Photo and Mural by Cain and Todd Benson

With the passing of music legend and world icon Michael Jackson we pause to reflect on what an absolutely amazing life he lived and what an incredible talent he was. In his prime Michael was undeniably the world’s biggest star and anyone in show business would do anything to work with him. Here at SaveFans! we have put together an All-Star top 10 list of MJ’s greatest collaborations with music’s biggest artists:

#10 Janet Jackson – Scream

Michael just had to do a duet with his sister and pop star Janet Jackson right? Scream is actually the most expensive music video ever made costing a cool $7 mil to produce.

#9 Michael Jordan – Jam

MJ vs MJ. NBA vs Epic Records. The two biggest stars on Earth battle it out on the dance floor and basketball court – winner gets the initials. Magic Johnson couldn’t attend for some reason but there are amazing cameos from Kris Kross and Heavy D.

#8 Mick Jagger – State of Shock

The Jacksons collaborated with Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger on this 1984 release on their Victory album. A little known fact is this song was originally recorded with Queen’s Freddie Mercury…

#7 Rockwell – Somebody’s Watching Me

Nepotism much? Barry Gordy’s son Rockwell somehow gets The King Of Pop to sign BACK UP vocals on his only hit single! Every song Michael touched in 1984 turned to gold, this one no different cracking the top 10 in both the United States and UK.

#6 Slash – Black or White

Didn’t know Guns N Roses legend Slash played guitar on this face morphing smash hit? Check out this amazing live performance from the duo at Michael’s 30th anniversary special at Madison Square Garden.

#5 Lisa Marie Presley – Marriage

Okay we just had to throw this in there. Daughter of the other biggest music star of all time… Elvis Presley… And technically marriage is a “duet”. Remember this awkward moment at the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards?

#4 Diana Ross – Ease On Down the Road

Michael and Diana hit the stage many times together but are obviously best known for their work in the Motown musical film The Wiz. This Wonderful Wizard of Oz remake may have bombed at the box office but at least gave us a hit from a young and upcoming MJ - Ease On Down The Road. And while many credit Diana for discovering the Jackson 5 it was actually Bobby Taylor and Gladys Knight that did so… Check out an even younger and more adorable Michael with Diana in this Frank Sinatra remake from 1971.

#3 Eddie Van Halen – Beat It

The story goes like this. Eddie Van Halen receives a phone call from Quincy Jones. Thinking its a crank call he hangs up. He later finds out he was asked to play guitar on a Michael Jackson track. Feeling like an idiot he performs a guitar solo free of charge. The song ends up on the biggest album of all time, Thriller, itself one of the biggest hits of all time, Beat It. (sorry about the poor video quality)

#2 Paul McCartney – Say Say Say & The Girl Is Mine

These two classic Michael songs involve legendary bassist Paul McCartney. MJ and Macca later had a falling out as Michael outbid Sir Paul on his own song catalogue. Michael paid a reported $47 million in 1985 for over 200 Beatles songs composed by McCartney and John Lennon. We will remember the genius of the two as a duet…

#1 Lionel Richie et al – We Are The World

Reacting to a terrible drought that decimated food supplies in Ethiopia in 1984-1985 Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie wrote We Are the World.  Produced and conducted by Quincy Jones this song was a whos who of A-List artists. Potentially the most talent laden song of all time this mega hit featured vocals from MJ, Lionel Richie, Paul Simon, Kenny Rogers, James Ingram, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Willie Nelson, Al Jarreau, Bruce Springsteen, Kenny Loggins, Steve Perry, Daryl Hall, Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper. Kim Carnes, Bob Dylan, and Ray Charles with background vocals from Dan Aykroyd, Harry Belafonte, Lindsey Buckingham, The News, Sheila E., Bob Geldorf, Jackie Jackson, LaToya Jackson, Marlon Jackson, Randy Jackson, Tito Jackson, Waylon Jennings, Bette Midler, John Oates, Jeffrey Osborne, The Pointer Sisters, and Smokey Robinson.

Michael we’re all going to miss you. This top 10 list is dedicated to you and your career. Rest in peace.

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Last week we shocked the world with our exclusive post letting everyone know Ticketmaster the “Hypocrite Master” is scalping tickets directly on Ticketmaster.com and Ticketmaster.ca through a program called Ticketexchange. Our readers asked for proof and as usual SaveFans! delivers.

Well wouldn’t you know Ticketmaster is scalping tickets for the pop princess herself, Britney Spears! We crunched the numbers and here are the results. A total of 15 shows are currently on sale on Ticketmaster.com and Ticketmaster.ca for Britney’s Circus tour. As of Saturday, June 20th at 5pm pst,  Ticketexchange was offering a total of 5690 tickets for a whopping $1,478,550.64 (Ticketmaster is also holding high bid wins auctions and VIP seats which makes this number even higher). Here is a breakdown per show:

As if this isn’t disgusting enough, Ticketmaster is actually retailing a pair of tickets to the Las Vegas show at Mandalay Bay Resort on September 6th for $2,698.44 per ticket!!!!!!

