R&B stars Mary J. Blige, Akon and Chris Brown and veterans Natalie Cole and Sister Sledge will honour the late Michael Jackson at a concert to be held in Vienna later this month, with more stars due to be announced this week.
Thirteen artistes so far have been confirmed to perform at the concert, set in front of Vienna's Schoenbrunn castle on September 26, Michael's brother Jermaine Jackson and producer Georg Kindel told reporters at a news conference in Vienna.
A total of 20 to 25 artistes are expected to confirm eventually, they said. More names will be revealed at separate news conferences in London today and in Berlin tomorrow, Mr Kindel said.
In front of an expected audience of 65,000 - plus millions on TV screens worldwide - artistes will reinterpret Jackson's greatest hits including Billie Jean, Thriller and Bad. Jermaine will sing a virtual duet with his late brother, who died from a drug overdose on June 25 and will be brought to life by video projections on the concert stage, a 50 metre wide stage with a golden crown on top in front of the 17th century palace.
"For one song Michael will come back to us. It will be a magic moment for all, who loved his music", Jermaine said.
"This is how Michael would have done it. He always did things over the top."
The singers will be supported by the band and dancers who were to accompany The King of Pop on his planned "This Is It" series of comeback concerts in London before he died in June.
Actress Angela Bassett, who played the role of Michael Jacksons's mother Katherine in the two part film "The Jacksons: An American Dream", will present, different chapters from Michael's life.
In a grand finale, all performers, which will also include German-based boy group US5, will sing We Are The World or Heal The World together. Michael Jackson's mother Katherine and his children will attend the concert, Jermaine said.
Tickets for the concert are being sold in stages for €63 to €518 each. More than half have been sold.
Jermaine said he deliberately chose Austria's capital as the setting for the tribute show because his brother loved the city, where he last performed in 1997 on his HIStory World tour.
"Michael has toured here, he also loved history and he loved the different castles and just the beauty, the culture, the music here in Vienna," Jermaine added.
"I knew it was the perfect fit," he said. "He will always be in our hearts and I am sure he somehow will find a way to be with us this evening."