"Dirty Diana" is a song by American singer-songwriter

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 ...

. It is the ninth track on Jackson's seventh studio album, ''

Bad Bad or BAD may refer to: Common meanings *Evil, the opposite of moral good * Erroneous, inaccurate or incorrect * Unhealthy, or counter to well-being * Antagonist, the threat or obstacle of moral good Acronyms * BAD-2, a Soviet armored troll ...

'' (1987). The song was released by

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

on April 18, 1988, as the fifth single from the album. It presents a harder rock sound similar to "

Beat It "Beat It" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his sixth studio album, '' Thriller'' (1982). It was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. Jones encouraged Jackson to include a rock song on the album. Jackson l ...

" from '' Thriller'' (1982) and a guitar solo played by

Steve Stevens Steve Stevens (born Steven Bruce Schneider; May 5, 1959) is an American guitarist. He is best known as Billy Idol's guitarist and songwriting collaborator, and for his lead guitar work on the theme to ''Top Gun'' – "Top Gun Anthem" – for w ...

. "Dirty Diana" was written and co-produced by Jackson, and produced by

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

. The song's lyrics pertain to

groupie The term groupie is a slang word that refers to a fan of a particular musical group who follows the band around while they are on tour or who attends as many of their public appearances as possible, with the hope of meeting them. The term is usu ...

s. "Dirty Diana" has a moderate

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

and is played in the

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

G minor G minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative major is B-flat major and its parallel major is G major. According to Paolo Pietropaolo, it is the cont ...

. "Dirty Diana" received mixed reviews from contemporary music critics, but was a commercial success worldwide in 1988, charting at No. 1 on the United States ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song also charted within the top ten in multiple countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and New Zealand. In 2009, after Jackson's death in June, the song re-entered charts, mainly due to digital download sales. A music video for "Dirty Diana" was filmed in front of a live audience and released in 1988.

Background

"Dirty Diana" was written by Michael Jackson. It was produced by

and Michael Jackson. It appeared on Jackson's seventh studio album, ''Bad''. The song was released by

on April 18, 1988, as the fifth single from ''Bad''. After "Beat It", "Dirty Diana" was the second

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

song of his solo career with lyrics about a persistent

. Jackson hired

Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer o ...

's guitarist

to back him on the track. Initial reports at the time suggested the song was a poke at his close friend

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

. However, it was later denied. In fact, Ross started using the song as an overture at her concerts shortly before appearing on stage. In an interview from the special edition of ''Bad'', Jones later confirmed that the song's lyrics were about groupies. Jackson also confirmed the same during an interview with

Barbara Walters Barbara Jill Walters (born September 25, 1929) is an American broadcast journalist and television personality. Known for her interviewing ability and popularity with viewers, Walters appeared as a host of numerous television programs, including ...

, adding that it was not about

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

, though he was told personally by the Princess that it was her favorite among his songs.

Composition

Musically, "Dirty Diana" is a

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

and

song similar to "Beat It", with elements of heavy metal. TriniTrent of ''The Lava Lizard'', when talking about Michael and

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

's "

Scream Scream may refer to: *Screaming, a loud vocalization Amusement rides * Scream (Heide Park), a gyro drop tower in Soltau, Germany * Scream! (ride), a tower ride at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags New England * Scream! (roller coaster), at ...

", evokes "Dirty Diana" along with Jackson's "pop/rock musical direction" he has previously experimented with. John Tatlock of ''

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quiet ...

'' regards the song as an attempt to recreate "the pop-rock alchemy of 'Beat It'." In his ''Bad'' review, ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' Richard Cromelin describes "Dirty Diana" as a hard rock song, writing, "'Dirty Diana' is trying to be this year's 'Beat It' — a hard-rock song about a tenacious groupie that's sent into orbit by a Steve Stevens guitar solo."

Jon Pareles Jon Pareles (born October 25, 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''.The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', viewed "Dirty Diana" as a song about a "groupie who latches onto the narrator, mixes the sexual fears of 'Billie Jean' with the hard-rock lead guitar of 'Beat It'." In his ''Bad'' review, Thom Duffy, music critic for the ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...

'', wrote that "Dirty Diana, a tale of a maliciously seductive fan, finds Jackson doing credible heavy-metal rock wailing," which, the critic said, was "accompanied by a solo from Steve Stevens, the guitarist from Billy Idol's band." Jonathan Takiff of ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'' also noted elements of heavy metal in "Dirty Diana", writing, "Plus, to tap the rock crowd (in the style of the 'Thriller' crossover smash 'Beat It' with

Eddie Van Halen Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he co-founded along ...

