This Is It

This article is about the tour. You may have been looking for the song.

This Is ItConcert residency by Michael Jackson
General Information
Associated albums	Off the Wall Thriller Bad Dangerous HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I
Start date	July 13, 2009 (cancelled)
End date	March 6, 2010 (cancelled)
Legs	2 (cancelled)
Number of shows	50 (cancelled)
Tour chronology
Previous	"HIStory World Tour"

This Is It was a planned series of concerts created by Michael Jackson and Kenny Ortega, which was scheduled to be held at The O2 Arena in London, England from July 13th, 2009 to March 6th, 2010. It was promoted by AEG Presents (at the time AEG Live). This Is It was going to serve as Jackson's comeback until its cancellation following Michael's death on June 25th, 2009.

Background

Michael Jackson announcing This Is It (March 5, 2009)

The idea for the concert residency came to Jackson's mind in 2008 due to financial struggles and debt. Thus, talks with AEG, a music entertainment presenter, eventually begun. According to Michael Prince, Michael was surprisingly very excited for the concerts, despite the artist stating the complete opposite years prior.

Originally, there were going to be only ten dates, but then the number was increased to fifty. Additionally, as the UK gigs would finish, shows for Australia, Japan and North America would be considered as well.

On March 5, 2009, a conference was held at the O2 Arena in London, England where Michael announced This Is It.

“	[...] These will be my final show performances in London. This will be it. This is it, and when i say "this is it", it really means this is it. [...] I'll be performing to the songs my fans wanna hear. [...] This is the final curtain call. I'll see you in July.	”
–Jackson announcing This Is It

In a matter of four hours, 750,000 tickets were sold. During the process, two sites with pre-sale tickets crashed.

Initial preparations would start in April, with rehearsals beginning in June. Throughout them, Jackson's mental and physical health had been at it's lowest ever, having the singer miss multiple rehearsals in the middle of the month due to the struggling health of both his mental and his physical.

Unfortunately, due to Michael's death on June 25, 2009, the preparations would never conclude and This Is It was cancelled, only two weeks prior to its launch. After the tragic event had took place, AEG confirmed 100 hours of footage from the rehearsals was recorded. Originally, it was meant to be used only for Michael's personal library, and a fifteen-minute feature on a planned concert movie Blu-ray, but it was eventually decided it'd be edited into the Michael Jackson's This Is It movie.

Set list

• Early set list
• June 25 set list

Early setlist

In the Michael Jackson's This Is It movie, at one point (timestamp: 13:59) an early version of the setlist would appear.

1. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
2. Off the Wall Medley
3. N/A
4. "The Drill"/"They Don't Care About Us"
5. "Stranger in Moscow"
6. "Smooth Criminal"
7. "The Way You Make Me Feel"
8. "You Are Not Alone"
9. Jackson 5 Medley
10. "I Just Can't Stop Loving You"
11. "Dangerous"
12. "Dirty Diana"
13. "Beat It"
14. "Thriller"
15. "Threatened"
16. "Earth Song"
17. "We Are the World"
18. "Heal the World"
19. "Black or White"
20. "Billie Jean"
21. "Will You Be There"
22. "Man in the Mirror"
23. "Human Nature"
24. "State of Shock"

Michael Prince confirmed that on June 25, the day of Michael's death, a new version was created.

1. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"
2. "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough"
3. "Rock with You"
4. "The Drill" (Dance Sequence [contains samples of "Bad", "Dangerous", and "Mind Is the Magic"]) / "They Don't Care About Us" (contains samples of "HIStory", "She Drives Me Wild" and "Why You Wanna Trip on Me)
5. "Human Nature"
6. "Stranger in Moscow"
7. "Smooth Criminal"
8. "The Way You Make Me Feel"
9. "You Are Not Alone" (Possibly scrapped)
10. "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" (Featuring Judith Hill)
11. "Dangerous" (Contains samples of "Morphine", "2000 Watts", "Heartbreak Hotel", "Stranger In Moscow", "Psycho Theme", "Owner of a Lonely Heart" by Yes, Ennio Morricone's "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly" theme, Janet Jackson's "You Want This" and "Let's Dance," Judy Garland's "Get Happy", Monty Norman's "James Bond Theme", and a guitar intro from Duran Duran's "A View to a Kill")
12. "Dirty Diana"
13. "Beat It"
14. "Thriller" (Contains samples of "Ghosts" and "Threatened")
15. "Earth Song"
16. "We Are the World" / "Heal the World"
17. "Black or White"
18. "Billie Jean"
19. "Will You Be There" (Possibly scrapped)
20. "Man In The Mirror" / "MJ Air" Finale (Encore)

Dates

Concert dates on michaeljackson.com

Original dates

Date	City, Country	Venue
July 8, 2009	London, England	The O2 Arena
July 10, 2009
July 12, 2009
July 14, 2009
July 16, 2009
July 18, 2009
July 22, 2009
July 24, 2009
July 26, 2009
July 28, 2009

