Amid Doubts, Jacko Starts Work on London Tour

Secreted in an airport hangar somewhere in the Los Angeles area, Michael Jackson is hard at work rehearsing for his 50-date concert series, “This Is It,”  TheWrap has confirmed.

“He is fine and in great shape and is healthy and rehearsing in Los Angeles,” said friend and business associate Gary Pudney, executive producer of the World Music Awards, where Jackson made one of his rare public appearances in 2006.

That may come as a surprise to those who saw recent photos of Jackson shopping in  Bel-Air, where the King of Pop’s painfully thin frame swam inside a black silk morning coat.

Jackson, his chin and cheekbones jutting out, looked nothing like a pop star about to embark on a strenuous 50-date concert tour.

As the 50-year-old former star preps for the grueling series, many wonder if the show will indeed go on, despite millions of dollars spent in sales of 750,000 tickets.

Jackson must now put his show together in less than two months -- and it's been 12 years since his last tour. And at his last public appearance, three years ago at the World Music Awards, he barely whispered a few lines of “We Are the World.”

There is reason to wonder whether the drama-bound performer will be able to maintain the grueling schedule required by the addition of 40 new dates to what was originally a 10-date concert series.

 “Healthwise, he has deteriorated,” Stacy Brown, the author of “Michael Jackson; The Man Behind the Mask told TheWrap. “Last July, he was photographed being pushed around in a wheelchair in Las Vegas. What I think you'll see is that it will be postponed for some excuse, that 'he'll be back next week,' and next week will never come.”

His 50 scheduled dates at the 02 dwarf even Prince's 21-day series at that arena in 2007, and Prince was 49 at the time.

Promoters and managers believe anyone embarking on a series like Jackson's should spend six months preparing. 

“You have to exercise every single day,” said a veteran promoter and producer who asked for anonymity. “When Madonna goes out, she does six months of heavy-duty training.” 

Jackson's stage theatrics are extremely demanding. Frighteningly thin at the child-molestation trial in 2005, he now weighs about 135, according to an individual close to the family. Some stars like Mick Jagger can lose more than six pounds a gig, and Jackson’s show is heavily dance-based.

Then there is the issue of his battles with prescription medication to lessen Jackson's chronic back and leg pain. “He gets sleepy, tired,” the individual close to the family said.

World Music Awards' Pudney, however, insists, fans should not worry about Jackson pulling a no-show or giving a sub-par performance. “He's in very good health,” Pudney said. “He's taken very good care of himself, and anyone saying he isn't rehearsing is wrong.

 

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