Word on the ranch is... Michael Jackson’s former playground could become a teen music institute, similar to the reputed Julliard School, reports TMZ.

Colony Capital just has two hurdles to overcome: getting the OK from Santa Barbara County, and the rights to use Michael Jackson’s name to promote the school.

The school would teach all aspects of music, writing, and performing.

In preparation for the spookiest night of the year, zombies from all over the world will rise from the dead... and get down to Michael Jackson’s "Thriller."  That’s right.  “Thrill the World” - the annual worldwide simultaneous execution of MJ's famous “Thriller” dance takes place on October 23. 

Last year, the Thrill the World event broke the world record for the most people simultaneously dancing to "Thriller" (see video below).  This year, creator Ines Markelle wants one million dancers to participate. Markelle began Thrill the World in Canada, and it has spread all over the world. According to the Thrill the World website, Markelle began dancing to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" at age three.   

Amada Anderson started the Thrill the World New York City team in April, 2009.  She stumbled upon the event through a YouTube video.  “Last year in January, I wanted to do an exercise regime," she said. "I decided I was going to learn Thriller after I saw the movie ‘Thirteen Going on Thirty.'  So I started searching on YouTube for a video of the dance.  I found a video made by this girl in Canada, Ines Markelle, who organizes Thrill the World.  I ordered the DVD that she created and I started learning the dance.”  

After that, Amada’s interest was thoroughly peaked.  “Eventually I registered with Ines, so that I could start my own Thrill the World event in NYC.  I recruited volunteers from Facebook and Craigslist.  I quickly learned the ropes of New York City permits, and began getting sponsorship from Halloween stores.”

Last year, Anderson held Thrill the World NYC in Astoria, Queens.  Because it was their first time, they ran into a few difficulties.  “It was pouring rain!” said Anderson.  “We only had about 100 dancers, and I ended up paying a lot of money out of pocket.” But, worldwide, Thrill the World raised about $50,000 for charity.

After that, Anderson began designing a website and getting sponsorships from dance studios in New York. Everyone pays $20 to register their event, and they have the choice of directing the money they raise towards a charity. 

 By Vivian Ponte-Fritz

According to foxy news.com the legend, the genius, the creepy, Michael Jackson has returned to our living, breathing world. Doctors around the globe are stunned by his revival and have kept him in a lab, inspecting him to try to find the cause for this amazing miracle recovery. 100 % of the doctors on his case believed that death was a fatal ailment, until now. During a small scale memorial service being run by some fans of his in Sweden, Jackson arose from the ground and began to jerk around to his hit song, Thriller that was being played, in solidarity.  The melancholy event was broken up by the police when five of the twelve Swedish fans fainted with excitement. The police thought that Jackson was another obsessed fan performing an odd ritual, but after various tests the “zombie” was genetically identical to the real “king of pop”. Read more...

Michael Jackson's highly anticipated record “This Is It” hit the stores on Monday. "This Is It" features both greatest hits and a new title track. The first disc contains some of Jackson's best-known hits, in the order they appear in the film, including "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Something.” It also includes the album's title track, which Jackson planned to debut during his London concerts. The second disc has several unreleased versions of the classic tracks as well as a spoken-word poem entitled "Planet Earth." Stores are hoping this will be a bestseller throughout the upcoming holiday season.

Sales may not reach the levels that Jackson's back catalog attained following the death of the King of Pop, but it is expected to be in the top 5 best selling albums for the next two months ahead. The album is out, now fans are waiting for the movie, which comes out in theaters and in IMAX Oct 28.

The MTV music awards happened this weekend and Michael Jackson’s tribute wasn’t the only thing that destined to make headlines. Some of the most anticipated performances were Lady Gaga, Jay-Z, and a rumored tribute to the late King of Pop by his sister Janet Jackson.

What no one expected to see was Kanye West's ego on full display.

The show opened up with Madonna sharing her personal admiration of Michael Jackson. As soon as Madonna was done the lights went down and more than a dozen dancers dressed like Jackson performed to a medley Thriller, Smooth Criminal, and Bad. Then Janet Jackson made her big entrance and danced to one of the most memorable of her brother's videos—Scream. Everybody was on their feet throughout the performance.

This opening did not prepare the audience to what was in store next.

It seems as though a lot of current artists have run out of new ideas. Nowadays, you hear silly songs that rhyme about the simplest things and somehow make it big in the charts. A few years back, Lil Mama created a hip hop sensation with her single "Lip Gloss," which goes into the psychological depths of how her lip cosmetic of choice is so cool and how it will make all the boys chase her after school. Soulja Boy had tweens across the country singing about a comic book hero-inspired sexual act with his hit single, “Crank that (Soulja Boy).” And most recently, the New Boyz have got youth all over my neighborhood calling each other jerks with a track that they first recorded in a closet. A lot of people argue that what these songs lack in lyrics, they make up for in the toe-tapping beats and and hip-shaking dance moves that they introduce into youth culture. This phenomenon makes me wonder about what creates musical success: the song or the dance?

It seems that dancing is key and that the internet has something to do with it. Soulja Boy’s instructional dance video for “Crank That” is the most watched viral entertainment online, but is now vying against Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” for that spot. I think that only in the age of the internet, when anyone can be a star on YouTube, could the “King of Pop” have to compete with the jesters of that genre.
 

'This Is It', a documentary featuring Michael Jackson's last concert rehearsal footage, opens October 28th and will play for only two weeks. I'm not going to see this... Yes I am. We all are. Read more...

You’ve heard the news and followed the trial. We hung on to every development. We posted comments on numerous articles, adding drops of water into the oceans of commentary. These perpetrators of crime were not like those we’ve come across in the streets or in news reports that lead the hour; these perps are famous. We’ve known them before they committed their crimes. They slipped into the back of our subconscious as they began serving their sentences. When these folks are released, having paid their debts to society, it’s as though they never left prison. We write them off as renegades. They may have served their time, but they are never released from the stigma of their crimes.

Two weeks after his passing and one week after his nationally televised memorial, Michael Jackson is still leaving his mark on the world. Unfortunately for the city of Los Angeles, the mark left by the late singer was a hefty financial one. So heavy, that city officials have engaged in a little bit of in-fighting.

I’m so tired of all these special events taking place in downtown Los Angeles these days. I mean, don’t get me wrong -- L.A. is a bustling city, and the only way that a bustling city can continue to survive is by having ongoing major events. There’s also an added bonus: if an event is highly newsworthy, travelers from a number of countries will come to town and spend money that is definitely needed during these dreadful state budget shortfalls. Read more...