Xscape (album)

Xscape is the second posthumous album by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson. It was released on May 9, 2014, by Epic Records, MJJ Music and Sony Music Entertainment. Xscape is the tenth release by Sony and/or Motown since Jackson's death in 2009. L.A. Reid, chairman of Epic Records, curated and served as executive producer for the album, enlisting Timbaland to lead a team of record producers, including Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon, Rodney Jerkins, Stargate, and John McClain, to remix and contemporize the eight selected tracks. The album was #1 in its first week of release in worldwide sales.

The standard version of Xscape features eight tracks, each reworked from 2013 to 2014, while the deluxe version also includes the original versions of the songs which were recorded from 1980 to 2001, a bonus track and two videos. Xscape was promoted across the Sony group of companies; Sony Mobile used a snippet of "Slave to the Rhythm" in their advertising campaign for the Xperia Z2 mobile phone. A Pepper's ghost illusion of Jackson performed "Slave to the Rhythm" at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards in May 2014.

Xscape debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in the United States. The album was preceded by the release of its lead single, "Love Never Felt So Good", which includes a newly recorded version featuring Justin Timberlake. It reached number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, giving Jackson his first posthumous top ten and his first since "You Rock My World" in 2001. Additionally, "Love Never Felt So Good" became Jackson's highest charting single on the Hot 100 since his final number one, "You Are Not Alone", in 1995. A second single, "A Place with No Name", was released later that year. Xscape received generally positive reviews and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Background

Xscape was the second album of all new music released by Epic Records after Jackson's death in 2009. It was announced on March 31, 2014. It features eight tracks originally recorded between 1980 and 2001.

The title track "Xscape" was recorded in 1999 for Jackson's tenth studio album, Invincible. American producer Timbaland and Epic Records chairman and CEO L.A. Reid were executive producers, with additional production from Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon, Rodney Jerkins, Stargate and John McClain. Timbaland said that Reid had personally approached him at his home to discuss the new Jackson project. Jesse Johnson, former lead guitarist of the American band the Time worked on elements of a song that featured Mary J. Blige, Questlove, and D'Angelo. The track was not included in the album.

Reid said that they wanted to honor Jackson's legacy when naming the album: "The title of this album (Xscape) honors Michael's album naming process. He always chose a song from the album to name his projects and, beginning with Thriller, used only one word titles, each with an edgy quality to them (Thriller, Bad, Dangerous, HIStory and Invincible)."

Recording history

"Love Never Felt So Good" was co-written by Canadian singer-songwriter Paul Anka and was originally recorded in 1980 as a demo with Anka on the piano. The song was also recorded by American entertainer Johnny Mathis. A duet version of the song with Justin Timberlake was recorded and released as a single – the duet version of the song features percussion and breaths from Jackson's 1979 song "Working Day and Night".

"Chicago" (originally called "She Was Lovin' Me") was recorded in 1999 but failed to make the Invincible album.

"Loving You" was recorded in 1985 during the Bad sessions.

"A Place with No Name" was written and recorded in 1998. The track is based on "A Horse with No Name", the 1972 single American rock band America. A 24-second snippet was leaked online by TMZ in July 2009 and a full version was leaked in December 2013.

"Slave to the Rhythm" was recorded during the Dangerous sessions in 1991. A Tricky Stewart remix version leaked on the internet in 2010, which was intended for the first posthumous album, Michael. Justin Bieber also recorded a "duet version" featured with Jackson's vocals, which was leaked in August 2013. The Michael Jackson Estate afterwards stated that they had not authorized the release of this recording.

"Do You Know Where Your Children Are" was written and recorded during the Bad sessions. However, the song was later picked up and reworked for the Dangerous album but did not make the cut. The version appearing on Xscape was recorded in 1986.

"Blue Gangsta" was written and recorded in 1998 but failed to make the Invincible album. Rapper Tempamental remixed the song without Jackson's permission and made it available on his MySpace web page in late 2006. The remix titled "Gangsta (No Friend of Mine)" featured Pras of the Fugees.

"Xscape" was written and recorded in 1999 during the Invincible recording sessions but failed to make the album. It was completed in 2001 and leaked on the internet the following year. The song was given a modern spin by its original producer, Rodney Jerkins, and features samples of "You Rock My World", a song recorded in the same era.

