Either Michael Jackson is still secretly alive and churning out pop jams in a post-apocalyptic mega-bunker or (more likely) the King of Pop had enough material recorded before his untimely death to create a posthumous full-length album.  Starting on April 1st, Michael Jackson's new works, collected under the title XSCAPE, will be available for pre-order on iTunes.  The album will be officially released on May 13th by Epic Records.

According to Epic Records:

XSCAPE is executive produced by Epic Records Chairman and CEO L.A. Reid. After mining by the Estate of Jackson’s archives, Reid was granted unlimited access to the treasures spanning four decades of material on which Jackson had completed his vocals. Reid then teamed up top producers to “contemporize” the songs while retaining Jackson’s essence and integrity, creating the best music you’ve never heard.

The list of producers include global hitmakers Timbaland, Rodney Jerkins, Stargate and John McClain.

The new album will feature eight brand new recordings.

The LP will also continue the post-THRILLER nomenclatural tradition of taking it's title from a one-word single off the album.

Notably, the April 1st pre-order date has some commenters thinking the announcement is an elaborate April Fool's joke.  Either way, this news calls for a Michael Jackson gif party!