Keck's Exclusives: Glee to Celebrate Songs of Michael Jackson in Tribute Episode

Michael Jackson's legions of fans have major cause to celebrate today.
Similar to Season 1's Madonna tribute, theJanuary 24 episode of Fox's Glee will feature 10-12 songs from Jackson's library. The episode is being fast-tracked in the writers' room now and is expected to begin shooting this Friday. Half of the episode will shoot before the cast breaks for the holidays, with the remaining numbers to be completed in January.
While creator Ryan Murphy has been teasing since the summer that a special spring tribute episode was in the offing, it took some convincing to assure the Jackson family that their late son/brother/father would be honored appropriately. Now, they have given their enthusiastic support.
You can get a taste of what's to come in tonight's "Sectionals" episode, which features several classic Jackson family numbers. Finn, Puck, Blaine and Mike sing "Man in the Mirror;" Tina, Kurt and Mike take the lead on The Jackson 5's "ABC;" and Artie, Blaine and Sam do their rendition of Janet Jackson's "Control." According to Ryan, the "kids" had such a fun time performing these MJ numbers, as well as "Thriller" in last year's Super Bowl episode, that he made an extra effort to seal the Jackson tribute deal before the end of 2011. Now he says the cast is flooding him with requests to sing their fave Jackson numbers.
Glee has purposely avoided such splashy episodes this season as part of a renewed commitment to focus on story over spectacle. But if there was ever a reason to break that moratorium, the songbook of Michael Jackson is probably the greatest.
For further details on this special tribute, be sure to keep reading TV Guide Magazine.
Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!