Michael Jackson sent a message to Orianthi asking her to join his band in 2009, according to a Let There Be Talk interview.
“Around the time I was making the record with Howard Benson, we were nearly done with the whole album, I was working with Diane Warren in the studio with her, and I got the message through MySpace that said, ‘Hey, Michael Jackson needs a guitar player, you’re exactly what he’s looking for, we’re going to give you a call tomorrow. Michael Jackson and [Jackson’s musical director] Michael Bearden.’
“So I got a call from them both and they wanted me to come in and learn ‘Beat It,’ they wanted me to be starting something in ‘Dirty Diana.’ And I was in the studio with Diane, I said, ‘I just got this message from Michael Jackson and he wants me to come in tomorrow and play.’
“And she’s like, ‘What…?’ It was crazy. I just remember that moment. And it was a really wild time.
“And just working with him was incredible but then, obviously, just devastating what happened. But I’ve worked closely with him for quite a few months and because my album was ready and done, I didn’t even tell the label I was working with Michael, they found out.
“And then I was like, ‘I’m gonna put out the record now.’ And I didn’t really have that much time, it was kind of a crazy time in my life, going from rehearsing intensely with Michael to, ‘OK, we’re gonna put out your first single and you’re gonna travel the world and do everything and promote it.’
“And I didn’t really have a lot of time mentally to get around a lot of things. So honestly, when I look back on that, it was just crazy.”
