Akon "stood for" the album Michael

Akon has replied to the recent criticism of the album Michael that features remastered versions of earlier unreleased songs by Michael Jackson. Rapper – who has taken part in the work on the record – claimed that its only aim was to keep memories about Michael Jackson and his fame alive.

He wrote on his Facebook account: "Hey, everybody! Why don't you stop talking about us having these aims or that aims? Our only aim was to keep Michael Jackson's legacy alive, to give people opportunity to hear his voice once again".

Last week American R&B singer Ne-Yo has confirmed his earlier claims that he was against the release of the new album Michael which features remastered versions of earlier unreleased songs by Michael Jackson. However, he pointed that he did not judge the quality of the album, and his protest had another basis.

Ne-Yo wrote on his Twitter account: "All these so called Michael Jackson fans with all this negativity coming outta their mouths. Do you really think that's what Mike stood for? Really. I never commented on how good or bad the album was. I said it was incomplete. Mike would never release incomplete work".