Smooth Criminal

October 24, 1988

Smooth Criminal is the seventh single from the album Bad and published in 1987 by Michael Jackson. The song is about a woman named Annie, who has been attacked in her apartment. The song was released on 24 October 1988 as a single and reached # 7 on the Billboard Hot 100

Song information

An early version was written by Michael Jackson and John Barnes in 1985 and incorporated in 1986. The original title was Al Capone. However, this version did not come on the album and was revised by Jackson. The rewritten version was renamed to Smooth Criminal.

Music Video

The song plays a central role in the movie Moonwalker by Michael Jackson in addition to some other titles. The song is presented here in a good ten-minute performance. Stylistically corresponds to the stage of a club ( the film club 30s) of the 1930s and engages aesthetics and myth of the former gangster scene to Al Capone on. The version that is heard in the film is different from that on the album. So also the second verse contains a text alternative. On music channels the edited and shortened version of the video is often shown. This consists of a condensed and accelerated sequence of the music video from Moonwalker. The ten- minute long Smooth Criminal clip reminiscent of musical numbers such as The Girl Hunt Ballet, which is known as the last number in the movie The Band Wagon 1952 with Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. The Girl Hunt Ballet is a spoof of Mickey Spillane's detective stories.

The video was created in 1987 in Los Angeles, California rotated. The director was Colin Chilvers

Live

The song was performed live during the second part of Jackson's Bad World Tour. The performance included a choreography, which recalled the from the film Moonwalker. On the Dangerous World Tour in 1992 and 1993, Smooth Criminal was an integral part of the setlist. Meanwhile, Jackson had developed a way to "Anti Gravity Lean " from the video to show on stage. As the robotic movements from " Dancing Machine " and the Moonwalk also showed this element Jackson's talent to perfect a dance step, thus expanding the stage show. Parts of the song are also briefly used since 1995 at the MTV Video Music Awards in the live performances of the song Dangerous. Smooth Criminal was supposed to be played in This Is It during the performance of Dangerous and also as a standalone piece.

Chart positions

First published in 1988 placed in numerous charts and stayed there until 1989. Several countries Smooth Criminal reached number 1, for example, in Belgium, Denmark. the Netherlands and Spain. On April 10, 2006, it was re-released as part of the Visionary campaign and was also placed in the German charts. In the wake of the death of the artist, the song rose in 2009 for the third time in different charts.

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