They Don't Care About Us

This article is about the Michael Jackson song. For the Rudimental song, see They Don't Care About Us (Rudimental song).
"They Don't Care About Us"
Single by Michael Jackson
from the album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I
ReleasedApril 16, 1996 (1996-04-16) (US)
Recorded
  • 1990
  • 1994–1995[1]
Genre
Length
  • 4:44 (album version)
  • 4:11 (LP edit)
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)Michael Jackson
Producer(s)Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson singles chronology
"Why"
(1996) 		"They Don't Care About Us"
(1996) 		"Stranger in Moscow"
(1996)
Music videos
Audio sample
"They Don't Care About Us"

"They Don't Care About Us" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson, released on April 16, 1996, as the fifth single from his ninth album, HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995). It is a protest song and remains one of the most controversial pieces Jackson ever composed. In the US, media scrutiny surrounding allegations of antisemitic lyrics were the catalyst for Jackson issuing multiple clarifications, an apology, defense from director Spike Lee and re-releasing an edited version of the song. Jackson countered allegations of antisemitism, arguing that reviews had misinterpreted the context of the song, either unintentionally or deliberately.

"They Don't Care About Us" was accompanied by two music videos directed by Lee. The first was shot in two locations in Brazil: in Pelourinho, the historic city center of Salvador; and in Santa Marta, a favela of Rio de Janeiro.[5][6] State authorities tried to ban production over fears the video would damage their image, the area and prospects of Rio de Janeiro staging the 2004 Olympics. Still, the residents of the area were happy to see Jackson, hoping their problems would be made visible to a wider audience.[6] The second video was shot in a prison and contained video footage of multiple references to human rights abuses.

Commercially, "They Don't Care About Us" became a top ten hit in European countries and number one in the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary and Italy. In the US, the song peaked at number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100.

"They Don't Care About Us" was performed as part of a medley with "Scream" and "In the Closet" during Jackson's third and final concert series, the HIStory World Tour, which ran from 1996 to 1997. The song was set to be performed on Jackson's This Is It comeback concert series at The O2 Arena in London from July 2009 to March 2010, but the shows were cancelled due to his sudden death in June 2009. In 2011, the Immortal album included a remixed version of "They Don't Care About Us" which features elements of the songs "Privacy" (from Invincible) and "Tabloid Junkie" (from HIStory).

The song gained renewed attention and relevance due to its use during Black Lives Matter protests in 2014 and 2015, and again in 2020 with Spike Lee's "Director's Cut" of the music videos being combined, along with new footage of attacks against protestors..[7][8]

  1. ^ Lecocq, Richard; Allard, François (2018). "History". Michael Jackson All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. London, England: Cassell. ISBN 978-1-78840-057-2.
  2. ^ a b Dimura, Dre (August 10, 2020). "A Harmonic Analysis of Michael Jackson's Protest Song 'They Don't Care About Us'". Soundfly. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference ITN on first TDCAU Video was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Dunn, Christoper (2001). Brutality Garden. UNC Press. p. 207. ISBN 0-8078-4976-6.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Billboard was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference NYT on first TDCAU video was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Caulderwood, Kathleen (December 4, 2014). "Eric Garner Protesters Shut Down West Side Highway In New York City". International Business Times.
  8. ^ "Sony Hack Re-ignites Questions about Michael Jackson's Banned Song". perceptive.kinja.com. Archived from the original on February 23, 2016.