This Is It (Michael Jackson song)
Encyclopedia
"This Is It" is a song co-written by American pop star and musician Michael Jackson
and singer-songwriter Paul Anka
. The song was recorded by the former and featured as a track on the album, This Is It (2009), which accompanies the 2009 concert documentary Michael Jackson's This Is It
. This was premiered worldwide on Jackson's official website on October 12, 2009. Sony Music Entertainment
misleadingly referred to the song as a "new single" during its promotion, but it was later confirmed that the song would only be sent for airplay
, and not be available to buy as a single release.
According to Anka, the song was recorded in 1983 and intended to be a duet between him and Jackson on Anka's Walk a Fine Line album under the title "I Never Heard", but these plans fell through. Thereafter, Sa-Fire
recorded the track for her album, I Wasn't Born Yesterday
(1991). While putting together the This Is It album, Jackson's demo
version of the song was found. His brothers' vocals and additional instrumentation were then added to the recording. Immediately after its release, Anka threatened legal action against Jackson's estate. The estate then agreed to give Anka 50 percent of the song's publishing rights.
A pop ballad
, "This Is It"'s lyrics describe falling and being in love. The instrumentation includes piano, guitar, percussion, and strings. Jackson's version, styled as a pop ballad, was his first song to chart on Billboard
Hot Adult Contemporary Chart
in over seventeen years. The song was generally well received by critics and enjoyed good chart performances globally. It became a top twenty hit on charts
in Japan and Spain, and peaked at number 18 on both Billboards US Adult Contemporary and R&B/Hip-Hop song charts. In 2011, it received a Grammy Award
nomination. The song was also accompanied by a music video, directed by Spike Lee
, which consisted of footage of Jackson as a child, clips of him throughout his career, and footage of tributes from Jackson's fans around the world.
. "This Is It" was written by recording artists Paul Anka
and Michael Jackson
, and a demo version of the song was recorded by Anka and Jackson in 1983 at Anka's California recording studio. The song was intended to be added as an album track on Anka's 1983 duets album Walk a Fine Line that he was in the process of recording at the time. Anka claimed in 2009 that following the release of Jackson's 1982 album Thriller
, Jackson "stole the [master] tapes" from Anka's recording studio.
Soon after the alleged theft in the '80s, Anka threatened to take legal action if the recordings were not returned. Jackson's version of "This Is It" was reportedly found in a box of tapes with only Jackson's voice and a piano accompaniment, the song was described as having been a "bare-bone" recording. Jackson subsequently returned the tapes, although Anka insisted that Jackson had made a copy of the recordings of "I Never Heard," and retitled the track with his voice to "This Is It." In 1990, Anka allowed the Puerto Rican
R&B recording artist Sa-Fire
to record "This Is It,", which she did under a new title "I Never Heard" on her second studio album I Wasn't Born Yesterday
in 1991.
but after his death
it was shelved until producers in Los Angeles, California decided to remix the vocals with an orchestral accompaniment. On September 23, Sony Music Entertainment
announced they were planning on releasing a song entitled, "This Is It" as a single. The song was to feature backing vocals by several of Jackson's brothers and would be included in a two-disc album, This Is It. It was also confirmed that the song would be featured during the end credits of the movie production. Sony said, in response to the reports, that it was a coincidence that his upcoming concert series was also titled "This Is It," explaining they had no evidence that he had planned to release the song. However, John McClain and John Branca, two representatives of Jackson's estate said, in a prepared statement, that "This Is It" was "picked because the lyrics were appropriate because of the name Michael [Jackson] gave his tour" and that they were "thrilled to present" the song.
Although Sony did not release the track as a single, it was confirmed that "This Is It" would be released to radio stations for airplay
, but that it would not be downloadable. Sony chose to release the song as an album-only track as part of a strategy to encourage fans to buy the entire album. McClain, also a co-producer of the This Is It album said, "This song only defines, once again, what the world already knows -- that Michael [Jackson] is one of God's greatest gifts." "This Is It" premiered, as scheduled, on Jackson's official website MichaelJackson.com on October 12 at midnight.
Within the day of the song's release, via World Wide Web, listeners, unaware of the song's background, drew comparisons of the song to Sa-Fire's "I Never Heard." Soon after, media outlets The New York Times
and TMZ.com
informed Anka of the similarities between the songs. In response, Anka told the New York Times, that "This Is It" was "exactly the same song" as "I Never Heard" and only the titles were different. He also stated that he was planning on taking legal action against Jackson's estate. Soon afterwards, Jackson's estate acknowledged that Anka was a co-writer on the song and agreed that Anka would receive 50 percent of the publishing rights from it. Anka said the estate "did the right thing," and that he felt that he did not think "that anybody tried to do the wrong thing " and it was "an honest mistake." Anka further stated "They realize it's a mistake, they realize it's my song, they realize it's my production of his vocal in my studio and I am getting 50 percent of the whole project, actually, which is fair."
