Michael Jackson to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at Grammys

At the time of Michael Jackson's death last year, the music legend, then 50, was rehearsing for a comeback concert in London that was supposed to mark his return to the stage and performing. Rehearsals for said concert were filmed for a documentary called This Is It, which was instead released in theaters this past October as a haunting reminder of a life in the spotlight cut unexpectedly short.

Now, he will finally be honored for his lasting contributions to music and dance at this Sunday's Grammy Awards. Jackson will posthumously receive the Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award, accompanied by the first 3D tribute to occur on broadcast television (Captain EO would be proud). According to Jackson's website, "Celine Dion, Jennifer Hudson, Smokey Robinson, Carrie Underwood and Usher will join together with the voice of Michael Jackson" in a moving tribute to the late singer. The film will feature a "never-before-seen 3-D mini-movie for 'Earth Song' that was created by Jackson as the centerpiece of his much anticipated 'This Is It' tour."

The 3-D mini-movie has a strong theme about the future of the planet, which Jackson saw as a "unique opportunity to deliver a message to millions of people who would have seen him on tour." In order to see the performance in 3-D, you'll need to head to your local Target to pick up a free pair of 3-D GRAMMY glasses courtesy of CBS and Target. Don't worry if you don't make it to Target, though, due to some great new advances in 3-D technology, those who view it without the special lenses won't see things blurry or fuzzy. Allow us to paraphrase the great MJ: It don't matter if you have 3-D glasses or not. Tune in this Sunday for better lyrics (and a more inspiring message) than that one.

The DVD of the This is It is released January 26.

Photo courtesy of MichaelJackson.com