according to Gallup the official moderator and sales body for the UK Charts - the Box set came in at no.75.

Source: Gallup

UK record companies are celebrating their best ever year for album sales, with a record 237 million sold in the 12 months to September.

Included in the official top 10 best selling albums of 2004 in the UK is Michael Jackson’s Number Ones.

The official top 10 looks like this:

1) Life for Rent - Dido
2) Friday’s Child - Will Young
3) Elephunk - Black Eyed Peas
4) Call Off The Search - Katie Melua
5) Number Ones - Michael Jackson
6) In Time - Best Of 1988-2003 - REM
7) Feels Like Home - Norah Jones Hopes and Fears - Keane
9) A Present For Everyone - Busted
10) Greatest Hits - Red Hot Chili Peppers

Source: BBC

The Michael Jackson Box Set “The Ultimate Collection” has failed to enter the top 100 on the official American Billboard charts. The “Ultimate Collection” could only manage to hit No.154, and it doesn’t stop there. Midweek figures for the UK release put the Box Set at No.50. And finally, the biggest online store Amazon Sales put the Box Set at no.475.

So far, there has been absolutely no promotion whatsoever by Sony. Apart from a re-hashed montage of a song that is 20 yrs old.

Source: Billboard / Gallup

In an aggressive move targeting his accusers, Michael Jackson has asked a California judge to order that mental competency exams be given to the 14-year-old boy who has accused him of sexual molestation, as well as the child’s mother and younger brother.

The singer’s bombshell court petition was unsealed late today by Judge Rodney Melville, who is presiding over Jackson’s criminal case, now slated for trial January 31. While the bulk of Jackson’s controversial motion was redacted by Melville, excerpts reveal that the performer’s legal team is focusing on discrepancies in the family’s account of the alleged sexual abuse, specifically in the timeline first presented in a December 2003 criminal complaint and then later refined in an April 2004 indictment.

Lawyer Brian Oxman stated that the “markedly different” fact pattern has “created an irreconcilable inconsistency with no explanation.” In addition, Oxman argued that Jackson’s legal team would not be able to effectively cross-examine Dr. Stanley Katz, a prosecution witness who has interviewed the alleged victim and his family more than seven times, without also being “permitted equal access” to independent mental evaluations of the boy and his family. The Jackson motion is scheduled to be argued Monday during a Superior Court hearing.

Source: Smoking Gun

A Canadian man has pleaded guilty to e-mailing death threats to pop star Michael Jackson.
Adrian Poffley, 26, was given a year’s probabtion and a conditional discharge for uttering death threats.

Poffley sent the threat to the Santa Monica courthouse in California on 16 August, where Jackson was facing charges of child molestation.

“Jackson will not make it to his car”, said Poffley, who is banned from using e-mail as a condition of his bail.

“This is a promise. By the way, bulletproof vests are weakest under the arm,” he added.

‘Maybe next time’

Poffley sent an additional threat after Jackson left the court, which said: “The cop in the green suit and blue shirt was in the way. Maybe next time.”

The hearing in Kitchener, Ontario was told that Poffley had not been taking medication for depression and anxiety for a week before watching Jackson’s court appearance on television.

The e-mails caused sufficient concern for Santa Barbara’s Sheriff’s Office to launch an investigation.

They were traced to Bell Canada’s Sympatico internet service, which revealed the subscriber’s details.

Poffley’s lawyer Sean Safa told the judge that his client was back on his medication.

“He’s realised even Michael Jackson is entitled to a presumption of innocence,” added Safa.

Both the prosecution and defence agreed to the conditional discharge.

Poffley will not face a criminal record if he adheres to the terms of his probation.

Source: BBC

Prosecutors in the Michael Jackson child molestation case claim defense lawyers have “grossly abused” the court process and have gone over the top by subpoenaing irrelevant confidential records of the young accuser’s family, including gynecological and other medical and psychiatric records.

They are also questioning the legality of the defense practice of instructing people who have been subpoenaed not to tell the prosecution about it, according to court documents released late Friday.

Prosecutors want Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville to review materials subpoenaed by the defense to determine if they are relevant to the case and to order defense lawyers to stop their “everything but the kitchen sink” approach.

Judge Melville will take up the matter at the next pretrial hearing on Nov. 29. The trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 31 with jury selection.

Mr. Jackson pleaded not guilty to child molestation and conspiracy charges in April.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Ron Zonen pointed out in the prosecution motion that the defense lawyers are demanding records for every member of the boy’s family, including his 4-month-old brother, and that there are no dates specified to limit what they get.

“The demand is for actual copies of X-rays, lab tests, MRI film, ultrasounds, gynecological records, billing records, examinations, medical diagnosis and history of medications,” Mr. Zonen stated. “There is nothing a medical institution can do to a patient or for a patient that is not demanded by the defendant’s subpoena.”

Lead defense lawyer Thomas Mesereau has already attacked the accuser’s mother’s credibility in court and repeatedly asserted that the allegations surfaced only after her failed attempt to get money from Mr. Jackson.

In addition to demanding medical and psychiatric records, the defense lawyers also subpoenaed financial documents, including information on bank accounts, deposits, withdrawals, 401(k) accounts, retirement accounts, trusts, corporations and joint ventures.

Mr. Zonen stated: “I have been asked by Mr. Doe, the victim’s stepfather, to seek the court’s intervention to curb what he rightly believes to be (the defense’s) unlimited and unrestrained access to personal and private records and materials, without judicial review of the documents . . . and without regard to whether such materials are relevant to the defense of the pending charges.”

The defense response to the prosecution motion has not been released.

Source: News Press

We received an email today regarding an Official Michael Jackson Calendar, to be out within 2 weeks - this is the first official Michael Jackson Calendar in 5 years, and it features a never-released shot from Michael’s One More Chance video.

More details to follow!…

Source: Edited from MJNewsOnline

Miss Cast Away, the movie co-starring Michael Jackson is available now on DVD for a limited time, via the official website. The DVD contains exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch, a location where part of the movie was filmed. U.S distributors are giving the production company a limited time to sell the DVD online, so make sure to get yours quick!

The following was reported by MJJSource, Michael Jackson’s official website:

After witnessing Eminem’s rehearsals for his performance at the MTV EUROPE MUSIC AWARDS on Wednesday, November 18th, 2004, MTV ordered Eminem to drop the derogatory Jackson parody, claiming that it would cause too much offence.

It was reported that Eminem had planned to wear a wig and false nose for his live performance of JUST LOSE IT, mocking Michael Jackson.

A source told Britain’s THE SUN newspaper, “Bosses stepped in when it became clear he (Eminem) was going overboard. He wanted to rub Jackson’s nose in his child molestation charges in front of a TV audience of millions. But MTV was not happy. They asked Eminem to scale things back and not humiliate Jackson. Eminem eventually agreed.”

Regardless of MTV’s warnings, Eminem still managed to succeed in bringing out 40 children with him onstage.

Source: MJJ Source