*Three Michael Jackson songs have been pulled from streaming services amid accusations that the late King of Pop did not sing on them.
The songs at the center of the drama are “Monster” featuring 50 Cent, “Keep Your Head Up,” and “Breaking News,” which appeared on Jackson’s 2010 posthumous project “Michael,” Complex reports.
Sony Music, which manages the rights to Jackson’s catalog, pulled the tracks, American Songwriter reports. The 10-track album now has seven songs that are available on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music.
“I should point out that the removal of these three songs has nothing to do with their authenticity,” said a spokesperson for Jackson’s official website. “The Estate and Sony Music believe the continuing conversation about the tracks is distracting the fan community and casual Michael Jackson listeners from focusing their attention where it should be – on Michael’s legendary and deep music catalog.”
READ MORE: Michael Jackson Estate Claims House Guest Stole Singer’s Items After Death
In a statement to USA Today, Jackson’s estate and Sony Music said: “Nothing should be read into this action concerning the authenticity of the tracks –it is just time to move beyond the distraction surrounding them.”
The removal of the tracks comes eight years after a fan named Vera Serova filed a class-action lawsuit against Sony and MJ’s estate over the three songs, accusing them of using fake vocals and violating “consumer laws, unfair competition, and fraud,” per American Songwriter.
In the lawsuit, Serova claimed that three tracks on “Michael” were part of an “elaborate artistic fraud masterminded by co-defendants Eddie Cascio and James Porte.”
The back cover of the “Michael” album reportedly reads, “This album contains nine previously unreleased vocal tracks performed by Michael Jackson. These tracks were recently completed using music from the original vocal tracks and music created by the credited producers.”
A judge ultimately ruled that both parties were not liable of the charges the fan accused them of.
“Because [Sony Music, MJJ Productions and the Jackson estate] lacked actual knowledge of the identity of the lead singer on [‘Breaking News,’ ‘Monster,’ and ‘Keep Your Head Up’], they could only draw a conclusion about that issue from their own research and the available evidence,” court documents stated, as reported by Complex. “Under these circumstances, [Sony Music, MJJ Productions and the Jackson estate’s] representations about the identity of the singer amounted to a statement of opinion rather than fact.”
The music videos for the three tracks are no longer on Jackson’s official YouTube channel.
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