So how do we know that Ticketmaster is responsible for these seats? Well we were lucky enough to catch a glitch on Ticketmaster’s part that placed the Ticketexchange seats on sale BEFORE the show even went on sale to the public! And since you need to register a bank account and input the bar codes from the tickets to list tickets for sale on Ticketexchange it is literally impossible that these seats could have come from anyone but a Ticketmaster insider. Here is a screen shot taken on June 19th at 3am (the show wasn’t on sale until 10am).

SaveFans! is here to “save fans” from this corporate B.S. We will continue to let you, the ticket buying public, know whats really going on out there and we will always let you pay what you want at SaveFans.com!

$100 spent on a ticket… Check… A phone call into work claiming “sore throat” that got you the day off Ferris Bueller style… Check… Text messages to all your friends letting them know you will see the best player on planet Tiger Woods and they won’t… Check… USGA policy regarding Thursday’s postponed round at the U.S. Open… No rainCHECKS.

Fans that attended the opening round of the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black in New York got some nasty news from the USGA regarding their ticket purchase. Most of the tens of thousands of ticket holders for Thursday’s round saw less than 3 hours of golf due to rain that forced the lead group to call it quits before finishing 11 holes. A typical round of golf lasts almost 12 hours. But according to Rand Jerris of the USGA their inclement weather policy prohibites any refund for tickets due to the rain delay:

“If play has commenced (i.e., if one player has played his first shot), it is the policy of the USGA that tickets will not be refunded or exchanged for a later date.”

The USGA should be ashamed of themselves. There’s really no more to say on this subject. Just enjoy this free clip of Tiger Woods doing what he does best. Ironically this is more golf than people who paid $100 got to see:

As I’m sure many of you know the recent Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band shows at the Izod Center caused quite a big ticket controversy. At the center of this controversy was Ticketmaster’s handling of these sold out shows, redirecting unknowing buyers to Ticketsnow where they could purchase tickets for over face value (I guess this is better than them secretly selling tickets on TicketExchange – but that’s a whole different blog post).

Well a recent report based on data from the Open Public Records Act shows an even more compelling story. Apparently The Boss himself is responsible for a large quantity of tickets that were held back from the ticket buying public. According to this data 2262 tickets were withheld from fans with 1018 out of 1126 best tickets (the four closest sections to the stage) not being available during the public sale.).

Where did these tickets go? You got it… Bruce’s band, agent, family, record label, and New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority! And guess what? This is ILLEGAL. NJ state law allows for an artist to withhold a maximum 5% of an arena for family, record labels, fan clubs etc. Bruce’s camp scooped up a whopping 12% of the building. And to top it off not one of these tickets were located in the upper deck, only the very best for Springsteen and his posse.).

So it appears as if Bruce Springsteen doesn’t want his real fans anywhere near the stage. And obviously Ticketmaster wants them to buy tickets for the maximum possible price on Ticketsnow and TicketExchange. The solution? Just go to SaveFans! and pay what YOU want for tickets!

If you want a better view than this try trading tickets with Bruce’s uncle. He is sitting in one of the 1,018 floor seats not released by Ticketmaster.

Source Credits:

Concert Photo by Alex Hempton-Smith

So shockingly enough a report came out in the New York Times yesterday alleging Chicago Cubs All Star outfielder Sammy Sosa took performance enhancing drugs in 2003. Huh… What… Really??? In other breaking news the Baltimore Orioles won’t be making the playoffs in 2009… I mean is any of this really surprising anymore? Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens. Who wasn’t linked to the juice in the late ’90s early 2000s other than the team owners and managers?

Luckily for fans Major League Baseball has appeared to clean up the sport in recent years. Stricter drug testing means you can see some steroid free baseball by paying what you want for MLB tickets on SaveFans.com.

Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Phil Jackson and the Los Angeles Lakers are the 2009 NBA Champions. Say what you want about fans in La La land but they sure can celebrate. Local donors have contributed upwards of $850,000 towards a victory parade expected to draw over 1 million people from Staples Center to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Car flags are waving and crazy fans are sleeping outside the Coliseum just to see the boys in purple and gold holding the Larry O’Brien trophy one last time.

We know Angelinos, the conclusion of the parade means one thing. Lakers withdrawal… So until the 2010 season kicks off here’s some other sports alternatives:

Check out tickets to see your first place Dodgers or Lisa Leslie’s farewell season with the WNBA Sparks:

Los Angeles Dodgers Tickets at Dodger Stadium

Los Angeles Sparks Tickets at Staples Center

It seems like the folks at Ticketmaster are a little confused about fair play and consumer rights. Case and point – the new “paperless tickets” Ticketmaster is requiring for the upcoming Miley Cyrus tour.

This new feature requires concertgoers to buy tickets from Ticketmaster.com and Ticketmaster.ca with a credit card, then use the credit card along with photo id at the gate to get in. You got that right, you and 18,000+ fans will have to wait in line while each and every credit card is scanned at the door. If you get sick or have a change of plans you cannot transfer your ticket, and for all you soccer moms, you will have to pay for parking and walk your teenage daughter all the way to the entrance for her and her friends to get in (who will be embarrassed to be standing next to you at the hottest event of the year).

