“You Rock My World,” the first single from Michael Jackson’s new album, Invincible, was unexpectedly released to radio outlets on Friday (August 24).
As late as Thursday afternoon, Jackson’s label, Epic Records, said that it had not lined up a radio add date for the single.
The Rodney Jerkins-produced track was prematurely leaked to radio last week, as two New York radio stations, WJTM-FM and WKTU-FM, began spinning it last Friday (see “Michael Jackson Rocks Fans’ Worlds (A Little Early)”). The stations, both of which employed longtime Jackson friend Frankie Blue as music director, played “You Rock My World” every two hours for a full day before Blue received a call from Epic asking him to remove it from rotation.
The track, an uptempo pop tune with a crisp Jerkins beat, features comedian Chris Tucker (of “Rush Hour” fame) on its intro.
Epic Records said that the song will also be made available online at www.michaeljackson.com beginning at 2:45 p.m. ET.
Invincible, Jackson’s first studio album of original material since 1991’s Dangerous, is scheduled for an October 30 release.