), Michael cut a heavy metal-tinged 'Dirty Diana' featuring Billy Idol's guitar sizzler Stevie Stevens." "Dirty Diana" is written in

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

and moves at a moderate

of 131

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

. Jackson's vocals are sung on a range of B₃ to G₅. The instrumentation consists of guitar and piano and is played in the key of

Reception

Critical response

"Dirty Diana" received mixed reviews by contemporary music critics.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

felt that "Dirty Diana" and "Man in the Mirror" were "showcasing Jackson at his worst" on ''Bad''. Music critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

viewed "Dirty Diana" as "misogynistic as any piece of metal suck-my-cock." Jon Pareles described "Dirty Diana" as 'reducing' Jackson to a "terrified whimper," while John Tatlock considered "Dirty Diana" as a "confused lumbering slog of a song," thinking that "Jackson was never convincing in this kind of role, a boy-child trying to write a song about the kind of woman he never meets in the kind of places he's certainly never been to." Davitt Sigerson of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' gave the song a more positive review; though calling it a "filler," she still commented that the song, along with " Speed Demon," is what makes ''Bad'' "richer, sexier, better than ''Thriller''s forgettables." Sigerson noted that "Dirty Diana" was a "substantial recording" because of its "insubstantial melody." Jennifer Clay of

Yahoo! Music Yahoo! Music was a brand under which Yahoo! provided a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming. Previously, users with Yahoo! accounts could gain access to hundreds of ...

commented that while Jackson's edgier image was a "little hard to swallow," the image, musically, worked on the songs "Bad", "Man in the Mirror", and "Dirty Diana", but was not "to the degree of ''Thriller''."

Chart performance

"Dirty Diana", similar to ''Bad''s previous singles, charted within the top 20 and top 10 worldwide. It peaked at No. 1 on the United States ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on July 2, 1988, after nine weeks on the chart, and exited the chart after its 14th week. Internationally, "Dirty Diana" charted within the top 30 positions on several music charts. It charted within the top five in the Netherlands, Germany, and New Zealand, peaking at Nos. 2, 3 and 5, respectively. It entered the United Kingdom charts on July 16, 1988, at No. 14 and the following week went to No. 4, where it stayed for two weeks. "Dirty Diana" peaked at No. 3 in Ireland, No. 7 in Austria and No. 9 in France. It peaked at No. 30 in Australia. Following Jackson's death in June 2009, his music experienced a surge in popularity. In July 2009, "Dirty Diana" saw a strong chart surge, mainly due to digital download sales. The song charted at No. 18 on the French Digital Singles Chart on July 4, 2009. On July 12, the song peaked at No. 13 on the

Swiss Singles Chart The Swiss Hitparade (german: link=no, Schweizer Hitparade) is Switzerland's main Record chart, music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland. The Swiss charts include: * ...

. "Dirty Diana" re-entered the United Kingdom charts on July 4, 2009, at No. 50 and the following week peaked at No. 26.

Music video

The five-minute music video for the song was directed by

Joe Pytka Joe Pytka (born November 4, 1938) is an American film, television, commercial and music video director born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He holds the record for the most nominations for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Direct ...

and produced by Larry Stessel. The music video was filmed in March 1988 in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. It won the "Number-One Video in the World" at the first

World Music Awards The World Music Awards is an international award show founded in 1989 under the patronage of Albert II, Prince of Monaco and co-founder/executive producer John Martinotti. The event is based in Monte Carlo. Awards are presented to the world's ...

held on April 14, 1989. It is featured on the DVD albums '' Number Ones'', ''

Michael Jackson's Vision ''Michael Jackson's Vision'' is a deluxe DVD video album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released on November 22, 2010 by Epic Records, Legacy Recordings, and Jackson's own label, MJJ Productions. It includes three DVDs, feat ...

'', and the Target version DVD of ''

Bad 25 ''Bad 25'' is the 25th anniversary edition reissue of American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson's seventh studio album ''Bad'' (1987). This is the second album by Jackson re-released on its 25th anniversary, the first being ''Thriller 25'' (200 ...

''. The woman who appears in the video is model Lisa Dean, chosen over hundreds of girls who auditioned for the role.

Live performance video

A second seven-minute long accompanying video of a live performance (which should not be confused with the actual music video) was filmed in early

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

in front of a live audience during Jackson's show in Madison Square Garden (Steve Stevens playing guitar). The video starts with the screen saying "

Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...

