Bad (album)

American singer Michael Jackson released his sixth studio album, Thriller (1982), on November 29, 1982. By the end of 1983, it became the best-selling album of all time, with 32 million copies sold worldwide. The success gave Jackson a cultural significance greater than any African American in the history of the entertainment industry. The years that followed were marred by personal turmoil, including strained family ties, broken friendships with celebrities, a break with the Jehovah's Witnesses, and the pressures of global stardom. Jackson withdrew from the public eye for much of 1985 and 1986 but remained in headlines due to his eccentric behavior, including his adoption of a chimpanzee named Bubbles. Several rumors also circulated, including a false claim that he slept in a hyperbaric chamber. According to those close to him, Jackson was anxious about finishing the follow-up to Thriller. In 2017, Newsweek described the challenge as "like following up the Bible". Despite the doubts of Jackson ever matching the impact and commercial success that Thriller achieved, he aimed to sell 100 million copies with his next album. Jackson used the street slang word "bad", which means "great", as well as "tough" and "courageous". The title, Bad, signified Jackson's shift from a youthful image to a tougher, more streetwise persona. For the Bad era, Jackson reinvented his look with black clothing, buckles, and metal-studded belts, projecting a more edgy style. However, his changing appearance—including plastic surgery and a lighter complexion—sparked significant controversy, especially among American audiences. == Production and recording ==

Bad was Jackson's final collaboration with producer Quincy Jones, who had also worked on Off the Wall (1979) and Thriller. While Jackson had contributed a few songs to those albums, Jones encouraged him to write more for his next project. Reflecting on Jackson's growing personal struggles, Jones recalled: "All the turmoil [in Jackson's life] was starting to mount up, so I said I thought it was time for him to do a very honest album". Jackson wanted to pursue a new musical direction, aiming for a harder-edged and more aggressive sound. Guitarist Steve Stevens recalled Jackson expressing interest in rock bands like Mötley Crüe. Jackson was eager to find innovative sounds and was interested in new music technology. was largely involved with Bads production. Jackson began recording demos and song ideas for the upcoming album in 1983, while simultaneously working on Victory (1984) with his brothers, the Jacksons. Throughout 1985 and 1986, he focused on writing and recording at his Hayvenhurst home studio in Encino, Los Angeles, alongside a group of musicians and engineers—comprising Bill Bottrell, Matt Forger, John Barnes, and Christopher Currell—referred to as the "B team". These demos were later brought to Westlake Studios, where such producers as Jones and engineer Bruce Swedien—dubbed the "A team"—completed the tracks. According to Jones, the sessions were so intense that the team would often work for days without rest: "They were carrying second engineers out on stretchers. I was smoking 180 cigarettes a day". Jackson even had the "B team" working on the project at the same time as the "A team"—at Hayvenhurst and Westlake, respectively—much to Jones' frustration; the former team was dissolved by early 1987. Progress was interrupted in July 1984 when Jackson joined his brothers on the Victory Tour. Recording resumed in January 1985 following his work on the charity single "We Are the World". Later that year, production was paused once again as Jackson began preparations for Disney's 4D film Captain EO (1986), which included an early version of the track "Another Part of Me". Official recording sessions began with Jones and the "A team" at Westlake in August 1986, which continued through to November, pausing while Jackson filmed the "Bad" music video. After the video was completed, recording at Westlake resumed in January 1987 and was completed by July. Jackson reportedly wrote around sixty songs and recorded thirty-three of them, wanting to release them all on a three-disc set. However, Jones encouraged narrowing it to an eleven-track LP record. Jackson is credited with writing all but two tracks: "Just Good Friends" was written by Terry Britten and Graham Lyle, and "Man in the Mirror" by Siedah Garrett and Glen Ballard. == Songs ==

