This song was first conceived in 1998 by Elliot Straite, a New Jack Swing producer who goes by the name "Dr. Freeze." Straite knew Michael Jackson's manager at the time, John McClain, and was given an opportunity to work with the King of Pop. This was one of three songs they collaborated on. "I did all the music, and he only had to learn the lyrics," Straite said. "'A Place With No Name' is itself a kind of escape, a song where you just close your eyes to find yourself instantly transported into a wonderful world."
Three weeks after Michael Jackson's death on June 25, 2009, TMZ.com obtained a 24-second snippet of this previously unreleased song and put it onto the Internet. A full version was later reworked by the Norwegian production team Stargate, known for their hits with Ne-Yo, Rihanna and Katy Perry, for Jackson's second posthumous album Xscape.
Stargate's Mikkel Eriksen recalled to Billboard magazine that Jackson was a fan of their songs for Ne-Yo (they included his 2005 chart-topper "So Sick") and he met with them at the Midtown Manhattan Chinese restaurant Mr. K's to discuss future projects. "Just the two of us, and managers, and Blanket was there as well," he said. "Down in the basement."
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