Presents Michael Jackson Tour 1988" in front of a white background for forty seconds. After showing a black screen, Jackson can be seen from a distance performing in front of an audience with the only source of light being blue lights. During Jackson's performance he is dressed in a white button down shirt, black pants and has metal and leather belts on his pants while singing and dancing. In between Jackson's performance from a distance, there are clips of him performing up-close while singing into a microphone, as well as clips of his guitarist

Jennifer Batten Jennifer Batten (born November 29, 1957) is an American guitarist who has worked as a session musician and solo artist. From 1987 to 1997 she played on all three of Michael Jackson's world tours, and from 1999 to 2001 she toured and recorded wit ...

performing behind him. Jackson then begins dancing and singing to the woman before walking down a cat-walk and dancing near guitarist Steve Stevens. Jackson's performance is then shown from a distance again and the video ends with Jackson finishing his performance and the lights turning blue.

Live performances

"Dirty Diana" was performed during Jackson's ''Bad'' World Tour concert series from 1987 to 1989, but only in the second leg, as the 10th song in the setlist. According to Jackson in an interview with Barbara Walters, "Dirty Diana" was scheduled for a live 1988 performance at Wembley Stadium during the Bad World Tour; however, Jackson felt the song would be an insult to

, who was in attendance, so he had it removed. After Diana informed him the song was actually one of her personal favorites, Jackson re-added the song to the set list. This performance can be seen on the DVD '' Michael Jackson: Live at Wembley July 16, 1988''. This Is It concert series choreographer,

Kenny Ortega Kenneth John Ortega (born April 18, 1950) is an American filmmaker, touring manager, and choreographer. He is known for directing the films '' Newsies'', '' Hocus Pocus'', ''The Cheetah Girls 2'', ''High School Musical'', ''Michael Jackson's Th ...

, stated in an interview that "Dirty Diana" was going to be performed by Jackson for the concerts from 2009 to 2010. Ortega said that Jackson had planned to rehearse the song before he died. The set up for the song would include an expert pole dancer who would lure Jackson onto a giant steel bed on which she performed acrobatic feats.

Track listing

;7-inch single, 12-inch maxi #"Dirty Diana" – 4:42 #"Dirty Diana" (instrumental) – 4:42 ;3-inch CD single #"Dirty Diana" (single edit) – 4:42 #"Dirty Diana" (instrumental) – 4:42 #"Dirty Diana" (album version) – 4:52 ;CD-maxi single #"Dirty Diana" – 4:42 #"Dirty Diana" (instrumental) – 4:42 #"Bad" (Dance Extended Mix Includes ''False Fade'') – 8:24 ;CD side #"Dirty Diana" – 4:40 #"Dirty Diana" (instrumental) – 4:40 ;DVD side #"Dirty Diana (music video) – 5:08

Credits and personnel

*Written and composed by Michael Jackson * Produced by

*Co-produced by Michael Jackson *Michael Jackson – solo and background vocals, Clave' clapstick *Rhythm arrangement by Michael Jackson, John Barnes and

Jerry Hey Jerry Hey (born 1950) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, horn arranger, string arranger, orchestrator and session musician who has played on hundreds of commercial recordings, including Michael Jackson's '' Thriller'', ''Rock with You'', ...

Synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

arrangements by Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones and John Barnes *String arrangement by John Barnes *Vocal arrangement by Michael Jackson * John Robinson – drums *Douglas Getschal – drum programming *

Paul Jackson, Jr. Paul Milton Jackson Jr. (born December 30, 1959) is an American fusion/urban jazz composer, arranger, producer and guitarist. He was born and raised in Los Angeles. Jackson knew by the age of fifteen that he wanted to become a professional musi ...

and David Williams – guitars *Christopher Currell – Synclavier *Denny Jaeger – Synclavier synthesis *John Barnes,

Michael Boddicker Michael Lehmann Boddicker (born January 19, 1953) is an American film composer and session musician, specializing in electronic music. He is a three times National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (N.A.R.A.S.) Most Valuable Player "Synthesi ...

and

Randy Waldman Randy Waldman (born September 8, 1955, Chicago, Illinois, United States) is an American pianist, arranger, composer, and conductor. In 2019, Waldman's arrangement of the " Spider-Man Theme" on his ''Superheroes'' album garnered the Grammy Award f ...

– synthesizers *

– guitar solo

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

Bibliography

* * * {{authority control Songs about groupies 1987 songs 1988 singles Epic Records singles Michael Jackson songs American hard rock songs American pop rock songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in Spain Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles Songs written by Michael Jackson Song recordings produced by Michael Jackson Song recordings produced by Quincy Jones