Nov 15, 2010 09:21 GMT  ·  By
will.i.am puts Sony on blast for releasing a new Michael Jackson album: it’s disrespectful
   will.i.am puts Sony on blast for releasing a new Michael Jackson album: it’s disrespectful

Black Eyed Peas singer and music producer will.i.am has blasted Sony Music for releasing a brand new album by Michael Jackson using mostly half-completed tracks, when he was such a consummate professional and would have never stood for that.

According to will.i.am, speaking to Entertainment Weekly, there’s nothing honoring about the upcoming “Michael” album since he knows for a fact that Michael himself would have never agreed to have it out there until he was done working on it.

will.i.am worked with Michael back in 2006 on what was meant to be the King of Pop’s comeback in the charts, an album that never saw the light of day – and that never will, the producer promises.

So far, fans have heard two songs off “Michael”: the much disputed “Breaking News” and the just released “Hold My Hand” (ft. Akon), the latter also being the lead single. will.i.am has heard neither and has no interest in doing so.

“Whoever put it out and is profiting off of it, I want to see how cold they are to say that what [Michael] contributed during his life wasn’t enough,” the producer says of the “Breaking News” song.

“He just wasn’t any ordinary artist. He was a hands-on person. To me it’s disrespectful. There’s no honoring,” will.i.am adds.

Since he knew how Michael liked to work, the producer simply can’t understand how Sony would completely disregard MJ and go ahead and release music he wasn’t done working on.

“Michael Jackson songs are finished when Michael says they’re finished. Maybe if I never worked with him I wouldn’t have this perspective,” will.i.am explains.

“He was very particular about how he wanted his vocals, the reverb he used… he was that hands-on,” the producer adds.

As we also informed you over the weekend, despite criticism from the media, the fans and even the Jackson family, Sony has plans to go ahead with the release of the “Michael” album on December 14.

The lead single off the material, a duet with Akon called “Hold My Hand,” has been uploaded on the official Michael Jackson website for free streaming for a week. Check it out here.