Kings of Pop

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Of course, there's no guarantee Lance, Kevin, Justin, Brian, and the rest of the boys will blend their voices Sunday (a Backstreet Boys publicist says she isn't aware of plans for a pairing with 'N Sync, and the latter group's rep didn't return EW.com's calls.) Nonetheless, the eight-hour-plus show should provide plenty of opportunities for surprises, along with greatest-hits performances from a genre-and-generation-spanning slate of performers, including Destiny's Child, Mariah Carey, Ricky Martin, Aerosmith, Usher, Rod Stewart, the Goo Goo Dolls, James Brown, Al Green, and Carole King. A two-hour version of the show is scheduled for broadcast at November 1 on ABC.

Clear Channel Entertainment, the radio and concert promotion giant, is assembling the concert, which was known as ''United We Stand'' until Michael Jackson joined the line-up. Promoters then borrowed the ''What More Can I Give?'' title from a benefit single that Jacko plans to release. The ever-shifting line-up of the single -- once supposed to include Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears -- now ranges from Tom Petty to Mariah Carey.

The tune, a gospel-infused strings-and-piano ballad, is also expected to be at the heart of Jackson's planned encore for the show. ''[The concert] is going to be the first time that people are going to hear the song,'' said Marc Schaffel, who executive-produced the studio version of the track. ''It's the same song -- just not necessarily the same people.'' Does that mean Marlon Brando, Liza Minnelli, and the ''legendary ladies of the silver screen'' won't be joining in?