"Man in the Mirror" is a song by the 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 was written by

Glen Ballard Basil Glen Ballard Jr. (born May 1, 1953) is an American songwriter, lyricist, and record producer. He is best known for co-writing and producing Alanis Morissette's 1995 album ''Jagged Little Pill'', which won Grammy Awards for Grammy Award fo ...

and

Siedah Garrett Deborah Christine "Siedah" Garrett (born June 24, 1960) is an American singer and songwriter who has written songs and performed backing vocals for many recording artists in the music industry, such as Michael Jackson, the Pointer Sisters, Brand N ...

and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. It was released on February 6, 1988, as the fourth single from Jackson's seventh solo album, ''

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'' (1987). "Man in the Mirror" topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for two weeks, becoming Jackson's tenth number-one single on the chart, and was certified 3× Platinum by the

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(RIAA). It was nominated for Record of the Year at the

31st Grammy Awards The 31st Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 22, 1989, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Album of the Year went to George Michael for ''Faith'', and Song of the Year we ...

. The song peaked at number 21 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 ...

upon release in 1988, but in 2009, following the news of Jackson's death, the song peaked at number 2. Keeping the gospel choir arrangement, the song was remixed for the soundtrack of Jackson's tribute tour '' Immortal''.

Writing and recording

"Man in the Mirror" was written by

and

. Jackson's producer, Quincy Jones, invited Garrett to his home with a group of other songwriters and asked them to write material for Jackson's next album. Garrett recalled that Jones told the group: "I just want hits, that's all I want." Garrett took the brief to Ballard, her writing partner, who began playing a keyboard figure; Garrett wrote the lyrics. The two recorded a demo over the course of a week, with Garrett on vocals. Garrett delivered the tape to Jones, who called back a few hours later to tell her it was "really good". At Jackson's request, Garrett and Ballard wrote a longer middle eight and modified the lyrics. Jones enlisted the Andraé Crouch Choir to record gospel vocals.

Critical response

When Ed Hogan reviewed the song, he called it "gentle." Jon Pareles of ''The New York Times'' noted that this song has "gospelly lift." ''Rolling Stone'' Davitt Sigerson thought that "Man in the Mirror" stands among the half dozen best things Jackson has done: "On 'Man in the Mirror,' a song he did not write, Jackson goes a step further and offers a straightforward homily of personal commitment: 'I'm starting with the man in the mirror/I'm asking him to change his ways/And no message could have been any clearer/If you wanna make the world a better place/Take a look at yourself and then make a change.'" In 2009, Josh Tyrangiel from ''

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'' named "Man in the Mirror" among Jackson's ten-best songs and "one of Jackson’s most powerful vocals and accessible social statements, not to mention the best-ever use of a gospel choir in a pop song." In 2017,

ShortList A short list or shortlist is a list of candidates for a job, prize, award, political position, etc., that has been reduced from a longer list of candidates (sometimes via intermediate lists known as "long lists"). The length of short lists varie ...

's Dave Fawbert listed the song as containing "one of the greatest key changes in music history".

Music video

One of the videos is a notable departure from Jackson's other videos mainly because Jackson himself does not appear in the video (aside from a brief clip toward the end of the video in which he can be seen donning a red jacket and standing in a large crowd). Instead, it featured a montage of footage of various major news events and famous people. The "Man in the Mirror" music video was directed, produced and edited by Don Wilson. Don and Jackson developed the idea for the video. Larry Stessel who was video commissioner at Epic Records at the time was the executive producer. It features a montage of clips of starving children in

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Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

, Hitler's American "relatives",

George Lincoln Rockwell George Lincoln Rockwell (March 9, 1918 – August 25, 1967) was an American far-right political activist and founder of the American Nazi Party. He later became a major figure in the neo-Nazi movement in the United States, and his beliefs, st ...

's American Nazi Party, the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

and his body being carted away after his

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Robert Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, a ...

and his assassination, Martin Luther King Jr., the

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Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, MC (; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa ( sq, Nënë Tereza), was an Indian-Albanian Catholic nun who, in 1950, founded the Missionaries of Charity. Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu () was bo ...

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

, start of the Iran hostage crisis,

Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...

Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

Pieter Botha Pieter is a male given name, the Dutch form of Peter. The name has been one of the most common names in the Netherlands for centuries, but since the mid-twentieth century its popularity has dropped steadily, from almost 3000 per year in 1947 ...

, Lech Wałęsa, the

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, homeless people in the U.S., the rescue of Jessica McClure, kids in

graduation Graduation is the awarding of a diploma to a student by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it. The date of the graduation ceremony is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony is a ...

, and other historical figures. PCM Stereo music video version of this song was included on ''

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'', '' Michael Jackson's Vision'', the Target version DVD of '' Bad 25'', and the song's video that released on VHS in 1989. An alternate live video was used as the opening song in Jackson's film '' Moonwalker'' with live audio and footage from several live performances of the song during the Bad World Tour. The first segment of ''Moonwalker'' is a live performance of "Man in the Mirror" during his

Bad Tour Bad was the first solo concert tour by American singer Michael Jackson, launched in support of his seventh studio album ''Bad (album), Bad'' (1987). Sponsored by Pepsi and spanning 16 months, the tour included 123 concerts for over 4.4 million ...

in Europe and America. Clips from Met Center among others can be seen.

