"Give In to Me" is a song by American recording artist

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 ...

, released as the seventh single from his eight studio album, ''

Dangerous Dangerous may refer to: Film and television * ''Dangerous'' (1935 film), an American film starring Bette Davis * '' Dangerous: The Short Films'', a 1993 collection of music videos by Michael Jackson * ''Dangerous'' (2021 film), a Canadian-Ameri ...

'' (1991). Released in February 1993, the song peaked at number one in New Zealand for four consecutive weeks and at number two on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The track features

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...

guitarist

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash ...

, who also had solos on " D.S.", "Morphine" and "Privacy". Some suggest that the song has an aggressive sexual flavor. The single was released in Europe, Australia and New Zealand only. The single release's B-sides include the album versions of "

Dirty Diana "Dirty Diana" is a song by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson. It is the ninth track on Jackson's seventh studio album, ''Bad'' (1987). The song was released by Epic Records on April 18, 1988, as the fifth single from the album. It prese ...

" and "

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 ...

Composition

This song is written 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 ...

E minor E minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative major is G major and its parallel major is E major. The E natural minor scale is: : Changes needed ...

. Jackson's vocals spans from G₃ to B₄. It has a moderately slow tempo of 87 beats per minute. Stylistically, "Give In to Me" is a

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 ...

and heavy metal

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

Critical response

"Give In to Me" received positive reviews from contemporary music critics. ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' editor David Browne praised Jackson's delivery, writing, "when his voice isn't competing with drum machines, it's menacing on the creepy "Give In to Me" (his best-ever shot at

)." In his weekly UK chart commentary,

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a music writer and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worked on air ...

said, that with " Who Is It" and "

Black Or White "Black or White" is a single by the American singer Michael Jackson. It was released by Epic Records on November 11, 1991, as the first single from Jackson's eighth studio album, ''Dangerous'' (1991). Jackson wrote, composed, and produced it w ...

", the single "is one of the few tracks on the album that represent Jackson at his very best and not stifled by machines." Alan Jones from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' described it as "a moody

which unfurls slowly before reaching a fine climax, neatly juxtaposed by Slash's wailing guitar solo." He added that it "will be a substantial and deserved hit." Alan Light 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 ...

'' felt that "Give In to Me" "flirts with something more disturbing as Jackson sings, "Don't try to understand me/Just simply do the things I say" in a grittier, throaty voice while Slash's guitar whips and soars behind him."

Music video

The music video for "Give In to Me" features Jackson performing the song on stage at an indoor rock concert with ex

Living Colour Living Colour is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1984. The band currently consists of guitarist Vernon Reid, lead vocalist Corey Glover, drummer Will Calhoun and bassist Doug Wimbish (who replaced Muzz Skillings in 1992). S ...

bassist

Muzz Skillings Muzz Skillings (born January 6, 1964, in Queens, New York) is an American bassist, singer, guitarist and songwriter. He is best known for being the original bassist with Living Colour. Skillings played bass, sang backing vocals, and co-wrote son ...

guitarists

and

Gilby Clarke Gilbert J. "Gilby" Clarke (born August 17, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He had a 3-year tenure as the rhythm guitarist of Guns N' Roses, replacing Izzy Stradlin in 1991 during the Use Your Illusion Tour ...

, as well as the band's touring keyboardist

Teddy Andreadis Teddy 'Zig Zag' Andreadis is an American piano/ harmonica player who has worked with many popular musicians, including Carole King, Guns N’ Roses, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Alice Cooper, Bruce Willis, and the Boxing Gandhis. In 1999 he was voted ...

and legendary session drummer Tony Thompson. Loud explosions are later heard with visuals of stylized electrical arcs and Jackson dancing as they run down his body. The last scene shows one electrical arc running down Jackson's body, an unintentional effect that was left in. The video is featured on the video albums: '' Dangerous - The Short Films'' and ''

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 ...

''. It was shot on June 25, 1992, in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, Germany, just two days before the opening concert of the

Dangerous World Tour The Dangerous World Tour was the second world concert tour by American singer Michael Jackson to promote his eighth studio album ''Dangerous.'' The tour was sponsored by Pepsi-Cola. All profits were donated to various charities including Jacks ...

on June 27, 1992. The pyrotechnics appearing on the video are computer-generated and were added later on. It was published on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

in October 2009. The video has amassed over 137 million views as of September 2022.

Track listings

* Austria CD single # "Give In to Me" – 5:28 # "

" – 4:52 # "

" – 4:17 * UK CD single # "Give In to Me" (Vocal Version) – 4:42 # "Dirty Diana" – 4:52 # "Beat It" – 4:17 * UK promo CD # "Give In to Me" (Vocal Version) – 4:42 # "Give In to Me" (Instrumental) – 5:28 * 45 RPM and 7-inch # "Give In to Me" – 5:28 # "Dirty Diana" – 4:52

Personnel

* Written, composed, and produced by Michael Jackson and Bill Bottrell * Recorded, mixed, bass, drums, mellotron, and guitar by Bill Bottrell * Guitars recorded by Jim Mitchell; assisted by Craig Brock * Special guitar performance by

* Solo and background vocals by Michael Jackson * Guitar by

Tim Pierce Tim Pierce (born 1959 in Albuquerque) is an American session guitarist. He has worked for artists such as Joe Cocker, Crowded House, Goo Goo Dolls, Michael Jackson, Beth Hart, Roger Waters, Alice Cooper, Johnny Hallyday, Phil Collins, and the C ...

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Cover versions

*In 2000,

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

used the sample of "Give In to Me" in his song "Under the Influence" from the album The ''

Marshall Mathers LP ''The Marshall Mathers LP'' is the third studio album by American rapper Eminem, released on May 23, 2000, by Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album was produced mostly by Dr. Dre and Eminem, along with The 45 King, the Bass Br ...

''. *In 2009,

Allison Iraheta Allison Iraheta (; born April 27, 1992) is an American singer from Los Angeles, California, who was the fourth place finalist on the eighth season of ''American Idol''. Prior to ''Idol'', Iraheta won the Telemundo competition ''Quinceañera: Mam� ...

performed the song on the eighth season of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'', and a studio recording was released on iTunes. *In 2012,

Three Days Grace Three Days Grace is a Canadian Rock music, rock band formed in Norwood, Ontario in 1992 originally as "Groundswell" and played in various local Norwood backyard parties and area establishments before disbanding in 1995 and regrouping in 1997. ...

included a cover of this song on their album ''

Transit of Venus frameless, upright=0.5 A transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and a superior planet, becoming visible against (and hence obscuring a small portion of) the solar disk. During a trans ...

''.

References

{{authority control 1990s ballads 1991 songs 1993 singles American hard rock songs American heavy metal songs Epic Records singles Hard rock ballads Heavy metal ballads Michael Jackson songs Number-one singles in New Zealand Slash (musician) songs Song recordings produced by Bill Bottrell Song recordings produced by Michael Jackson Songs about heartache Songs written by Bill Bottrell