Rob Stringer, the chairman of the Epic Label Group, stated that at the time of the song's release he did not know when Jackson’s original tape had been recorded or of its similarity to Sa-Fire's version until it was discussed online over the weekend by Jackson's fans. Prior to the estate and Anka reaching an agreement, Sa-Fire’s manager, Sal Abbatiello, stated that he was contemplating filing a lawsuit on behalf of his client, commenting "This is a terrible mistake [...] I’m pretty sure Paul Anka has a big case. I don’t know if Sa-Fire has any legal right as the artist. I’ll have to contact my lawyers. But, hopefully. They’re advertising this movie everywhere." Abbatiello also criticized Sony for not researching the possibility that the song might have had been previously released before releasing it.
with a simple mid-tempo keyboard that lasts three minutes and thirty-six seconds. The song begins with Jackson singing, “This is it, here I stand / I’m the light of the world, I feel grand / Got this love I can feel / And I know yes for sure it is real” and then he tenderly hits his signature high notes about a new lover he feels he’s known "since 1,000 years." Jackson's brothers Jackie
, Tito
, Jermaine
and Randy (credited as The Jacksons) are featured as background vocals throughout the song. Background music includes fingersnaps, a "soaring chorus," big-build strings and "bubbly guitars." The song is played in the key of Bb major. Throughout the song, Jackson's vocal range
spans from F4 to C6. The song's tempo
is moderate, and its metronome speed is 96 beats per minute. According to the music published on Musicnotes.com by Alfred Music Publishing and the Winnipeg Sun
, the song is written in common time
. The lyrics "toggle between grandiosity" ("This is it, here I stand / I'm the light of the world, I feel grand") and "shy, romantic yearning" ("I never heard a single word about you / Falling in love wasn't my plan"). Darrly Sterdan of the Winnipeg Sun felt that Jackson's voice and the background music sounded "like a demo
that's been fleshed out with overdubs and doowoppy backup vocals from his brothers." Anthony McCartney, of the Associated Press
felt that the finger-snap percussion "echoes" that present in Jackson's 1982 song "The Girl Is Mine
" with Paul McCartney
.
. Gary Trust of Billboard
reported that "response among radio programmers to the song has been almost universally positive." Among these were Jay Lustig of The Star-Ledger
, who felt it was a "sweet, mid-tempo love song" that, with "orchestral strings" and "creamy backing vocals" by Jackson's brothers, gave it a "crisp beat." In contrast, Darryl Sterdan of The Winnipeg Sun gave it a 3 out of 5 rating, saying, "This may be something, but it's not 'It'... On the whole, it's a sweet little number -- but it doesn't live up to its authoritative title." Todd Martens, of the Los Angeles Times
s Pop & Hiss music blog, called "This Is It" a "trifle" and while the track "certainly won't embarrass Jackson's legacy or break the hearts of fans eager to hear Jackson's voice again" it does "bring the fallen pop icon
a little back down to earth." Jessica Robertson, an AOL music editor, said, "It's a safe, mid-tempo pop ballad that features what his fans love: his trademark breathy vocals and confident delivery. I don't think it will set the world on fire, because it's missing what fans and critics love most about his songs, which is a strong and powerful groove to carry it."
Many reviewers noted similarities in the song to earlier Jackson songs. Caryn Ganz of Rolling Stone felt musically, "This Is It" sounded similar to Jackson's 1987 song "I Just Can't Stop Loving You
," and Leah Greenbatt, of Entertainment Weekly
thought "some listeners may pick up shades" of Jackson's 1993 single "Will You Be There
." Cori Murray, an entertainment director at Essence magazine
, described the track as "not bad," and felt that it sounded "like something" Jackson "could have put on an album." Dan Aquilante, of the New York Post
, who described the song as "an optimistic, R&B ballad with an upbeat, percolating rhythm that has all the bombast and power of the New Jack Swing period of the early '90s." James Montgomery, of MTV News
, felt that the song was the "perfect MJ tune" and that Jackson "was a hell of a singer." He also stated that he felt that Jackson had a "wonderous voice," and the song "a prime showcase for Jackson's prodigious pipes." Montgomery went on to say that when he ignored the negative elements surrounding the song and focused, that he felt it was "wonderful":
Despite being a radio-only single and a non-downloadable album track, the song appeared on many charts due to radio play alone. Gary Trust of Billboard acknowledged that without "This Is It" having a digital (distribution) component its chances on making an impact on the Billboard Hot 100
would not be likely. During the week ending October 21, 2009, "This Is It" debuted at number 19 on Billboard's Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
. "This Is It" returned Jackson and his brothers to the chart for the first time since 1970, when, billed as The Jackson 5
, the group marked its sole previous entry, "I'll Be There," which went on to peak on the chart at number 24. Its charting ended a 13-year, seven-month absence Jackson had from the chart; his prior entry was "You Are Not Alone
," which wrapped a 26-week run on the list dated March 16, 1996. This single is also Jackson's 26th charted Adult Contemporary title, making him the seventh male artist to score a top 20 Adult Contemporary single in each decade since the 1970s. Eventually, the track peaked at number 18 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Also in "This Is It"'s first week of release, the song debuted on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart
at number 43. "This Is It" went on to peak at number eighteen on the R&B/Hip-Hop Song-genre chart.
