132: Aileen Medalla Special

Aileen Medalla joins host Elise Capron to discuss her memoir published earlier this year, The King of Pop and I: A Filipino Teacher’s Travel Memoir with Michael Jackson and His Children. Aileen’s book covers the years 2005-2008, when she served as the Traveling Homeschool Teacher for the Prince, Paris, and Bigi while the Jackson family lived in Bahrain, Europe, Asia, and the United States. In addition to being an amazing journal of her travels all over the world, Aileen’s memoir is a unique look into the Jacksons’ personal life. Because she taught and worked with Jackson children on a daily basis, Aileen’s reflections on their family dynamics, Jackson’s role as a father, and their day-to-day lifestyles gives fascinating insights into the true Michael Jackson—what he was like as a down-to-earth human being, not just as the King of Pop.

Additional Links
• The King of Pop and I website, with links to purchase the book.
• Aileen’s Facebook and Instagram pages.

Sponsors
• Karl Marx Does the Washing Up: The Podcast. A philosophical, comic podcast made by two MJ fans which navigates the “complex world of truth, romance, hell and housework.” Give them a listen.
• The MJCast’s official shop. Support The MJCast and Michael Jackson all at the same time by buying some of our merchandise.

Connect with Us
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• Facebook
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• YouTube

If you have feedback on this Michael Jackson podcast episode, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us at themjcast@icloud.com or find the links to our many social networks on www.themjcast.com. Stay BAD!

130: An Evening With Charlie and Jamon

It’s been far too long since The MJCast had a good old fashioned Q&A episode, so the team is bringing this format back with host Jamon Bull and everyone’s favorite Brit, Charles Thomson! The guys received over 80 questions, with no topics barred, covering everything from their favorite songs, to fan experiences, to insights on legal proceedings. We so appreciate all of our MJ Fam who submitted questions (and wish we could have gotten to each and every question), and hope you enjoy this fascinating, deep-dive chat about all things MJ!

“The Pale Prince of Peculiarity”
1) Can you tell us what you know about MJ‘s relationship with Sony? What went wrong and why did he hate them so much at the end of his life? It‘s a really confusing topic for me.

Annie
2) If the planet was about to be blown up by an evil super villain, and the only way to save humanity was for Charles Thomson to perform either Heal The World, The Lost Children or I Just Can’t Stop Loving You – which one would he choose?

Neil G
3) There have been reports of a MJ movie in the works. Is this a good idea? If so, who should play Michael?

Tom Rujitermann
4) Do you think it’s possible that Taj’s series could change the minds of many people? Or do you feel Michael has been so dehumanised that people will never be able to see past what the media portrays?

Curtis Roberton
5) Invincible is Michael’s last album and probably worst in eyes of a lot of people. But for me, it’s one of his best. I have friends who aren’t MJ fans and I have shown them the Invincible album and they think it’s amazing and start downloading the album, almost like a lost MJ album. What positives can you say about Invincible?
6) During This Is It, there are moments where MJ looks fragile and ill, like the start of The Way You Make Me Feel. Later on, when MJ is in the blue, he looks on top form, same with They Don’t Care About Us–he looks great and on form? Why is this?

Gillian Rice
7) How often does Charles listen to Michael’s music? And what are his top 3 songs?

Wendy
8) Can you tell us what you know about all of the aftermath of Michael’s injuries during the 1999 concert? Like medically, how was he treated, how did people around him respond to it, and more?
9) Do you think Dan Egghead Reed Is going to make Leaving Neverland 2?

?
10) Do you like John Branca, and tell me all the reasons why not?

Bob
11) Were you surprised that the court dismissed the James Safechuck lawsuit?

Jonny
12) Any idea why MJ used to let Prince have his hair bleached at such a young age? Always wondered and unsure if it has ever been answered. Very young age to colour a child’s hair. Maybe the freedom of expression he allowed his children behind closed doors?

Bella
13) Are you ever going to do the estate roundtable episode you’ve been teasing us with for years?

Genevieve Castello Branco
14) Marcos Cabota’s documentary “Sonic Fantasy” is completed, but he’s facing legal issues to release it. Any details about such legal issues, which probably involve Bruce Swedien’s estate?

Bob
15) Off the Wall or Purple Rain?