Side one "Bad" was written and recorded by Jackson in as late as October 1986. It features drums played by John Robinson who had previously worked with Jackson and Jones on Off the Wall (1979). Various Jackson biographers have concluded that the story he was referring was that of Edmund Perry. However, Perry was not killed by kids in his neighborhood; he was killed by a plainclothes police officer when Perry and his brother allegedly attacked and badly beat the officer in a mugging attempt. "Bad" was originally planned as a duet between Jackson and Prince, after Jones suggested they record a song together. Prince said in 1997 that he declined because of reservations he had with the opening line of the song: 'Your butt is mine'. He instead offered Jackson "Wouldn't You Love to Love Me", a song he wrote, but Jackson rejected it. "The Way You Make Me Feel" was developed by Jackson in 1985 under the working title "Hot Fever". It was also solely written by him and co-produced with Jones. The song begins with a racing-car intro, which was proposed by Christopher Currell, who plays the Synclavier on the song; he is credited for the sound effects. The song, along with "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", was recorded in May 1987. "Smooth Criminal" is noted as sinister and has been described by writers as one of Jackson's most captivating songs in his career. It was produced by Jones and co-produced by Jackson, with Swedien being the engineer. == Composition and lyrics ==

Bad primarily incorporates dance-pop and R&B. It also explores other genres such as funk, soul, jazz, and hard rock. It is heavier and more "aggressive" than Thriller, with Jackson moving away from the heavy-groove sound and high-pitched vocals of his prior records. Writing for NPR Music, Ken Tucker highlighted the "rough, upbeat" music. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic noted that Bad moved Jackson "deeper into hard rock, deeper into schmaltzy adult contemporary, deeper into hard dance – essentially taking each portion of Thriller to an extreme, while increasing the quotient of immaculate studiocraft." According to Tony Perry of The Evening News, lyrically Bad has a "cockiness" and an "arrogant swagger" that was not seen in Jackson's prior releases. The lyrics also feature 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 a jazz-like tone, comparable to the classic Motown sound of the 1960s. The lyrics of "Another Part of Me" deal with being united, as "we". == Release and commercial reception ==

The anticipation for Bad was extremely high, with journalists from Slant Magazine and Miami Herald asserting it as the most anticipated album in history. Michael Goldberg and David Handelman had predicted that "If Bad sells 'only' 10 million copies, that will be more than virtually any other record but could be viewed as a failure for Michael Jackson". In the US, Bad debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart and remained there for six consecutive weeks, selling over 2.25 million copies in its first week, which made it the fastest-selling album in US history at the time. In June 1988, nine months after its release, it was certified 6× Platinum, equalling the US sales of Off the Wall. In 2021, the album was certified 11× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), making it Jackson's second-most successful album in the US. Despite Bad generating five number-one singles in the US, many in the American media labelled it a disappointment due to it largely falling short of the sales that Thriller achieved in the country, which sold 12 million copies by December 1983 (a little over a year after its release) according to Billboard. The underperformance in sales for Bad in the US was widely attributed to Jackson's controversial new image. In some of Washington's neighborhoods where Bad posters hung on utility poles, the pictures were mutilated with spray paint and knives. Na'im Akbar, an African American psychologist, condemned Jackson: "As far as I'm concerned, Michael Jackson engaged in a form of self-mutilation that was a rejection of his cultural self". Editor David Wild remarked that the backlash to Jackson in the US was more to do with his "quirky personality" than his music. In 1989, Jackson's manager, Frank DiLeo, said that he and Jackson were happy with the results of Bad. In DiLeo's view, "Americans like to build 'em up and tear 'em down", further saying "I'm sure that affected us. But we did the best we could." Whilst the hysteria of 'Michaelmania' diminished in the US, overseas it was still in full bloom. Besides the US, it reached number one in twenty-four other countries, including Austria, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. It also charted at No. 13 in Mexico and at No. 22 in Portugal. Within a year of its release, Bad was established as a blockbuster, selling around 18 million copies. It was the best-selling album worldwide of 1987, with approximately 11 million copies sold globally that year, and went on to also rank as the best-selling album worldwide in 1988. By January 1989, sales of Bad reached 20 million, and by 1991 it was the second-best-selling album of all time, behind Thriller, having sold 25 million copies. Bad has sold over 35 million copies worldwide, which ranks it within the top 10 best-selling albums ever. In the UK, Bad was hugely successful; it debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with 350,000 copies sold in first week sales, a record at that time. Bad achieved sales of 1.6 million copies under four months in UK, and in the following year it sold 980,000 copies. It was the UK's best-selling album of 1987 and third best-selling album of 1989. Bad was also the UK's second best-selling album of the 1980s, surpassing Thriller. Bad was certified diamond in France, selling 1.4 million copies. It was also certified diamond by the Canadian Recording Industry Association for shipments exceeding 1,000,000 copies. In Europe, the 2001 reissue was certified platinum for sales of one million units. Bad was also certified platinum for the shipment of over 20,000 copies in Hong Kong. == Promotion ==

