Michael Jackson Appears As A Hologram At Billboard Music Awards

Nearly five years after his untimely death, Michael Jackson continues to be the center of attention. At the Billboard Music Awards Sunday Night, a holographic Michael Jackson performed on stage to one of his hits “Slave To The Rhythm.” Alongside him included a five-piece band and 16 live backup dancers.

He was dressed in a gold jacket , a white T-shirt and tight red pants as he performed his signature moonwalk that few dancers have successfully emulated. Of course, a Michael Jackson hologram wasn’t created overnight. 

Michael Jackson Hologram Performance:

According to Billboard Music Awards Director Larry Klein, “We’ve been talking about it for the last five months and while we were talking about it they were still inventing the process.” “It was really strange talking about something that did not exist,” he adds in an interview to Billboard. 

To make such a performance possible, new technology had to be created in addition to filming the video.  A stage was built specifically at the rear of the MGM Grand Arena for Jackson’s performance. Klein said he shot it in a way that made his performance as authentic and live as possible.

“You were watching the magic of Michael Jackson just like you would have when he was performing,” he said. 

Rich and Tone Talauega, who have previously collaborated with Jackson, choreographed and directed the video. 

“We knew we didn’t need to go so far left field with his dance moves — we just kept it within his world,” Rich Talauega said to Billboard. “Its just the way you reconfigure his steps so it looks different. You’re still speaking the same language, it’s just a different dialect.”

Michael Jackson’s lawyer John Branca said “Slave To The Rhythm” was selected for its likeability and a song that everyone can dance to at a club. In addition, Branca said this performance was something “where we wanted a live performance in front of a live audience and nothing speaks to that more than an awards show.”

Jackson’s performance is reminiscent to Tupac’s performance at Coachella in 2012 where a holographic version of himself performed the song “Hail Mary.”

Tupac Hologram at Coachella 2012: