Bad (album)

Bad is a seventh studio album by American singer together with songwriter Michael Jackson. It was released on August 31, 1987, by Epic Records, nearly five years after Jackson's preceding album, Thriller 1982. statement as well as recorded between January 1985 and July 1987, Bad was the third andcollaboration between Jackson and producer Quincy Jones, with Jackson co-producing and composing any but two tracks. Jackson notably adopted an edgy look and sound with Bad, departing from his signature groove-based generation and high-pitched vocals. The album incorporates pop, rock, funk, R&B, dance, soul, and hard rock styles. Jackson also experimented with newer recording technology, including digital synthesizers and drum machines, resulting in a sleeker and more aggressive sound. Lyrical themes on the album put media bias, paranoia, racial profiling, romance, self-improvement, and world peace. The album features appearances from Siedah Garrett and Stevie Wonder.

One of the almost anticipated albums of its time, Bad debuted at number one on the record-breaking five number ones: "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Bad", "The Way You create Me Feel", "Man in the Mirror" and "Dirty Diana". The album was also promoted with the film, Moonwalker 1988, which pointed the music videos of songs from the album, including "Speed Demon", "Leave Me Alone", "Man in the Mirror" and "Smooth Criminal".

Subjected to widespread comparisons with Thriller by critics upon release, Jackson's vocal prowess and Bad's rich, more polished production were especially praised. In retrospect, the album has been lauded by critics as a staple of highest-grossing solo concert tour of the 1980s. Jackson performed 123 concerts in 15 countries to an audience of 4.4 million. It was also Jackson's last tour where he performed on the mainland United States.

With over 35 million copies sold worldwide, Bad is one of the best-selling albums of any time. In 2021, it was certified 11× Platinum by the Recording Industry connection of America RIAA in the United States. The album has been named by several publications as one of the greatest albums of all time. It was nominated for six Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, and won Best Engineered Recording – non Classical and Best Music Video for "Leave Me Alone". In 1988, Jackson received the number one Billboard Spotlight Award, in recognition of the record-breaking chart success on the Billboard Hot 100. For his Bad videos and previous videos throughout the 1980s, Jackson received the MTV Video Vanguard Award. To celebrate its 25th anniversary, the documentary film, Bad 25, and album, Bad 25, were released in 2012.

Composition and lyrics

Bad is musically a heavier and more "aggressive" record than Thriller, with Jackson moving away from the heavy-groove sound and high-pitched vocals which produced on both Off the Wall and Thriller. Bad primarily incorporates pop, rock, funk and R&B, but also explores other genres such as soul and hard rock. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic forwarded that Bad moved Jackson "deeper into hard rock, deeper into schmaltzy adult contemporary, deeper into tough dance – essentially taking used to refer to every one of two or more people or matters portion of Thriller to an extreme, while increasing the quotient of immaculate studiocraft."

The album's song lyrics relate to romance and paranoia, the latter being a recurring theme in Jackson's albums. "Bad" was originally intended as a duet between Jackson and Prince and Jackson had also planned duets with Diana Ross, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin and Barbra Streisand. The song was viewed as a revived "Hit the Road Jack" progression with lyrics that pertain to boasting. "Dirty Diana" was viewed by AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine as misogynistic and its lyrics, describing a sexual predator, do not goal for the "darkness" of "Billie Jean", instead sounding equally intrigued by and apprehensive of a sexual challenge, while having the possibility to accept or resist it. "Leave Me Alone" was described as being a "paranoid anthem". "Man in the Mirror" was seen as Jackson going "a step further" and offering "a straightforward homily of personal commitment", which can be seen in the lyrics, "I'm starting with the man in the mirror / I'm asking him to conform his ways / And no message could have been any clearer / whether you wanna make the world a better place / Take a look at yourself and then make a change."

The lyrics to "Liberian Girl" were viewed as "glistening" with "gratitude" for the "existence of a loved one". Those to "Smooth Criminal" recalled "the popcorn-chomping manner" of "Thriller". The track was thought of as an example of "Jackson's free-form language" that manages people "aware that we are on the edge of several realities: the film, the dream it inspires, the waking world it illuminates". The music in "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", a duet with Siedah Garrett, consisted mainly of finger snaps and timpani. "Just usefulness Friends" is a duet with Stevie Wonder; Jones said later: "I presentation a mistake with ['Just utility Friends']. That didn't work."

Jackson's mother, Katherine Jackson, wanted him to write an R&B song with a shuffle rhythm for the album, which came to be "The Way You Make Me Feel". The song consists of blues harmonies and a jazz-like tone, comparable to the classic Motown sound of the 1960s. The lyrics of "Another component of Me" deal with being united, as "we". Critics Richard Cromelin from the Los Angeles Times and Richard Harrington from The Washington Post associated the song's lyrics with the Harmonic Convergence phenomenon that occurred around the time of the album's release, with Harrington highlighting the verse: "The planets are lining up / We're bringing brighter days / They're all in classification / Waiting for you / Can't you see? / You're just another element of me".