The first new Michael Jackson song to air after his death has been unveiled to the world.
The track, named This Is It, the same name as Jackson's planned 50-date comeback concerts, received its first air play nearly four months after the 50-year-old singer's death in June.
The soulful ballad, punctuated by clicking fingers, has the feel of a typical song from the King of Pop, and features Jackson singing softly: "I never thought that I would be your lover ... This Is It".
Featuring backing vocals from Jackson's brothers, the song was delivered to radio stations amid tight security, so that they could play it from 7.30am.
Fans Daniel Halawi, and brothers Amir and Ali Khorasany, held copies of the new song triumphantly after it was delivered to the Sony Music office building in Kensington, west London.
The track is on Jackson's website www.michaeljackson.com and will be made available to buy on a two-disc album, also called This Is It, to be released later this month. The album contains songs included in a documentary about the singer.
It will hit the shops on October 26, to coincide with the worldwide release of the film.
The first disc will boast the original album masters of some of Jackson's biggest hits, arranged in the same sequence as they appear in the film. The disc will end with two versions of This Is It, which features in the film's closing sequence.
The second disc contains previously-unreleased versions of some of the artist's classic tracks and a "touching" spoken word poem titled Planet Earth. The album will boast a 36-page, commemorative booklet featuring exclusive photos of Jackson from his last rehearsal.
There has been speculation that further new material from the star could emerge as the singer's estate is sifted through. Sales of Jackson's back catalogue rocketed following the singer's death. An exhibition crammed with Jackson's belongings will premiere in London later this month.
