DIGITAL MJ - Will Michael Jackson's hologram dance at the Billboard music awards?

 Don’t be surprised to see Michael Jackson moonwalking onstage at this weekend’s Billboard Music Awards. Rumours abound that a hologram version of the late King of Pop will perform the song Slave to the Rhythm from his recent posthumous album titled Xscape.

 According to Showbiz411, the producers of this Sunday’s Billboard Music Awards have already retained the services of John Textor, who previously created a hologram likeness of the deceased rapper Tupac Shakur that performed at the Coachella Festival in 2012.

This isn't the first time Jackson has been reincarnated as a digital projection. A hologram of the singer is used as part of Cirque du Soleil's show Michael Jackson: One. This production has been accused of employing the same technology as the Tupac illusion, without paying the companies that patented it. Musion and a new firm called Hologram USA, owned by billionaire Alki David, recently filed a lawsuit against Cirque du Soleil, accusing it of patent infringement. "We already agreed on hologram performances with Flo Rida and the late Amy Winehouse," David said in March. "Many other shows are coming." Winehouse's father dismissed claims of an Amy hologram tour.


Despite the Rimmer-evoking talk, neither Coachella's Tupac nor the potential Jackson performance are actually holograms. Musion uses an old illusion technique called Pepper's Ghost with an original display device.

Although Slave to the Rhythm appears on Jackson's new posthumous album, Xscape, it would be a strange choice for this television appearance. Leaked as part of a February commercial for Sony Mobile, the track was passed over as a single. Instead, Love Never Felt So Good, co-written with Paul Anka, was released on 2 May. It's currently at No 24 on the UK chart, with an official remix due this weekend.