Fans can still relive Michael Jackson's golden era by listening to his songs on several music streaming platforms, but the singer's estate decided to make three specific tracks unavailable to the public because of an issue.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Sony Music and the Jackson estate confirmed that three songs titled "Keep Your Head Up," "Monster," and "Breaking News" have been removed from streaming services such as Apple Music and Spotify.
All the tracks were part of the king of pop's posthumous compilation album "Michael."
They were removed from the platforms because of a controversy as the songs were rumored to have featured fake vocals.
However, the music label and Jackson's team stressed that the recent move had nothing to do with authenticity.
In a joint statement, they mentioned that the decision was the "simplest and best way to move beyond the conversation associated with these tracks once and for all."
They added that people should focus on new and existing projects celebrating the pop legend's legacy, and nothing should be entertained regarding the authenticity of his music.
"It is just time to move beyond the distraction surrounding them," the statement continues.
The issue began in 2014 after a fan filed a lawsuit against the Jackson estate and Sony Music, alleging that the three songs mentioned above don't contain the singer's authentic vocals.
The outlet noted that the songs were recorded two years before the "Thriller" hitmaker passed away in 2009.
The team behind the posthumous music has denied all the allegations and faced the lawsuit in court.
After appealing, judges ruled in their favor, stating that the estate and the music giant aren't liable as they didn't know if Jackson indeed sang the songs.
Howard Weitzman, the estate's legal representative, cited many information from musicians, engineers, vocal directors, musicologists, and more to prove the authenticity of Michael Jackson's vocals.
"We have complete confidence in the results of our extensive research as well as the accounts of those who were in the studio with Michael that the vocals on the new album are his own," he said in a statement, as reported by Variety.
As of this writing, the rest of the songs from the 2010 compilation album are still available on streaming platforms.
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