Live performances

Jackson performed a live, extended version of the song at the 1988 Grammy Awards, having Garrett, the Winans, and the Andraé Crouch choir perform with him. It was staged by Vincent Paterson. He also performed the song as the ending of the concert during the Bad World Tour's second leg, and regularly as the ending of the Dangerous World Tour. Live versions of the song are available on the DVDs ''

Live at Wembley July 16, 1988 ''Live at Wembley July 16, 1988'' is a live concert DVD by American recording artist Michael Jackson released on September 18, 2012. It was included with the ''Bad 25'' reissue, as well as by itself. This is the third Jackson tour stop released on ...

'' and '' Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour''. The song was rehearsed for the HIStory World Tour, but was cut from the final set list and was replaced with

HIStory History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

as the ending song. On July 16, 1996, Jackson also performed "Man in the Mirror" at the Royal Concert Brunei for the last time prior to the

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benefit concert. The last time this song was performed was on October 21, 2001, at the

concert that was held in Washington D. C. as a tribute to the victims of

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. The instrumental introduction to the song was played at the end of Jackson's memorial service, while his casket was being carried out; followed by the appearance of a spotlight shining on a microphone on an empty stage. After a closing prayer that incorporated themes from the song, the spotlight remained shining on the lone microphone. The song is also featured as the final number in ''

Michael Jackson's This Is It ''Michael Jackson's This Is It'' is a 2009 American documentary–concert film about Michael Jackson's rehearsals and preparation for This Is It (concert residency), the concert series of the same name scheduled to start on July 13, 2009, at ...

''.

Track listing

*12" and CD # "Man in the Mirror" (Single Version) – 5:04 # "Man in the Mirror" (Album Version) – 5:19 # "Man in the Mirror" (Instrumental) – 5:19 *7" # "Man in the Mirror" (Single Version) - 5:04 *7" / 12" picture disc # Man in the Mirror – 4:55 # Man in the Mirror (Instrumental) – 4:55

Chart performance

"Man in the Mirror" was the 4th consecutive number-one single for Jackson's ''

'' in the United States. The single debuted on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

at number 48 on February 6, 1988, and reached number 1 by its 8th week on the chart, on March 26, 1988, where it remained for 2 weeks. The song originally peaked at number 21 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

in 1988. However, following Jackson's death on June 25, 2009, "Man in the Mirror" re-entered the

at number 11, and the following week the song peaked at number 2, held off by Cascada's " Evacuate the Dancefloor". This song had been at top 100 for 15 consecutive weeks in this chart. In Australia the song originally charted at number 39. After Jackson's death, the song re-entered the chart and reached number 8. It was also the top single in iTunes downloads in the US and the UK. It has sold 567,280 copies in the UK as of January 2016.

Personnel

* Written and composed by Siedah Garrett and Glen Ballard * Produced by Quincy Jones * Co-Produced by Michael Jackson * Michael Jackson: lead & background vocals ** Featuring Siedah Garrett, the Winans and the

Andraé Crouch Andraé Edward Crouch (July 1, 1942 – January 8, 2015) was an American gospel singer, songwriter, arranger, record producer and pastor. Referred to as "the father of modern gospel music" by contemporary Christian and gospel music profess ...

Choir *

Ollie E. Brown Ollie E. Brown (sometimes credited as simply Ollie Brown) (born April 20, 1953) is an American drummer, percussionist, record producer, and high-school basketball coach. A prolific session musician, Brown has performed on over a hundred albums in ...

: Clap and Cymbals * Dann Huff: Guitar * Greg Phillinganes: Piano * Glen Ballard, Randy Kerber: Synthesizers * Glen Ballard: Drum programming * Siedah Garrett: Background vocals * The Winans: Carvin, Marvin, Michael and Ronald Winans ** Andrae Crouch and his Choir:

Sandra Crouch Sandra Crouch (born July 1, 1942) is an American gospel music performer, drummer and songwriter. Musical career Crouch won a Grammy Award in 1984 for "Best Soul Gospel Performance, Female" for the 1983 album, "We Sing Praises," and was nominate ...

, Maxi Anderson, Rose Banks, Geary Faggett, Vonciele Faggett, Andrew Gouche, Linda Green,

Pattie Howard Pattie Howard (born Francine Patience Howard, April 12, Cleveland, Ohio, United States) is an American gospel and R&B Singer-Songwriter, Producer, Composer and Vocal Arranger. She is a Grammy nominated music industry veteran who has released ...

, Jean Johnson, Perry Morgan, Alfie Silas, Roberto Noriega * Rhythm arrangement by Glen Ballard and Quincy Jones * Synthesizer arrangement by Glen Ballard, Quincy Jones and Jerry Hey * Vocal arrangement by Andrae Crouch

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

*
Glen Ballard biography
{{Authority control 1980s ballads 1988 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Michael Jackson songs Protest songs Pop ballads Song recordings produced by Quincy Jones Song recordings produced by Michael Jackson Songs about poverty Songs written by Glen Ballard Songs written by Siedah Garrett 1987 songs Gospel songs Epic Records singles