Michael Jackson is to be honoured by the city of Detroit by having a street named after him.
The late singer and his brothers became synonymous with the Motor City in 1969 when they were signed as The Jackson 5 to Berry Gordy’s Motown label, which was based in Detroit, which was the start of Michael’s ascension to become the King of Pop.
Now – nine years after his death at the age of 50 – a section of Randolph in downtown Detroit will be renamed Michael Jackson Avenue at a June 15 ceremony.
The announcement comes ahead of next month’s Detroit Music Weekend at which of four of Michael’s brothers – Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon – are scheduled to perform during the festival. The ‘ABC’ hitmakers will also receive a key to the city.
Although Michael is no longer with us in the future his fans could get the chance to see him perform again with The Jackson as a hologram.
Tito, 64, has revealed that he and his siblings have been offered the chance to have the ‘Thriller’ hitmaker turned into a virtual projection for a tour.
He previously said: "We’ve thrown the hologram idea around and we’ve considered it. We’ve been offered a hologram of MJ to have with us so there’s a really great possibility of us featuring that."
Michael posthumously performed at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards via similar hologram technology singing ‘Slave to the Rhythm’.
And there is already a hologram of the star used in the ‘Michael Jackson ONE’ tribute show in Las Vegas.
If the tour goes ahead, The Jacksons – as they are known now – would follow in the footsteps of the late Roy Orbison, who was recently back on the road in hologram form.
The ‘I Want You Back’ hitmakers started out as a three-piece in 1964 with Tito, Jackie and Jermaine.
They were soon joined by younger siblings Marlon and Michael and became The Jackson 5.
Michael was just five when he became part of the group, and at the age of 13 he launched a solo career in 1971.
When the group left Motown Records for Epic Records in 1975, Randy Jackson became a member of the band replacing Jermaine, who decided to stay with Motown, however he quit in 1990.