Holo Jacko.

A performance by a hologram Michael Jackson is to go ahead tonight at the Billboard Music Awards, held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The event is to be broadcast by ABC at 8pm in the United States.

The planned ‘appearance’ was originally challenged by those responsible for the Tupac hologram which appeared at Coachella in 2012. They claimed that the appearance of a Jackson hologram would violate their patents on the technology that brought back Tupac. A federal judge ruled in favour of Billboard, and so the show will go on. According to Billboard the spot was created by the estate of Michael Jackson and will present the late pop star “like you’ve never seen him before.”

The appearance of a dead Michael Jackson at the awards also acts as a public launch of sorts for his new posthumous album, XSCAPE which features eight previously unheard Jackson vocals set to new music from pop producers Rodney Jerkins, Stargate, Timbaland and John McClain. These tracks were recorded between 1983 and 1999. Earlier this week Fader published a great piece on the press premiere of the album.

Expect a slew of online videos once the broadcast has taken place. [via Spin]