Almost exactly one month ago, yours truly gave Michael Jackson the last rites on these very pages. "Where once he was king, now he is pantomime horse", screamed Famethrowa triumphantly and theatrically, as the neverending, interminable rumours of a pop comeback to rival Shakin' Stevens continued despite all evidence to the contrary. Well, it seems I might have to eat my own words, hat and fist, judging by the emergence of what appears to be a brand new song from the faded superstar.

Audio to "Hold My Hand" has gone up on YouTube and is understood to be a collaboration between Jackson and Akon, who is amongst the acts working on the scarcely believable follow-up to 2001's "Invincible". He, will.i.am and Ne-Yo have all been linked with the new recordings, alongside a string of hot-shot producers. "The way he thinks...some artists think regional, some think national, I was thinking international. He thinks planets. It's on another level", Akon blustered back in May, before claiming they are "about to shake the world up."

Judge for yourself before the lawyers get involved but it seems unlikely this rudimentary R&B plod will do our planet very much damage, even if it has prompted a joyous response from Jacko's unflappable fanbase. The intro to the track has an unfortunate resemblance to The Farm's "Altogether Now", before Akon makes his charming traditional entrance of "Konvict music" and a meandering piano line takes over. There's no mistaking the other vocalist, even if he does seem to be on robot setting, and not even the soppy sentiment, reggae feel and curious "Land Down Under" mid-section can detract from what most people thought would never happen.

CHECK IT OUT HERE:

www.1vibe.net/music/michael-jackson-ft-akon-hold-my-hand

Today's Famethrowa's

New: "St Tropez" Arp
Old: "Talk About The Passion" REM