It was supposed to be the greatest comeback in the history of modern music. 50 nights. London’s O2 Arena. A man who hadn't toured in over a decade trying to prove he still had the magic. When Michael Jackson stood on that small stage at the O2 in March 2009 and whispered, "This is it," the world actually believed him. Nobody knew those words would become a haunting epitaph.
Honestly, the Michael Jackson This Is It saga is one of the most complicated, legally tangled, and emotionally exhausting chapters in pop culture. It wasn't just a concert series; it was a massive financial gamble by AEG Live and a desperate attempt by an aging icon to reclaim his throne. People still argue about whether he was even physically capable of doing it. You’ve seen the footage, right? He looks thin. Sometimes he looks frail, but then he dances and you see that lightning-fast snap that made him the King of Pop. It’s a total contradiction.
The reality of those final months is a mix of high-tech stagecraft and behind-the-scenes chaos. Fans bought nearly a million tickets in record time. The pressure was suffocating. This wasn't just about music; it was about debt, legacy, and a comeback that had to be perfect because there was no Plan B.
What Michael Jackson This Is It Was Actually Trying to Build
Kenny Ortega, the director who worked closely with Michael, described the show as a "theatrical experience" rather than a standard concert. They weren't just playing the hits. They were building massive 3D sets and filming high-definition "Lightman" sequences.
The stage design featured one of the largest LED screens ever built for a touring production. Michael wanted it to be a spectacle that dwarfed anything he’d done with the Bad or Dangerous tours. We’re talking about a "Smooth Criminal" segment where Michael would literally be inserted into old film noir clips via green screen. He was obsessed with the tech. He wanted the audience to feel like they were inside the movie.
But here’s the thing: while the tech was futuristic, the man at the center of it was struggling. Travis Payne, the choreographer, has spoken at length about how Michael would skip rehearsals to work on his own or because he was "feeling under the weather." It created this weird tension where the production was moving at 100 miles per hour while the star was sometimes barely there.
The Health Question and the AEG Lawsuit
You can't talk about Michael Jackson This Is It without talking about the 2013 wrongful death lawsuit filed by the Jackson family against AEG Live. That trial pulled back the curtain on everything. It revealed emails where AEG executives expressed serious concern about Michael's mental and physical state.
One famous email from Randy Phillips, then-CEO of AEG Live, described Michael as an "emotionally paralyzed mess."
The debate really settles on two sides. On one hand, you have the footage from the documentary film released after his death. In those clips, he looks sharp. He’s directing the band, telling the keyboardist to "let it simmer," and hitting his marks. On the other hand, you have the autopsy reports and the testimony from those who saw him on his bad days—days where he was shivering, confused, and seemingly unable to eat.
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It’s a classic case of the "show must go on" mentality hitting a brick wall. AEG had $30 million invested before a single note was played in London. They needed him on that stage.
The Film: A Masterpiece of Editing or a False Narrative?
When the This Is It documentary hit theaters in October 2009, it became the highest-grossing documentary of all time. It’s a beautiful film. It’s also incredibly curated.
Director Kenny Ortega had to piece together 80 hours of rehearsal footage into a cohesive story. If you watch closely, you'll notice Michael is wearing different clothes in the middle of the same song. That’s because he rarely finished a full run-through. The editors had to "frankenstein" performances together to make it look like he was performing at full capacity.
- "They Don't Care About Us" looks powerful because of the sheer number of dancers.
- "Billie Jean" shows he still had the footwork, even if he wasn't singing full out to save his voice.
- The "Earth Song" rehearsal ended up being his final performance caught on tape.
For fans, the movie was a gift. It was a chance to say goodbye. For critics, it was a sanitized version of a tragedy. It didn't show the insomnia, the dependence on Propofol, or the frantic calls to Dr. Conrad Murray. It showed the artist, not the patient.
The Legacy of the 50-Show Schedule
Why 50 shows? Originally, it was only supposed to be 10. But the demand was so insane—hundreds of thousands of people in a digital queue—that AEG kept adding dates. Experts like Dr. Steven Hoefflin, Michael’s former plastic surgeon, later argued that a 50-show run for a 50-year-old man in his condition was "suicidal."
The logistical scale was terrifying:
- A "Spider" aerial rig that would fly Michael over the audience.
- An army of dancers selected from thousands of hopefuls worldwide.
- New arrangements by musical director Michael Bearden that modernized the 80s sound.
Michael was reportedly terrified of the 50-show commitment. He reportedly told his confidants he didn't know how he was going to pull it off. Yet, the rehearsals continued at the Staples Center and the Forum in Los Angeles right up until June 24, 2009. He died the next day.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Rehearsals
There is a persistent myth that Michael wasn't actually dancing in the rehearsals and that a body double was used. That’s basically nonsense. While body doubles (like Casanova) were used for lighting tests and some "Lightman" film sequences, the man you see on stage in the documentary is definitely Michael Joseph Jackson.
You can see it in the way he holds his hands. You can see it in the precision of his head nods. No impersonator can perfectly replicate that specific "snap."
The real tragedy isn't that he couldn't do it; it’s that he could do it in bursts, but his body couldn't sustain the recovery required for a world-class tour. He was burning the candle at both ends while trying to sleep with the help of a surgical anesthetic. That’s a recipe for disaster in any industry, let alone the high-octane world of global pop tours.
The Financial Fallout and the Estate
After he passed, the "This Is It" brand didn't die. It shifted. The estate, led by John Branca and John McClain, turned a pending bankruptcy into a billion-dollar empire. The film, the soundtrack, and the subsequent Cirque du Soleil shows ("The Immortal" and "One") all stems from the work done during those 2009 rehearsals.
If Michael had lived and the tour had failed, he might have lost Neverland (which was already in financial peril) and his share of the Sony/ATV catalog. In a dark twist of irony, his death and the subsequent release of the rehearsal footage saved his family's fortune.
Actionable Insights: Understanding the Impact Today
If you’re looking back at this era to understand the music industry or the man himself, here is how you should frame it:
- Look at the "This Is It" film as a technical manual. It is one of the best looks ever captured of how a stadium-level show is built from the ground up. Pay attention to how Michael interacts with the band—he hears frequencies and rhythms that others miss.
- Study the contract structures. The AEG/Jackson contract is now a case study in "key man" insurance and the risks of high-stakes residency deals. It changed how promoters vet the health of aging artists.
- Recognize the perfectionism. Even at his lowest point, Jackson’s refusal to settle for "okay" is evident. He wasn't just there to collect a paycheck; he was obsessing over the "simmer" of the bassline.
- Separate the art from the tragedy. You can appreciate the genius of the choreography in "The Way You Make Me Feel" while acknowledging the systemic failures of the medical and managerial team surrounding him.
The Michael Jackson This Is It concerts remain the greatest "what if" in music history. We will never know if he could have made it through opening night, but the glimpses we have prove that even at 50%, he was still operating on a level most performers can't reach at their peak.
To truly understand the scale of what was lost, go back and watch the "Human Nature" rehearsal. No costumes, no pyrotechnics, just a man in a blazer singing to an empty arena. It's the most honest moment in the whole circus. It reminds you that underneath the debt and the lawsuits, there was still a guy who just really knew how to move.
Check the credits of the film to see the names of the musicians and dancers involved. Many of them, like bassist Judith Hill or guitarist Orianthi, went on to have massive careers of their own, fueled by the brief time they spent in Michael's orbit during those frantic months in 2009. That is perhaps the most lasting, positive legacy of a show that never actually happened.