MICHAEL JACKSON - JACKSON TO APPEAR ON AMERICAN IDOL?

Pop star MICHAEL JACKSON will appear on hit reality show AMERICAN IDOL and may even mentor contestants, according to media reports in the US. Jackson is currently working on a comeback and has turned to Idol creator SIMON FULLER to help revive his career. According to RealityTVMagazine.com, the star will have his own "Idol" theme-week and may mentor the talent on the show. Producers of the show have hinted for weeks at a "big event show" during the new season and during a recent conference call, executive producer NIGEL LYTHGOE mentioned Jackson, saying they wouldn't want it to "slip out with somebody telling their mom that Michael Jackson is coming". The THRILLER star is also working with choreographer and director KENNY ORTEGA, who said last week (ends09FEB07) Jackson is weighing all his options regarding a comeback. Ortega explains, "We're talking business and looking at lots of different possibilities. This is blue-sky time with a lot of different scenarios up in the air. "We're working through all of them to find the best, the one that makes the most sense and that's good for everybody."