| "Bad" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Michael_Jackson_-_Bad.jpg) | ||||
| Single by Michael Jackson | ||||
| from the album Bad | ||||
| B-side | "I Can't Help It" | |||
| Released | September 7, 1987 | |||
| Recorded | October 1986[1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
| |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Michael Jackson | |||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| Michael Jackson singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music videos | ||||
| "Bad" (short version) on YouTube | ||||
| "Bad" (long version) on YouTube | ||||
"Bad" is a song by the American singer Michael Jackson. It was released by Epic Records on September 7, 1987, as the second single from his seventh studio album, Bad. The song was written and composed by Jackson, and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. It was influenced by a true story Jackson read about a young man who tried to escape poverty by attending private school but was killed upon returning home.
"Bad" received positive reviews, with some critics noting that "Bad" helped give Jackson an edgier image. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and remained there for two weeks, becoming the album's second number-one single, and Jackson's eighth number one entry on the chart. It also charted on the Hot R&B Singles, Hot Dance Club Play and Rhythmic chart at number one. "Bad" is certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It reached number one in Ireland, Norway, Spain and the Netherlands, and the top ten in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and several European countries.
The music video for "Bad" premiered in a TV special, Michael Jackson: The Magic Returns, on CBS during prime time on August 31, 1987. It was directed by Martin Scorsese and co-starred Wesley Snipes in one of his first appearances. The video, inspired in part by the film West Side Story, shows Jackson and a group of gangsters portraying a street gang dancing in a subway station, set at the Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets station. It has been praised by critics as an iconic and one of the greatest videos of all time; Jackson's outfit has been recognized as an influence on fashion.