In case you are not in the know, a new song was released last Saturday by the late Pop legend Michael Jackson. Jackson died on June 25, 2009, and would have turned 59 years on August 29.
Read: #NETRemembers: Name your favourite Michael Jackson song
Nine years after the death of the King of Pop, the legendary artist is still making impactful music and still capable of generating news buzz. The new video “Behind the Mask,” released by Jackson’s estate is a cover of influential Japanese electronic band Yellow Magic Orchestra’s song of the same name originally created for his record-smashing 1982 album Thriller.
Though the track didn’t make the cut for the Thriller Album, “Behind the Mask” was eventually released as the third single from the posthumous compilation Michael in 2010. The video which just dropped has so far accumulated over 3Million views and is sure to do more in the coming weeks.
The video is saturated with many Jackson-inspired masks and disguises, especially the rabbit mask worn by the saxophonist in the opening frames and then again in later scenes. It is similar to one that Jackson wore in the claymation-featuring video for his 1989 song “Speed Demon” which transforms him into a different character to get away from the paparazzi and fans chasing him. In the “Behind the Mask” video, however, the saxophonist who dons the mask takes it off to reveal his face.
Jackson was known to usually conceal his identity by wearing disguises when he went out in public. “I do disguises… People know them all, it’s very hard, very hard,” he said in a 2002 interview with Gold Magazine. “Fat suits, buck teeth, glasses, afros, prosthetics, make-up jobs, everything.”
The “Behind the Mask” video features other aesthetic expressions peculiar to Michael Jackson – Like the red jacket worn by one of the dancers, similar to that worn by Jackson in the iconic video for his smash hit “Thriller”. The dancers also tried to replicate some of the iconic dance routines of the legendary pop star.
Watch the video below: