There’s no shortage of artists in pop music with designs on filling Michael Jackson’s niche in pop culture — Ne-Yo, Usher, Chris Brown, Justin Timberlake, and Kanye West, to name a few high-profile examples. However, when it came time for the surviving Jackson brothers to replace their late brother for a few tribute performances in Toyko, they went another way, and hired Ai, a Japanese-American singer who is a superstar in Japan. The Jacksons and Ai have apparently hit it off. Though a venue has not yet been set for their announced concerts in October of 2011, they are currently planning to record new songs together in the studio and are feeling out the possibility of a world tour in 2012. Best of luck with that! [Guardian UK]
