"Stranger in Moscow" 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 ...

from his ninth studio album, ''

HIStory History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as we ...

'' (1995). The song was released as the sixth and final single worldwide on November 4, 1996 by

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was founded predominantly as a jazz and classical mu ...

. It was not released in the United States until much later on July 7, 1997. The track was written in September 1993, while on 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 ...

stop in Moscow. An early version of the track's chord structure appears in the video game ''

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is a 1994 platform game developed and published by Sega for the Genesis. Like previous '' Sonic'' games, players traverse side-scrolling levels while collecting rings and defeating enemies. They control Sonic and Tails, who attempt to retri ...

''; according to conflicting accounts, Jackson and his team composed music for the game before leaving the project. The song's

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 promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

depicts the lives of six individuals, including Jackson, who are left isolated and disconnected from the world around them. "Stranger in Moscow" charted highly in the top 10 of numerous countries music charts worldwide, including Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. However, it only peaked at number 91 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming Jackson's lowest peaking on the chart. The song was performed on the

HIStory World Tour The ''HIS''tory World Tour was the third and final worldwide solo concert tour by American singer and recording artist Michael Jackson, covering Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania and North America. The tour included a total of 82 concerts spannin ...

in 1996–1997. The song has been covered a few times by other artists.

Background

"Stranger in Moscow", like several other ''HIStory'' tracks, was Jackson's response to recent events in his personal life. In 1993, the relationship between Jackson and the press soured entirely when he was accused of

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...

. Though not charged with a crime, Jackson was intensely scrutinized by the media during the criminal investigation. Complaints about the coverage and media included using sensational headlines and headlines that implied guilt, accepting stories of Jackson's alleged criminal activity and leaked police material in exchange for money,Campbell (1995), p. 77–80 deliberately using unflattering pictures of Jackson,Taraborrelli, p. 500–507 and a lack of objectivity. The coverage upset Jackson, and damaged his health; Jackson's health had deteriorated such that he canceled the remainder of his ''Dangerous'' World Tour and went into rehabilitation.Campbell (1995), p. 89–93Taraborrelli, p. 524–528 The media showed him little sympathy. The ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...

'' held a "Spot the Jacko" contest, offering readers a trip to

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake, Florida, Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando ...

if they could correctly predict where the entertainer's next appearance would be. A ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadshee ...

'' headline read, "Drug Treatment Star Faces Life on the Run", while a ''

News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national red top tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling English-language newspaper, and at closure still had one o ...

'' headline accused Jackson of being a fugitive. These tabloids also falsely alleged that Jackson had traveled to Europe to have

cosmetic surgery Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty involving the restoration, reconstruction or alteration of the human body. It can be divided into two main categories: reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery. Reconstructive surgery includes craniof ...

that would make him unrecognizable upon return.

Geraldo Rivera Geraldo Rivera (born Gerald Riviera; July 4, 1943) is an American journalist, attorney, author, political commentator, and former television host. He hosted the tabloid talk show '' Geraldo'' from 1987 to 1998. He gained publicity with the liv ...

set up a mock trial, with a jury made up of audience members, even though Jackson had not been charged with a crime.

Music

Originally, ''HIStory'' was planned as a greatest hits album, with a few new tracks. However, Jackson and his collaborators were so pleased with the result of "Stranger in Moscow" that they decided to give ''HIStory'' a full studio album as the second disc. "Stranger in Moscow" is an R&B

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 ...

, written by Jackson in 1993 during his

stop in Moscow. It has a tempo of 67 beats per minute, making it one of Jackson's slowest songs. The instrumental portion is based on the credits theme of ''

'', a 1994 video game which Jackson and his tour keyboardist Brad Buxer were hired to compose for. Conflicting accounts state that Jackson either dropped out of the project following the sexual abuse allegations around this time or, because of his dissatisfaction with the limitations of the

Sega Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...

sound chip. According to keyboardist Brad Buxer, the song itself was inspired by one of the cues he had composed for ''Sonic the Hedgehog 3''. He remembers being called up to Jackson's hotel room in Moscow on the Dangerous World Tour, thinking the latter wanted to hear his new game cues. Buxer played several songs on the piano in the room, among which was the ''Sonic the Hedgehog 3'' credits theme cue (which would become the basis verse for "Stranger In Moscow"); he played it in a more song-like way and Michael loved it. He and Buxer then worked together on developing the chords and changes for the rest of the song over an hour and a half. While the track is an example of the collaborative process between the two, only Jackson received writing credit on the record, and Buxer did not push for credit. Guitars were played by

Steve Lukather Steven Lee Lukather (born October 21, 1957) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to a stea ...

while keyboards, synthesizers and bass are credited to

David Paich David Frank Paich (born June 25, 1954) is an American musician, best known as the co-founder, principal songwriter, keyboardist and singer of the rock band Toto since 1977. He wrote or co-wrote much of Toto's original material, including the ba ...

and

Steve Porcaro Steven Maxwell Porcaro (born September 2, 1957) is an American keyboardist, songwriter, and film composer, known as one of the founding members of the rock band Toto and the last surviving Porcaro brother (after the deaths of Jeff in 1992 and ...

