"Heal the World" is a song recorded 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 ...

from his eighth studio album, '' Dangerous'' (1991). It was released on November 23, 1992 as the fifth single from the album. It was written and composed by Jackson, and produced by Jackson and

Bruce Swedien Bruce Swedien (; April 19, 1934 – November 16, 2020) was an American recording engineer, mixing engineer and record producer. He was widely known for his work with Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Paul McCartney and Barbra Streisand. Swedien fi ...

. It is a song steeped with antiwar lyrics and Jackson's wish for humanity of making the world a better place. In a 2001

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with

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, Jackson said that "Heal the World" is the song he was most proud to have created. He also created the

Heal the World Foundation The original Heal the World Foundation was a charitable organization founded by singer Michael Jackson in 1992. The foundation's creation was inspired by his charitable single of the same name. Through his foundation, Jackson airlifted 46 tons o ...

, a charitable organization which was designed to improve the lives of children. The organization was also meant to teach children how to help others. This concept of 'betterment for all' would become a centerpiece for 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 Jack ...

. In the documentary '' Living with Michael Jackson'', Jackson said he created the song in his "Giving Tree" at

Neverland Ranch Sycamore Valley Ranch, formerly Neverland Ranch"Neverland Never More"
, by William Etling (author ...

. An ensemble performance of "

We Are the World "We Are the World" is a charity single originally recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian for the album '' We Are the World''. Wi ...

" and "Heal the World" closed Jackson's memorial service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on July 7, 2009. The song was performed as rehearsed by Jackson at the venue just weeks earlier, in preparation for his planned " This Is It" concerts in London along with "

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 pre ...

". R&B singer

Ciara Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, model and entrepreneur. She released her debut studio album, '' Goodies'' in 2004, which spawned four singles: " Goodies" (featuring Petey Pa ...

sang the song as a tribute to Jackson at the 2009 BET Awards. The song was played at the funeral of James Bulger, and Jackson also donated the song to be used as the anthem for the James Bulger Red Balloon Centre, a school for children to go to if they are being bullied or have learning difficulties.

Composition

This song is written in the key of A major (but will later transitions to B Major as a choir starts singing, and last more chorus in

D major D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: : Ch ...

from the end), and it spans from E₃ to C#₅. It has a tempo of 80 beats per minute.

Reception

Critical reception

Chris Lacy from Albumism described the song as "a beautifully understated anthem whose lyrics call for universal improvement."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine called it "middle-class soft." Larry Flick from '' Billboard'' viewed "Heal the World" as a "oh-so-sweet call for peace and love". He added, "Although tune sounds a bit like "

", the sincerity in his vocal cuts through a somewhat overblown arrangement and choir climax." Randy Clark from '' Cash Box'' said that it's "musically about as close a jab at his previous "We Are The World" as he could pull off without

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 ...

and the superstar backing." He added that "the sing-along

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 ...

features mostly Michael's vocals, bringing in a choir at the end for the full effect. The universal message is also the theme of his current world tour." After Jackson's death, the Daily Vault's Michael R. Smith wrote, "Certainly, message songs like "Heal the World" and "

Gone Too Soon "Gone Too Soon" is a ballad recorded and popularized by American musician Michael Jackson. It was written and composed by Larry Grossman and Buz Kohan. Dionne Warwick first performed (but never recorded) the song in February 1983 on a TV sp ...

" have a striking and sad resonance now that Jackson is no longer with us, so in that way his legacy is preserved and his music does live on." David Browne of ''

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 cu ...

'' praised the song, "And when his voice isn't competing with drum machines, it has rarely sounded stronger-achingly pure". ''

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

''s Alan Light was not satisfied, calling it "a

Hallmark A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of metal, mostly to certify the content of noble metals—such as platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium. In a more general sense, the term '' hallmark'' can a ...

-card knockoff of 'We Are the World'."

Commercial reception

The song reached number two in 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 ...

in December 1992, kept off the number one position by

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed " The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston i ...

's " I Will Always Love You". It peaked number 27 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Music video

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

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 features children living in countries suffering from unrest, especially Burundi. The version of the video included on '' 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 ...