Now the funny part in this sad mess is the alleged reason for implementing the paperless ticket policy. Here is the direct quote from the Miley Cyrus tour page on Ticketmaster.

“Why? To ensure fans get fair access to seats at face value-the only way to get into the event is with the credit card used to purchase the tickets.”

Well I hope the CEO of Ticketmaster Irving Azoff doesn’t have a daughter and if he does I hope she’s not a Miley Cyrus fan because Ticketmaster has been selling tickets for over face value for years!

Ticketmaster has been retailing tickets through “high bid win” type auctions on Ticketmaster.com and Ticketmaster.ca since 2003. Coincidentally enough Ticketmaster actually offered these auctions for the Hannah Montana Miley Cyrus “Best of Both Worlds Tour” in 2007 with seats for the Oracle Arena show on Nov 1st selling for over $2,000! Wow talk about ensuring “fair access to seats at face value”!

It gets even better… Currently you can buy a Miley Cyrus “VIP package” at iloveallaccess.com (owned by Ticketmaster of course) for $295 per ticket (face value is $79.50). Now there are amazing amenities included in this package such as a tour laminate (which doesn’t include backstage access) a pre-show party (which Miley Cyrus will not attend) and “hassle free” shopping (so you can more conveniently spend $75 on a t-shirt). And get this, these wonderful features are subject to change without notice. Since I can go to Kinkos and make a laminate for $5 and I’d rather wait in the paperless ticketing line outside the venue than attend a preshow party with no appearance from Miley Cyrus. I think I can pretty confidently say I would be paying $295 for the guaranteed first 25 row ticket to the show. An honest person might call this paying above face value for a premium seat.

The icing on the cake is Ticketmaster spent $250 million to acquire TicketsNow, a leading secondary ticketing site that sells tickets for over face value! We won’t even get into recent litigation that alleges Ticketmaster redirected potential Bruce Springsteen ticket buyers to TicketsNow and confused them into paying over face value for tickets.

To make things worse Ticketmaster has built TicketExchange, a marketplace that allows fans in the U.S. and Canada to buy and sell tickets directly on Ticketmaster.com and Ticketmaster.ca. Well wouldn’t you know that a vast majority of these tickets are being offered by Ticketmaster for… what do you know… over face value! They now call them “official platinum seats” and proclaim

“the goal is to give the most passionate fans fair and safe access to the best tickets, while enabling artists and other people involved in staging live events to price tickets closer to their true value.”

Seems to contradict their paperless ticket policy quote, cited earlier…

For over a year now Ticketmaster has been selling tickets on TicketExchange for over face value for some of the biggest artists in the biz. Elton John & Billy Joel, Neil Diamond, Van Halen, Tina Turner, Celine Dion, New Kids on the Block, Steely Dan, The Eagles (just to name a few).

I know the world in 2009 is a confusing place. But I mean, c’mon Ticketmaster… Are you going to restrict consumer rights with a “paperless tickets” policy that attempts to ensure tickets are available for face value, OR are you going to sell tickets over face value on your TicketExchange and TicketsNow subsidiaries? Just pick a side and stick with it!

Too Bad Ticketmaster Makes it such a Hassle to see Miley…

Source Credits:

Miley Cyrus Concert Photo by Vicky Sedgwick

No Access Badge Photo by landacollectible

Screenshot of TicketMaster TicketExchange page source

Hannah Montana, TicketMaster, TicketsNow, and TicketExchange are trademarks of their respective owners.

Congrats to Kris Allen who won the most recent American Idol competition on Fox TV. The masses have spoken and Kris will likely go on to great fame and fortune like past Idol alums including Chris Daughtry, Carrie Underwood, and Elliott Yamin.

Things are going so good for Kris he will be performing the National Anthem at Game 2 of the NBA Finals featuring the Los Angeles Lakers vs. Orlando Magic on June 7. Word to the wise people, cheer for the Lakers if you want to be hip

Anyways, capture the magic baby and be sure to check out future live American Idol performances and the NBA Finals! As always, SaveFans.com let’s You Pay What You Want so check us!

NBA Finals Los Angeles Lakers vs. Orlando Magic on June 7
NBA Finals Los Angeles Lakers vs. Orlando Magic on June 9
NBA Finals Los Angeles Lakers vs. Orlando Magic on June 11

And dont forget to check out American Idols Live nationawide concert tour!

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will close Giants Stadium in New Jersey. For those of you that live under a rock, the famous stadium, the home of the New York Giants among others, will be demolished before the end of this year. How appropriate that Bruce Springsteen, who has sold out the stadium 16 times in his career, will be the last entertainment act to grace the stage.

I am not the sentimental type people – I am more of the lady killer type but this is a historic set of 3 shows and you gotta check it out. SaveFans.com let’s you Pay What You Want for Tickets, so take advantage and get your Springsteen tix baby!

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at Giants Stadium Tickets on September 30
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at Giants Stadium Tickets on October 2
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at Giants Stadium Tickets on October 3