"This Is It"'s most successful charting country was Japan, where the single placed within the top ten, peaking at number five on Japan's Hot 100 chart
. Also, it peaked at number 30 on the Slovakian airplay chart, at number 22 on the Dutch singles chart, and at number 27 on the Czech airplay chart. The song peaked on the Canadian Hot 100
chart at number 56 but was quite successful in Spain: The track peaked at number 18 on the Spanish singles chart. According to Billboard, within the first 24 hours of release the song had over 800 radio plays in Europe. Another commercially successful territory for "This Is It" was China. It debuted at number one in Hit FM
, China Radio International
's western music radio's airplay charts, "Top 20 Countdown" on October 24, 2009. It held the top position for four consecutive weeks until Beyonce Knowles
's "Broken-Hearted Girl
" superseded it on November 21. However, the track bounced back to the top position of the chart on November 28.
, who had previously worked with Jackson directing the video for the musician's song entitled "They Don't Care About Us
" for his HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995) album. The video for "This Is It" premiered on the webpage of Lee's production company 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks
. The video, almost five-minutes long, features various scenes of Jackson's hometown and former residence in Gary, Indiana
, along with photos and videos of him and tributes from his fans around the world.
The video opens with a clip of a poster in Gary pointing fans toward Jackson's childhood home, at the corner of 2300 Jackson Street and Jackson Family Boulevard and the sound of a vintage recording of one of Jackson's siblings yelling "Michael" repeatedly. An image, that is shown several times during the video, shows a one-way traffic sign near Jackson's old house that is covered in graffiti honoring Jackson, including "we luv yuh Michael." Images, shown as a slide-show, of Jackson performing as a child are mixed in with shots of play sets, baseball bats and Gary's gritty industrial skyline. A central image captured by Lee is a 'plea' for tolerance etched onto a stop sign in Gary, where someone had written the message "This Is It" above the word "Stop" under which they've added "hatin'." Interspersed is archival footage of Jackson throughout his career and of him greeting his fans in various parts of the world. There are also shots of the musician's fans paying tribute in their own Jackson memorabilia to him following his death. At one point in the video, one of the lyrics from the song, "I never heard a single word about you," floats up out of the concrete, fading into two more shots of fan tributes from around the world and multiple flowers and messages laid at the gates of Jackson's Neverland Ranch
. The video, several times, shows a single red balloon floating in the air and empty swings swaying in the breeze. Towards the end of the video, there is footage of Jackson doing one of his signature dance moves, the moonwalk
. It ends with footage of a black stool with Jackson's trademark black fedora and silver glove on top of it under a spotlight in front of his family's Gary residence at night.
George Merchan of JoBlo.com
felt that the video was "clearly" a "loving patchwork of documentary footage, graphics, and original location shoots." Simon Vozick-Levinson of Entertainment Weekly described the video as being a "heart felt tribute" and said that, due to the circumstances of Lee having no footage of Jackson performing the song to work with, felt the director did a "very nice job" with it. A negative review came from Jim Farber, the music critic for the New York Daily News. He felt the video was a "mini retrospective" of Jackson's life and criticized the "Stop Hatin'" stop sign, feeling that it was promoting press censorship and discussion about the darker aspects of Jackson's life.
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
and singer-songwriter Paul Anka
Paul Anka
Paul Albert Anka, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actor.Anka first became famous as a teen idol in the late 1950s and 1960s with hit songs like "Diana'", "Lonely Boy", and "Put Your Head on My Shoulder"...