'' contains an introductory video that features a speech from Jackson taken from the special "spoken word" version of the track. This version was not included on ''

Video Greatest Hits – HIStory ''Video Greatest Hits – HIStory'' is a collection of Michael Jackson's music videos (excluding "Man in the Mirror" and "She's Out of My Life") relative at the first disc of the double album ''HIStory'' released initially on VHS, Video CD (in ...

'' featuring the music video. Jackson performed the song in the Super Bowl XXVII halftime show with a 35,000 person flash card performance.

Track listing

*7" single and cassette single: # "Heal the World" (7" Edit) – 4:32 # "She Drives Me Wild" – 3:41 *12" single: # "Heal the World" (Album Version) – 6:25 # "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" (Brothers in Rhythm House Mix) – 7:40 # "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" (Rogers Underground Solution) – 6:18 # "Rock with You" (Masters at Work Remix) – 5:29 *CD maxi: # "Heal the World" (7" Edit) – 4:32 # "Heal the World" (7" Edit with Intro) – 4:55 # "Heal the World" (LP Version) – 6:25 # "She Drives Me Wild" (Album Version) – 3:41 *CD promo: # "Heal the World" (7" Edit) – 4:32 # "Heal the World" (7" Edit with Intro) – 4:55 *DualDisc single: :DVD side # "Heal the World" (Music Video) – 7:31 # "Heal the World" (Single Version) – 4:32 # "Will You Be There" – 7:39

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Personnel

*Written and composed by Michael Jackson *Produced by Michael Jackson *Co-produced by Bruce Swedien *Recorded and mixed by Bruce Swedien and Matt Forger *Lead and Background Vocals by Michael Jackson *Rhythm arrangement by Michael Jackson *Vocal arrangement by Michael Jackson and John Bahler *Choir arrangement by John Bahler, featuring the John Bahler Singers *Prelude composed, arranged and conducted by

Marty Paich Martin Louis Paich (January 23, 1925 – August 12, 1995) was an American pianist, composer, arranger, record producer, music director, and conductor. As a musician and arranger he worked with jazz musicians Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Kento ...

*Keyboards: David Paich and

Brad Buxer Bradley Buxer is an American keyboardist and composer, known for his many collaborations with the American musician Michael Jackson. In addition to recording with Jackson, Buxer was also the musical director for Jackson's tours for many years. Pr ...

*Synthesizers:

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 "Synthe ...

, David Paich and Steve Porcaro *Drums:

Jeff Porcaro Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (; April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work with the rock band Toto but is one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working o ...

*Percussion: Bryan Loren *Orchestra arranged and conducted by Marty Paich *Ending solo vocal: Christa Collins *Playground girl: Ashley Farell

Cover versions

* Leif Bloms recorded the song on 1993 album '' Dej ska jag älska all min tid''. *

Aled Jones Aled Jones, (born 29 December 1970) is a Welsh singer and radio and television presenter. As a teenage chorister, he reached widespread fame during the mid-1980s. Since then he has worked in television with the BBC and ITV, and radio (for ...

recorded the song on his 2002 album From The Heart. * Connie Talbot, a finalist from '' Season 1 of Britain's Got Talent'', released a variation of the song in November 2011 on her album, '' Beautiful World''. *In 2016 Mumbai-based folk music duo Maati Baani (formed by Nirali Kartik and Kartik Shah) released a cover of the song featuring 45 child artists between the ages of 5 and 13 from India, South Africa, Russia, Canada, Japan and the United States, displaying an eclectic array of musical styles. *

Jillian Ward Jillian Ward (; ; born Jhyllianne Wardë; February 23, 2005) is a Filipina actress, singer, and vlogger. She is known for playing the title role of Gertrudis "Trudis" Capili-Ferrer in GMA Network's '' Sine Novela'', ''Trudis Liit'', Donna Mar ...

covered the song in 2021 for the Frontliners during the

COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines The COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines has resulted in, as of , reported cases, resulting in reported deaths, the fifth-highest in Southeast Asia, behind Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. The first case in the Philippines was ...

References

External links

Official music video (US)Heal The World Live at Super Bowl XXVII (US)
* {{authority control Anti-war songs 1990s ballads 1991 songs 1992 singles Epic Records singles Leif Bloms songs Michael Jackson songs Songs written by Michael Jackson Song recordings produced by Michael Jackson Number-one singles in Spain