i wanna be like mike

[boze]

well no, not really.

but i was listening to this michael jackson quasi-accapella of billie jean, and it left me wondering.

is there a technique for recording vox while listening to a tiny bit of backing track so that you don't have to wear cans but it'll get eq'd out or swallowed in the mix somehow?

because this MJ track sounds like the vocal used on the single (amazingly it sounds a lot like he just bangs it all out in one take too) but there's a tiny little beat behind it that's too much to be bleed from headphones.

so my question is: what's the general technique here and is it recommended? i'm still getting used to singing w/ a mic and it seems like this method might make for a less self-conscious sounding performance.

thanks and sorry for the long post, but that's just me.