Better On The Other Side (A Michael Jackson Tribute Song)
Last night I thought a lot about the idea of a tribute song. Aaliyah had a tribute video for her last single, “Miss You,” which came out over a year following her death. Biggie had his “I’ll Be Missing You” all-star tribute. It was released on May 27th, 1997 – a full 79 days after his untimely death.
With 30 seconds left in this video, Puffy speaks over Faith Evans and Sting, encouraging the crowd to “Clap your hands for Tupac. Clap your hands for Betty Shabbazz. Clap your hands for Gianni Versace. Clap your hands for Princess Diana. Clap your hands for Notorious B.I.G. Clap your hands for everybody we lost. We miss you.” It started me thinking of how long it would take the music community to rally to audibly pay their respects to Michael Jackson.
And now a mere 24 hours following his passing, I have my answer.
Details, including the song, after the jump.
The answer comes in the form of “Better on the Other Side,” an all-star tribute to Michael himself. The song is led by The Game, and features Chris Brown, Usher, Boyz II Men, Diddy, and Mario Winans. “I remember the first time I seen you move, I believed I could do anything. You made the world dance, you made the music come to life.” I was wary that anything thrown together so quickly could be at all decent. But it is actually quite moving. The song helps remind me how he not only created a legion of devoted fans, but also how deeply he influenced other musicians. I predict this will sit at the top of the charts for quite some time.
