Michael Jackson is back in the studio and is working on his new album with RedOne and Akon. The popstar is said to be so determined about his comeback that he has even banned his kids from the studio to avoid any distractions. According to various and reliable sources, the 49-year-old singer will be working with the duo at the Palms recording studio in Las Vegas. “Michael is producing the album himself and then will sell it to a record company when he’s finished, the Daily Telegraph quoted a source. “Michael has banned his kids from the recording studio. He realises this is very important and doesn’t want any distractions,” said the source.

Pop star Michael Jackson is no longer named as a defendant in a lawsuit that alleges intentional infliction of emotional and mental distress by Jackson, Marian Medical Center and Catholic Healthcare West. The suit was filed by the family of a Santa Maria woman who died at the hospital in February 2005.

Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville granted a demurrer Tuesday that was filed by Jackson's attorney, Timothy Gorry. Demurrers were likewise filed by the attorney for the hospital, Hugh Spackman, but Melville ordered that allegations will remain against the hospital. Whether the hospital still faced all charges couldn't be immediately confirmed.

For those of you who have missed this incredible commercial with Naomi Campbell dancing on the rythm of Michael Jackson's Thriller...

Lately, it seems you can't avoid hearing the familiar opening chords of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" on TV, on the radios, on iTunes.

But it's not the '80s anymore - it's 2008 - and pop music's biggest-selling album of all time is back in the spotlight this year as we celebrate the 25th anniversary of a cultural icon.

No longer is Michael Jackson the man relevant, but his music as it was ten years ago.

In the past two months, consider these places where "Thriller" has been referenced:

• The music video for "Thriller" was the No. 5 most popular music video on iTunes last week.
• MTV's "America's Best Dance Crew" dedicated an entire episode to Jackson's videos from the "Thriller" album.
• One of the more memorable Super Bowl commercials this year was the SoBe ad where lizards dance to "Thriller" with Naomi Campbell.
• An XM radio station was created in March devoted solely to the "Thriller" album.
• Jackson's sister Janet couldn't avoid questions about the monumental album while trying to promote her latest effort on "Larry King Live" last month.
• Rapper Rick Ross released "Trilla" in March, inspired by Jackson's album

Michael Jackson’s Thriller 25 is #1 on Top Catalog Albums for the seventh straight week. Its sales of 26,000 would have placed it #15 on the main chart if older catalog albums were allowed to compete there. Looking forward to the 50th anniversary, Michael!

Every month one of our members will be the lucky winner of this very special collectible hat, realized to celebrate the 6th year of MJPortal and the 25th anniversary of the Thriller album, which has sold 104 million copies worldwide!!! To take part to the contest, you just have to register to the website and cross your fingers! The delivery charges (wherever you live) will be completely up to MJPortal. By subscribing, you agree to receive our News Alerts, and that your real name may be published on the site in case of winnings. The contest will end on December 31st, 2008.

Winners 

• March 2008 - Annalisa di Blasio - MILANO -IT
• April 2008 - Richard Lecocq - CERGY - FR
• May 2008 - Mihaela Zamfir - BUCURESTI - RO
• June 2008 - Albert Bida - VOGHERA - IT
• July 2008 - Fernando Hernandez - MORPHETT VALE - SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Jennifer Batten, the famous guitarist who performed in Michael Jackson's Bad, Dangerous, and HIStory tour, is about to release her 3rd solo CD/DVD entitled "Whatever”. She’s ventured into electronica, vocal samples, and film making. She’s supporting this release with a one woman multimedia show, playing guitar in synch with films projected onto a giant screen. The DVD includes over 90 min of art films, previously unreleased music videos, interviews, commentary, and an innovative guitar lesson.

The CD/DVD will hit music shops on April 18th, 2008.

If you look solely at sales of all albums, this week Michael Jackson's special edition Thriller 25 would be lodged at #1 based on strong sales of 170,000 copies. However, a quick look at the Billboard Top 200 album chart shows Grammy-winning Amy Winehouse and her album Back to Black sitting comfortably at #2 with Michael Jackson nowhere to be seen.

The reason for this exclusion of Thriller 25 is that Billboard considers the album a catalog or oldies album, and Billboard publishes a special chart just for catalog albums. If you look at this chart, Michael Jackson is at #1 with the biggest one-week sales of a catalog album in over 10 years. Jackson's label Sony is complaining about the placement reasoning that the Top 200 chart is much more visible and likely to impact sales, but Billboard holds firm by their decision indicating they also spoke to major retailers such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy in making their decision. Sony also claims that it should be considered a new album because of the inclusion of new versions of songs featuring Akon and Fergie among others. However, past precedent shows that other albums including even more new material have been kept to the catalog chart.

Despite the controversy, it is quite an achievement for any 25 year old album to sell over 100,000 copies in one week!!!

Global response to the release of Thriller 25 reached a fever pitch across the world today, as first-week sales numbers are revealed. The Thriller 25th Anniversary release is America's #2 Top-Selling Album this week. Thriller 25 has rocketed into the Top 5 in many countries across the planet.

Outside of the US, the new edition of Michael Jackson's classic collection has hit: #1 in France and Belgium; #2 in Germany, Australia, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland ; #3 in the UK, Denmark and New Zealand; #4 in Spain; #5 in Austria and Ireland; #6 in the Czech Republic and Italy