lining up for the Bad tour concert on June 19, 1988 The marketing strategy for Bad was modeled on that for Thriller. The film also included the music video for "Come Together", with the song featuring seven years later on HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. It became the best-selling home video of all time. Sponsored by Pepsi, the Bad tour began in Japan, marking Jackson's first performances there since 1972 with the Jackson 5. Attendance figures for the first 14 dates in Japan totaled a record-breaking 450,000. Jackson performed seven sold-out shows at Wembley Stadium, beating the previous record held by Madonna, Bruce Springsteen and Genesis. The third concert on July 16, 1988, was attended by Diana, Princess of Wales and Prince Charles. Jackson was entered into the Guinness World Records three times from the tour alone. The Bad tour was a major financial success, grossing $125 million. Jackson performed 123 concerts in 15 countries to an audience of 4.4 million. The tour set records for both the largest grossing tour in history and the largest paid attendance. Jackson performed two songs – "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "Man in the Mirror" – at the 1988 Grammy Awards, having declined to perform during the Thriller era in 1984. According to Paul Grein of Billboard, Jackson's performance at the show stands as "Exhibit A to anyone who wants proof of his artistry and command when he was at the peak of his powers." Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times described it as "one of the most striking performances ever by a pop performer on national television", a performance that "overshadowed everything else" in the ceremony. "Man in the Mirror" was nominated for Record of the Year a year later at the 1989 Grammy Awards. == Singles ==

"I Just Can't Stop Loving You", a duet with Siedah Garrett, was the lead single. It peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and also reached number one in Belgium, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, the UK and Zimbabwe. " on tour "Bad" was the album's second number-one single and Jackson's eighth number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and remained here for two weeks. It also reached number one on the Hot R&B Singles, Hot Dance Club Play and Rhythmic chart. Internationally, the song was also commercially successful, charting at the top of the charts in seven other countries including Ireland, Italy, Norway, Spain, and the Netherlands. "The Way You Make Me Feel" was the third consecutive Billboard Hot 100 number one and reached number one in Ireland and Spain. "Man in the Mirror" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and in Italy, as well as top 5 in Canada. On July 2, 1988, "Dirty Diana" became the record-breaking fifth Billboard Hot 100 number-one single from Bad. Jackson was the first artist in history to achieve five number-one singles on the Hot 100 from one album. In recognition of this achievemnent, Epic Records released a promotional poster including the text "No One's Ever Been This Bad". Like Jackson's earlier songs in his career such as "Can You Feel It" and "We Are the World", the lyrics of the song emphasize global unity, love and outreach. "Smooth Criminal" became the sixth top 10 single on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number seven. Though it did not top any chart, in retrospective reviews it has been acclaimed as one of the best songs on Bad and one of Jackson's signature songs. Released outside the United States and Canada, "Leave Me Alone" topped the Irish charts and reached the top ten in five other countries. "Leave Me Alone" was Jackson's response to negative and exaggerated rumors about him that frequently appeared in the tabloids post-1985 after the success of Thriller. The music video was the recipient of Best Music Video at the 1990 Grammy Awards. The song has been sampled and covered by various artists including Chico Freeman, 2Pac and MC Lyte. "Speed Demon", written and co-produced by Jackson in 1986, was released as a promotional single on September 4, 1989, as part of the campaign around his 1988 film Moonwalker. Bad record of five number one singles was tied by American singer Katy Perry's Teenage Dream in 2011; Perry remains the only artist to have matched this feat. In the UK, seven of the Bad singles reached the UK top ten which was a record for any studio album for over 20 years. Notable covers In 1988, "Weird Al" Yankovic recorded "Fat", a parody of "Bad", which won a Grammy Award for Best Concept Music Video at the 1989 Grammy Awards. In 2001, hard rock band Alien Ant Farm released a cover of "Smooth Criminal" for their second album, Anthology. Their cover peaked at no. 1 in Australia, where it remained for eight weeks. It also peaked in the top ten of 14 European countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland, and peaked at no. 23 on the Hot 100. ==Critical reception==

