"Smooth Criminal" is a song by the American singer Michael Jackson, released on November 14, 1988, as the seventh single from his seventh 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). It was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. The lyrics address a woman who has been attacked in her apartment by a "smooth criminal". The refrain "Annie, are you OK?" was inspired by Resusci Anne, a dummy used in CPR training. The music video for "Smooth Criminal", which premiered on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

on October 13, 1988, is the centerpiece of the 1988 film '' Moonwalker''. The 1930s setting and Jackson's white suit and

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pay tribute to the Fred Astaire musical comedy film '' The Band Wagon''. In the video, Jackson and the dancers perform an apparently physically impossible "anti-gravity lean". "Smooth Criminal" reached number seven on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming the sixth top-10 single from ''Bad''. It reached number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot Black Singles chart. It was certified double platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA). The song reached number one in Belgium, Iceland, the Netherlands, and Spain. Retrospective reviews have described it as one of Jackson's best songs. '' Rolling Stone'' wrote that it was "his best blend of R&B groove and rock edginess, and a turning point in his shift toward darker, harder-edged material". It has appeared on numerous greatest hits albums and was performed on all of Jackson's solo tours. "Smooth Criminal" was re-released in 2006 as a single as a part of Jackson's '' Visionary: The Video Singles'' boxset.

Composition

"Smooth Criminal" evolved from an earlier song written by Jackson, "Al Capone" (named after real life gangster

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...

), released on the 2012 reissue '' Bad 25''. It is in the key of

A minor A minor is a minor scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has no flats and no sharps. Its relative major is C major and its parallel major is A major. The A natural minor scale is: : Changes ...

, and Jackson's vocal spans from G₃ to C₆. The lyrics describe a narrator who finds a bloodstained carpet and an unconscious body. The chorus refrain, "Annie, are you OK?", was inspired by Resusci Anne, a dummy used in cardiopulmonary resuscitation training. Trainees learn to say "Annie, are you OK?" while practicing resuscitation on the dummy.

Release

"Smooth Criminal" peaked at number seven on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming the sixth top 10 single from ''Bad''. It is certified 2× platinum by the

, and platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. The song reached number one in Belgium, Iceland, the Netherlands and Spain and the top 10 in Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland and the UK.

Music video

Jackson asked Vincent Paterson to conceive a concept for the short film. Paterson listened to the unfinished song and came up with the concept of a 1930s gangster club. Vincent Paterson, who was a lead dancer in the music videos for "

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 ...

" and "

Thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

", co-choreographed the "Smooth Criminal" video with Jackson and Jeffrey Daniel of the soul music group Shalamar. The video and Jackson's white suit and

pay tribute to the Fred Astaire musical comedy film '' The Band Wagon'', particularly the "Girl Hunt Ballet" (itself inspired by the novels of Mickey Spillane) scene. The video, directed by Colin Chilvers, was shot between mid-February and April 1987 at

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...

, and in the backlot at Universal Studios Hollywood and premiered on

on the night of October 13, 1988. In the video, Jackson and the other dancers perform a lean that appears physically impossible. The dancers lean forward 45 degrees with their backs straight and feet flat on the floor, and hold the pose before returning upright. The lean moves the body's

center of mass In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the balance point) is the unique point where the weighted relative position of the distributed mass sums to zero. This is the point to which a force may ...

further than it can support. The illusion was achieved using cables and a harness. In October 1993, Jackson's team patented a method of performing the lean in concert using specially designed shoes that hook into pegs that rise from the stage. Even with the shoes, the move requires good athletic core strength. The video won Best Music Video at the 1989 Brit Awards and the Critic's Choice awarded Jackson the "Best Video" award and the People's Choice Awards for "Favorite Music Video" for that same year. In 2019, American television personality Kim Kardashian bought Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" fedora, which still had his makeup on it, for her daughter North West. The style of clothing as well as mannerisms Jackson portrayed were reused in the numerous adaptations of the video game '' Michael Jackson's Moonwalker''. The song serves as the background music for the "Club 30s" stage, the nightclub seen in the music video, that appears in the game. The video is the centerpiece of the 1988 film '' Moonwalker''.

Critical reception

Jason Elias of AllMusic wrote that "Smooth Criminal" was "a gorgeous and exhilarating record ... tpresents Michael Jackson at his most captivating and it never fails to impress". '' Rolling Stone'' named it the sixth best Jackson song, writing that it was "his best blend of R&B groove and rock edginess, and a turning point in his shift toward darker, harder-edged material." In a retrospective review of ''Bad'', '' Newsweek'' wrote: " mooth Criminalis a sleek, exhilarating action sequence of a song that's unlike anything else in Jackson's catalog ... an urgent and inspired highlight. ''Bad'' is at its best when it explores the darker, more paranoid side that began to consume Jackson's life in the late '80s, and this song captures that impulse." '' Entertainment Weekly'' wrote: "If there was one song on ''Bad'' that truly captured the sense of artistic freedom that Jackson felt after ''

'', it was this track ... This is pop music as suspense drama."