First leg

Date	City, Country	Venue
July 13, 2009	London, England	The O2 Arena
July 16, 2009
July 18, 2009
July 22, 2009
July 24, 2009
July 26, 2009
July 28, 2009
July 30, 2009
August 1, 2009
August 3, 2009
August 10, 2009
August 12, 2009
August 17, 2009
August 19, 2009
August 24, 2009
August 26, 2009
August 28, 2009
August 30, 2009
August 30, 2009
September 1, 2009
September 3, 2009
September 6, 2009
September 8, 2009
September 10, 2009
September 21, 2009
September 23, 2009
September 27, 2009
September 29, 2009

Second leg

Date	City, Country	Venue
January 7, 2010	London, England	The O2 Arena
January 9, 2010
January 12, 2010
January 14, 2010
January 16, 2010
January 18, 2010
January 23, 2010
January 25, 2010
January 27, 2010
January 29, 2010
February 1, 2010
February 3, 2010
February 8, 2010
February 10, 2010
February 12, 2010
February 16, 2010
February 18, 2010
February 20, 2010
February 22, 2010
February 24, 2010
March 1, 2010
March 3, 2010
March 6, 2010

Personnel

Musicians

• Michael Jackson – vocals, show direction, choreography
• Orianthi Panagaris – lead guitar
• Tommy Organ – rhythm guitar
• Alex Al – bass
• Jonathan Moffett – drums, percussion
• Michael Bearden – keyboards, musical direction
• Morris Pleasure – keyboards
• Bashiri Johnson – percussion
• Dorian Holley – vocals, vocal direction
• Judith Hill – vocals
• Darryl Phinnessee – vocals
• Ken Stacey – vocals

Dancers

• Michael Jackson
• Daniel Yao
• Nicholas Basir
• Daniel Celebre (a.k.a. Da FunkyMystic)
• Mekia Cox
• Kriyss Grant
• Misha Gabriel
• Shannon Holtzapffel
• Devin Jamieson
• Charles Klapow
• Dres Reid
• Danielle Rueda Watts
• Tyne Stecklein
• Timor Dance

Production

• Kenny Ortega – show direction
• Alif Sankey – associate production
• Michael Cotten – production design
• Michael Curry – production design
• Michael Jackson & Travis Payne – choreography
• Stacy Walker – choreography assistance
• Tony Testa – choreography assistance
• Patrick Woodroffe – lighting design
• Hakeem Khaaliq - graphic design, mobile technology integration
• David Elsewhere – dance coaching
• Shahzad Perez – Specialty Act
• Gregg Smith – casting direction
• Karen Faye Heinze – hair and makeup
• Zaldy Goco – chief of costume design
• Michael Bush – costume design
• Dennis Thompkins – costume design
• AEG Live – promotion
• Dave Polich – synth programming

Gallery

Promotional

This Is It horizontal poster

This Is It Tickets

Michael Jackson THIS IS IT Concert Offical Advertising on ITV 08-03-2009

This Is It Advert (March 8, 2009)

Rehearsals

"Look deep within yourself, and you'll find something amazing." To view the This Is It (concert residency) gallery, click here.

Trivia

Michael Jackson with a brown necklace he received from a fan

• If it happened, This Is It could've earned Jackson $1.5 billion.
• The residency was going to feature multiple a-list guest stars, this includes Lady Gaga and Britney Spears, who were artists Jackson was eager the most to have on stage alongside him.
• In early 2009, Michael received a brown necklace as a gift from a fan. He seemed to have loved it so much, that he wore it throughout the entirety of This Is It press and rehearsals.
• Some fans got to sneak into the arena and record 30 minutes of amateur audio from the This Is It rehearsals. This included "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Dangerous", "Black or White", "Dirty Diana", "Beat It", "Heal the World", "Billie Jean", "Will You Be There", "We Are the World" (interlude).
• A split second video of Michael rehearsing "Dangerous" along with pictures from such also found their way online in 2020.
• A five second video of Michael rehearsing "Dirty Diana" was featured in the Michael Jackson's This Is It Blu-ray extras.
• The last song Jackson rehearsed was “Earth Song” on June 24, 2009. It was the last time Michael sang during his lifetime.
• Michael's final rehearsal lasted 'til around midnight, June 25, 2009. According to Sugarfoot, at this exact time, he was told by Michael that he'll "see him tomorrow".
• As of June 25, 2009 when working at This Is It at the Staples Center, Kenny Ortega had the behind-the-scenes team holding hands and saying prayers, as Jackson's hospitalization was announced. For the next half an hour, everyone went back to work, when suddenly Ortega called the team to gather again, as to confirm, that Michael had died.
• Michael's make up artist, Karen Faye stated she overheard an AEG executive, saying Michael "should" rehearse despite of his supposed declining health.
  • Faye also revealed Michael was frustrated and after a costume fitting (which took place days before his tragic death) repeatedly asked the make up artist "Why can't I choose?". Randy Phillips, co-CEO of AEG Live told her to ignore Jackson's requests after missing rehearsals.
• Matt Fiddes, one of Jackson's bodyguards, stated Michael wanted to wear a bulletproof vest during the residency, because the artist was afraid that there would be an attempt to assassinate him live on stage .
• It's rumored, that during the final show on March 6, 2010, Michael would have performed “Best of Joy”, which at the time was a unreleased song, although this is unconfirmed.
• According to Michael's choreographer, Travis Payne, AEG considered "pulling the plug" on This Is It only eleven days prior to Michael's death.