Bad was acclaimed by critics. Edwin J Bernard of Record Mirror said it was better than Thriller, praising it as having "little compromise and a lot of genius". Simon Frith of The Times described it as "peerless pop: funky, flamboyant, and just a touch feral." Frith compares Bad with Thriller, writing, "If Thriller was magic, Bad is mastery—consistent, confident, but cozy." and highlighted "Man in the Mirror" as one of the finest achievements in Jackson's career. O'Connor concluded his review by saying, "Bad is yet another affirmation of [Jackson's] monumental talent." Eddie Huffman reviewed Bad in Times-News, observing that it features a "healthily eclectic combination of musical styles, forceful, revealing lyrics and a maturity". Huffman also considered Bad a more consistent album than Thriller, despite feeling that the best songs do not match the peaks of Thriller, lauding it as a "worthy follow up" to Thriller and Off the Wall. In a favorable review for Creem, Richard C. Walls described Bad as "tuneful, clever, infectious pop", but considered it "more of the same" as Thriller and "not an advancement". Other critics praised Bad, but felt it lacked the qualities that had defined Thriller. The Village Voice critic Robert Christgau lamented the lack of "genius" in the vein of "Beat It" or "Billie Jean". Richard Cook of Sounds said Bad lacks "that once-in-a-lifetime spark" in comparison to Thriller, whilst Richard Harrington of The Washington Post felt that that it would be "considerably fairer to compare" Bad with Off the Wall. Richard Cromelin of the Los Angeles Times was of similar view to Harrington and felt that it would be "disappointing" if the "creative level" was where Jackson wants to stay. In a retrospective comment in 1991, Richard W. Stevenson of the Tampa Bay Times considered the album a letdown for Jackson, and said it was largely derivative of Thriller. Despite critics initially feeling that Bad lacked a milestone recording like Thriller had featured with "Beat It" and "Billie Jean", retrospective reviews often include "Man in the Mirror" and "Smooth Criminal" amongst Jackson's best songs. Awards was considered a snub. At the 1988 Grammy Awards, Jackson was the tied-most nominated artist (outside of the classical field): Bad was nominated for Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Performance – Male, Best R&B Vocal Performance – Male (for "Bad"), and Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical, and Jones and Jackson were nominated for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical. Although Bad won Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical, this went to the producers. American entertainer Little Richard, who was at the ceremony, said "I'm shocked. I'm stunned [...] I think a lot of people are." and "Leave Me Alone" won Best Music Video – Short Form in 1990. Despite the lack of Grammy Awards for Jackson, he won numerous other awards for Bad. "Bad" won Favorite Soul/R&B Song at the 1988 American Music Awards. At the 1988 Soul Train Music Awards, Bad won Best R&B/Soul Album – Male and "Bad" won Best R&B/Soul Single – Male. The following year, "Man in the Mirror" also won Best R&B/Soul Single – Male. Bad won Best Album at the 1988 NAACP Image Awards. The album also received international honors and nominations. On October 6, 1987, five weeks after its release, Bad was voted Best LP in the British-based Smash Hits readers poll. In 1988, the Japan Gold Disc Awards awarded Bad the Grand Prix Album of the Year. In the following year, it was nominated for International Album of the Year by the Juno Awards in Canada. At the 1988 Brit Awards, Jackson was awarded the International Solo Artist award. At the 1989 Brit Awards, Jackson was also awarded the inaugural International Male Solo Artist award, and "Smooth Criminal" won British Video of the Year. Jackson received several special awards in recognition of his success during the Bad era. In 1988, he was honored with Billboard's first Spotlight Award for being the first artist in history to achieve five number 1 singles on the Hot 100 from a single album. He also received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the American Music Awards of 1989 and the Heritage Lifetime Achievement Award at the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards. Following the appraisal of the music videos of the singles from Bad, along with his previous music videos throughout the 1980s, Jackson was awarded the MTV Video Vanguard Artist of the Decade Award. On April 5, 1990, Jackson was honored at the White House for being named as the "Artist of the Decade" by the Capital Children's Museum following his continued success with Bad. Rankings Having been ranked number 202 on Rolling Stones 2003 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and 203 in a 2012 revised list, Bad moved up to a ranking of 194 in a 2020 list. In NMEs The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, Bad was ranked number 204. It was also included in the book titled 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In 2017, Bad was named the best album of 1987 by Consequence of Sound. Billboard ranked Bad at number 138 on its list of the Greatest of All Time Billboard 200 Albums. It was ranked number 30 in Billboards list of the Greatest of All Time R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, out of 100 albums. Billboards critics ranked it the 41st best album on its list of all 92 Diamond-certified albums. Accolades == Legacy ==

