Jacko’s Benefit Blues

Michael Jackson‘s loudly trumpeted plan to record a “We Are The World”-type song to benefit Hurricane Katrina relief has either stalled or fallen apart.

MJ announced in September he would write and record a benefit song to be released on CD in two weeks. But so far, there’s nothing. And some sources told the Los Angeles Times it’s falling apart if it was ever organized in the first place.

The former King of Pop, now living in Bahrain as a house guest of Sheik Salman ibn Hamed Khalifa, has seen other artists grow progressively distant over the past years, especially since his child molestation case.

Jackson has historically had some trouble with organizing (the aborted 9/11 benefit song “What More Can I Give,” for instance), but cynics called the latest effort an attempt to revive his career as much as help Katrina victims.

A press release announced Mariah Carey, Jay-Z, R. Kelly, Lauryn Hill, James Brown, Wyclef Jean, Lenny Kravitz and eight others as guest singers, but a publicist told the Times that a lot of artists on the list learned of their commitment when the release came out.

“It’s going nowhere,” an anonymous artist manager told the paper. “We had one phone call and nothing has happened since, and I’d be surprised at this point if it did. We’re not really wanting anything to do with Michael right now anyway.”

James Brown will participate, according to manager Charles Bobbit. His camp heard the song was pushed back a couple of weeks because MJ wasn’t happy with it.

Jackson’s publicist said the artists could contribute their parts digitally via the Internet.

If it happens, the charity single is expected to be released on 2 Seas Records Inc., which is owned by the royal family of Bahrain.