Akon says 'Hold My Hand' was completely finished before the King of Pop passed away and that is the only reason it is included on the new album. Speaking to MTV News he said, "I'm definitely excited about our single, because that was finished, complete, and I'm happy with the outcome. And I know [Michael] was [happy] 'cause we were there finishing the song together, so I'm really happy about what we accomplished on that record 'Hold My Hand.'"
Speaking about the concept of the song Akon said, "We was trying to find the unity, like what can we possibly translate that can bring the world together? It was a song I was previously working on that I eventually let [Michael] hear, and when he heard it, he fell in pag-ibig with it. We clicked instantly when it came to it. That was the main concept: Let's figure out something we can leave behind, in 20,000 years later it can still be relevant."
It's a theme that ran throughout the work he and Jackson did together, not that anyone will ever get the chance to hear any of it.
"Me and Mike worked on a lot of concepts before he passed. 'Hold My Hand' was one of the records that was actually fully complete; the rest of the records are incomplete. They're just ideas, concepts, harmonies and stuff like that which the world will probably never see 'cause I wouldn't want to put it out unfinished," he explained. "I know at the end of the araw if it wasn't fully complete, I don't think he would see it released that way.
Majority of the concepts we worked on, they were all international, worldwide," he added. "It was always the point of which everyone has to find some kind of relativity in it. That was always a challenge, and we found concepts that would do it. We just never got the chance to finish the songs, but 'Hold My Hand' was a prime example."
Michael <3
