The 30th Anniversay Special is a musical revue show by Michael Jackson. It was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City on September 7 and 10, 2001. In November 2001, CBS aired the two concerts as a two-hour special honoring Jackson's 30th year as a solo artist. The show was edited by combining footage of the two concerts into a whole special. It has also aired on BET and TV One.
Set list
September 7 show
- "Intro" - Samuel L. Jackson
- "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" - Usher, Mya, and Whitney Houston
- "Absolutely Everybody, Shine" - Vanessa Amorosi
- "Humanitarian Speech" (not televised) - Marlon Brando
- "Ben" - Billy Gilman
- "Angel" and "It Wasn't Me" - ShaggyRayvonRikrok
- "You Can't Win" (from The Wiz) - Jill Scott
- "Ease On Down The Road" (from The Wiz) - Jill Scott, Monica, Al Jarreau, and Deborah Cox
- "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" - James Ingram and Gloria Estafan
- "She's Out Of My Life" - Marc Anthony
- "Heal The World" - Mya, Deborah Cox, Rah Digga, Monica, Tamia, and The Brooklyn Youth Choir
- "You Are Not Alone", "Never Never Land" (not televised), and "Over The Rainbow" (not televised) - Liza Minnelli
- "Bootylicious" - Destiny's Child
- "Crying Time" (not televised) - Ray Charles and Casandra Wilson
- "Intro Speech" - Elizabeth Taylor
- "Can You Feel It", "HIStory Intro", "I Want You Back", "Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)", "ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There" - Michael Jackson and The Jacksons
- "Dancing Machine" - Michael Jackson, The Jacksons, and *NSYNC
- "The Way You Make Me Feel" - Michael Jackson and Britney Spears
- "Billie Jean" - Michael Jackson
- "Black Or White" and "Beat It" - Michael Jackson and Slash
- "You Rock My World" - Michael Jackson and all artists
September 10 show
- "Intro" - Samuel L. Jackson
- "Wanna Be Startin' Something" - Usher, Mya, and Whitney Houston
- "Absolutely Everybody, Shine" - Vanessa Amorosi
- "Ben" - Billy Gilman
- "Home" (from The Wiz) (not televised) - Monica
- "Ease On Down The Road" (from The Wiz) (not televised) - Monica, Al Jarreau, Deborah Cox, and Jill Scott
- "You Are Not Alone" and "Never Never Land" (not televised) - Liza Minnelli
- "Intro Speech" - Elizabeth Taylor
- "Get Ur Freak On" - Missy Elliot and Nelly Furtado
- "Man In The Mirror" - 98 Degrees, Luther Vandross, and Usher
- "I Want Candy" - Aaron Carter
- "I Will Survive" - Gloria Gaynor
- "I'll Never Love This Way Again" - Dionne Warwick
- "Midnight Train to Georgia" - Gladys Knight
- "I Do (Cherish You)" - 98 Degrees
- "My Baby" - Romeo and Master P
- "Can You Feel It", "HIStory Intro", "ABC", "The Love You Save", "I'll Be There", and "I Want You Back" - Michael Jackson and The Jacksons
- "Dancing Machine" - Michael Jackson and The Jacksons
- "Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)" - Michael Jackson and The Jacksons
- "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "Billie Jean" - Michael Jackson
- "Black Or White" and "Beat It" - Michael Jackson and Slash
- "You Rock My World" - Michael Jackson, Usher, and Chris Tucker
- "We Are The World" - All artists, Yoko Ono, Kenny Rogers, and Quincy Jones
Trivia
- The televised special re-sequences the songs somewhat, and presents highlights from both shows.
- Jackson did not rehearse the September 7 show. Because of that, he let the audience pick songs after "Billie Jean". They chose "You Rock My World", but the band wasn't ready, so they played "Black Or White" instead.
- Whitney Houston and Jackson rehearsed the song "One Day In Your Life". They were supposed to perform this, but didn't for unknown reasons.
- The performances for "We Are The World" and the reprise of "You Rock My World" were not televised, but was filmed by an amateur fan. Footage was leaked online in low quality.
- When broadcast, the special showed footage mostly from the September 10 show. This is especially evident during "Billie Jean", when during the first show, he performed a very short moonwalk and improvised the dance ending, while during the second show, he performed a longer moonwalk and beatboxes toward the end, just like the HIStory Tour.
- When "Billie Jean" was broadcast, the beginning and first verse switches between both shows shots, after that, it sticks to the second show overall. The ending dance is mostly from the first show.