Reappraisals In the decades since its release, Bad has continued to be praised, with particular arguments that Jackson was at his peak in vocal performance and showmanship during the album's era. According to Jayson Rodriguez of MTV, following Off the Wall and Thriller was not an easy task, but Jackson's Bad was "formidable by all accounts". Smooth Radio named Bad as Jackson's greatest album and credited the album for transforming Jackson into his peak as an entertainer. Ranked as the best album of 1987 by Consequence Of Sound, the publication asserts that Bad captured a "bigger, bolder, and far more vital" Jackson who emphasised important topics, including racial injustices and world peace. Jim Farber of the Daily News wrote that Bad took aspects of Off the Wall and Thriller to create Jackson's "most smooth work of pop to date". In 2025, Gina Wurtz of Screen Rant praised Bad: "Whatever the case, Bad remains an incredible album, whether the Grammys acknowledged it or not". VH1 said that the expectations for Bad were "ridiculously high", noting that there was also further hype after Jackson planned duets with the likes of Prince; Whitney Houston; Aretha Franklin and Barbra Streisand. VH1 credited Bad for being a "deeply personal project" for Jackson – he wrote nine of the 11 songs – and one that saw him gain further independence and debut a harder-edged look and sound. The music video for "The Way You Make Me Feel" was also influential; the American rapper Ludacris, who featured in the Canadian singer Justin Bieber's hit song "Baby", said that the "Baby" music video was intended to be "a 2010 version" of "The Way You Make Me Feel". MTV noted that the choreography used "a few of Jackson's less-suggestive moves". A professor at Louisiana State University asserts that the "Bad" music video revolutionized the traditional understanding of masculinity, particularly amongst Black American men. According to the professor, Jackson embraced dominant hyper-aggressiveness, yet simultaneously challenged this traditional position by creating an alternative form of masculinity. Jackson emphasized a sense of optimism about the future and distorted conventional notions of sexuality by presenting a dual image: a masculine self, indicated by clothing that suggested toughness, alongside a feminine aspect, expressed through his effeminate hairstyle and use of make-up. and claims that in the decades since its release, "we have never ceased to hear things that sound like Bad", highlighting the likes of Usher, Justin Timberlake, and Bruno Mars as examples. Twenty-five years after its release, the filmmaker Spike Lee said that Bad sounds the "freshest" compared to other Billboard 200 chart-topping albums released in 1987, such as U2's The Joshua Tree, Bruce Springsteen's Tunnel of Love and Whitney Houston's Whitney: "Go to the charts ... and see what were the top albums 25 years ago, play those albums now and then play Bad, and then see which one still sounds fresh and doesn't sound dated." Reflecting in 2022, 35 years after its release, Marcus Floyd wrote for Renowned for Sound that "you can still hear why Bad was the singer's [Jackson] second best selling album [...] Bad will always be a fan favourite and one of Michael Jackson's most influential and ear-tantalising albums released over his extraordinary career." The American musician Kanye West said that Jackson's outfit in the "Bad" video is "far more influential" than Jackson's outfit in the "Thriller" video. West also said "I almost dress like that [Jackson's outfit in the "Bad" video] today." In 2018, Jackson's worn jacket from the video sold for $298,000 at a New York auction, about three times its original asking price. == Bad 25 ==

