"Cheater" is a song written by

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

and

Greg Phillinganes Gregory Arthur Phillinganes (born May 12, 1956) is an American keyboardist, singer-songwriter, and musical director based in Los Angeles, California. A prolific session musician, Phillinganes has contributed the role of keyboards to numerous alb ...

and was originally slated to appear on Jackson's seventh studio album, '' Bad'' (1987), but it was removed from the track listing for unknown reasons. After being sent to US and UK radio stations, the full commercial release of "Cheater" was cancelled for unspecified reasons, turning the song into a promotional single and releasing on September 14, 2004. The song was then released on November 16, 2004 on '' The Ultimate Collection'' album.

Background

"Cheater" was written and produced by Michael Jackson, and co-written by

. The song was originally intended for Jackson's seventh studio album, '' Bad'' (1987). However, it failed to make into the final track listing. However, the full commercial release was cancelled for unspecified reasons, with the song being released as part of the box set. As promotion of the

limited edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, or collector's edition, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints, r ...

box set from '' The Ultimate Collection'', Epic Records distributed a sampler of the compilation featuring twelve tracks. Eight songs were previously released, while four – "Beautiful Girl", "Scared of the Moon", "We've Had Enough", and "Cheater" – remained unreleased until the compilation's release. The sampler was titled ''Highlights From The Ultimate Collection'' in the United States, and ''The Ultimate Collection Sampler'' in Europe. A music video was also shown on some channels; it features clips from the '' Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour'' DVD, which was included in the same album the song appears in.

Critical reception

The song received positive critical reception. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic described this song as "good stuff" and described "Cheater" as "so funky, loose, and alive that it's hard not to wish that Jackson didn't fuss over his albums and just record like this all the time."

Track listing

*Digital download # "Cheater" (Demo) – 5:08 *Europe Promo # "Cheater" (Radio Edit) – 3:58 *UK 12" Vinyl # "Cheater" (Demo) – 5:09 # " One More Chance" (

R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses. During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwi ...

Remix) – 3:50

Credits and personnel

* Michael Jackson - songwriting, production, lead and background vocals *

- songwriting, piano, synthesizers *

Bill Bottrell William A. Bottrell (born October 27, 1952) is an American record producer and songwriter. He has collaborated with Michael Jackson, Madonna, Electric Light Orchestra and Sheryl Crow. Biography Between 1967 and 1970, Bottrell attended Cr ...

and Matt Forger - audio engineering * David Williams - guitar Credits adapted from ''The Ultimate Collection'' liner notes.

References

{{authority control 2004 songs 2004 singles Michael Jackson songs Songs written by Michael Jackson Song recordings produced by Michael Jackson Epic Records singles Songs written by Greg Phillinganes American hip hop songs