. The song was recorded by the former and featured as a track on the album, This Is It (2009), which accompanies the 2009 concert documentary Michael Jackson's This Is It
Michael Jackson's This Is It
Michael Jackson's This Is It is a 2009 American documentary–concert film directed by Kenny Ortega that documents Michael Jackson's rehearsals and preparation for the concert series of the same name scheduled to start on July 13, 2009, but canceled due to his death eighteen days prior on June 25. It...
. This was premiered worldwide on Jackson's official website on October 12, 2009. Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....
misleadingly referred to the song as a "new single" during its promotion, but it was later confirmed that the song would only be sent for airplay
Airplay
* Airplay is the amount of time a song is played on the radio.It may also refer to:* AirPlay, an audio & video streaming technology from Apple Inc.* Airplay , Foster & Graydon music project from 1980* Citroën C1, Citroën C1 Airplay...
, and not be available to buy as a single release.
According to Anka, the song was recorded in 1983 and intended to be a duet between him and Jackson on Anka's Walk a Fine Line album under the title "I Never Heard", but these plans fell through. Thereafter, Sa-Fire
Sa-Fire
Wilma Cosmé better known by her stage name SaFire, is an American singer. While she was one of the few freestyle artist to have major pop-chart success, she is considered an important part of Latin freestyle...
recorded the track for her album, I Wasn't Born Yesterday
I Wasn't Born Yesterday
I Wasn't Born Yesterday is the 2nd album by singer Sa-Fire. It was released in 1991. The song "I Never Heard" is the same Michael Jackson song which Sony released on October 12, 2009 as the single "This Is It". The song was written in 1983 by Jackson/Paul Anka.-Track listing:-Charts:Singles -...
(1991). While putting together the This Is It album, Jackson's demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
version of the song was found. His brothers' vocals and additional instrumentation were then added to the recording. Immediately after its release, Anka threatened legal action against Jackson's estate. The estate then agreed to give Anka 50 percent of the song's publishing rights.
A pop ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
, "This Is It"'s lyrics describe falling and being in love. The instrumentation includes piano, guitar, percussion, and strings. Jackson's version, styled as a pop ballad, was his first song to chart on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot Adult Contemporary Chart
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
in over seventeen years. The song was generally well received by critics and enjoyed good chart performances globally. It became a top twenty hit on charts
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
in Japan and Spain, and peaked at number 18 on both Billboards US Adult Contemporary and R&B/Hip-Hop song charts. In 2011, it received a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
nomination. The song was also accompanied by a music video, directed by Spike Lee
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
, which consisted of footage of Jackson as a child, clips of him throughout his career, and footage of tributes from Jackson's fans around the world.
Background
Although it shared its name, the song was not intentionally made for the 2009 concert documentary Michael Jackson's This Is ItMichael Jackson's This Is It
Michael Jackson's This Is It is a 2009 American documentary–concert film directed by Kenny Ortega that documents Michael Jackson's rehearsals and preparation for the concert series of the same name scheduled to start on July 13, 2009, but canceled due to his death eighteen days prior on June 25. It...
. "This Is It" was written by recording artists Paul Anka
Paul Anka
Paul Albert Anka, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actor.Anka first became famous as a teen idol in the late 1950s and 1960s with hit songs like "Diana'", "Lonely Boy", and "Put Your Head on My Shoulder"...
and Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, and a demo version of the song was recorded by Anka and Jackson in 1983 at Anka's California recording studio. The song was intended to be added as an album track on Anka's 1983 duets album Walk a Fine Line that he was in the process of recording at the time. Anka claimed in 2009 that following the release of Jackson's 1982 album Thriller
Thriller (album)
Thriller is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released on November 30, 1982, by Epic Records as the follow-up to Jackson's critically and commercially successful 1979 album Off the Wall...
, Jackson "stole the [master] tapes" from Anka's recording studio.
Soon after the alleged theft in the '80s, Anka threatened to take legal action if the recordings were not returned. Jackson's version of "This Is It" was reportedly found in a box of tapes with only Jackson's voice and a piano accompaniment, the song was described as having been a "bare-bone" recording. Jackson subsequently returned the tapes, although Anka insisted that Jackson had made a copy of the recordings of "I Never Heard," and retitled the track with his voice to "This Is It." In 1990, Anka allowed the Puerto Rican
Puerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
R&B recording artist Sa-Fire
Sa-Fire
Wilma Cosmé better known by her stage name SaFire, is an American singer. While she was one of the few freestyle artist to have major pop-chart success, she is considered an important part of Latin freestyle...
to record "This Is It,", which she did under a new title "I Never Heard" on her second studio album I Wasn't Born Yesterday
I Wasn't Born Yesterday
I Wasn't Born Yesterday is the 2nd album by singer Sa-Fire. It was released in 1991. The song "I Never Heard" is the same Michael Jackson song which Sony released on October 12, 2009 as the single "This Is It". The song was written in 1983 by Jackson/Paul Anka.-Track listing:-Charts:Singles -...
in 1991.
