The posthumous album Michael, released in December 2010, included three songs recorded with Eddie Cascio and James Porte at a basement studio in New Jersey. Sony said the voice was Jackson’s. The California Supreme Court’s opinion records that his mother, three of his brothers, two of his children, nephews and producers who had worked with him all expressed doubts. [1]
Vera Serova sued in 2014 under consumer protection law, saying buyers were misled. Sony argued that its statements about the album were protected speech about an artistic controversy. The California Supreme Court ruled in August 2022 that the cover and promotional video were commercial speech, which allowed the claims to go forward. It did not decide who sang. [1]
The three songs were removed from streaming services in June 2022, and the case settled that summer. [2] The strongest version of the “fake” case is the number of people close to him who doubted it, including his own family. The strongest version of the other side is that Sony and the estate hired forensic experts and maintained the songs were his. Without a trial, both remain claims.
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