Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal (Bad 1987)

"Smooth Criminal" is the seventh single from Michael Jackson's Bad album (1987). The song contains a fast-paced beat intertwined with Jackson's lyrics about a woman named Annie, who has been attacked in her apartment by an assailant. It was released as a single on October 24, 1988 and peaked at 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was re-released on April 10, 2006 as a part of the Visionary: The Video Singles box-set. The re-released Visionary single charted at #19 in the UK. In 2003, the song appeared on the Number Ones greatest hits album. The song was the centerpiece in Jackson's musical film Moonwalker, featuring Joe Pesci. In the film, Jackson plays with his young friends outdoors when they come upon a cave, which leads to a kind of dream world in which "Mr. Big" Frankie Lideo has been selling drugs to youths in order to get everyone hooked. "Smooth Criminal" was presented in a ten-minute long clip in which Jackson dances through a 1930s-style nightclub (known in the film as "Club 30s"). The version of the song used in the clip is different from the album version: the background beats are different, there are several new lyrics (see below), and the song is much longer overall. The version of the video that is usually aired on network television is 4 minutes long and is merely a sped up version of the clip from the film. The ten minute long "Smooth Criminal" clip is reminiscent of the musical number known as "The Girl Hunt Ballet" which is featured as the final number in the 1952 musical film The Band Wagon starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. "The Girl Hunt Ballet" is a spoof of Mickey Spillane's hard-boiled detective novels. "Smooth Criminal" was a song that almost didn't make it into the Bad album. With the final decision to include the song, Jackson originally decided to make the music video a western-styled short film. However, he later decided to change the style into a 1930s nightclub style. An early version of the song was written by Jackson and John Barnes in 1985 and the original demo was recorded in 1986. The original title was "Al Capone". This version didn't make the album and was re-worked and re-written as "Smooth Criminal". Both the style of the clip and the clothes and mannerisms Jackson portrayed were reused in the arcade, the Sega Master System, the Sega Mega Drive and the Sega Game Gear adaptations of Moonwalker. The song itself serves as the soundtrack for the first stage, in Club 30s, the nightclub from the movie, in all versions of the game. The song was performed live during the second leg of Jackson's 198788 Bad World Tour. The performance featured a dance routine modelled after the scene from Moonwalker. By the time the 1992 Dangerous World Tour came around, this performance became a regular on Jackson tours. This time Jackson had devised a way to perform the patented anti-gravity lean, which was featured in the Moonwalker video, on stage. Much like the robot move from "Dancing Machine" to the Moonwalk from "Billie Jean", this showcased Jackson's talent for creating unique moves to enhance stage performances. This performance can be seen on the Bucharest Dangerous Tour performance which is included as a DVD in The Ultimate Collection boxed set. Part of the song is also briefly used in the middle of the live version of the song Dangerous since the performance at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards.
Bad Album: Bad is the seventh studio album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released on August 31, 1987 by Epic/CBS Records, nearly five years after his previous studio album, Thriller, which went on to become the world's best-selling album ever. Bad itself went on to sell over 32 million copies worldwide, and shipped eight million units in the United States alone. It is the first, and currently only, album ever to feature five Billboard Hot 100 #1 singles. This album saw Jackson have even more freedom over his album than he did with the two previous albums, Off the Wall and the world's best selling album of all time, Thriller, as he wrote and composed 9 of the album's 11 tracks, and co-wrote and produce another; "Man in the Mirror". The album, which saw the squeaky-clean pop idol adopt a street-tough image, continued Jackson's commercial success in the late '80s and won two Grammys, one for Best Music Video - Short Form for Leave Me Alone, and one for Best Engineered Album - Non Classical. Bad was ranked number 43 in the 100 Greatest Albums of All Time of the MTV Generation in 2009 by VH1. It was ranked number 202 in Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• MICHAEL
• JACKSON
• SMOOTH
• CRIMINAL
• BAD
• 1987
• OFF
• THE
• WALL
• THRILLER
• DANGEROUS
• HISTORY
• INVINCIBLE
• TOUR
• KING
• OF
• POP
• MOONWALKER
• BEST

[jackmoonward]

Dude wtf is your problem?

Hey I got a joke!

Whats an idiot and spends their time alone in a basement whos doesnt have the balls to get a date?

-YOU HAHA!-

Dont disrespect michael jackson! Hes the king of pop!

[Mrxproductions09]

you should be called the desperate homo that makes fun of dead people in a desperate attempt to get looked at

[almendra4216]

@almendra4216 JAJAJA XD NO XD ajajja nose porque escrivi eso ! xd xd jajajaja xd jaja mori con eso , bueno sorry xD no le conosco y no soy la mejor amiga jajaja xd xd  nose porque escrivi eso xD

[kingofpop472]

@TheAndrew668 bog off

[BenDaBruza]

i love michael jackson shame he died though he was AWSOME!!!

[BenDaBruza]

i love michael jackson shame he died though he was AWSOME!!!

[miiszconfus3d]

best song

[Sarahxox22]

BEST SONG OF ALL TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­!

[TheAndrew668]

@Chthonian121 I said the same thing while he was alive....What was the official cause of MJ's death? -Food poisoning, he choked on a 10 year old weiner!

[Chthonian121]

i love Micheal Jackson. A horrible loss. no one can ever replace him. RIP my angel

[Chthonian121]

@TheAndrew668 go to hell u faggot. dont pick on dead people. MJ an angel right now. just go die

[invierno95]

@sutacal

vee a decircelo a los millones e fan k tiene -.-"