Release
On September 13, 2009, it was reported that a "secret Michael Jackson single" was being produced to promote the film Michael Jackson's This Is It, so that the song's release would coincide with the release of the film. It was reported that Jackson had planned to release the song for his planned tourThis Is It (Michael Jackson concerts)
This Is It was a planned series of fifty concerts by Michael Jackson to be held at The O2 Arena in London. They were scheduled to begin in July 2009 and continue through to March 2010. However, with all concerts sold out, Jackson died less than three weeks before the first concert date...
but after his death
Death of Michael Jackson
On June 25, 2009, American singer Michael Jackson died of acute propofol intoxication after he suffered a respiratory arrest at his home in the Holmby Hills neighborhood in Los Angeles. His personal physician, Conrad Murray, said he found Jackson in his room, not breathing, but with a faint pulse,...
it was shelved until producers in Los Angeles, California decided to remix the vocals with an orchestral accompaniment. On September 23, Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....
announced they were planning on releasing a song entitled, "This Is It" as a single. The song was to feature backing vocals by several of Jackson's brothers and would be included in a two-disc album, This Is It. It was also confirmed that the song would be featured during the end credits of the movie production. Sony said, in response to the reports, that it was a coincidence that his upcoming concert series was also titled "This Is It," explaining they had no evidence that he had planned to release the song. However, John McClain and John Branca, two representatives of Jackson's estate said, in a prepared statement, that "This Is It" was "picked because the lyrics were appropriate because of the name Michael [Jackson] gave his tour" and that they were "thrilled to present" the song.
Although Sony did not release the track as a single, it was confirmed that "This Is It" would be released to radio stations for airplay
Airplay
* Airplay is the amount of time a song is played on the radio.It may also refer to:* AirPlay, an audio & video streaming technology from Apple Inc.* Airplay , Foster & Graydon music project from 1980* Citroën C1, Citroën C1 Airplay...
, but that it would not be downloadable. Sony chose to release the song as an album-only track as part of a strategy to encourage fans to buy the entire album. McClain, also a co-producer of the This Is It album said, "This song only defines, once again, what the world already knows -- that Michael [Jackson] is one of God's greatest gifts." "This Is It" premiered, as scheduled, on Jackson's official website MichaelJackson.com on October 12 at midnight.
Within the day of the song's release, via World Wide Web, listeners, unaware of the song's background, drew comparisons of the song to Sa-Fire's "I Never Heard." Soon after, media outlets The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
and TMZ.com
TMZ.com
TMZ.com is a celebrity news website that debuted on November 8, 2005. It was a collaboration between America Online and Telepictures Productions, a division of Warner Bros., until Time Warner divested AOL in 2009. However, it is still affiliated with AOL News and has the AOL News logo affixed in...
informed Anka of the similarities between the songs. In response, Anka told the New York Times, that "This Is It" was "exactly the same song" as "I Never Heard" and only the titles were different. He also stated that he was planning on taking legal action against Jackson's estate. Soon afterwards, Jackson's estate acknowledged that Anka was a co-writer on the song and agreed that Anka would receive 50 percent of the publishing rights from it. Anka said the estate "did the right thing," and that he felt that he did not think "that anybody tried to do the wrong thing " and it was "an honest mistake." Anka further stated "They realize it's a mistake, they realize it's my song, they realize it's my production of his vocal in my studio and I am getting 50 percent of the whole project, actually, which is fair."
Rob Stringer, the chairman of the Epic Label Group, stated that at the time of the song's release he did not know when Jackson’s original tape had been recorded or of its similarity to Sa-Fire's version until it was discussed online over the weekend by Jackson's fans. Prior to the estate and Anka reaching an agreement, Sa-Fire’s manager, Sal Abbatiello, stated that he was contemplating filing a lawsuit on behalf of his client, commenting "This is a terrible mistake [...] I’m pretty sure Paul Anka has a big case. I don’t know if Sa-Fire has any legal right as the artist. I’ll have to contact my lawyers. But, hopefully. They’re advertising this movie everywhere." Abbatiello also criticized Sony for not researching the possibility that the song might have had been previously released before releasing it.
Composition
"This Is It" is a pop balladBallad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
with a simple mid-tempo keyboard that lasts three minutes and thirty-six seconds. The song begins with Jackson singing, “This is it, here I stand / I’m the light of the world, I feel grand / Got this love I can feel / And I know yes for sure it is real” and then he tenderly hits his signature high notes about a new lover he feels he’s known "since 1,000 years." Jackson's brothers Jackie
Jackie Jackson
Sigmund Esco "Jackie" Jackson is an American singer and musician, a member of The Jackson 5, and the second child in the Jackson family.-Life and career:...
