Mj sets Major record sells... over 6 Million Records sold in a week n a half

Michael Jackson has three of the five best-selling albums in the U.S. for the second week in a row.Number Ones sold 339,000 copies this week and would have held at #1 on The Billboard 200 if catalog albums were eligible to compete on that chart. (The 2003 compilation sold a little more than twice as many copies this week as NOW 31, the album that holds the #1 spot.) Thriller sold 187,000 copies and would have jumped from #3 to #2 if catalog albums were invited to the party. The Essential Michael Jackson sold 125,000 copies and would have dropped from #2 to #5. (Billboard excludes catalog albums from the big chart on the theory that new albums need the spotlight the chart provides more than past hits do.)

Jackson's catalog of solo albums sold 800,000 copies this week, up from 422,000 copies last week. (This was the first full week following Jackson's death on June 25. Last week's total reflected just four days of sales.) Billboard reports that 82% of the Jackson albums sold this week were CDs (vs. digital downloads). Last week, 43% of the Jackson albums sold were CDs. I think this shows that on a special album, people want the CD as a keepsake. (What a retro concept!)

Jackson's total song download sales this week, including hits with his brothers, stand at 2.2 million downloads, down just a little from 2.6 million last week. A total of 47 songs that feature Jackson are listed on the Hot Digital Songs chart. (This is down just a bit from last week's eye-popping total of 50.)

Number Ones racked up the biggest weekly sales total in Nielsen/SoundScan history for a catalog album (excluding Christmas albums). Jackson also held the old record, which he set in February 2008, when Thriller 25 sold 166,000 copies in its first week.Number Ones also posted the biggest one-week sales tally for an album by a deceased performer since the Notorious B.I.G.'s Duets: The Final Chapterdebuted in December 2005 with first-week sales of 438,000.

Number Ones has sold 564,000 copies so far this year, which puts it at #18 on Nielsen/SoundScan's running list of the best-selling albums of 2009. If it keeps going like this, it could topple Taylor Swift's Fearless as the #1 album for the year-to-date. (Fearlesshas sold 1,352,000 copies since Jan. 1.) This will (in all likelihood) be only the third time in Nielsen/SoundScan history that an album by a deceased performer has ranked among the year's top 10. 2Pac's All Eyez On Me was the #6 album of 1996 (he died on Sept. 13 of that year). The Notorious B.I.G.'s Life After Death was the #6 album of 1997 (he died on March 9 of that year).

Number Ones holds at #1 on the Catalog Albums chart. (Catalog albums are albums that are more than 18 months old, have fallen below #100 on The Billboard 200 and don't have a current radio single.) Jackson owns the entire top 10 this week, counting a Jackson 5album. The Essential Michael Jackson holds at #1 on the Digital Albums chart. The collection sold 53,000 digital copies this week.

This is the third time that Thrillerhas posted sales of 100,000 or more units in a week in the Nielsen/SoundScan era (which dates to 1991). As noted above, the album sold 166,000 copies when a 25th anniversary edition was released in February 2008. It sold 101,000 last week, in the aftermath of Jackson's death. Thriller is the only the second catalog album (again, excluding Christmas albums) to top the 100,000 sales mark more than once since 1992. It follows the Grease soundtrack, a 1978 blockbuster that came back strong in the mid-1990s. The John Travolta/Olivia Newton-John tune-fest topped the 100,000 sales mark twice in December 1996 and again in April 1998, when the movie was re-released theatrically.

Jackson has five songs in the top 10 on Hot Digital Songs this week: "Man In The Mirror" at #2, "Billie Jean" at #4, "Thriller" at #5, "The Way You Make Me Feel" at #7 and "Beat It" at #10. Later today, I'll post a Chart Watch Extra in which I count down Jackson's 40 most songs with the most cumulative paid downloads. The list shows which of Jackson's songs have best stood the test of time-and which haven't.

Pop Quiz: To get you in the mood, here's a good (but seriously tough) Jackson trivia question. What do these three songs have in common: "Rock With You," "Human Nature" and "Man In The Mirror." Answer below.

Jackson is selling around the world. In the U.K., The Essential Michael Jackson moves up to #1, dethroning Number Ones(which drops to #3). In Japan, King Of Pop vaults from #43 to #6.

