Smooth Criminal

For the Polo G song, see Bad Man (Smooth Criminal).

"Smooth Criminal"
Single by Michael Jackson
from the album Bad
B-side"Smooth Criminal" (instrumental)
ReleasedNovember 14, 1988 (1988-11-14)[1]
RecordedNovember 1986 – April 1987[2]
StudioWestlake (studio D), Los Angeles
Genre
Length4:18
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)Michael Jackson
Producer(s)
Michael Jackson singles chronology
"Another Part of Me"
(1988) 		"Smooth Criminal"
(1988) 		"Leave Me Alone"
(1989)
Audio sample

"Smooth Criminal" is a song by the American pop singer Michael Jackson, released on November 14, 1988, from his seventh studio album, Bad (1987). It was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. The lyrics describe a woman who has been attacked in her apartment by a "smooth criminal".

The music video for "Smooth Criminal", which premiered internationally on MTV on October 13, 1988,[4] is the centerpiece of the 1988 film Moonwalker. The 1930s setting and Jackson's white suit and fedora pay tribute to the Fred Astaire musical comedy film The Band Wagon. In the video, Jackson and the dancers perform an apparently physically impossible "anti-gravity lean".

"Smooth Criminal" reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the sixth top-10 single from Bad.[5] It reached number two on the Billboard Hot Black Singles chart. It was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It reached number one in Belgium, Iceland, the Netherlands, and Spain.

Retrospective reviews have described "Smooth Criminal" as one of Jackson's best songs.[6] Rolling Stone wrote that it was "his best blend of R&B groove and rock edginess, and a turning point in his shift toward darker, harder-edged material".[6] It has appeared on numerous greatest hits albums and was performed on all of Jackson's solo tours. "Smooth Criminal" was re-released in 2006 as a single as a part of Jackson's Visionary: The Video Singles boxset. In 2001, a version by Alien Ant Farm became an international hit.

  1. ^ Lecocq, Richard; Allard, François (2018). "Bad". Michael Jackson All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. London, England: Cassell. ISBN 9781788400572. Archived from the original on May 16, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  2. ^ Lecocq, Richard (2018). Michael Jackson All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. London, England: Cassell. p. 1201. ISBN 9781788400572.
  3. ^ a b "Smooth Criminal - Michael Jackson | Song Info". AllMusic. Archived from the original on February 13, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference premiere was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Bad > Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on September 22, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
  6. ^ a b "50 Best Michael Jackson Songs". Rolling Stone. June 23, 2014. Archived from the original on September 29, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.