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Smooth Criminal
"Smooth Criminal" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson, released on November 14, 1988, as the seventh single 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 and the search for the attacker, who is "smooth" because he leaves no evidence as to his identity.
The music video for "Smooth Criminal", which premiered internationally on MTV on October 13, 1988, 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. 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 praised "Smooth Criminal" as a standout track on the Bad album and one of Jackson's best songs. 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". 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.
"Smooth Criminal" evolved from an earlier song written by Jackson, "Al Capone" (named after real life gangster Al Capone), released on the 2012 reissue Bad 25. It is in the key of A minor, and Jackson's vocal spans from G3 to C6. The lyrics describe a narrator who finds a bloodstained carpet and an unconscious body. The chorus refrain, "Annie, are you OK?", was inspired by Resusci Anne, a dummy used in cardiopulmonary resuscitation training. Trainees learn to say "Annie, are you OK?" while practicing resuscitation on the dummy. The original mix of the song includes the sound of Jackson's fast-thumping heart and heavy breathing, which travel from left to right thanks to Hugo Zuccarelli's Holophonics system.
"Smooth Criminal" peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the sixth top 10 single from Bad. It is certified 2× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, and 2x platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. The song reached number one in Belgium, Iceland, the Netherlands and Spain and the top 10 in Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland and the UK.
Jackson asked Vincent Paterson to conceive a concept for the short film. Paterson listened to the unfinished song and came up with the concept of a 1930s gangster club. Paterson, who was a lead dancer in the music videos for "Beat It" and "Thriller", co-choreographed the "Smooth Criminal" video with Jackson and Jeffrey Daniel of the soul music group Shalamar.[citation needed] The video and Jackson's white suit and fedora pay tribute to the Fred Astaire musical comedy film The Band Wagon, particularly the "Girl Hunt Ballet" (itself inspired by the novels of Mickey Spillane) scene. The video, directed by Colin Chilvers, was shot between mid-February and April 1987 at Culver City, California, and in the backlot at Universal Studios Hollywood and premiered internationally on MTV on the night of October 13, 1988.
In the video, Jackson and the other dancers perform a lean that appears physically impossible. The dancers lean forward 45 degrees with their backs straight and feet flat on the floor, and hold the pose before returning upright. The lean moves the body's center of mass further than it can support. The illusion was achieved using cables and a harness. In October 1993, Jackson's team patented a method of performing the lean in concert using specially designed shoes that hook into pegs that rise from the stage. Even with the shoes, the move requires good athletic core strength.
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Smooth Criminal
"Smooth Criminal" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson, released on November 14, 1988, as the seventh single 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 and the search for the attacker, who is "smooth" because he leaves no evidence as to his identity.
The music video for "Smooth Criminal", which premiered internationally on MTV on October 13, 1988, 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. 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 praised "Smooth Criminal" as a standout track on the Bad album and one of Jackson's best songs. 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". 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.
"Smooth Criminal" evolved from an earlier song written by Jackson, "Al Capone" (named after real life gangster Al Capone), released on the 2012 reissue Bad 25. It is in the key of A minor, and Jackson's vocal spans from G3 to C6. The lyrics describe a narrator who finds a bloodstained carpet and an unconscious body. The chorus refrain, "Annie, are you OK?", was inspired by Resusci Anne, a dummy used in cardiopulmonary resuscitation training. Trainees learn to say "Annie, are you OK?" while practicing resuscitation on the dummy. The original mix of the song includes the sound of Jackson's fast-thumping heart and heavy breathing, which travel from left to right thanks to Hugo Zuccarelli's Holophonics system.
"Smooth Criminal" peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the sixth top 10 single from Bad. It is certified 2× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, and 2x platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. The song reached number one in Belgium, Iceland, the Netherlands and Spain and the top 10 in Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland and the UK.
Jackson asked Vincent Paterson to conceive a concept for the short film. Paterson listened to the unfinished song and came up with the concept of a 1930s gangster club. Paterson, who was a lead dancer in the music videos for "Beat It" and "Thriller", co-choreographed the "Smooth Criminal" video with Jackson and Jeffrey Daniel of the soul music group Shalamar.[citation needed] The video and Jackson's white suit and fedora pay tribute to the Fred Astaire musical comedy film The Band Wagon, particularly the "Girl Hunt Ballet" (itself inspired by the novels of Mickey Spillane) scene. The video, directed by Colin Chilvers, was shot between mid-February and April 1987 at Culver City, California, and in the backlot at Universal Studios Hollywood and premiered internationally on MTV on the night of October 13, 1988.
In the video, Jackson and the other dancers perform a lean that appears physically impossible. The dancers lean forward 45 degrees with their backs straight and feet flat on the floor, and hold the pose before returning upright. The lean moves the body's center of mass further than it can support. The illusion was achieved using cables and a harness. In October 1993, Jackson's team patented a method of performing the lean in concert using specially designed shoes that hook into pegs that rise from the stage. Even with the shoes, the move requires good athletic core strength.