.George, p. 12 Jackson used Russian imagery and symbolism to underscore the track's sense of fear and alienation. It concludes with a narrative, spoken in Russian, by a KGB interrogator (Ed Wiesnieski).Jackson, Michael. ''HIStory'' booklet. Sony BMG. p 42 The narrative, translated into English is, "Why have you come from the west? Confess! To steal the great achievements of the people, the accomplishments of the workers..."Jackson, Michael. ''Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix'' booklet. Sony BMG. p 9

Critical reception

"Stranger in Moscow" received praise from music reviewers and producers.

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, oc ...

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 ...

noted of ''HIStory'', "Jackson produces some well-crafted pop that ranks with his best material... 'Stranger in Moscow' is one of his most haunting ballads". Tom Molley of the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newsp ...

described it as an "ethereal and stirring description of a man wounded by a 'swift and sudden fall from grace' walking in the shadow of the Kremlin". Longtime collaborator

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 fir ...

, has described "Stranger in Moscow" as one of the best songs Jackson had ever done. Fred Shuster of the ''

Daily News of Los Angeles The ''Los Angeles Daily News'' is the second-largest-circulating paid daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California. It is the flagship of the Southern California News Group, a branch of Colorado-based Digital First Media. The offices of the ''Da ...

'' described it as, "a lush, pretty minor-key ballad with one of the album's catchiest choruses".Fred Shuster, Jackson attempts to rewrite 'history', ''Daily News of Los Angeles'', 1995-06-18 Chris Willman of ''

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 U ...

'' stated: A reviewer 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 Wee ...

'' rated it five out of five, picking it as Single of the Week. The reviewer added, "More melodic than most of ''HIStorys new, uptempo tracks, this has a somewhat old-fashioned feel, being closer in spirit to

Rock With You "Rock with You" was written by Rod Temperton and produced by Quincy Jones. It was first offered to Karen Carpenter, while she was working on her first solo album, but she turned it down. It was released on November 3, 1979, by Epic Records as ...

than Scream. It isn't quite vintage Jacko, but the song is irresistible." The magazine's Alan Jones stated that the

Todd Terry Todd Norton Terry (born April 18, 1967) is an American DJ, record producer and remixer in the genre of house music. Musical career Todd Terry was influential in moving House music beyond the early Chicago house sound of 1984–86. He crossed ...

remix "works like a dream, and guarantees Jackson another substantial hit."

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 ...

'' stated, "The ballads are lavishly melodic. 'Stranger In Moscow', with odd lyrics like 'Stalin's tomb won't let me be,' has a beautiful chorus for the repeated question 'How does it feel?' ". Further praise came in 2005 when it was felt that the song had successfully portrayed "eerie loneliness" and was characterized as beautiful by Josephine Zohny of

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

Rod Temperton Rodney Lynn Temperton (9 October 1949 – 25 September 2016) was an English songwriter, producer and musician. Temperton was the keyboardist and main songwriter for the 1970s pop music, disco and funk band Heatwave, writing songs including "St ...

, one of Jackson's songwriters from earlier in his career, believes that "Stranger in Moscow" is Jackson's best song. James Hunter of ''

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 cov ...

'' commented: Patrick Macdonald of ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington st ...

'' described "Stranger in Moscow" as "a pretty ballad interspersed with sounds of rain." David Sinclair from ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its s ...

'' viewed it as "a dolorous ballad".

Music video

The song's accompanying

, directed by photographer Nick Brandt, and filmed in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, is focused around six unrelated people living in isolation in a cityscape on a dark, cloudy day while the rest of the world moves around them in slow motion (introducing the so-called '

bullet time Bullet time (also known as frozen moment, dead time, flow motion or time slice) is a visual effect or visual impression of detaching the time and space of a camera (or viewer) from those of its visible subject. It is a depth enhanced simulation ...

