Today marks the fifth anniversary of Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson was and remains one of my musical and artistic idols and I was gutted at his death. These days, my obsession levels with the king of pop have decreased a little but he remains one of my heroes and I am still a huge, die-hard fan.

I thought I would share a playlist as a celebration of Michael’s contribution to music and the entertainment industry. This playlist is a collection of unreleased or little known tracks that I believe are as good as Michael’s released works. The aim is for those who haven’t heard these before to fall in love with at least one of them!

18 Greatest MJ unreleased tracks

1)      For all time

An absolutely gorgeous track. This surfaced on the internet many years ago before a remastered version was stuck on the release of Thriller 25. I’m not keen on the remastered version, however. There’s very little different about it but there’s some extra instrumentation that just seems to remove some of the magic from the low quality version that still exists.  I’ve embedded my preferred version!

2)      Love never felt so good

Technically it’s now released but not in Michael’s lifetime. This is an Off The Wall-era track which is so catchy and fantastic. I’ve embedded Michael’s original demo. Do love the new versions though, including the one with Justin Timberlake!

3)      Carousel

An outtake from Thriller. I really love the melody to this. I think it’s right that it wasn’t included on the final version of Thriller as it wouldn’t have fit in with the rest of the tracks but it’s a lovely song all the same.

4)      The way you love me

Two versions of this exist. The first appeared on the definitive Michael Jackson box set – 2004’s Ultimate Collection as a demo (which sounded like a finished product). I always loved this. It then appeared on the controversial posthumous album ‘Michael’ back in 2010. I love both versions. Just such a happy, beautifully written song. I’ve embedded the original demo

5)      Best of joy

It’s sickly sweet and a little repetitive but this is a gorgeous song that was included on the first posthumous MJ album, ‘Michael’ in 2010.

6)      Beautiful Girl

A smooth, soulful track that appeared on The Ultimate Collection back in 2004.

7)      Scared of the moon

Another beautiful song that appeared on The Ultimate Collection. Many fans aren’t as keen on this but I think it’s truly beautiful. It’s apparently an outtake from Bad.

8)      Trouble

An outtake from Thriller, this was eventually recorded by Musical Youth. SO catchy. It wouldn’t have fit in on Thriller, however.

Michael’s version:

Musical Youth’s version:

9)      Elizabeth I love you

Michael wrote this song and performed it for his friend Elizabeth Taylor at her 65th Birthday Gala in 1997. This was the only time we heard the song as a studio version isn’t known to exist. Beautiful, cleverly written song.

10)   I am a loser

A demo of this appeared around a year after Michael’s death. You can tell it’s not finished as it has very little instrumentation. Beautiful song, however.

11)   Xscape (Original version)

This appeared on the internet back in 2002. The version that appears on the latest posthumous MJ album is far inferior and an awful interpretation. Check out the original version. It’s funky, catchy and an MJ classic.

12)   What more can I give

A planned charity single written by Michael Jackson before Sony refused to release and promote it. It therefore never fully saw light of day. Plenty of stars on this – Nsync, Beyonce, Usher, Celine Dion, Michael himself amongst others. A truly beautiful song that should have been released.

13)   Joy

Gorgeous song co-written by Michael with his Dangerous album producer Teddy Riley. Michael wrote the melody and backgrounds before deciding he wasn’t happy with it. He gave permission for Teddy Riley to finish the song lyrically and record it with his band BlackStreet for their debut album in 1994.

Here’s the eventual version by Blackstreet:

And a snippet of Michael’s original idea:

14)   To Satisfy You

Another fantastic song co-written by Michael with Bryan Loren. Again, Michael wasn’t happy with this so he gave it to his co-writer who released it as a solo effort. Love how soulful this is and the use of the strings. The version on the net is sung by Bryan Loren with Michael singing the chorus.

15)   Mind is the magic

Written by Michael and Dangerous era collaborator Bryan Loren. Catchy as hell. It was written in 1989 before being re-written for German illusionists Siegfried and Roy for one of their stage shows.

16)   Someone put your hand out

A smooth and beautiful song written by Michael with Dangerous producer Teddy Riley for the Dangerous album. Found its way around thorough its inclusion on rare MJ releases.

17)   On the line

Gorgeous ballad which should have been released. Recorded for a Spike Lee movie but wasn’t featured on the soundtrack album. Written by Babyface (Bobby Brown, Whitney Houston, Boyz II Men, Beyonce and many more).

18)   We’ve had enough

Powerful song which found it’s way onto 2004’s Ultimate Collection. Dramatic and an awesome song.