Michael Jackson Xscape

Xscape is the second posthumous album by American singer Michael Jackson, composed of previously unreleased tracks that were recorded between 1983 and 1999. It was released on May 9, 2014 by Epic Records, MJJ Music and Sony Music Entertainment, and is the tenth release by Sony and/or Motown since Jackson’s death on June 25, 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 StarGate, Jerome “J-Roc” Harmon, John McClain, and Rodney Jerkins, to remix and contemporize the eight selected tracks. Jerkins produced the title song and is the only original song producer to work on the final productions.

The standard version of Xscape features eight tracks, each reworked between 2013 and 2014, whilst the deluxe version also includes the original versions of the songs which were recorded between 1983 and 1999, 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. The album was preceded by the release of its lead single, “Love Never Felt So Good”, which included a newly recorded version featuring Justin Timberlake. It was a top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number nine. A second single, “A Place with No Name” was released later that year. Xscape was generally well received by critics and would go on to be certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).