But another performer taking the stage mid-show — and getting a standing ovation — was the late Michael Jackson. A projected likeness of the King of Pop sang and dance to the beat of “Slave to the Rhythm” accompanied by a by a five-piece band and 16 live dancers.
The effect, engineered with input from Jamie King, director of Cirque du Soleil’s tribute shows and tours to the artist, and also from music video choreographers Rich and Tone Talauega, was reportedly in the works for close to six months.
Authorized by Jackson’s estate, the Billboard awards performance coincides with the second posthumous release of a Michael Jackson album. That album, Xscape, was released May 9. It’s built with unreleased material that Jackson recorded between 1983 and 1989, with support from a team of record producers led by Timbaland.
If the Michael Jackson hologram was the effect grabbing the entertainment news headlines, it wasn’t the only eye-dazzling effect during the show. As OneRepublic was performing “Counting Stars,” Moment Factory helped provide a “pixel shower” involving thousands of flashing LED lights sprinkling on the crowd, an effect previously deployed in collaboration with PixMob during a Black Keys set at the 2012 Osheaga Festival in Montreal.
The 2014 Billboard Music Awards, produced by Dick Clark Productions, was broadcast live on ABC. For a video of the Michael Jackson hologram-like effect (actually a Pepper’s Ghost effect), go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDRTghGZ7XU.