In a Chart Watch Extra (here's thelink), I told you that Michael Jackson has had 17 #1 hits on the Hot 100 (combining Jackson 5and solo records). Let me add that he has also had five #2 hits. Twice, he peaked at #2 behind hits that went on to be Billboard's #1 single of the year. That was the fate of the J5's "Never Can Say Goodbye" (which got stuck behind Three Dog Night's "Joy To The World," the top hit of 1971) and his own "Rockin' Robin" (which ran up against Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," the top hit of 1972). The J5's "Mama's Pearl" peaked at #2 behind the Osmonds' "One Bad Apple," which was created in the mold of the early J5 hits. His other #2 hits were the J5's "Dancing Machine" and his duet with Paul McCartney, "The Girl Is Mine."

Quiz Answer: Those were the first "outside songs" (songs that Jackson didn't write) to be released as singles from his three most famous albums, Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad. (I told you it was tough!)

PHARELL WILLIAMS ATTENDS THE ANNUAL SUMMER PARTY AT THE SERPENTINE GALLERY

WHAT DO U THINK ABOUT THE BOOTS? THEY HOT RIGHT......

MAXWELL BLACKSUMMERS’NIGHT

5 STARS

MOS-DOPE-DEF

Mos Def in Filter Magazine.

REMEMBERING MICHAEL JACKSON: CELEBS AT HIS PUBLIC MEMORIAL SERVICE

Usher sings a touching rendition of “Gone Too Soon” next to the casket of legendary entertainer Michael Jackson at the public memorial service for the star held at Staples Center on Tuesday, July 7th in Los Angeles, California.

The whole service was a very touching and very well put together. Berry Gordy said it best, “To say he’s the king of pop is an understatement, he was the greatest performer that ever lived!”

Other performers and celebrities that attended the public service were: , John Mayer, Queen Latifah, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Brooke Shields, Al Sharpton, Jennifer Hudson and more. Check out all the photos below.

REMEMBERING MICHAEL JACKSON: THE JACKSON FAMILY AT THE MEMORIAL SERVICE

The Jackson Family stands on stage at the closing of the Michael Jackson public memorial service held at Staples Center on Tuesday, July 7th in Los Angeles, California. Jackson, the iconic pop star, died at the age of 50 less than two weeks ago.

At the end of the service, Michael Jackson’s daughter Paris Jackson said this:

“Ever since I was born, daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine,” the 11-year-old said. “And I just wanted to say I love him so much.”

GIULIANO FUJIWARA HIGH-TOPS S/S ""DOPE""

GAGA

Lady Gaga for ‘V’ Magazine.

