Synopsis

Michael Jackson's "This Is It" video is a posthumous tribute built around his life, hometown, career, and worldwide fan community. It opens in Gary, Indiana, with images connected to Jackson's childhood home before moving through family photographs, childhood performances, career footage, and scenes of fans honoring him after his death. Industrial landscapes, empty playground swings, a drifting red balloon, flowers, and handwritten messages create a reflective atmosphere. The video closes with Jackson performing the moonwalk, turning the song into a farewell to both the artist and the man.

Factoids & Trivia

• The official music video was released on December 27, 2009, several months after Jackson's death and shortly after the release of the concert documentary and soundtrack album.

• Much of the newly filmed material comes from Gary, Indiana, where Jackson grew up. The video features his former family home, Jackson Family Boulevard, local street signs, and the city's industrial surroundings.

• A recurring stop sign carries the message "This Is It" above the word "Stop," followed by "hating." The image functions as a simple anti-negativity statement within an otherwise elegiac video.

• The production combines newly shot Gary footage with archival performances, childhood material, photographs, and fan tributes from around the world.

• The song itself was not newly written for the 2009 project. Jackson and Paul Anka had created an earlier demo in the 1980s under the title "I Never Heard." It was later retitled "This Is It" to connect with Jackson's planned concert series.

• The video is generally regarded as Jackson's final official music video. Its closing moonwalk gives the project a deliberately commemorative ending.