New Michael Jackson album will be released in May

A new posthumous Michael Jackson album, Xscape, will be released this May.

The album will feature eight previously unreleased, "contemporized" tracks, and the deluxe edition will also include the original songs.

Epic Records chairman L.A. Reid went through four decades of music in the Jackson estate's vaults to find the songs for Xscape. Reid then enlisted the help of producers such as Timbaland to work with the tracks and give them a "fresh, contemporary" sound.

"Michael left behind some musical performances that we take great pride in presenting through the vision of music producers that he either worked directly with or expressed strong desire to work with," Reid said of the album. "We are extremely proud and honored to present this music to the world."

Sony and the Jackson estate made a $250 million deal in 2010 to allow the entertainment company to release ten albums over seven years. Michael and Immortal debuted that same year.

Preorders for Xscape begin on April 1.

[Rolling Stone]