Michael Jackson & Justin Timberlake’s “Love Never Felt So Good”: Listen

Carl Williott | May 2, 2014 6:01 am

At last night’s truly abysmal iHeartRadio Music Awards, we heard part of Michael Jackson‘s previously unreleased and now updated song “Love Never Felt So Good” as Usher danced to it during an MJ tribute. Shortly after the show, the studio version of the Xscape single featuring Justin Timberlake was released. And fans of the King of Pop can rest easy, because it’s very solid!

The duet has a soulful disco feel, which makes sense since Jackson wrote the song with Paul Anka back in 1983. This final version was produced by John McClain, and one of the highlights of the resuscitated track is hearing MJ and JT join up on the chorus, where their voices make for an uncannily natural combination (which may have more to do with how it was mixed to bolster MJ’s unfinished vocal track, but still, well done everyone). The other great thing is that it’s not trying to be an Event, it’s just a breezy dance floor strut that wouldn’t feel out of place on Off The Wall or The 20/20 Experience.

Hear the song below, along with the more orchestral MJ-only version.

Xscape is out May 13.

Get an eyeful of even more pop music coverage, from artist interviews to exclusive performances, on Idolator’s YouTube channel.