Jacko still beats Whitney in the faded glory award

When I previously saw a promotional video (the "sizzle reel") for Whitney Houston's comeback album, I was worried that the marketing for the album presented her as a superstar and emphasized her past glories - the same type of past hero-worship that Michael Jackson has used in his marketing for the past two decades.

But Houston still can't match Jackson in the bizarre demands department:

Michael Jackson has thrown his comeback in to chaos with bizarre demands for his child choir.

In emails seen by the Mirror, the singer wants every youngster able to do sign language....

Jacko, 50, also wants the child singers to be made up of “exactly equal” numbers of black, white, mixed-race and Asian children.

And, even weirder, Jacko is also after six marching snare drummers who are banned from having beards.

And because of child labor laws (or, in this case, child labour laws), more than one choir will be required.

This comeback is shaping up more and more to be a spectacle, and reminds me of something that I saw...oh, about twenty years ago. Jackson was appearing on some big event on either MTV or VH1, and his appearance was preceded by a promotional video. The video showed people screaming, women shouting for Michael, and tons of very loud hero adoration. After the video ended, the camera switched to the audience at the event - an audience that was deadly silent.

That was the scene that was running through my mind when I saw Whitney Houston's promotional video. Will she be greeted with that same silence when she ventures forth in support of her forthcoming album?

P.S. In other Jackson news, he's being sued by a promoter for violating terms of a contract for a Jacksons reunion concert. The promoters claims Jackson was prohibited from solo performances before and after the reunion. However, the Wembley performances are supposedly in violation of this contractual clause.