This article is about the song. You may have been looking for the tour.
"This Is It" is a previously unreleased song written and produced by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson, released as the fifteenth track from the Michael Jackson's This Is It compilation album. It was released as a promotional single on October 12, 2009.
Alongside the single, an orchestral version was released as the sixteenth track.
Background[]
The song was recorded by Jackson and Paul Anka in 1980, under the title "I Never Heard".[1] It was intended for the latter's album, Walk a Fine Line, although it was scrapped along with the two's other collaborations, "Love Never Felt So Good" and "It Don't Matter to Me". Jackson once took cassettes of songs from Anka without permission, which forced Anka to threaten Jackson that he'd sue him. When returning the tapes to Anka, the former insisted that Jackson make a copy of "I Never Heard" and rename the song to "This Is It".[2]
Following Jackson's passing in 2009, his estate found a box with cassettes with a "bare bone" demo of "This Is It", featuring only piano and vocals. It'd be reworked by John McClain and Mervyn Warren in the same year, with backing vocals done by Jackson's brothers. Sony would use "This Is It" to promote the documentary, Michael Jackson's This Is It, although it had nothing to do with it. It was the first "new" song to be officially released after Jackson's passing, as only three months prior, "A Place with No Name" would leak online.
In 2010, Anka would perform "This Is It" live at various concerts, opening with his own piano rendition, before his band would play over a shortened version of Jackson’s original demo.[3]
A few years later, Anka did his rework of the song, this time featuring previously unheard vocals from "I Never Heard" over an upbeat instrumental. The track would then be featured on his 2013 album, Duets.
Music video[]
On December 27, 2009, a music video for "This Is It" was released. It compiles footage of Jackson recorded during the This Is It rehearsals and is one of the most melancholic ones in the artist's catalogue.
Spike Lee's Video[]
On michaeljackson.com, an alternate music video to "This Is It" was released. It was directed by Spike Lee, who previously worked on the "They Don't Care About Us" clips. This video features a tribute from fans, photos, and videos of Jackson, as well as various footage of his hometown (Gary, Indiana).[4]
Audio[]
A snippet of the "I Never Heard" demo was played during an interview The View had with Paul Anka on October 26, 2009, the same day the aforementioned documentary was released.[5] This version features Jackson singing a different verse of the song over a piano.
- Demo - (
listen)
Lyrics[]
[Intro]
Ready?
One, two, three, four
[Verse 1]
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
[Pre-Chorus]
And it feels as though I've seen your face a thousand times
And you said you really know me, too, yourself
And I know that you have got addicted with your eyes
But you say you gonna live it for yourself, oh!
[Chorus]
I never heard a single word about you
Fallin' in love wasn't my plan (My plan)
I never thought that I would be your lover
Come on, baby, just understand
[Verse 2]
This is it, I can say
I'm the light of the world, runaway
We can feel this is real
Every time I'm in love, that, I feel
[Pre-Chorus]
And I feel as though I've known you since a thousand years
And you tell me that you've seen my face before
And you said to me you don't want me hanging 'round
Many times, want to do it here before, oh, yeah
[Chorus]
I never heard a single word about you
Fallin' in love wasn't my plan (My plan)
I never thought that I would be your lover
Come on, baby, just understand
[Verse 3]
This is it (This is it), I can feel (I can feel)
I'm the light of the world, this is real
Feel my song, we can say
And I tell you I feel that way
[Pre-Chorus]
And I feel as though I've known you for a thousand years
And you said you want some of this yourself
And you said you want to go with me all the while
And I know that it's really true myself, oh, yeah
[Chorus]
I never heard a single word about you
Fallin' in love wasn't my plan (My plan)
I never thought that I would be your lover
Come on, please, dear, understand (Understand)
Ah-ayy
I never heard a single word about you
Falling in love wasn't my plan (My plan)
I never thought that I would be your lover
Come on, please dear, understand (Understand)
Never heard a single word about you
Falling in love wasn't my plan
[Intro]
Ready?
One, two, three, four
[Verse 1]
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
[Pre-Chorus 1]
And it seems as though I've seen your face a thousand times
And you know, that you seen my face before
And you say, that you don't want me hanging around
Many times, want to do it here before, oh, yeah
[Chorus]
I never heard a single word about you
Falling in love wasn't my plan
I never thought that I would be your lover
Come on please dear, understand
[Verse 2]
This is it, here I stand
With the light of the world, I feel grand
And this love, I can feel
And I know, yes for sure, this is real
[Pre-Chorus 2]
And it seems as though I've seen your face a thousand times
And you say you seen my face before
And you tell me you don't want me here just hanging around
But it's everything I've ever waited for
[Chorus]
I never heard a single word about you
Falling in love, it wasn't my plan
I never thought that I could be your lover
Come on dear, understand
[Verse 3]
This is it, here I stand
I'm the light of the world, I feel grand
(This is it) I can feel
And I know, yes for sure, it is real
[Pre-Chorus]
And it seems as though I've seen your face a thousand times
And you know, that you seen my face before
And you say, that you don't want me hanging around
Many times, want to do it here before, oh, yeah
[Chorus]
I never heard a single word about you
Falling in love wasn't my plan
I never thought that I would be your lover
Come on dear, please understand (This is it)
I never heard a single word about you
Falling in love wasn't my plan
I never thought that I would be your lover
Come on dear, please understand (This is it)
I never heard a single word about you (This is it)
Falling in love wasn't my plan (This is it)
I never thought that I would be your lover (This is it)
Come on dear, please understand (This is it)
This is it (This is it)
References[]
- ↑ I Never Heard / Michael Jackson. Detailed Record View | U.S. Copyright Public Records System
- ↑ Michael Jackson's 'new' song has already been released ... by someone else
- ↑ Paul Anka Ft. Michael Jackson This Is It ( 2010 )
- ↑ Tribute To Michael Jackson (Featuring ‘This Is It’)
- ↑ The View "Paul ANKA" Michael JACKSON Demo "This Is It"