Date: Tuesday Apr. 20, 2010 1:33 PM ET

LOS ANGELES — First the Beatles and Elvis, now Michael Jackson.

The acrobatic troupe Cirque du Soleil announced Tuesday that it will put on a live touring show featuring the songs of the King of Pop starting late next year.

That will be followed by a permanent production in Las Vegas in 2012 at a property owned by casino operator MGM Mirage.

The casino company did not say which venue will host the show.

Cirque and Jackson’s estate will each own 50 percent of the project and share equally in the cost of putting it on. The estate will also receive royalties from the use of Jackson’s music and other property.

And CNN.com:
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/04/20/michael.jackson.cirque/index.html?eref=edition

Los Angeles, California (CNN) — Cirque du Soleil and Michael Jackson’s estate have struck a deal to bring the late pop star’s music to the big tent starting next year.

The show will go on tour near the end of 2011, and a Las Vegas, Nevada, show will debut the following year, according to Cirque du Soleil President and CEO Daniel Lamarre.

The circus company first talked to Jackson six years ago about the possibility of a Jackson-themed show, Lamarre said Tuesday.

“Having attended Cirque du Soleil performances with Michael, I know he was a huge fan,” Jackson estate administrator John Branca said.

The shows will be based on Jackson’s music and dance, Lamarre said.

The project is the latest major deal announced by the estate, which recently signed a long-term contract with Sony Music to distribute the music of Jackson, who died in June at age 50.

The partnership — in which the estate and Cirque du Soleil are equal partners — has been long rumored.

Members of the Jackson family have been critical of the handling of Jackson’s estate since a probate judge gave Branca and John McClain control last summer. In this case, however, the matriarch of the family gave her blessing.

“Our family is thrilled that Cirque du Soleil will pay tribute to my son in such an important way,” said Katherine Jackson, the singer’s mother.

Cirque du Soleil is legendary for its creative and acrobatic performances, but Lamarre said it will be a challenge to live up to the imagination of Michael Jackson.

The MGM Mirage has signed on to host the Las Vegas residency. The hotel also will open a nightclub based on the Jackson show, the hotel said.

Chanting and praying starts – I fold my hands when it looks like I’m supposed to and bow when I’m supposed to. I think I was very professional overall. But I was a little nervous as to what we were actually praying for because I didn’t understand the chant.

Then the monk passes in front of us and drenches us in water; from what looked like long incense sticks dipped in water. During this time I was thinking of the Beatles when they went out meditating, and wondered if I should have dressed a little more hippy instead of my Polo shirt.

Before the monk bus left one of them came up to me and said “God Bless You”. And God did, because after that we had all the ice cream we could eat and all the Heineken we could drink – ALL DAY. I understand Buddhism now, and I also understand why they spend so many hours meditating and praying. If the ice cream and beer is good – it’s worth the time invested.

If you don’t listen to hip hop, let me fill you in on a couple things: The “N” word is everywhere in it. You can say what you want but it doesn’t change the facts, hip hop IS music (in fact it’s very good). It is currently the most active leading edge form of expression for teens. It’s here to stay. Remember the people in the sixties that said the Beatles were rubbish and rock was a fad? If you say that about hip hop today then you will eventually join those ranks.

I’ve heard the word a lot in two venues with two very different connotations. I played Country music for many years in nightclubs when I was younger. Not too often, but every once in a while, I would hear the word. Usually as part of a joke, but every once in a while said to me as if I was part of the inside crowd that appreciated it. I wore a cowboy hat, so I guess the stereotype fit. It always took me a little offguard, like why would they say that word?

The other place I used to hear it a lot was when producing hip hop music (I’ve produced several hundred hip hop demos and soundtracks, which is a little confusing to those that know me from orchestral and sacred projects). It was very rare that a rap artist did NOT use the word in a rap. It was really the expected thing. Every once in a while I’d get a rapper who told me they refused to use the word, but those artists were few and far between.

Times have changed. I think originally the word was overused in the context of comraderie as a way of de-sensitizing it’s history. “Yo my N***” was affectionate when said by the right person TO the right person.

Social consciousness undergoes a paradigm shift when a whole strata of society changes it’s view on something. An example is the current social consciousness about smoking; very different than it was in 1960. Or even drinking, as a society our overall view has changed. The tipping point of these things is a mystery, but one day we wake up and it seems the world has changed. So it is with our increasingly elevated race consciousness and the “N” word.

The arts, rap music, was one of the places the word was cool. A slow change has occured and artists are increasingly evaluating their use of the word. In 2006 when comedian Michael Richards went on his racist rant at the Comedy Club in Los Angeles, he inadvertantly opened a lot of discussions. I saw one interview with another comedian who’s schtick was built largely on using the word, and he announced he was cutting it from his act. He was asked if he would still be funny without it, his response was that he really didn’t care. He was doing his part to do what he thought was right.

I’ve run a hip hop forum since 2000 who’s membership is largely urban youth age 12-19. They’re talking about it now, whether it’s ok to use the word. That’s the reason I’m writing this post. It was never a discussion before, it was just the thing to do. But somewhere the tipping point has turned and even inner-city urban youth are questioning the effects of the word.

Many people accept that the arts are a way of expressing the human condition. If the race consciousness has changed to finally make this word obsolete after hundreds of years, then artists might consider that fact when creating new works. My experience has been that younger artists use the word not fully realizing it’s implications. Increased education and exposure to the struggles that have gone on during the Civil Rights movements has a tendency to dull the charm of the word for many artists.