Captain Blackthorne
16) Which song has Michael’s most impressive vocal performance? My vote it for Earth Song or Billie Jean.
17) Do we know any details about the “lost classical album” that Michael worked on before his passing?

Marni Cochrane
18) Dear Charles, what is the most interesting or surprising thing you learnt about MJ, his life and/or his work while working on the documentary with Taj and other collaborators, which was totally new to you?

Anita
19) How do we manage that Jamon and Elise will be invited to the next Halloween party hosted by the Jackson family?

Dane Thomson
20) What has shaped your views on life throughout your years?

“Oprah”
21) If MJ Estate approached you with an olive branch and ask for your help and input, what are the top 5 list of things that you like to immediately work on and do?

“Billie Jean”
22) Which MJCast special episode is your favorite why?

Constantinos
23) Top 5 guests who you would love to interview in the near future?
24) Would you like one day to create your own visual documentary to combine all your special interviews?

MJJQ
25) Out of each of Michael’s full length solo albums (OTW, Thriller, Bad, Dangerous, HIStory and Invincible), could you choose 1 track which is your personal favourite, and on the other hand, an unreleased demo or outtake song which could replace your least favourite track on each album – with short explanations as to why.

“James Brown”
26) Does anyone know what happened to the Vogue documentary that had a preview on YouTube and why it was never released?
27) How do you feel about supposed friends of MJ such as Quincy, some of the Ross family, etc, still openly supporting Oprah? Or do you think Oprah is just so big that it’s career suicide to come out against her?

Kieran Kibble
28) What are your top 3 MJ short films and why? Thanks for all the work you guys do in supporting Michael’s legacy.

Ben
29) What motivates you both to still remain active in the MJ fan community all these years later?

Dorsa
30) If you had to choose one documentary/book that captures the whole essence of Michael Jackson, which one would it be?

Suzie
31) If you had a time machine and could make two trips to the past, one to any MJ performance and one to any moment in Michael’s life where you could use your time to speak with him personally (and maybe warn him of certain things), which moments in time would you choose?

Debi T
32) How do you as hosts of The MJCast who have interviewed several members of the Jackson family feel about reports coming from the bodyguards, Randall Sullivan, and others that Michael’s family were a bunch of grifters during his life and after his death?

Mira Kontar
33) What are the best arguments to make when discussing Michael’s status as the greatest entertainer? I see weak arguments like he makes people faint or he can just stand there and entertain us, which doesn’t hold when discussing skill-set. I have my own answer, but I’d like to hear yours.

Dexter Williams
34) Between catching snippets of the Chauvin trial on television, and seeing discourse and comments about it on social media, I’ve wondered what effect having filmed MJ’s 2005 trial would have had. Do you think, in hindsight, that filming/broadcasting the 2005 trial on television would have hurt or harmed MJ’s reputation as far as the general public is concerned?

Shawn Clarence
35) If you had access to Michael’s vault and could release ONE Definitive Project, what would part/parts of Michael would you showcase and why?
36) Jamon, if you could sit in the studio and watch Michael record a song what would it be?

Additional Links
• The MJCast 063: Q Q&A
• The MJCast 069: C Q&A
• The MJCast 074: J Q&A
The MJCast 099: Leaving Neverland Q&A

Sponsors
• Thank you to our anonymous listener, whose donation to The MJCast has allowed us to give back to Children International.
• The MJCast’s official shop. Support The MJCast and Michael Jackson all at the same time by buying some of our merchandise.

Connect with Us
TheMJCast.com
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube

If you have feedback on this Michael Jackson podcast episode, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us at themjcast@icloud.com or find the links to our many social networks on www.themjcast.com. Keep Michaeling!

121: The New Adventures of Charlie Thomson

Charles Thomson returns to The MJCast, joining Jamon Bull for a massive catch-up on everything the investigative journalist has been up to since the release of Leaving Neverland a year and a half ago. The duo discuss Charlie’s whirlwind year, from winning national journalism awards in the UK while simultaneously losing his job, being hired for a podcast, and unexpectedly becoming the central narrator in Danny Wu’s 1993 allegations documentary, Square One. They cover back-and-forth trips to Los Angeles (featuring a cameo by Helen Mirren!), restaurant-hopping with Tom Mesereau, parties at Hayvenhurst, an HBO court hearing, and much more. And finally, Charlie talks about being hired for a Larry Nimmer documentary, and launching his own true crime podcast, Unfinished: Shoebury’s Lost Boys. It’s been an epic year for Charlie, to be sure.

