Billboard Interview with Randy Phillips

Yesterday, Randy Phillips, CEO of AEG Live, told Billboard magazine in an interview some facts about Michael’s concerts in London, which begin on July 8 this year.

"At first we wanted these concerts to be 90 minutes, but Michael has so many songs that he wants to definitely perform, and that’s why the time for these concerts becomes more than two hours."

Without giving details, Phillips said that this series of concerts will use technology that has never before been used anywhere on stage. He added that the production cost of these concerts has been insured, and as a first step in insuring these concerts, it was necessary to have Michael undergo a health test—which he passed with an excellent score.

Phillips described the team’s preparation rehearsals as they use two studios.

"Michael works in one of the studios with the production designers, the choreographer/director, Kenny Ortega, and the assistant director, Travis Payne. And in the other studio, he rehearses the dance moves for each song with his dancers and his incredible music group."

Last week, thousands of dancers from all over the world—including Japan, Australia, South America, and Europe—came to Los Angeles to take part in performance auditions for Michael’s concerts. Even after the initial stages of these auditions reduced the number of these dancers from several thousand down to about 500 of the best international dancers, there was no dance hall in Los Angeles or New York large enough to accommodate that many dancers. In the end, the producers were forced to book the Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE, where the Grammy Awards ceremony is held every year.

Michael is currently working on certain songs.

Phillips says: "Michael’s physical condition is extraordinary. He has a lot of stamina. He prepares for these concerts with his own aerobic exercise, and he is completely active. He is Michael Jackson himself. With laser-like precision, he wants to turn these concerts into the most entertaining event fans have ever seen."

Recently, it had been rumored that there were legal problems for the London concerts. Billboard magazine reported over the past few days that Frank Dileo, Michael’s manager in the 1980s, had signed a contract on Michael’s behalf with a company to stage a family concert in Las Vegas in 2010. The company claimed that, according to the terms of this contract, Michael would not be allowed to perform on stage for another company until 2010.

Phillips dismissed these rumors as unimportant and said that such controversies had had no effect on the team’s rehearsals. "We signed a legal contract with Michael. It’s a fair and appropriate deal. He fulfills his obligations, and we fulfill ours."

Randy Phillips is very pleased that Michael chose Kenny Ortega to direct the concerts.

"Michael and Kenny are busy creating an imaginative show that can only be imagined in the mind—or made real with the huge budget of a big film production company."

Phillips also said that Michael will perform between 18 and 22 songs in these concerts, and maybe a new song will be among them as well.

Tickets for all 50 of Michael’s London concerts sold out within just a few hours, breaking all previous records in the music and concert industry.

"The unprecedented demand turned the sale of these tickets into a phenomenon in the music industry and pushed beyond the boundaries of success we had drawn in our minds."

It is said that before the concerts begin in July, a new single by Michael will be released. But there is still no information about when exactly.

Regarding the contract that the company claims was signed with Frank Dileo, it should be noted that no member of Michael’s family—and including Michael himself—has signed any contract paperwork. It seems this claim, like previous claims, was made only to obtain money and wealth.

Source: eMJey / Billboard / musicgoss.com