During the 1970s, Michael Jackson had become acquainted with Paul Anka when the Jackson 5 would frequent Anka’s shows in Las Vegas. By 1980, as Michael Jackson was forging his own path as a solos artist, following the release of his first album with Quincy Jones, Off the Wall, in 1979, Anka invited him to his home studio in Carmel, California.
“Michael came to me when he was 21,” recalled Anka. “He was very professional, knew what he wanted, and he was just like a sponge. He loved the business and he wanted to be number one. And he was a very talented guy to work with. I’ve worked with alot … but he was a very special person.”
In California, Anka and Jackson worked on three songs they had co-written and recorded during these sessions. Once recorded, the songs were shelved, and even thought to be stolen by Jackson at one point, then took decades to get released, following the King of Pop’s death in 2009.
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“This is It” (2009)
Written by Paul Anka and Michael Jackson
Initially, Paul Anka wanted to use his recording of “This Is It” with Michael Jackson on his 1983 duets album Walk a Fine Line, but the song would remained shelved for several decades. Years before Jackson’s posthumous release, Freestyle singer Sa-Fire also recorded a version of “This Is It” under its original title “I Never Heard,” on her 1991 album I Wasn’t Born Yesterday.
When Jackson’s version was finally released four months after his death in 2009, it was enhanced with vocals by his brothers brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Randy, and went to No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single was accompanied by a music video, directed by Spike Lee, featuring footage of Jackson throughout is career and as a child, along with fan tributes, worldwide.
This Is It, concet film, directed by Kenny Ortega, was also release after Jackson’s death and documented the rehearsals and preparation for his planned 50-show residency in London.
This is it, here I stand
I’m the light of the world, I feel grand
Got this love I can feel
And I know, yes, for sure, it is real
And it feels as though I’ve seen your face a thousand times
And you said you really know me too yourself
And I know that you have got addicted with your eyes
But you say you’re gonna live it for yourself, oh
I never heard a single word about you
Fallin’ in love wasn’t my plan (My plan)
I never thought that I would be your lover
Come on, baby, just understand
Before its release in 2009, Anka was not credited on the songand planned to sue the Jackson estate, which was settled. “[It was] an honest mistake,” said Anka. “They have clarified the issue.” He added, “They’ve [Jackson‘s estate] been very forthright. They’re giving me exactly what is fair and deserved in terms of my ownership of this track and the song, and we are moving forward.”
In 2013, Anka also released a duet of “This Is It,” featuring Jackson on the album Duets.
“Love Never Felt So Good,” Michael Jackson (2014)
Written by Paul Anka and Michael Jackson in 1983; released in 2014
Originally recorded in 1983, following the Thriller sessions, Michael Jackson co-wrote “Love Never Felt So Good” with Anka, but it was never released. In 2014, five years after Jackson’s death, the song was released as the first single off the Xscape album, a collection of songs recorded from 1983 through 1999. (Anka and Kathleen Wakefield also reworked the lyrics for Johnny Mathis to record the song in 1983.) The original version of “Love Never Felt So Good” featured Jackson’s vocals, finger snaps, and Anka on piano.
A second remixed version of the track, also released in 2014, was produced by Timbaland and J-Roc and featured Justin Timberlake in a duet with Jackson. The updated version of “Love Never Felt So Good” reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit the Top 10 in multiple countries making Jackson the first artist to have a top 10 single on the chart in five different decades—six decades, including his chart history with Jackson 5.
Baby, love never felt so good
And I’d doubt if it ever could
Not like you hold me, hold me
Oh baby, love never felt so fine
And I’d doubt if it’s never mine
Not like you hold me, hold me
And the night is gonna be just fine
Gotta fly, gotta see
I can’t wait, I can’t take it
‘Cause baby, every time I love you
In and out of my life, in and out baby
Tell me, if you really love me
It’s in and out of my life, in and out baby
So baby, yes, love never felt so good
“Don’t Matter to Me,” Featuring Drake (2018)
Written by Paul Anka and Michael Jackson; additional writing credits by Drake, Noah James Shebib, Anthony Jeffries, Nana Rogues, and Negin Djafari
In 2018, Drake pulled Michael Jackson’s vocals from the original demo for an updated recording of “Don’t Matter to Me,” released on his fifth album, Scorpion. Once released, the song went to No. 2 in the UK and peaked at No. 9 in the U.S.
All of a sudden you say you don’t want me no more
All of a sudden you say that I closed the door
It don’t matter to me
It don’t matter to me what you say
It don’t matter to me
It don’t matter to me what you say
I can’t recover from our last conversation
You called me weak
And you tested my manhood as we yelled at each other
You wanted me to gon’ put my hands on you
Just to show you I love you
You know I can’t jeopardize both our reputations
Despite what you say
Despite what you choose to do with yourself this summer
You’re actin’ out, you know you love to see me down
Stressin’ over somethin’
Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage
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