ool or creepy? Michael Jackson comes back to life with moonwalking hologram performance

MICHAEL Jackson has hit the top of the charts with a posthumous album, but he may have just stolen the spotlight from today's stars with a posthumous performance as well.
LIFELIKE: Michael appeared to be on stage in Vegas [YOUTUBE]

The King of Pop died back in June 2009, but that didn't stop the Billboard Music Awards bringing the legend back on stage to entertain a star-studded crowd.
Michael, who was 50 when he died, was resurrected for one night only in a frighteningly realistic hologram performance for last night's big award ceremony in Las Vegas.
The Jackson Five frontman was recreated with hologram technology, and "sang" new song Slave To The Rhythm, a single from his latest album, Xscape.
Depending on your view of incredible technology producing a lifelike model of someone that passed away nearly five years ago, the four minute all-singing all-dancing spectacle was either mind-blowing or a little bit creepy.
Being touted by the awards organisers as a "history-making" show, the performance opened with a hologram of Jackson, wearing red trousers and a spangled gold jacket, sitting in a golden throne.

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UNNERVING: The hologram was incredibly detailed [YOUTUBE]

The Billie Jean singer then proceeded to get up and dance with the real-life performers, strutting the length of the stage and even pulling out some of his signature moves, including the moonwalk.
The crowd at the MGM Grand seemed to be blown away by the performance, with a standing ovation being given at the end of the song.
Several attendees were filmed crying as the replica of the iconic star appeared to perform in front of their eyes.
But not everybody was as united in applause as the Billboard attendees.
One viewer tweeted: "Michael Jackson hologram was wrong no matter how Sony try to butter it up as 'what he would've wanted'", while another called the performance "a bit odd".

RESURRECTION: The singer danced with backing dancers on stage [YOUTUBE]

Related articles

• Justin Bieber is the latest popstar to posthumously duet with Michael Jackson
• Michael Jackson and Justin Timberlake premiere new video from Xscape
• Amy Winehouse's father dismisses hologram tour reports

Sister Sister star Tia Mowry wrote: "I have mixed feelings about this Michael Jackson performance", while several other fans tweeted that while they enjoyed the song, they found the hologram quite unnerving.
The performance was organised to promote the release of Xscape, which has hit the number one spot in the UK albums chart.
However, the spectacle nearly didn't happen, with hologram companies Hologram USA and Musion filing an emergency lawsuit claiming that their technology had been used without their permission.
A judge ruled on Friday that there was not enough evidence to support their claim, and allowed the 3-D illusion to go ahead.
A similar performance was staged back in 2012, when iconic rapper Tupac appeared on stage with Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre - despite dying in 1996.

BLAST FROM THE PAST: Tupac's appearance at Coachella shocked fans [GETTY]

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