, Tito
Tito Jackson
Toriano Adaryll "Tito" Jackson is an American singer and lead guitarist and original member of The Jackson 5. He is the older brother of American pop stars Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson.-Early life and rise to stardom:...
, Jermaine
Jermaine Jackson
Jermaine La Jaune Jackson is an American singer, bassist, composer, a member of The Jackson 5, older brother of American pop stars Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson and occasional film director...
and Randy (credited as The Jacksons) are featured as background vocals throughout the song. Background music includes fingersnaps, a "soaring chorus," big-build strings and "bubbly guitars." The song is played in the key of Bb major. Throughout the song, Jackson's vocal range
Vocal range
Vocal range is the measure of the breadth of pitches that a human voice can phonate. Although the study of vocal range has little practical application in terms of speech, it is a topic of study within linguistics, phonetics, and speech and language pathology, particularly in relation to the study...
spans from F4 to C6. The song's tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
is moderate, and its metronome speed is 96 beats per minute. According to the music published on Musicnotes.com by Alfred Music Publishing and the Winnipeg Sun
Winnipeg Sun
The Winnipeg Sun is a daily tabloid-sized newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.It is owned by Sun Media, a subsidiary of Quebecor Media, and shares many characteristics typical of Sun Media tabloids, including an emphasis on local news stories, extensive sports coverage, a Canadian conservatism...
, the song is written in common time
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
. The lyrics "toggle between grandiosity" ("This is it, here I stand / I'm the light of the world, I feel grand") and "shy, romantic yearning" ("I never heard a single word about you / Falling in love wasn't my plan"). Darrly Sterdan of the Winnipeg Sun felt that Jackson's voice and the background music sounded "like a demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
that's been fleshed out with overdubs and doowoppy backup vocals from his brothers." Anthony McCartney, of the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
felt that the finger-snap percussion "echoes" that present in Jackson's 1982 song "The Girl Is Mine
The Girl Is Mine
"The Girl Is Mine" is a song by Michael Jackson featuring Paul McCartney. It is the first single from Jackson's sixth solo album, Thriller. It is one of the three songs that Jackson and McCartney recorded together. McCartney is the only featured guest on the album. The track was written and...
" with Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
.
Critical reception
The track gained average-to-positive reviews and a nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 2011 53rd Grammy Awards53rd Grammy Awards
The 53rd annual Grammy Awards were held on February 13, 2011, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. They were broadcast on CBS with a rating of 26.6 million viewers. Barbra Streisand was honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year two nights prior to the telecast on February 11. Nominations were...
. Gary Trust of Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
reported that "response among radio programmers to the song has been almost universally positive." Among these were Jay Lustig of The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to The Jersey Journal of Jersey City, The Times of Trenton and the Staten Island Advance, all of which are owned by Advance Publications.The Newark Star-Ledgers daily...
, who felt it was a "sweet, mid-tempo love song" that, with "orchestral strings" and "creamy backing vocals" by Jackson's brothers, gave it a "crisp beat." In contrast, Darryl Sterdan of The Winnipeg Sun gave it a 3 out of 5 rating, saying, "This may be something, but it's not 'It'... On the whole, it's a sweet little number -- but it doesn't live up to its authoritative title." Todd Martens, of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
s Pop & Hiss music blog, called "This Is It" a "trifle" and while the track "certainly won't embarrass Jackson's legacy or break the hearts of fans eager to hear Jackson's voice again" it does "bring the fallen pop icon
Pop icon
A pop icon is a celebrity, character, or object whose exposure in pop culture constitutes a defining characteristic of a given society or era. The categorization is usually associated with elements such as longevity, ubiquity, and distinction. Moreover, "pop icon" status is distinguishable from...
a little back down to earth." Jessica Robertson, an AOL music editor, said, "It's a safe, mid-tempo pop ballad that features what his fans love: his trademark breathy vocals and confident delivery. I don't think it will set the world on fire, because it's missing what fans and critics love most about his songs, which is a strong and powerful groove to carry it."
Many reviewers noted similarities in the song to earlier Jackson songs. Caryn Ganz of Rolling Stone felt musically, "This Is It" sounded similar to Jackson's 1987 song "I Just Can't Stop Loving You
I Just Can't Stop Loving You
"I Just Can't Stop Loving You" is a popular ballad by singer Michael Jackson featuring a duet with Siedah Garrett. He created "Todo Mi Amor Eres Tu", a spanish version of the song. Written and composed by Jackson, it was originally intended to be a duet between Jackson and his woman of choice:...
