No comment: Jackson 5 celebrate NYE at Studio 72
January 2nd, 2008 by Rodney Carmichael in Music news
The bloggers and press snubbed Jermaine Dupri, and he snubbed them back by making it nearly impossible for working press to get into his much-hyped Jackson 5 New Year’s Eve reunion party at his suburban Atlanta club, Studio 72.
The certified hit-maker Jermaine Dupri has never gotten the industry respect he feels he deserves. When urban superproducers are mentioned, his name rarely comes up. And when it does, it always runs a distant second to guys such as Dr. Dre, Timbaland and Diddy. As a result, J.D. has developed a bit of a Napoleon complex.
When CL called (after sending several unanswered e-mails) Studio 72 manager Solo, he said Dupri wasn’t planning on giving up any press passes. He went on to mention something to the effect of Dupri being the only person big enough to pull something this huge off in Atlanta.
And for the record, he did pull it off. Dupri deserves major kudos for that. But if he really wanted the nonbelievers to eat their words, he should’ve opened the party up to more press. Hate to sound all self-righteous here, but J.D., you could’ve really used us on this one.
Check out the grainy YouTube footage above to see Jackson brothers Tito, Jermaine, Jackie and Marlon in the minutes leading up to the countdown. While the crowd ogles them as if they’re fish at the Georgia Aquarium, the brothers awkwardly stand in place looking like they haven’t been on a stage together since the Victory tour. Janet was also in the house, playing it cool, though she isn’t seen on the video.
And Michael Jackson is believed to have been absent, though there were reported sightings of him around town. Maybe he decided showing up at the club wouldn’t be worth his time once he realized there wouldn’t be any photo op.
Believe me, dude didn’t become the Thriller without knowing how to work the media. MTV can vouch for that.
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January 2nd, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Is it just me or am I the only one who noticed that, although it was the “Jackson 5″ reunion, the DJ was only playing Michael Jackson’s solo tracks? So sad.
January 2nd, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Yeah, I caught that. From what I hear, Dupri did play some Jackson 5. But playing Mike’s solo joints as the clock struck midnight was an odd moment. He knows what the crowd paid $100 apiece for… If it ain’t live, it’s Memorex.