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Courtesy Sony Music Entertainment



Several members of Michael Jackson's family have been very vocal about their belief that much of the audio in the tracks on the upcoming albumMICHAEL are NOT Jackson. The album is set to be released by Sony December 14, just in time for Christmas. While fans anxiously await a chance to hear what is being pitched as the last tracks recorded by Michael, Sony released the first single, Breaking News, last night -- to give a little taste of the album.

Joe Jackson, who believes fans should question the authenticity of these new tracks, tells X17online exclusively:

    "I don't think its all Michael. It's just pieces of him, he's just a little bit in there. How can they release an album without permission from his family? They won't give Katherine her part of the profits. She won't see any money from this. Who has the rights to these songs? What are the fans saying? They should know about this."


Mr. Jackson is currently in Las Vegas, gearing up to watch the Oprah Jackson Family Special, which sources tell us is going to be "quite a show." As we reported exclusively last week, Katherine, Joe, Prince, Paris and Blanket open up to Oprah about the death of Michael, its effect on the family, and their on-going legal battles with Michael Jackson's Estate.

Joe Jackson tells X17online exclusively that they will discuss The Estate and its control over the massive income that has been generated since his son's death. Jackson adds:

    "They wont give Katherine her part. Her own money is being kept from her. We talk about that and Oprah didn't cut it out of the show."


The episode, which has already aired this morning in Chicago, reveals quite a lot about the passing of the King of Pop. The family tells Oprah how Jackson's sudden death left too many unanswered questions and made several non-family members very wealthy as a result. We are also told the estate of Michael Jackson is not pleased with some of the content of this special, which is why they were kept in the dark about Oprah's interview with Katherine.

These are the same people -- the estate's attorney Howard Weitzman and his team -- whose benefit it is to promote these tracks as the real deal. The MJ estate profited from the sale of these tracks to Sony so if the voice in the recordings is proven NOT to be Jackson, there could be trouble with that deal. In fact, a source tells X17online exclusively -- Weitzman was trying, as late as last night, to get a statement inserted into Oprah's edit ... to no avail. Weitzman wants the word out that the Jackson family IS getting money from the estate, while matriarch Katherine and other members of the family say they're not getting their fair share.