Michael Jackson’s “Hollywood Tonight” Video Is A ‘Flashdance’/’Burlesque’ Combo

It’s a tale as old as time (or at least as old as the past century): pretty young ingenue steps off the bus in Hollywood, dreaming of becoming a famous dancer. But as auditions lead to heartache, she instead ends up paying the bills by waiting tables and twirling around a stripper pole—until that big break comes! Eeeeeeeee-Heeeeeeee! Watch the video for “Hollywood Tonight,” a song off Michael Jackson’s posthumous Michael collection, below. Last month we saw a short video clip of dancers busting Jackson-esque moves outside Hollywood’s Pantages Theater while shooting was underway for the “Hollywood Tonight” vid. Now we see that it’s the climactic scene at the end, as our heroine (played by Sofia Boutella) celebrates a successful audition.

All through the video, she never gives up hope that one day she’ll make it. And everywhere she looks, MJ is all around her—on billboards high above the city streets, on posters along the sidewalk and on video screens.

Too bad the real Michael probably sha-moaned five times in his grave upon the realization that this once-unfinished demo was now being peddled off as a mediocre, slapped-together cash-in.

And as for the video, well, we’ll just stick with Flashdance. Or even Burlesque.

“Hollywood Tonight” was directed by Wayne Isham, who previously got behind the lens for Jackson’s 1995 hit “You Are Not Alone.” Why he bothered with this, we’ll never know.