' effect). The first half of the video introduces these figures. Five of the figures are: a bald man looking down at the city from his apartment window, a middle-aged woman sitting alone in a coffee shop, a homeless man lying on the damp street, a well-dressed man feeding pigeons, and a teenage boy ostracized from a street game of baseball. The sixth figure is Jackson himself, seen walking the city streets while he sings. Special effects are used to show birds and wasps flying, glass breaking and coffee spilling, all in slow motion. In the second half of the scenario, heavy rain descends on the city and the citizens try to flee, all again seen in slow motion. From the safety of shelter, the six "strangers" watch everyone's futile attempts to avoid the sudden change in weather. Eventually, they decide to go outside, where they look up at the sky and allow the rain to soak them. The video ends with Michael whipping his hair. During this scene, a soft Russian voice is heard, a reference to Moscow. The music video also appears on Jackson's video albums '' HIStory on Film, Volume II'' and '' Michael Jackson's Vision''. It was published on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and 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 Google, and is the second most ...

in October 2009. The video has amassed more than 69 million views as of November 2022. Jackson's biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli has stated that the video is based on Jackson's real life. He used to walk alone at night looking for new friends, even at the peak of his musical popularity. The 1980s saw him become deeply unhappy; Jackson, as a teenager, explained in an interview, "Even at home, I'm lonely. I sit in my room sometimes and cry. It's so hard to make friends... I sometimes walk around the neighborhood at night, just hoping to find someone to talk to. But I just end up coming home."

Live performances

The song was performed during

(1996-1997).

Track listing

* UK CD single (6633525) # "Stranger in Moscow" (Album Version) - 5.43 # "Stranger in Moscow" (Tee's Radio Mix) - 4.21 # "Stranger in Moscow" (Tee's In-House Club Mix) - 6.53 # "Stranger in Moscow" (TNT Frozen Sun Mix- Club) - 6.49 # "Stranger in Moscow" (Tee's Freeze Radio) - 3.45 # "Stranger in Moscow" (TNT Danger Dub) - 7.21 # "Stranger in Moscow" (Tee's Light AC Mix) - 4.24 * US 12" single # "Stranger in Moscow (Hani's Num Club Mix)" – 10:15 # "Stranger in Moscow (TNT Danger Dub)" – 7:21 # "Stranger in Moscow (Basement Boys 12" Club Mix)" – 8:18 # "Blood on the Dance Floor (T&G Pool Of Blood Dub)" – 7:34 * US CD single # "Stranger in Moscow (Tee's Radio Mix)" – 4:21 # "Stranger in Moscow (Charles Roane's Full R&B Mix)" – 4:40 # "Stranger in Moscow (Hani's Num Radio Mix)" – 3:50 # "Stranger in Moscow (Tee's In-House Club Mix)" – 6:54 # "Stranger in Moscow (Basement Boys 12" Club Mix)" – 8:18 # "Stranger in Moscow (Hani's Extended Chill Hop Mix)" – 6:01 # "

Off the Wall ''Off the Wall'' is the fifth studio album by American singer Michael Jackson, released on August 10, 1979, by Epic Records. It was Jackson's first album released through Epic Records, the label he recorded under until his death in 2009, and t ...

( Junior Vasquez Remix)" – 5:14

Personnel

As per the liner notes of '' The Ultimate Collection'': *Lead and Background vocals by Michael Jackson *Guitar:

*Keyboards, Synthesizers & ynthbass:

*Keyboards & Synthesizers:

*Keyboards & Synthesizers, programming (uncredited): Brad Buxer *Michael Jackson Beatbox samples in intro spliced/edited by Andrew Scheps

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Cover versions

*British singer

Leona Lewis Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer, songwriter, actress and activist. Born and raised in the London Borough of Islington, she attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieved nationa ...

did a live rendition at the Michael Forever – The Tribute Concert * Kevin Parker released a cover by his Australian

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound effects and recording tec ...

music project

Tame Impala Tame Impala is the psychedelic music project of Australian multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker. In the recording studio, Parker writes, records, performs, and produces all of the project's music. As a touring act, Tame Impala consists of Parke ...

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

on March 12, 2014. * The American rock band Santana have covered the song in their concerts and the cover was uploaded on Youtube on March 30, 2020.

Notes

References

* * George, Nelson (2004). '' Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection''.

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout ...

. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stranger In Moscow 1990s ballads 1995 songs 1996 singles 1997 singles Number-one singles in the Czech Republic Number-one singles in Italy Number-one singles in Spain Michael Jackson songs Songs written by Michael Jackson Pop ballads Contemporary R&B ballads Song recordings produced by Michael Jackson Songs about loneliness Songs about Moscow Black-and-white music videos Music videos directed by Nick Brandt