Discussion Topics
• Leaving Neverland has won a BAFTA.
• Charlie’s amazing year.

Additional Links
• Charlie’s Twitter and website.
• Charlie’s new true crime podcast, Unfinished: Shoebury’s Lost Boys.
• Danny Wu’s documentary, Square One. (You can read The MJCast review of the film and see photos from the LA film premiere here.)

Sponsors
• Audible – Great audiobooks. Great a free one-month trial (including one free audiobook) and help support the podcast by using our custom MJCast promo link.
• The MJCast’s official shop. Support The MJCast and Michael Jackson all at the same time by buying some of our merchandise.

Connect with Us
• TheMJCast.com
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• YouTube

If you have feedback on this Michael Jackson podcast episode, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us at themjcast@icloud.com or find the links to our many social networks on www.themjcast.com. Keep Michaeling!

120: I’ve Found Peace Within Myself

Damien Shields returns to The MJCast as a guest host, joining Elise for a jam-packed news and discussion episode! Damien is a long-time Friend of the Show, author, and Cascio tracks expert. The duo catches up on loads of updates in the world of Michael Jackson, including several new MJ-related books, a new podcast, updates on MJ One and the Robson/Safechuck hearings, Paris Jackson’s debut EP, lots of recently leaked MJ songs, amazing new content for fans from John Cameron, Marcos Cabota, Brad Sundberg, ?uestlove, Single White Glove—and much, much more. Plus, Damien and Elise discuss the Estate’s approach to HIStory25.

Discussion Topics
• New footage from the Bad World Tour live in Los Angeles 1988 has leaked.
• Single White Glove’s Heal the World video has premiered.
• MJFanGirl and The Detail have teamed up to release a new podcast called Michael Jackson Unspun. The latest episode is with Michael Bush’s assistant.
• Pez Jax’s book ‘The Story of HIStory’ is now available for pre-order, and will be officially released on July 20.
• Brice Najar has announced his new book, ‘Blood on the Dance Floor: Let’s Make HIStory in the Mix’.
• Dwayne Swingler, Neverland Valley Ranch supervisor has released a book.
• MJ Memorial Day Live happened on Facebook on June 25th, hosted by the King of Pop Events group. It featured interviews with Travis Payne, Jimmy Locust, Steven Paul Whitsitt and others. You can see the whole series of interviews here
• New Facebook group for online events and fan chat: Michael Jackson Book Club.
• MJ One is currently set to re-open in Las Vegas in early August. Meanwhile, Cirque du Soleil is over $1 billion in debt, and is seeking bankruptcy protection. They have laid off 3,500 employees, including Blue Man Group. However, all their non-touring shows plan to re-open as soon as they are allowed to do so.
• Marcos Cabota’s Sonic Fantasy documentary gets a trailer.
• Archival interviews of Michael Jackson’s children have been released on YouTube channel ‘Jacksonology‘, apparently created for a cancelled documentary about MJ.
• Soundflowers’ docuseries, ‘Unfiltered: Paris Jackson and Gabriel Glenn’, streaming on Facebook through the summer. Plus, their debut EP has been released.
• Sia and Paris drama.
• Danny Wu’s Square One has been released on Amazon Prime.
• Charles Thomson has released his first podcast, called Shoebury’s Lost Boys, which details his decade long investigation into one of Britain’s most serious child sex abuse allegations cover-ups.
• Robson and Safechuck trial update. As predicted, Dan Reed was there filming.
• The Jacksons’ video for Can You Feel It gets released on YouTube, as well as Michael Jackson’s HIStory teaser.
• Original versions of some 2007 Ebony photoshoot pics have leaked.
• ?uestlove has streamed three massive Jackson family DJ experiences here, here and here. Full “Quarantine Live DJ Sets” playlist available here.
• John Cameron is about to release his latest episode of #JCsMusicology, which will focus on the Off The Wall era.
• Brad Sundberg has shared his ‘7 Songs, 7 Stories’ series on YouTube as a way to honour ‘MJ Week’ during COVID-19 restrictions.
• So…it’s been a bit leaky lately. See this channel.
• HIStory25 got the Dangerous25 treatment.

