'This Is It' uses 'old live vocals'

Michael Jackson's concert movie This Is It reportedly uses vocal recordings that predate the singer's rehearsals for his cancelled London O2 residency.

According to The Sun, the movie incorporates older sound recordings with new rehearsal footage, including a 1991 demo of 'Earth Song'.

Ex-BBC senior studio manager Andrew Rose said: "Throughout the film sudden changes in vocal timbre suggest the dropping in of older recordings which may have required significant digital manipulation to fit the new live backing."

He added that Jackson's voice on the film version of 'Billie Jean' was "not that of a 50-year-old man".

Jim Kennedy of Sony Pictures said: "In order to fulfil Michael's vision for his fans and his children... the filmmakers had to incorporate some pre-existing materials, including vocals, where the rehearsal footage audio was incomplete and/or inaudible.

"In addition, usage of master recordings, such as 'Earth Song', was credited in the end titles."