It was announced on May 3, 2012, that Jackson's estate and Epic Records would be releasing a 25th anniversary album of Bad. It was named Bad 25 and was released on September 18, 2012. Since the release of Bad 25, there has been a discontinuation of the 2001 special edition. == Track listing ==

All tracks are written by Michael Jackson, except where noted. All tracks are produced by Quincy Jones and co-produced by Michael Jackson. == Personnel ==

Personnel as listed in the liner notes are: • Lead and backing vocals: Michael Jackson • Background vocals: Siedah Garrett (tracks 7–8), The Winans (7), and The Andraé Crouch Choir (7) • Bass guitar: Nathan East (track 8) • Hammond organ: Jimmy Smith (track 1) • Drums: John Robinson (tracks 1–4, 9–10), Miko Brando (3), Ollie E. Brown (3, 5), Leon "Ndugu" Chancler (8), Bill Bottrell (10), Bruce Swedien (5, 10), Humberto Gatica (5) • Programming: Douglas Getschal (tracks 1–4, 9), Cornelius Mims (5), Larry Williams (11) • Guitar: David Williams (tracks 1–3, 5, 6, 9–10), Bill Bottrell (3), Eric Gale (2), Danny Hull, Steve Stevens (solo, 9), Dann Huff (7–8), Paul Jackson Jr. (6, 9, 11) • Trumpet: Gary Grant, Jerry Hey (tracks 1–3, 5–6, 10) • Sounds engineered: Ken Caillat and Tom Jones • Percussion: Paulinho da Costa (tracks 1–5, 8), Ollie E. Brown (2, 7) • Keyboards: Stefan Stefanovic, Greg Phillinganes (track 7) • Saxophone: Kim Hutchcroft (tracks 1–3, 5–6, 10), Larry Williams (1–2, 5–6, 10) • Synclavier (tracks 1–6, 8–10), digital guitar (1), finger snaps (2), sound effects (3): Christopher Currell • Synthesizer: John Barnes (tracks 1–4, 6, 9–10), Michael Boddicker (1–5, 9–10), Greg Phillinganes (1–3, 5, 8, 11, solo–1), Rhett Lawrence (5–6), David Paich (4, 8), Larry Williams (4–5, 11), Glen Ballard (7), Randy Kerber (7), Randy Waldman (9) • Piano: John Barnes (track 8), Kevin Maloney (10) • Rhythm arrangement: Michael Jackson (tracks 1–4, 6, 9–11), Quincy Jones (1, 3–5, 7–8), Christopher Currell (1), John Barnes (4, 6, 9–10), Graham Lyle (5), Terry Britten (5), Glen Ballard (7), Jerry Hey (9) • Horn arrangement: Jerry Hey (tracks 1–3, 5–6, 10) • Programming: Larry Williams (track 2), Eric Persing (3), Steve Porcaro (4, 8), Casey Young (11) • Midi saxophone: Larry Williams (track 3) == Charts ==

Weekly charts Year-end charts Decade-end charts == Certifications and sales ==

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • == External links ==