Our NY corrspondent Vernay C. Lewis sent us a report about the ‘Thriller 25th Anniversary Fan Party’ which took place at the Sage Theater in New York City (USA).

My friend Pete Carter had this brilliant idea to book the Sage Theater in New York City so that the fans could come together and celebrate the release of the 25th Anniversary Thriller Cd.

The event was this past Saturday, February 9, 2008. The meet and greet/dance portionwas from 6-8pm and the performances began around 8:15 or so. It was really nice and mellow. The entire lounge was decorated in MJ style decor and many of the performers were mingling about with the guests. It was a great opportunity to catch up with old MJ friends and meet new ones.

The Sage Theater was perfect for this type of party. It was a smaller more intimate venue which made it very personable. All of the performers were amazing and did an awesome job. Although they are all new upcoming artists of their own right, they sang their own renditions of our favorite MJ songs! What a treat….Odysy (yes, that’s how they spell it) opened the show with, “Wanna Be Startin’ Something”….and the fun just kept going from their. Anthony D’Amato performed the most soulful rendition of “PYT” I’ve ever heard. And their were countless others that blew us away. Make no mistake though, the highlight of the show for us Michael fans was Pete Carter’s impersonation of Michael Jackson. His performances were captivating! The costumes were amazing, the dancing was incredible, and the “THRILLER” finale was so scary! We sat in the front row, but by the time “THRILLER” ended, we were in the second row - SCARED! Too funny!

There was a compitition titled,”Michael Jackson Ultimate Fan Contest…It started out as seven of us, who had been chosen ahead of time to participate in the game. Um, no, I didn’t win, but my beautiful friend Beverly did and that’s acceptable! I’ll get her next time though. All we had to do is listen to song clips and write the names down. The songs were supposed to get more rare and more difficult as we went on. I lost on “GIRLFRIEND” a MJ song from the “Off the Wall” album that I know like the back of my hand. I still can’t believe I couldn’t recognize that! The runner-ups both received an advanced copy of the 25th Anniversary Thriller Album. Beverly, as the grand prize winner, also won an Annivesary Thriller cd, as well as the Visionary Box Set, The Ultimate Collection, and a rare MJ book. All the prizes were provided by Sony! : )

This was a great opportunity for us local East Coast fans to come together as we anticipated Michael’s newest release. And speaking of anticipation….we had a horrible snow and ice storm yesterday here in my hometown. But just like the postman, nor rain, sleet, or snow kept me from getting to the store to get my 25th Anniversary and Anniversary Deluxe cd’s….and I’m lovin’ them!!!!!!

Source: MJFC-USA

Our UK correspondent Janice sent us the following report from the launch of ‘Thriller 25th Anniversary Edition’ in London (UK):

The morning of Monday 11th February was a beautiful dry sunny morning, and as if that wasn’t enough… more importantly it was the launch day of the Thriller 25th Anniversary album in the UK.

My friend and I took the tube to Oxford Street and made our way to the HMV store, arriving at 10.15am , where we met up with some fans outside.

It was around 11am before anything really happened, when suddenly some of the fans started running up Oxford Street to the right of the store, clicking their cameras as they went.

It wasn’t long before we saw what all the fuss was about.

Coming down a very crowded Oxford street were around 10 fans all of them adorned in Thriller jackets, fronted by a Michael fan in a silver sparkling Dangerous jacket. They posed for pictures out side the store in front of two large poster boards that had been put out at the front of the store especially.

After a photo shoot, ‘Thriller’ and ‘Beat It’ were played much to the delight of the crowd, which by then had tripled in size.
It was very hard for us to see what was going on at the front, as the place got so crowded and somehow we ended up at the back of it all. But we did see Danny Oliver, Remy and the dancers from ‘Thriller Live’. Then all of a sudden just above the crowds we saw Navi out front dancing……. We hadn’t even realised that Navi was there up until that point, as the crowd was so huge.

Cameras were flashing everywhere and for a twenty five or so magical minutes, a part of bustling Oxford Street finally came to a stand still and was held spellbound by all things MJ.

After the dancing, we all made our way into the store; to pick up our copies of the Thriller 25th anniversary album in various forms… although some fans couldn’t wait that long and had got there earlier to grab theirs before the launch had started.

Navi had several pictures taken with fans inside the store, which was buzzing as they showed concert footage of Michael on a huge screen at the back.

Fans started to disperse gradually after a good half hour or more, and we left the store in pure wonderment of knowing the King of Pop was back stronger than ever before……….. Although, we know that he had never, ever been away.

Source: MJFC-USA

The dancers from Thriller LIVE, 25 Michael Jackson look-a-likes and Navi, a professional Michael Jackson impersonator, all gathered together at HMV’s flagship London store on Oxford Street today to celebrate the long awaited release of Thriller 25.

The stars of Thriller LIVE then moved up to HMV on Bond Street and treated onlookers to an impromptu performance of the world famous Thriller dance.

Source: www.michaeljackson.com

Further dates have been announced for the ‘Thriller Live’ show.

The show, which begins touring again on March 27th, 2008, will now incorporate Glasgow‘s King Theatre from Tuesday, May 27th – Saturday, May 31st.

To book tickets for the Glasgow show please call 0870 060 6648 or alternatively visit the official web site www.thrillerlive.com for a full list of venues and booking details.

Source: Thriller Live, MJWN

HMV will be promoting the release of Thriller 25 at their flagship London store on Oxford Street at 11am on Monday 11th February.