Jackson memorial a somber, spiritual celebration

By JESSE WASHINGTON, AP National Writer – 29 mins ago
LOS ANGELES – It was not spectacular, extravagant or bizarre. There were songs and tears but little dancing. Instead, Michael Jackson's memorial was a somber, spiritual ceremony that reached back for the essence of the man.
Singer, dancer, superstar, humanitarian: That was how the some 20,000 people gathered inside the Staples Center arena on Monday, and untold millions watching around the world, remembered Jackson, whose immense talents almost drowned beneath the spectacle of his life and fame.
If there was a shocking moment, it came in the form of Jackson's daughter, Paris-Michael, who made the first public statement of her 11 years. "Ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father I could imagine," she said, dissolving into tears and turning to lean on her aunt Janet. "I just want to say I love him so much."
Outside the arena, the celebrity-industrial complex that Jackson helped create ground on. More than 3,000 police officers massed downtown to keep the ticketless at bay. Helicopters followed the golden casket as it was driven over blocked-off freeways from Forest Lawn cemetery to Staples Center. A bazaar of T-shirts, buttons, photos and other memorabilia sprouted in the blocks around the memorial. Movie theaters played the service live and people paused around the world to watch.
Inside, however, the atmosphere was churchlike, assisted by the enormous video image of a stained glass window, with red-gold clouds blowing past, that was projected behind the stage.
The ceremony began with Smokey Robinson reading statements from Jackson's close friend Diana Ross — "Michael was part of the fabric of my life" — and then Nelson Mandela — "Be strong."
A lengthy silence of several minutes followed, punctuated only by a steady twinkle of camera flashes. The thousands of mourners spoke softly to those in neighboring seats or contemplated their private thoughts.
Celebrities made their way to their seats in front of the stage: Kobe Bryant, Spike Lee, Wesley Snipes, Lou Ferrigno, Don King, the Kardashian sisters, Magic Johnson, Brooke Shields, Larry King. While Jackson was among the most famous faces in the world, today's megastars were largely absent. Those present mostly reflected some connection to Jackson's life or work.
Among those conspicuously not in attendance were Elizabeth Taylor, Ross and Debbie Rowe, Jackson's ex-wife and the mother of Jackson's two oldest children.
The fans, clutching tickets that 1.6 million people had sought, were a visual representation of Jackson's life: white, black and everything in between; from Mexico, Japan, Italy or America; wearing fedoras, African headdresses, sequins or surgical masks. Actor Corey Feldman showed up fully costumed as Michael Jackson.
"Words can't express how I feel," said Dani Harris, a 35-year-old stay-at-home mom from Los Angeles.
"You think about one person, larger than presidents and kings and queens," Harris said. "People in countries you can't even see on the map know his face, his music."
The pre-ceremony stillness was broken by the organ strains of an African-American spiritual. "Hallelujah, hallelujah, going to see the King," a choir sang. The crowd cheered and rose to its feet.
The Rev. Lucious W. Smith of the Friendship Baptist Church in Pasadena gave the greeting, standing on the same stage where Jackson had been rehearsing for a comeback concert before his death on June 25 at age 50. Then Mariah Carey sang the opening performance with a sweet rendition of the Jackson 5 ballad "I'll Be There," a duet with Trey Lorenz.
Queen Latifah read a special poem composed by Maya Angelou. Lionel Richie sang gospel, "Jesus Is Love." Berry Gordy remembered the prodigy of young Michael, drawing a standing ovation when he said the title King of Pop would no longer suffice: "He is simply the greatest entertainer who ever lived."
Emotions peaked when the Rev. Al Sharpton delivered a fiery eulogy highlighting all the barriers Jackson broke and the troubles he faced. "Every time he got knocked down, he got back up," Sharpton said, and the applauding crowd again jumped to its feet.
Sharpton rode the moment, building to a crescendo. "There wasn't nothing strange about your daddy," he said later, addressing Jackson's three children in the front row. "It was strange what your daddy had to deal with!"
Jubilation erupted, with the longest standing ovation of the day. It seemed as if Sharpton broke through some sort of wall, freeing shouts from the crowd of "We love you Michael!" After he left the stage, chants of "Mi-chael! Mi-chael!" filled the arena.
The parade of famous names continued: Jennifer Hudson, Stevie Wonder, Usher, Martin Luther King III and his sister Bernice, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and Kobe Bryant.
For a performer who smashed the race barrier on MTV and did as much as anyone to make black music mainstream — not to mention was accused of trying to turn himself white through skin treatments and plastic surgery — the ceremony had a remarkably black cast. John Mayer and Brooke Sheields were the only white celebs with major roles.
Another unexpected aspect was the logistics. The mayhem and traffic snarls that had been feared by city officials never materialized. The thousands of ticketholders began filing in early and encountered few problems, and traffic was actually considered by police to be lighter than normal. An estimate of up to 700,000 gawkers turned out to be about 1,000.
The city of Los Angeles set up a Web site to allow fans to contribute money to help the city pay for the memorial, which was estimated to cost $1.5 million to $4 million.
It was not clear what will happen to Jackson's body. The Forest Lawn Memorial Park Hollywood Hills cemetery, where a private service was held, is the final resting place for such stars as Bette Davis, Andy Gibb, Freddie Prinze, Liberace and recently deceased David Carradine and Ed McMahon.
But Jackson's brother Jermaine has expressed a desire to have him buried someday at Neverland, his estate in Southern California.
The ceremony ended with Jackson's family on stage, amid a choir, singing "Heal the World."
"All around us are people of different cultures, different religions, different nationalities," Rev. Smith said as he closed the service. "And yet the music of Michael Jackson brings us together."