Cirque du Soleil’s show will be Michael’s next year
The acrobat troupe of Cirque du Soleil announced yesterday that in the fall of 2011 it will take its show tour to North America, performing in front of audiences using songs by the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Cirque du Soleil had previously used songs by The Beatles and Elvis Presley in its shows.
The Michael Jackson Foundation and Cirque du Soleil each have a 50% share in the production and profits of this project. Of course, Cirque du Soleil will pay the Foundation a royalty fee for using Michael’s songs in these performances.
Michael was one of the group’s most devoted fans—the French-Canadian acrobat troupe. Years ago, together with his trusted lawyer and longtime friend, John Branca, he watched a Cirque du Soleil show in Santa Monica, California, and in 2004 he also visited the Cirque du Soleil program management center in Montreal.
Daniel Lemar, who leads Cirque du Soleil’s management, says: “He (Michael) said that he himself is also an acrobat. As an artist, he had a wonderful way of presenting visual elements in his stage shows.”
After the tour ends, this program will be presented as a permanent show in Las Vegas and will be more advanced in terms of technology and stage performance. Lemar says:
“The expectations of Michael’s fans around the world are very high, and we have to rise to the challenge of doing this.”
John Branca says that Michael welcomed the idea of using his songs in Cirque du Soleil shows.
“I’m not sure Michael wanted to go to Las Vegas and perform like Celine Dion in a casino. But this current project is something that, if Michael were here, would excite him.”
Unreleased Michael songs may also be used in this tour. The more famous songs will be remixed and presented to audiences in a fresh way.
Michael’s other lawyer and music producer, John McClain, has discovered more than 60 never-heard-before songs from Michael in the memorabilia collection left behind, which is said to be the backing for the enormous contract—the biggest in music history—between Sony and Michael Jackson worth $250 million. These songs will be used over a period of 7 years in 10 different projects. It is also said that this November a new album, made using these new songs, will be released to the music market.
Catherine Jackson, Michael’s mother, while welcoming the idea of Cirque du Soleil shows based on the King of Pop’s songs, said in a statement:
“Our family is thrilled by the praise Cirque du Soleil is giving to my son in such a valuable way.”
Source: eMJey / AP