Track listings

* 7-inch single # "Smooth Criminal" (single mix) – 4:10 # "Smooth Criminal" (instrumental) – 4:10 * 12-inch maxi and CD-maxi # "Smooth Criminal" (extended dance mix) – 7:46 # "Smooth Criminal" (extended dance mix radio edit) – 5:20 # "Smooth Criminal" ("Annie" mix) – 5:35 # "Smooth Criminal" (dance mix – dub version) – 4:45 # "Smooth Criminal" (a cappella) – 4:12 * ''Visionary'' single CD side: # "Smooth Criminal" – 4:10 # "Smooth Criminal" (extended dance mix) – 7:45 DVD side: # "Smooth Criminal" (music video (end credits version)) — 4:11 * Cassette single # "Smooth Criminal" # "Smooth Criminal" (instrumental) * 3-inch CD single # "Smooth Criminal" (extended dance mix) – 7:46 # "Smooth Criminal" ("Annie" mix) – 5:35 # "Smooth Criminal" (dance mix – dub version) – 4:45 * Japanese 3-inch CD single # "Smooth Criminal" # "Smooth Criminal" (instrumental)

Personnel

Adapted from single liner notes and Michael Jackson website. * Michael Jackson – vocals, clap, vocal arrangement, rhythm arrangement, production * Quincy Jones – production * Bill Bottrell – drums *

John Robinson John Robinson may refer to: Academics *John Thomas Romney Robinson (1792–1882), Irish astronomer and physicist * John J. Robinson (1918–1996), historian and author of ''Born in Blood'' *John Talbot Robinson (1923–2001), paleontologist *John ...

– drums * Bruce Swedien – drums, police announcement, recording * David Williams – guitar * Kim Hutchcroft – saxophone * Larry Williams – saxophone * Gary Grant – trumpet * Jerry Hey – trumpet, horn arrangement * Kevin Maloney – muted Steinway piano * Christopher Currell –

Synclavier The Synclavier is an early digital synthesizer, polyphonic digital sampling system, and music workstation manufactured by New England Digital Corporation of Norwich, Vermont. It was produced in various forms from the late 1970s into the early 1 ...

* Denny Jaeger – Synclavier effects * Michael Rubini – Synclavier effects * John Barnes – synthesizer * Michael Boddicker – synthesizer * Dr. Eric Chevlen – heartbeat recording * John Barnes – rhythm arrangement

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Cover versions

The Croatian duo

2Cellos 2CELLOS (stylized 2CΞLLOS) were a Croatian cellist duo, consisting of classically trained cellists Luka Šulić and Stjepan Hauser. Signed to Sony Masterworks since 2011, they released six albums. They played instrumental arrangements of well ...

performed the song in a viral YouTube video. They later performed it in the ''

Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

'' episode " Michael". Neil Patrick Harris performed the song in the Michael Jackson tribute episode of ''

Lip Sync Battle ''Lip Sync Battle'' is an American musical reality competition television series that premiered on April 2, 2015, on the American cable network Spike, later known as Paramount Network. The show is based on an idea by Stephen Merchant and John K ...

''.

Alien Ant Farm version

In May 2001, American rock band Alien Ant Farm released a cover version of "Smooth Criminal" as the second single from their second studio album, ''

Anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

'' (2001). According to lead singer Dryden Mitchell, the band would play a few riffs of the Jackson song while warming up before gigs and audience members would request them to play the entire song. This positive feedback encouraged them to record their own rendition of "Smooth Criminal" and include it on ''Anthology''. The cover became a number-one hit on the US ''Billboard''

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart and was also a number-one hit in Australia for eight weeks. In Europe, it reached number three in the United Kingdom and charted within the top 10 in ten other countries. Alien Ant Farm's 1999 album ''Greatest Hits'' includes a hidden track named "Slick Thief", which is an early version of "Smooth Criminal".

Music video

The music video was directed by Marc Klasfeld. It references various Jackson music videos, including the "Smooth Criminal" video itself.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* *
US Patent: Method and means for creating anti-gravity illusion
{{Authority control 1987 songs 1988 singles 2001 singles Michael Jackson songs Alien Ant Farm songs Music videos directed by Marc Klasfeld Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Denmark Number-one singles in Finland Number-one singles in Iceland Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Number-one singles in the Netherlands 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 Epic Records singles DreamWorks Records singles Songs about crime Songs about criminals