Additional Links
• Damien’s website.
• Damien’s excellent book, Michael Jackson: Songs & Stories From The Vault.

Sponsors
• Audible – Great audiobooks. Great a free one-month trial (including one free audiobook) and help support the podcast by using our custom MJCast promo link.
• The MJCast’s official shop. Support The MJCast and Michael Jackson all at the same time by buying some of our merchandise.

Connect with Us
• TheMJCast.com
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• YouTube

If you have feedback on this Michael Jackson podcast episode, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us at themjcast@icloud.com or find the links to our many social networks on www.themjcast.com. Stay BAD!

070: Nobody Gonna be Payin’ Us

Q and Jamon are back in the saddle and ready to discuss all things Michael Jackson and the Jackson family! The fellas kick things off with some discussion around a previously unseen version of the Victory album cover, Michael’s influence across the hip-hop genre, Tito Jackson’s interview around unreleased Michael music and a recent Dee Dee Jackson Foundation and Heal Los Angeles Fundraiser. Q and Jamon then delve into the new Blood on the Dancefloor X Dangerous (The White Panda Mash-up) remix, Paris Jackson’s Melbourne Cup visit, Janet’s State of the World Tour and Out100 Gala appearance and Austin Brown’s new EP Canyon Sessions. To round out the news, the boys update listeners on Katherine Jackson’s position as guardian of Bigi ‘Blanket’ Jackson, Mike Smallcombe and Andy Healy’s book announcements and the Dangerous World Tour (Live in Oslo) leak. The main discussion topic for this episode is all around Q and Jamon’s thoughts on the CBS TV special Michael Jackson’s Halloween.

P.s. We apologise for the audio issues on Jamon’s vocal throughout this episode. He needs a new mic chord!

News
• 
Michael Whelan, illustrator of the Victory album cover, has revealed two early concepts for the design
• MJ’s influence across hip-hop video
• Tito Jackson gives an interview around unreleased Michael Jackson music
• Dee Dee Jackson/Heal Los Angeles fundraiser event takes place at Hayvenhurst for Halloween
• Sony have released a new mash-up video for Blood on the Dance Floor X Dangerous (The White Panda Mash-up)
• Paris Jackson visits Australia for the Melbourne Cup and suffers terrible treatment by Australian media, and also some great media here, here and here.
• Janet Jackson attends official LA #SOTW Tour after-party and performs at Hollywood Bowl with Jackson’s in attendance. Reunites with previous dancers for If, Scream & Rhythm Nation medley.
• Janet Jackson honoured with the 2017 music icon award at the Out100 Gala
• Austin Brown releases a new EP titled Canyon Sessions
• Katherine Jackson resigns as guardian of Bigi Jackson
• Mike Smallcombe is set to release a revised version of Making Michael
• Andy Healy’s Bad 30 101 is available for download
• Michael Jackson’s Dangerous World Tour (Live in Oslo, 1992) has leaked
• LaVelle Smith Jr shares footage of Michael’s 2002 “A Night at the Apollo” lip-synced performance of Heal the World
• Stance launches official Thriller socks range
• Director John Singleton shares memories of working with Michael
• Jermaine Jackson performs on Dutch TV show Tijd voor MAX as well as engaging in some interviews while in the Netherlands.

Main Discussion Topic
• 
Michael Jackson’s Halloween

Finds of the Week
• 
Q – Sammy Davis Jr. Sings Michael Jackson’s Bad
• Jamon – Michael Jackson – You Are Not Alone (Full Length Mix)

Additional Links
• 
Moranbah. Where Jamon lives.
• 
Did Prince Cause The Jacksons to Remove Dove from Victory Album Cover?
• Michael Jackson at HOT 97’s Summer Jam with Jay-Z in 2002
• The Notorious BIG – Unbelievable
• The Jackson’s Legacy book

Music Breaks & Ads
• 
Michael Jackson – Smooth Criminal (BlkPanther SOLO Orchestral Mix)
• Janet Jackson – No Sleeep (Even When You Sleep ’86 Remix)
• Moonwalk TV ad
• Michael Jackson – Workin’ Day and Night (Live in Oslo, 1992)

Connect with Us
• 
TheMJCast.com
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• YouTube

If you have any thoughts, opinions, or feedback on the show, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us at themjcast@icloud.com or find the links to our many social networks on www.themjcast.comKeep Michaeling!