Jackson's new single 'Breaking News' not his best work

"Breaking News," the first release from the forthcoming posthumous Michael Jackson album, "Michael," debuted Monday on the King of Pop's website.

Unfortunately, the song, recorded in New Jersey in 2007 and completed after his death last year, isn't quite up to Jackson's exacting standards. It opens like "Tabloid Junkie" from 1995's "HIStory" collection, with news snippets and then complaints about the creators and consumers of gossip laid over sleek '90s-era soul, but it's not even as good as that sometimes-maligned song.

"Breaking News" sounds like Jackson had probably polished the chorus, which has a potent hook in his delivery of the lines "Why is it strange that I would fall in love? Who is the bogey man you're thinking of?" But the verses sound cobbled together and there are parts where Jackson doesn't sound like himself.

Sony Music is quick to point out that "Breaking News" will not be the first single from "Michael," which hits stores on Dec. 14. That's a relief, because this underwhelming effort would simply have fans wondering, "Is this it?"