AKON REMEMBERS HIS GENTLE FRIEND MICHAEL JACKSON.

Akon has recorded tracks with some of the biggest and brightest stars in music. But there's one star who was bigger and brighter than all the rest: Michael Jackson. In 2007, Akon spent time in a Las Vegas studio with the King of Pop, writing and recording songs for what Jackson intended to be his comeback album. Nearly three years later, only two of those songs have surfaced: a remix of Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" that appeared on the 25th anniversary edition of MJ's Thriller album and "Hold My Hand," a track featuring both artists (but written by Claude Kelly), that made the file-sharing rounds last year. Hear the interview from MTV.