Randy Jackson: It's Not Michael On New Album

Michael Jackson's brother Randy held forth on Twitter Wednesday night, claiming that the vocals for some songs on the forthcoming Michael LP aren't his brother's.

In a series of tweets, he slams the executors of his brother's estate as well as Sony, which signed a $250 million deal to release multiple posthumous Jackson recordings.

"The family and the executers of the estate, [John] Branca and [John] McClain are not on the same page," he wrote.

"I became suspicious about the album, when I heard armed guards were involved since my brother's passing, may he rest in peace. John McClain insisted that no family members were allowed at his studio where the project was being completed. My first thought was, what are they trying to hide?"

Check Out All of Rolling Stone's coverage in "Michael Jackson Remembered."

"After this Sony deal was inked, McClain went to work putting together the first album," he continued. "Calling all over the place looking for music with my brother's voice on it ... From what I heard, he didn't care about the quality or how complete the vocals were.

"Teddy Riley was brought in just to mix and insisted on switching studios. At which he called me to come down and hear my brother's music, may he rest in peace. I heard the music and I immediately said it wasn't his voice ... Some of the songs are him, and some aren't. I would [bet] my life on that."

Last week, amid accusations from Jackson family members and others that the vocals weren't Michael's on "Breaking News," the first song released from the album, a lawyer for Jackson's estate issued a detailed statement refuting those claims. The lawyer said that an unnamed musicologist, as well as previous Jackson collaborators, could vouch for the authenticity of the vocals.

"I think they all know all now it is not him," Randy Jackson wrote. "Sony has 250 mil reasons to convince the public that it is his voice, if you know what I mean."

On Monday, another song from the album, "Hold My Hand," was released.

[Twitter via TMZ]

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Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

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