," and Leah Greenbatt, of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
thought "some listeners may pick up shades" of Jackson's 1993 single "Will You Be There
Will You Be There
"Will You Be There" is a song by Michael Jackson which was released in 1993. The song is the eighth single from the 1991 album Dangerous. The song also appeared on the soundtrack to the film Free Willy, of which it is the main theme....
." Cori Murray, an entertainment director at Essence magazine
Essence (magazine)
Essence is a monthly magazine for African-American women between the ages of 18 and 49. The magazine covers fashion, lifestyle and beauty with an intimate girlfriend-to-girlfriend tone.-History:...
, described the track as "not bad," and felt that it sounded "like something" Jackson "could have put on an album." Dan Aquilante, of the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
, who described the song as "an optimistic, R&B ballad with an upbeat, percolating rhythm that has all the bombast and power of the New Jack Swing period of the early '90s." James Montgomery, of MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
, felt that the song was the "perfect MJ tune" and that Jackson "was a hell of a singer." He also stated that he felt that Jackson had a "wonderous voice," and the song "a prime showcase for Jackson's prodigious pipes." Montgomery went on to say that when he ignored the negative elements surrounding the song and focused, that he felt it was "wonderful":
Chart performance
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
would not be likely. During the week ending October 21, 2009, "This Is It" debuted at number 19 on Billboard's Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
. "This Is It" returned Jackson and his brothers to the chart for the first time since 1970, when, billed as The Jackson 5
The Jackson 5
The Jackson 5 , later known as The Jacksons, were an American popular music family group from Gary, Indiana...
, the group marked its sole previous entry, "I'll Be There," which went on to peak on the chart at number 24. Its charting ended a 13-year, seven-month absence Jackson had from the chart; his prior entry was "You Are Not Alone
You Are Not Alone
"You Are Not Alone", released on the 10th of August 1995, is the second single from Michael Jackson's album HIStory. The R&B ballad's composition has been attributed R. Kelly in response to difficult times in his personal life. He then forwarded a bare demo tape to Jackson, who liked the song and...
," which wrapped a 26-week run on the list dated March 16, 1996. This single is also Jackson's 26th charted Adult Contemporary title, making him the seventh male artist to score a top 20 Adult Contemporary single in each decade since the 1970s. Eventually, the track peaked at number 18 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Also in "This Is It"'s first week of release, the song debuted on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
at number 43. "This Is It" went on to peak at number eighteen on the R&B/Hip-Hop Song-genre chart.
"This Is It"'s most successful charting country was Japan, where the single placed within the top ten, peaking at number five on Japan's Hot 100 chart
Japan Hot 100
The Japan Hot 100 is a music singles chart in Japan. It is compiled by Billboard and Hanshin Contents Link ever since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at billboard-japan.com and every Thursday at billboard.com ....
. Also, it peaked at number 30 on the Slovakian airplay chart, at number 22 on the Dutch singles chart, and at number 27 on the Czech airplay chart. The song peaked on the Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...
chart at number 56 but was quite successful in Spain: The track peaked at number 18 on the Spanish singles chart. According to Billboard, within the first 24 hours of release the song had over 800 radio plays in Europe. Another commercially successful territory for "This Is It" was China. It debuted at number one in Hit FM
Hit FM (Beijing)
Hit FM is a radio station in Beijing at 88.7 FM which is owned and operated by China Radio International. The station has a varied programed music that ranges from English Top 40 music Chinese Top 40 music...
, China Radio International
China Radio International
China Radio International , the former Radio Beijing and originally Radio Peking, founded on December 3 of 1941, is one of the three state-owned media in China along with China National Radio and China Central Television in the People's Republic of China .As the PRC's external radio station, CRI...
's western music radio's airplay charts, "Top 20 Countdown" on October 24, 2009. It held the top position for four consecutive weeks until Beyonce Knowles
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
's "Broken-Hearted Girl
Broken-Hearted Girl
"Broken-Hearted Girl" is a song by American recording artist Beyoncé Knowles. It was written by Knowles, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Mikkel Storleer Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen, and was produced by Knowles and Stargate for Knowles' third studio album, I Am... Sasha Fierce...
" superseded it on November 21. However, the track bounced back to the top position of the chart on November 28.
Music video
On December 27, 2009, the song's official music video was released. It was directed by Academy Award-nominee Spike LeeSpike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
, who had previously worked with Jackson directing the video for the musician's song entitled "They Don't Care About Us
They Don't Care About Us
"They Don't Care About Us" is the fourth single from Michael Jackson's album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I, released on April 1, 1996. The song remains one of the most controversial pieces Jackson ever composed...
