Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration

The 30th Anniversary Special is a musical revue show by Michael Jackson. It was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City on September 7 and 10, 2001. In November 2001, CBS aired the two concerts as a two-hour special honoring Jackson's 30th year as a solo artist. The show was edited by combining footage of the two concerts into a whole special. It has also aired on BET and TV One.

Michael Jackson - 30th Anniversary poster

Set list

September 7 show

1. "Intro" - Samuel L. Jackson
2. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" - Usher, Mya, and Whitney Houston
3. "Absolutely Everybody, Shine" - Vanessa Amorosi
4. "Humanitarian Speech" (not televised) - Marlon Brando
5. "Ben" - Billy Gilman
6. "Angel" and "It Wasn't Me" - ShaggyRayvonRikrok
7. "You Can't Win" (from The Wiz) - Jill Scott
8. "Ease On Down The Road" (from The Wiz) - Jill Scott, Monica, Al Jarreau, and Deborah Cox
9. "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" - James Ingram and Gloria Estafan
10. "She's Out Of My Life" - Marc Anthony
11. "Heal The World" - Mya, Deborah Cox, Rah Digga, Monica, Tamia, and The Brooklyn Youth Choir
12. "You Are Not Alone", "Never Never Land" (not televised), and "Over The Rainbow" (not televised) - Liza Minnelli
13. "Bootylicious" - Destiny's Child
14. "Crying Time" (not televised) - Ray Charles and Casandra Wilson
15. "Intro Speech" - Elizabeth Taylor
16. "Can You Feel It", "HIStory Intro", "I Want You Back", "Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)", "ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There" - Michael Jackson and The Jacksons
17. "Dancing Machine" - Michael Jackson, The Jacksons, and *NSYNC
18. "The Way You Make Me Feel" - Michael Jackson and Britney Spears
19. "Billie Jean" - Michael Jackson
20. "Black Or White" and "Beat It" - Michael Jackson and Slash
21. "We Are The World" - All artists, Yoko Ono, Kenny Rogers and Quincy Jones
22. You Rock My World - Michael Jackson and all artists

September 10 show

1. "Intro" - Samuel L. Jackson
2. "Wanna Be Startin' Something" - Usher, Mya, and Whitney Houston
3. "Absolutely Everybody, Shine" - Vanessa Amorosi
4. "Ben" - Billy Gilman
5. "Home" (from The Wiz) (not televised) - Monica
6. "Ease On Down The Road" (from The Wiz) (not televised) - Monica, Al Jarreau, Deborah Cox, and Jill Scott
7. "You Are Not Alone" and "Never Never Land" (not televised) - Liza Minnelli
8. "Intro Speech" - Elizabeth Taylor
9. "Get Ur Freak On" - Missy Elliot and Nelly Furtado
10. "Man In The Mirror" - 98 Degrees, Luther Vandross, and Usher
11. "I Want Candy" - Aaron Carter
12. "I Will Survive" - Gloria Gaynor
13. "I'll Never Love This Way Again" - Dionne Warwick
14. "Midnight Train to Georgia" - Gladys Knight
15. "I Do (Cherish You)" - 98 Degrees
16. "My Baby" - Romeo and Master P
17. "Can You Feel It", "HIStory Intro", "ABC", "The Love You Save", "I'll Be There", and "I Want You Back" - Michael Jackson and The Jacksons
18. "Dancing Machine" - Michael Jackson and The Jacksons
19. "Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)" - Michael Jackson and The Jacksons
20. "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "Billie Jean" - Michael Jackson
21. "Black Or White" and "Beat It" - Michael Jackson and Slash
22. "You Rock My World" - Michael Jackson, Usher, and Chris Tucker

Trivia

• The televised special re-sequences the songs somewhat, and presents highlights from both shows.
• Jackson did not rehearse for the September 7 show. Because of that, he let the audience pick songs after "Billie Jean". They chose "You Rock My World", but the band wasn't ready, so they played "Black Or White" instead.
• Whitney Houston and Jackson rehearsed the song "One Day In Your Life". They were supposed to perform this, but didn't for unknown reasons.
• The performances for "We Are The World" and the reprise of "You Rock My World" by Everyone were not televised, but was filmed by an amateur fan. Footage from both performances were leaked online in low quality on YouTube.
• When broadcast, the special showed footage mostly from the September 10 show. This is especially evident during the performance of "Billie Jean", when during the first show, he performed a very short moonwalk and improvised the dance ending, while during the second show, he performed a longer moonwalk and beatboxes toward the end, just like the HIStory Tour.
  • When "Billie Jean" was broadcast, the beginning and first verse switches between both shows' shots, after that, it sticks to the second show overall. The ending dance is mostly taken from the first show.