25 Michael Jackson impersonators will be present to help celebrate the 25th anniversary of the biggest album of all time, making this an event not to be missed.

There are even rumours that the infamous Thriller LIVE dancers, who have become such a hit on YouTube, may make an appearance!

Click here to see their brand new video filmed in China Town to celebrate Chinese New Year.

Source: www.michaeljackson.com

CELEBRATE THE 25th ANNIVERSARY OF ‘THRILLER’ BY SEEING THE HIT MUSICAL EXTRAVAGANZA…

THE SHOW

Flying Music & Adrian Grant are proud to present THRILLER LIVE, a musical extravaganza celebrating the wonderful career of the World’s Greatest Entertainer - Michael Jackson.

This amazing show, featuring over 20 performers with a full company of singers, dancers and live band celebrates the King of Pop like never before!

With choreography from MTV award winning choreographer - LaVelle Smith Jnr. and brilliant vocal performances, Jackson’s amazing songs and videos are brought to life on stage in a spectacular and sensational way.

The show featuring over two-hours of hit songs including I Want You Back, I’ll Be There, Can You Feel It, Rock With You, Blame It On The Boogie, Billie Jean, Earth Song, and many more, will be back for an 8-week Spring tour starting on the 27th March 2008.

For a full list of dates and venues please click on the link below.

Thriller Live Tour Dates

ALBUM LAUNCH PHOTO CALL

There will be an official launch for Thriller - 25th Anniversary Edition outside HMV in London on Monday February 11th at 10am, and YOU could be a part of it!

For the event, Sony and the producers of ‘Thriller Live’, have asked for 25 fans to dress as Michael for a press photo call. The 25 fans that take part will each receive a deluxe edition of the Thriller album.

More fans are welcome to attend and participate, but only 25 will get a complimentary album.

So, if you are prepared to dress up for the occasion and would like to take part in this unprecedented launch then please send an email with your name to:

info@thrillerlive.com.

Please put Thriller 25 Promotion in the subject.

Source: Thriller Live

We’re delighted to announce that Odeon cinemas are showing the enhanced version of the full length Thriller short film for FREE at selected screens as a major UK first on the Friday and Saturday before release (8th & 9th February)

The exclusive screenings will be held at Odeon cinemas in the following places. Please contact your local Odeon for more information.

Covent Garden - 8th & 9th Feb
Hatfield - 8th & 9th Feb
Kingston - 8th & 9th Feb
Leicester - 8th & 9th Feb
Manchester - 8th & 9th Feb
Southampton - 8th & 9th Feb
Guildford - 9th Feb only

Source: www.michaeljackson.com

To celebrate the release of of the 25th Anniversary Edition of Michael Jackson’s Groundbreaking album Thriller, Yahoo! Music are offering a once in a lifetime opportunity to win two tickets to the 50th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, 10th February 2008.

The Prize includes return flights, three nights in a top hotel and two tickets to the Grammy Awards. However, you must be at least 18 years old and a resident of the United Kingdom to enter into this prize draw.

For your chance to win, Click Here.

Source: Yahoo! Music

Sony BMG Italy, in cooperation with TEAMWORLD and MJFC-ITALY, invites you to the Thriller 25th Anniversary Edition official launch party which will be held at the Piper Club in Rome (Italy) on Saturday, February 9, 2008.

NAVI, the world’s #1 MJ impersonator, will be the special performer of the evening. After entertaining audiences worldwide and mesmerising Michael Jackson himself by dancing several times in his presence, NAVI is now ready to rock Rome and the Italian fans after two years from his last show in our country!

Don’t miss the chance of celebrating Thriller and the innovative genius of Michael Jackson with the most “thrilling” Italian party of the year!

For further details and updates please visit the MJFC-ITALY web site.

Source: MJFC-ITALY

MTV joins celebrations for Thriller 25th Anniversay with a contest, starting January 22th until January 31th, on TRL.
Contest is intended for all viewers of TRL:

1) Must own the “Thriller” album.
2) Must own Michael Jackson memorabilia like t-shirts, concerts’ tickets, etc…to be taken into consideration. The most prestigious ones will increase the possibility to win the contest.
3) Must be able to faithfully reproduce a Michael Jackson move.

Participation in the competition will be via e-mail. Competitors must write an e-mail stating why they fulfil the conditions set out above, as well as highlight the reasons they should be preferred over other competitors.

The winner and a companion will fly to Los Angeles to attend the Grammy Awards ceremony and walk on the Red Carpet immediately before the Show. Everything will be filmed and broadcast later on TRL.

An I-Pod limited edition containing “Thriller: 25th Anniversary” in digital format will be consolation prizes awarded in dates subsequent to February 1.

From February 4th to the 8th TRL will be given away 10 T-shirts, posters, magnets and Mouse Pads promoting “Thriller: 25th Anniversary”.

But that’s not all: MTV Italy and Gold will host an MTV special programming dedication to the King of Pop: Live In Bucharest in 1992 followed by “Ghosts” (a 38 minute movie made in 1997 with Michael Jackson as main character). MTV Gold (channel 705 of SKy) will honor Michael Jackson as Artist Of The Week from March 10th to the 14th at 14.30 and 22.30 and March 16 at 8:00.

MTV The Most Icon will devote a single episode of the series to Michael Jackson.

Even MTV.IT will do its part with specials and exclusives.

Source: MTV Italy