Promotion and singles

In February 2014, Sony and Jackson's estate announced a partnership with Sony Mobile for a commercial advertisement for the Sony Xperia Z2 mobile phone. The ad incorporated a new version of the track "Slave to the Rhythm", which was the first song announced for the album. Prior to its release, the album was played for UK press in the basement of a Knightsbridge hotel on March 31, 2014. The journalists were permitted to hear the album once without any electronic devices, and song titles were kept secret. Pre-orders for Xscape in both standard and deluxe editions began on April 1, 2014.

On April 30, it was announced that "Love Never Felt So Good" would be the first single released from the album. It was unveiled at the iHeartRadio Music Awards The following day. It was co-written by Canadian singer-songwriter Paul Anka. The single was simultaneously released in two versions – a solo version and a duet version that features Justin Timberlake. The single became available on iTunes on May 2, 2014 and was released to urban radio stations on May 6, 2014. On May 4, the track "Chicago" became available to Music Unlimited subscribers, being followed by "Loving You", "A Place with No Name", "Slave to the Rhythm", and "Do You Know Where Your Children Are" in the succeeding days.

"Love Never Felt So Good" marked Jackson's 49th Hot 100 entry, peaking at number nine. Jackson became the first solo artist to have a single reach the top 10 in six different decades. A Pepper's ghost illusion of Michael Jackson performed "Slave to the Rhythm" at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards on May 18, 2014. The performance was choreographed by the Talauega brothers and was directed by Jamie King. A day after the coverage, the "live" performance of "Slave to the Rhythm" was uploaded to Jackson's VEVO YouTube channel. "Slave to the Rhythm" debuted at number 45 on the Billboard charts and became Jackson's 50th Hot 100 hit despite not having been released as a single.

The album was further promoted with the single release of "A Place with No Name" in August 2014.

Critical reception

Xscape has a score of 66 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 22 critics, indicating generally favorable reviews. Prior to the album release, Xscape was played for critics at exclusive album listening parties in New York City. Bernadette McNulty from The Daily Telegraph praised the album as "pristine", noting the "front-and-center presence of Jackson's voice in the mix". Michael Cragg from The Guardian said Xscape feels "like an album created to showcase a handful of Jackson songs that on the whole deserve to be heard". Richard Suchet from Sky News thought the album "sound[ed] more like modern-day remixes". Nick Stevenson from Mixmag asserted that the album was "more like a collection of B-sides from Off the Wall than a follow-up to Invincible" but also described it as "a collection of undiscovered gems presented in a way that fans from all generations will appreciate".

Many critics described the album as an improvement over its predecessor. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic wrote that the album was "savvier" than Michael, writing that it "considers Jackson's legacy quite carefully, deciding to emphasize the splashy soul and diluted disco of Off the Wall over the triumphant Thriller or any of the calculated records that followed in its wake." Joe Sweeney from Slant wrote that the album was "a carefully curated attempt to redeem the sins of the hastily cobbled-together Michael" that "comes close to succeeding". Sweeny described the album as "remotely cohesive, touching on disco, R&B, and contemporary dance music over the course of eight songs whose origins span nearly three decades". Elysa Gardner of USA Today said that the producers on the album "ensure that Jackson's enduring strengths as a singer are represented, layering in modern electronic textures without overwhelming the distinctly slinky, shivery vocals or overall structure of the tunes." Writing for Yahoo!, Nekesa Mumbi Moody described the album as a "mixed bag" that fell "below Jackson's standards." Tim Jonz from The Guardian felt that Xscape had an "inevitable lack of coherence as a set" but that it served "to remind you why Jackson was once pop's premier genius."

Commercial performance

Xscape became Jackson's tenth UK number-one album after it debuted atop the UK Albums Chart with 47,764 first-week sales. Currently, sales of the album in the United Kingdom stand at 135,500 copies and has been certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry. The album also debuted at number one in Belgium, Denmark, France, and Spain. It debuted at number two on the US Billboard charts with first-week sales of 157,000 copies in the United States. In its second week of sales, the album sold 67,000 more copies. In its third week it sold 35,000 copies bringing its total sales to 259,000 copies. In its fourth week, it sold a little more than 25,000 copies, and the fifth week it sold a little less than 25,000 copies. On September 18, 2014 the album was certified Gold in the US, selling 500,000 copies up to that date.

In Canada, the album debuted at number three on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 12,000 copies.

Track listing

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies a co-producer
• ^{^[b]} signifies a vocal producer

Personnel

Credits adapted from Xscape album liner notes.

Charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

See also

• List of unreleased songs recorded by Michael Jackson
• List of music released posthumously

References