Some links on this page are affiliate links: if you buy through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Michael Jackson did not appear in person at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards. On May 18, a digitally created representation of him performed “Slave to the Rhythm” at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, in a stage illusion widely called a “hologram.” The performance promoted his posthumous album Xscape.
Watch the archived performance in a Clevver Music YouTube upload. It is an archival recording, not necessarily the original broadcast master or an official Billboard upload; availability and playback may change.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Michael - DVD | $17.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
Michael Jackson Live At Wembley July 16, 1988 | $12.43 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
Michael Jackson's This Is It | $9.14 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
|
Video Greatest Hits - HIStory | $19.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
|
Live in Bucharest | $11.15 | Buy on Amazon |
What happens in the performance
The number begins with dancers and a staged reveal. A digital Jackson appears seated on a throne in a white-and-gold outfit with red trousers, then rises to dance alongside performers onstage. The routine draws on familiar Jackson choreography, including a moonwalk. Contemporary coverage reported loud applause and showed some viewers reacting emotionally, though that does not mean every audience member or viewer responded the same way.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →What the audience saw was not Jackson physically performing in 2014. The music featured Jackson’s recorded voice; his onstage image was digitally created, while human dancers performed live around it. Available reporting describes a digital representation, but does not establish that every figure seen onstage was a projected image.
Popular on Amazon
- The story of the famous Michael Jackson, known as the King of Pop.
Why it was called a “hologram”
“Hologram” became the convenient public label for the effect, but it is technically imprecise. The performance is better described as a projected stage illusion associated with Pepper’s Ghost: light and imagery are arranged with a reflective surface so that, from the audience’s viewpoint, a figure appears to occupy the stage. It can look three-dimensional and present, but it is not a solid person or a free-floating volumetric image.
The distinction matters here: the spectacle combined a digital likeness, projection and reflection techniques, staging, lighting, synchronization, recorded music and live performers. Calling it a hologram captures the impression it made, not necessarily the underlying display technology.
Also popular on Amazon
The song and the posthumous album
“Slave to the Rhythm” appeared on Xscape, released in 2014 as a posthumous Michael Jackson album. The awards-show performance introduced the track to viewers through a new visual spectacle, but it was not a live rendition by Jackson. The digital figure’s movements were part of a produced performance set to his recording.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →How the digital Michael was made
Billboard reported that the Jackson estate hired Pulse Evolution to develop “Virtual Michael.” According to the trade publication, the team used reference footage of Jackson from 1997 and built a detailed digital model, aiming to reproduce his appearance and movement. Billboard also reported that the project cost more than $3 million, began in November before the May ceremony, and involved creative director Jamie King and choreographers Rich and Tone Talauega.
Also popular on Amazon
- Own the entertainment event of a lifetime and get a rare, private look at the creative genius at work in Michael Jackson's: This Is It!
Those are reported production details, not independently audited specifications. They do not establish that the 1997 footage was the only source material, or justify assumptions about particular methods such as facial scanning, motion capture or artificial intelligence.
Why the performance nearly did not happen
The appearance was preceded by a legal challenge. Companies associated with the Tupac Shakur projection at Coachella argued that the Jackson production could infringe rights relating to hologram-style technology and sought an injunction to stop it. A federal judge declined to block the Billboard performance shortly before the ceremony. That decision allowed the show to proceed; it should not be read as a final ruling that no infringement occurred.
Also popular on Amazon
- Song Title: , Man In The Mirror (Video Version - For Audio Bed Under Main Menu) ( 0:10 ) , Program Start (PCM Stereo) ( 0:06 ) , Brace Yourself (PCM Stereo) ( 3:16 ) , Billie Jean (PCM Stereo) ( 4:59 ) , The Way You Make Me Feel (PCM Stereo) ( 0:30 ) , Black Or White (PCM Stereo) ( 0:11 ) , Rock With You (PCM Stereo) ( 3:25 ) , Bad (PCM Stereo
The dispute echoed the attention drawn by Tupac’s 2012 Coachella appearance, which had helped popularize the idea of a deceased artist appearing onstage through a projection illusion. Both performances are often called holograms, with the same technical caveat.
Recommended Free Tools
Why it can feel both impressive and unsettling
The performance’s appeal is easy to understand: it paired Jackson’s recognizable dance vocabulary with live dancers and a dramatic reveal, offering fans an apparent new performance connected to a new album. For some viewers, that combination was moving; for others, it was uncanny or uncomfortable.
Also popular on Amazon
- JACKSON MICHAEL LIVE IN CONCERT IN BUCHAREST: THE DANGE
Jackson had died in 2009, and the digital figure resembled a living performer without being one. That gap can blur the line between archival preservation, animation, impersonation and a newly fabricated performance. It also raises a question that technology cannot settle on its own: when a deceased artist’s likeness is used to create a posthumous spectacle, does the result feel like tribute, commercial use, or both? Viewers may reasonably answer differently.
The 2014 number remains a striking example of how staging can make a digital likeness seem present—and why the word “hologram,” while familiar, does not fully explain what the audience saw.
Say something about this film