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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Yes—Michael Jackson worked on music intended for Sonic the Hedgehog 3, according to collaborators’ recollections. What remains uncertain is whether any of his contributions can be identified in the game as released. Sonic creator Naoto Ohshima recalled hearing a demo Jackson sent to Sega, while composer Brad Buxer said Jackson called him to help with the project. Neither account establishes a confirmed list of final-game tracks by Jackson.
What did Michael Jackson contribute to Sonic 3?
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was released for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis in 1994. In a 2009 interview with The Guardian, composer and Jackson collaborator Brad Buxer said Jackson called him for help with the project and that they composed music for the game.
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In a separate interview conducted in 2013 and published by Game Developer in 2018, Sonic creator Naoto Ohshima recalled Jackson sending Sega a demo tape. Ohshima described Jackson making music by layering his own vocal sounds, including humming and imitated instruments. These are firsthand recollections of involvement, but they do not by themselves establish which music made it into the released game.
Which Sonic 3 tracks did Jackson work on?
The available testimony does not reliably identify any final-game track as Jackson’s. Ohshima said Sega ultimately did not use Jackson’s songs. Buxer, by contrast, told The Guardian that he did not know which of the tracks they had worked on were retained. These accounts leave the status of the material unresolved; they are not a confirmed track list.
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A 2022 SEGADriven report on a Buxer interview says Buxer wrote 41 audio cues and Jackson had input on one. The report does not identify that cue or say how many of Buxer’s cues appeared in the final game. The figure describes Buxer’s reported work, not the amount of music Jackson contributed.
Why is Jackson not credited?
Jackson does not appear in the game credits. Buxer offered an explanation to The Guardian: Jackson was unhappy with how the music sounded coming out of the console. That is Buxer’s account, not an official explanation from Sega, and the absence of a credit does not settle whether Jackson worked on material for the project.
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The Guardian reported that Sega had never officially confirmed Jackson’s involvement. It also described uncertainty around a separate claim that a Jackson soundtrack had been integrated and later replaced: former Sega Technical Institute project manager Roger Hector was quoted in a 2007 magazine account as saying this had happened, but the Guardian noted that Hector later declined to confirm the detailed story. The replacement account should therefore not be treated as a settled, Sega-confirmed history.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Is “Stranger in Moscow” connected to Sonic 3?
Buxer told The Guardian that chords composed for the game were used as a basis for Jackson’s song “Stranger in Moscow.” The sources cited here do not confirm the precise relationship between those chords and the game’s released credits music, so the connection should not be expanded into a claim that a particular final-game track became the song.
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Rank #3
- Swing from vines, launch new attacks, survive deadly traps and summon Tails to airlift Sonic out of danger. Discover hidden rooms and passageways in the mega-sized Zones. Transform into Super Sonic and experience the ultimate in speed and ultra-sonic power. Save your progress using the new Game Save Feature.
What can be said with confidence?
- Buxer said Jackson called him to help with music for the project.
- Ohshima recalled Jackson sending Sega a demo made from layered vocal sounds.
- The accounts do not establish which, if any, Jackson contributions are identifiable in the released game.
- No official Sega confirmation or publicly identified Jackson cue is established by these sources.
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