LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- The Michael Jackson song just released is apparently not as "brand new" as his record company says.

If it sounds familiar, you may be a fan of Latin hip-hop singer Safire who recorded a song titled "I Never Heard" in 1990 with the same melody and lyrics, said Keith Caulfield, a Billboard magazine chart manager.

Safire, in a blog on her Web site, said the song was written for her by Jackson and Paul Anka.

"Michael touched my heart and soul in so many different ways I feel blessed that I had the chance of recording an original song he wrote for me with Paul Anka titled 'I Never Heard,'" Safire wrote in a blog entry on her MySpace page the day after Jackson's June 25 death.

The news release from Sony Music Entertainment announcing the release of "This Is It" called it "a brand new song."

A comparison of the new version, which Sony posted online early Monday, and Safire's recording -- which was already available on YouTube -- revealed nearly identical lyrics and melody.

A spokeswoman for Sony's Columbia/Epic Label Group did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Record label chairman Rob Stringer was quoted in the New York Times Sunday saying he did not know the origins of the song.

The company said it found a demo tape recorded by Jackson, accompanied only by a piano, in its archives after the singer's death. Producers added backing vocals from Jackson's brothers and music from an orchestra to create the new version.

The lilting love song's release is part of the promotion for the Sony movie "Michael Jackson's This Is It," which comes out in two weeks. A two-disc soundtrack, which includes two versions of the song, will be released a day ahead of the film, the company said.

The orchestral version of the song will play at the close of the film, which will feature Jackson's career highlights and last rehearsals, the label said.

"Disc one features the original album masters of some of Michael's biggest hits such as 'Billie Jean,' 'Smooth Criminal,' 'Human Nature,' and 'Thriller' arranged in the same sequence as they appear in the film," Sony said.

The second disc includes "early demo versions" of Jackson classics "She's Out Of My Life," "Wanna Be Startin'," "Somethin'," and "Beat It," Sony said.

"This disc also features a recently discovered spoken word poem from Michael Jackson entitled 'Planet Earth," the company said.

The just-released song got widespread airplay on radio morning shows across the United States Monday, according to Nielsen BDS, a company that tracks music airplay. It was played at least 486 times on the 1,300 stations monitored by Nielsen, the company said.