A new song by Mr. Jackson, called “This Is It,” will be released next month, Sony Music Entertainment said Wednesday in a news release. The song, which shares its title with the comeback tour that Mr. Jackson was rehearsing when he died in June, will be released as a single on Oct. 12, Sony said.
Like numerous pop-music performers before him, Michael Jackson will not be hindered in his recording career by his death.
Two versions of that song, which includes backing vocals by Mr. Jackson’s brothers, will also appear on a new two-disc set, also called “This Is It,” which includes previously released and new material, including a spoken-word poem by Mr. Jackson called “Planet Earth”; that set will be released internationally on Oct. 26 and in North America on Oct. 27.
That will be followed on Oct. 28 by Sony Pictures’ release of the documentary film “Michael Jackson: This Is It,” which is compiled from rehearsal footage from Mr. Jackson’s planned concerts.