" for his HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995) album. The video for "This Is It" premiered on the webpage of Lee's production company 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks
40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks
40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks is the production company of noted American filmmaker Spike Lee .The company is named after a famous episode of early Reconstruction. In 1865, General Sherman issued "Special Field Order 15", which ordered the distribution of lots of to some freed black families on the...
. The video, almost five-minutes long, features various scenes of Jackson's hometown and former residence in Gary, Indiana
Gary, Indiana
Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city is in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is 25 miles from downtown Chicago. The population is 80,294 at the 2010 census, making it the seventh-largest city in the state. It borders Lake Michigan and is known...
, along with photos and videos of him and tributes from his fans around the world.
The video opens with a clip of a poster in Gary pointing fans toward Jackson's childhood home, at the corner of 2300 Jackson Street and Jackson Family Boulevard and the sound of a vintage recording of one of Jackson's siblings yelling "Michael" repeatedly. An image, that is shown several times during the video, shows a one-way traffic sign near Jackson's old house that is covered in graffiti honoring Jackson, including "we luv yuh Michael." Images, shown as a slide-show, of Jackson performing as a child are mixed in with shots of play sets, baseball bats and Gary's gritty industrial skyline. A central image captured by Lee is a 'plea' for tolerance etched onto a stop sign in Gary, where someone had written the message "This Is It" above the word "Stop" under which they've added "hatin'." Interspersed is archival footage of Jackson throughout his career and of him greeting his fans in various parts of the world. There are also shots of the musician's fans paying tribute in their own Jackson memorabilia to him following his death. At one point in the video, one of the lyrics from the song, "I never heard a single word about you," floats up out of the concrete, fading into two more shots of fan tributes from around the world and multiple flowers and messages laid at the gates of Jackson's Neverland Ranch
Neverland Ranch
Neverland Valley Ranch is a developed property in Santa Barbara County, California, most famous for being a home of American entertainer Michael Jackson from 1988 to 2005. Jackson named the property after Neverland, the fantasy island in the story of Peter Pan, a boy who never grows up...
. The video, several times, shows a single red balloon floating in the air and empty swings swaying in the breeze. Towards the end of the video, there is footage of Jackson doing one of his signature dance moves, the moonwalk
Moonwalk (dance)
The moonwalk or backslide is a dance technique that presents the illusion of the dancer being pulled backwards while attempting to walk forward. A popping move, it became most popular around the world after Michael Jackson executed the dance move during a performance of "Billie Jean" on Motown 25:...
. It ends with footage of a black stool with Jackson's trademark black fedora and silver glove on top of it under a spotlight in front of his family's Gary residence at night.
George Merchan of JoBlo.com
JoBlo.com
JoBlo.com is a website primarily focused on the film industry.JoBlo.com was started in 1998 by Berge Garabedian , a movie reviewer who is known for critiquing movies from the perspective of an average movie-goer. The website's name is, in fact, a play on the term Joe Shmoe, and registered users of...
felt that the video was "clearly" a "loving patchwork of documentary footage, graphics, and original location shoots." Simon Vozick-Levinson of Entertainment Weekly described the video as being a "heart felt tribute" and said that, due to the circumstances of Lee having no footage of Jackson performing the song to work with, felt the director did a "very nice job" with it. A negative review came from Jim Farber, the music critic for the New York Daily News. He felt the video was a "mini retrospective" of Jackson's life and criticized the "Stop Hatin'" stop sign, feeling that it was promoting press censorship and discussion about the darker aspects of Jackson's life.
Weekly charts
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
56 |
| Czech Airplay Chart IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a not-for-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland... |
27 |
| Dutch Top 40 Chart Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
22 |
| Japan Hot 100 Japan Hot 100 The Japan Hot 100 is a music singles chart in Japan. It is compiled by Billboard and Hanshin Contents Link ever since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at billboard-japan.com and every Thursday at billboard.com .... |
5 |
| Slovakian Airplay Chart IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a not-for-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland... |
30 |
| Spanish Singles Chart PROMUSICAE Spanish Music Producers is a trade group representing the Spanish recording industry... |
18 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States... |
18 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
18 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2009) | Position |
|---|---|
| Hungarian Singles Chart | 173 |
Track listing
- Promo - CD single
- "This Is It" (album version) – 3:37
- "This Is It" (orchestra single version) – 3:43
- "This Is It" (edited orchestra version) – 4:40
- CD promo single
- "This Is It" (album version) – 3:37
- "This Is It" (orchestra single version) – 3:43
External links
- Michael Jackson's "This Is It" music video at MTV.comMTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....