It was supposed to be a thriller. Now it just looks bad.

Jermaine Jackson promised some of the planet’s biggest stars would take the stage in front of a 17th-century palace in Vienna for what’s been billed as the major global tribute to Michael Jackson.

So far, though, he hasn’t delivered top acts like Madonna for the Sept. 26 outdoor concert. And two of the supposedly confirmed headliners announced this week — Mary J. Blige and Chris Brown — apparently are out.

Blige’s publicist says she has another commitment. A person close to the situation told The Associated Press in Los Angeles that Brown won’t perform either and a spokeswoman for Natalie Cole suggested she, too, is iffy.
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Mary J. Blige is among the acts scheduled to perform. (AP)

Mary J. Blige, Chris Brown and Natalie Cole will be among the top artists performing at a Sept. 26 Michael Jackson tribute concert in Vienna, organizers said Tuesday.

But they left open the possibility that major stars such as Madonna might still be part of the show that will take place outside a 17th-century palace in the Austrian capital.

“Just hold your horses!” Jackson’s brother Jermaine told reporters at a packed news conference in Vienna’s city hall.

Event promoter Georg Kindel said that up to 25 performers are expected to participate in concert that is being billed as the main global tribute for the King of Pop, who died June 25 in Los Angeles. More names will be unveiled later this week in London and Berlin, Kindel said.
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jermaine Jackson said he would be “hurt” if toxicology reports show that Michael Jackson abused prescription drugs, but that he did not know about any drug use by his younger brother.

“In this business, the pressures and things that you go through, you never know what one turns to,” Jermaine Jackson said in an interview broadcast Thursday on NBC’s “Today” show.

Asked if he would be shocked or surprised if Michael’s drug use was proven, Jermaine said, “I would be hurt.” He said he had heard about prescription drug use in the 1980s when his brother was hurt in an accident filming a commercial but did not know if drug use was a possibility more recently.

“I don’t know about these things, because I hate anything with drugs,” he said, adding that it hurts the family for people to say things about drug use “because we don’t know.”

The circumstances surrounding Michael Jackson’s death last week have become a federal issue, with the Drug Enforcement Administration asked to help police take a look at the pop star’s doctors and possible drug use. Allegations have emerged that the 50-year-old entertainer had been consuming painkillers, sedatives and antidepressants.

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Jermaine Jackson drives away from the family's home. (AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Jermaine Jackson says he would like to see Neverland Ranch as his brother Michael’s final resting place.

In an interview broadcast Friday on NBC’s “Today” show, Jermaine Jackson also says he wishes he had died instead of his younger brother, and that Michael was “a gift from Allah.”

Says Jermaine: “He went too soon. I don’t know how people are going to take this, but I wish it was me.”

On Wednesday, Jackson family spokesman Ken Sunshine said a public memorial was in the works but it wouldn’t be held at Neverland.

A person familiar with the situation told the AP that permits for a burial at the sprawling Santa Barbara, Calif., estate could not be arranged in time.