Collaboration work between the undisputed King of Pop, the late Michael Jackson, and the irrepressible teen pop idol, Justin Bieber, has been leaked on YouTube in the form of 'Slave to the Rhythm.'

Michael Jackson
'Slave To The Rhythm' Was A Known MJ Track But Justin's Vocals Have Been Added Recently.

It would be easy to denounce the supposed collaboration track as fake or too conveniently timed with the current attention brought to MJ's death by his family's wrongful death case against concert promoters AEG Live, but listen to the track for yourself and you'll find it hard to deny that those are Jackson's trademark scralls and 'oohs' ripping through the rising, infectious club beat.

Justin Bieber
Did MJ Ever Intend To Collaborate With JB?

The lyrics depict a work-a-day scene where an anonymous "she" performs menial tasks whilst dancing: "she dances at the break of dawn/and quickly cooks his food/she can't be late can't take to long/the kids must go to school." A dancey and repetitive chorus then ensues, with lyrics "she's a slave to the rhythm." The beat is standard aerobics fayre but the lyrics are far from brainless and seem to have a 'Livin' on a Prayer' motive behind them.

Listen To The Leaked 'Slave To The Rhythm' Here:

Bieber and Jackson weren't actually in the same room together when the track was first recorded; Jackson created the track in 2009 not long before his sudden and shocking June death due to anaesthetic drugs overdose. The track was first leaked in 2010 with just Jackson's vocals and Justin has since added his vocals after the star's death. The addition has been presumably recently with a more mature sounding Justin than his 'Baby' wails of circa 2009.

Justin Bieber Live
The Gloves? The Crotch-Grab? The Pet Monkey?! It's Jackson's Second Coming!

It is unclear whether the original track was intended to feature Bieber or not but the 19 year-old has spoken about the late 'Thriller' singer as a source of inspiration. Two days ago, Bieber tweeted a split pic showing both singers performing on separate stages to a huge crowd accompanied with the caption "He set the bar." Was the song really an accidental "leak"? Justin sent out a cryptic tweet not long before the track, which has already been played on air by Capital FM, had dropped, saying "Excited for what is to come. MJ set the bar. Not only for music but for being an entertainer and how u treat the fans. Wish he was here..."


According to The Mirror, producer Rodney 'Darkchild' Jerkins, who has worked with both Jackson and Bieber, said in 2012 that he believes he could have orchestrated a real collaboration between the two artists. "I think if Michael Jackson was alive I would have been able to make a meeting happen and actually get them to do something together."