The King of Pop continues breaking records as he returns to the international concert stage to reclaim his crown. Just a day after extending his run to 30 shows at the O2 Arena in London, Michael Jackson has added an additional 15 shows to the booking.

The “This Is It” engagement will now run through early 2010, with new concerts booked from January 7 through February 12. The first round of shows begins July 8 and ends September 29.

The 50-year-old performer’s roster was originally limited to 10 concerts. However, after an overwhelming presale demand on March 11, promoter AEG Live added 20 more dates to the residency.

Late last evening, AEG Live released a statement that all 30 performances sold out of their presale ticket allotment. As a result, Jackson agreed to add the 2010 shows to his schedule at the 23,000 capacity arena.

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Though the exact capacity for Jackson’s shows have yet to be announced, about half of each night’s total allotment of tickets was made available during the presale. The BBC has reported that approximately 360,000 presale tickets have been sold so far. Public onsales for the unprecedented 45-show run at the O2 begin tomorrow, March 13.

Jackson’s schedule at the venue shatters the 21-show record of eclectic musician Prince, who performed his sold-out residency. Depending how public sales proceed, Jackson also stands to break Prince’s sell-out streak.

The overwhelming demand for tickets has come as a surprise to some industry experts, who doubted Jackson’s appeal. Last week, Billboard‘s executive editor Robert Levine told ABC News, “There’s a question of how big an attraction he is that this point. There are a limited number of people who are going to pay a lot of money to see Michael Jackson.”

However, demand has been so constant that some would-be ticket buyers ran into technical difficulties on Ticketmaster UK. Concert promoter AEG Live address the difficulties, which were attributed to the unexpected demand for tickets.

“AEG Live knows that many of you have experienced frustrating delays so far and apologizes for these problems. Demand for tickets is unprecedented, so please be patient and do keep trying,” the promoter said in its Wednesday evening statement. “If you have not yet been successful in purchasing tickets with your code, it will still work.”

According to published reports, some fans did not immediately receive their unique purchasing codes, despite registering for the presale on MichaelJacksonLive.com. AEG Live noted that these individuals could still receive a code via e-mail sometime today, March 12.

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Michael Jackson 2009 schedule:
(Dates are subject to change.)

July 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30
August 1, 3, 10, 12, 17, 19, 24, 26, 28, 30
September 1, 3, 6, 8, 10, 21, 23, 27, 29

Michael Jackson 2010 schedule:
(Dates are subject to change.)

January 7, 9, 12, 14, 16, 18, 23, 25, 27, 29
February 1, 3, 8, 10, 12