Michael Jackson appears as hologram at Billboard Awards
Michael Jackson brought the audience to its feet at last night’s Billboard Music Awards, as the late singer made an appearance in a holographic performance.
The special appearance took place in Las Vegas last night to coincide with Jackson’s second posthumous album Xscape.
The King of Pop – who died in June 2009 – performed ‘Slave to the Rhythm’ alongside a mix of holographic and live on stage dancers.
Michael Jackson Hologram – Slave To The Rhythm… by TomsHardwareIT
The hologram danced around the stage in a golden jacket and red trousers with fire shooting all around him, before appearing alongside several dancers, and began with Michael on a throne.
The onstage resurrection garnered a standing ovation by the massive star-studded audience, who were clearly moved by the performance nearly five years after his death – but it might not have happened.
Only on Friday did a federal judge rule that the Billboard Music Awards could use the hologram, rejecting efforts from tech companies seeking to block the digital performance.
Judge Kent Dawson said there wasn’t enough evidence to show the planned 3-D image would violate patents held by Hologram USA Inc. and Musion Das Hologram Ltd.
The companies own rights to technology known for digitally resurrecting deceased rapper Tupac Shakur at the 2012 Coachella music festival.
Xscape was released on May 12 in the UK and has soared to number one in the digital charts in over 50 countries.
The eight-track release also became Jackson’s tenth number one album to top the UK chart.
