Michael Jackson lives on in new album set for May release

Almost five years after his death, Michael Jackson fans are in for a thrill as previously unheard music by the legendary pop star is set to be released in May.

The new album “Xscape” will hit stores in the United States on May 13 and features eight previously unreleased tracks.

The announcement was made via Jackson’s Twitter account on Monday, while the official Michael Jackson website shared the full details of the posthumous album.

SCROLL DOWN TO LISTEN TO THE ALBUM TEASER

“After mining by the Estate of Jackson’s archives, [Epic Records CEO L.A.] Reid was granted unlimited access to the treasures spanning four decades of material on which Jackson had completed his vocals,” a statement on the website read.

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U.S. producer and hip hop star Timbaland headed the production process, creating the largest collection of posthumously released tracks by Jackson.

The soundtrack for 2009’s This Is It concert tour featured six previously unreleased tracks.

L.A. Ried, who is a former U.S. X Factor judge, oversaw the process during which the team worked to “contemporize” previously recorded tracks by Jackson, according to the official website. A deluxe edition of the album will include the recordings in their original form, Rolling Stone reported on Monday.

“Michael left behind some musical performances that we take great pride in presenting through the vision of music producers that he either worked directly with or expressed strong desire to work with,” Reid said in a statement. “We are extremely proud and honored to present this music to the world.”

Writing for The Telegraph, critic Bernadette McNulty said the album “sounds more like a labor of love and with only eight songs, a judiciously edited and cohesive album rather than an endless memory-stick jumble of offcuts.”

Michael Jackson died in 2009 after suffering a cardiac arrest at his home in Los Angeles.