"This Time Around" is a song by American singer

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 ninth studio album, '' HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I'', with a guest appearance by rapper

the Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

It was released as a promotional single in the US, and is the album's fourth single overall. The song, which details a musician's problems with being famous and dealing with stardom, was written by Jackson, while the music was composed by

Dallas Austin Dallas L. Austin (born December 29, 1970) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and film producer. Biography Early life During a 2019 interview with DJ Vlad, Dallas Austin detailed previously unknown or unconfirmed events inv ...

, Bruce Swedien and Rene Moore. Dallas Austin and Michael Jackson produced the song, while

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 ...

and

René Moore René Moore (born Ivan Rene Moore;Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (previously known as Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay) is a chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the top R&B and hip hop songs in the United States, based on audience impressions from a panel of radio stations monitored ...

, and Rhythmic Top 40, having charted solely due to radio airplay throughout the country. It received positive reviews from contemporary music critics.

Background and composition

The song and lyrics were written by

, while the music was composed by

and Rene Moore. "This Time Around" is a song by Jackson that includes vocals by rapper

Austin and Jackson produced the song, while Swedien and Moore co-produced the song. It was recorded by both American musicians in 1994 and 1995 for Jackson's ninth studio album, entitled '' HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I'', which was released in 1995 as a two-disc set.'' HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I'' liner notes

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

(1995). "This Time Around" was written in

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

, and was played 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 ...

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

. The track's

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

is a moderate 106 beats per minute. The track has a basic sequence of Dm11–Dm9 as its

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...

. The song's lyrics are about Michael and Biggie's problems with being famous and dealing with stardom, and throughout the song Jackson asserts that he's been falsely accused as Biggie compares his issues and sympathizes with Jackson. On December 26, 1995, the track was released by

as a promotional single in the United States only. The promo was formatted in three different versions, which were as a standalone CD single with just the song, as a 12" single with remixes and as a

maxi-single A maxi single or maxi-single (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. The first maxi singles Mungo Jerry's first single, "In the Summertime" was the ...

Release and reception

"This Time Around" received positive reviews from contemporary music critics in their review for the album. 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, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' described the song as being a "dynamite jam...done with Atlanta R&B hotshot Dallas Austin that's ripe for remixes". Jon Pareles of ''

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 ...

'' believed that Jackson "muttered" lyrics such as "They thought they really had control of me". Although "This Time Around" did not chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the track had a good chart performance on music component charts in the United States. The song charted on music charts based solely on radio airplay throughout the country. It charted within the top 40 of the ''Billboard''

Rhythmic Top 40 The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and previously named Rhythmic Songs, Rhythmic Top 40 and CHR/Rhythmic) is an airplay chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on ...

chart in 1995, peaking at number 36. The song peaked at number 18 on the ''Billboard''

Dance Music/Club Play Singles Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as th ...

music charts 1996. In 1996, the track also peaked at number 23 on the ''Billboard''

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart.* George, Nelson (2004). '' Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection'' booklet p, 48.

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 o ...

Track listings

;US CD Promo # "This Time Around" – 4:21 # "Earth Song (Radio Edit)" – 4:58 # "Earth Song" – 6:46 ;US 12" Promo # "This Time Around (Dallas Main Extended Mix)" – 7:15 # "This Time Around (Maurice's Hip Hop Around Mix)" – 4:25 # "This Time Around (Maurice's Hip Hop Around Mix w/o Rap)" – 4:25 # "This Time Around (Dallas Main Mix)" – 6:40 # "This Time Around (Album Instrumental)" – 4:12

Remixes

;

David Morales David Morales (; born August 21, 1962) is an American disc jockey (DJ) and record producer. In addition to his production and DJ work, Morales is also a remixer. David Morales has remixed and produced over 500 releases for artists including Ma ...

Mixes * "This Time Around (D.M. Mad Club Mix)" – 10:23 * "This Time Around (D.M. Mad Alternate Mix)" – 10:36 lso known as "D.M. Mad Club Mix #2"* "This Time Around (D.M. Mad Dub)" – 8:00 * "This Time Around (D.M. Radio Mix)" – 4:05 * "This Time Around (D.M. A.M. Mix)" – 7:47 * "This Time Around (D.M. Bang Da Drums Mix)" – 6:34 * "This Time Around (The Timeland Dub)" – 7:22 * "This Time Around (The Neverland Dub)" – 7:46 ;

Maurice Joshua Maurice Joshua (born in Chicago, Illinois), usually credited under the name Maurice, is an American record producer. His single " This Is Acid (A New Dance Craze)" (1988), reached number one on the '' Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play chart in April ...

Mixes * "This Time Around (Maurice's Club Around Mix)" – 9:00 * "This Time Around (Maurice's Club Around Radio Mix)" – 4:00 * "This Time Around (Maurice's Hip Hop Around Mix)" – 4:25 * "This Time Around (Maurice's Hip Hop Around Mix w/ Drop)" - 4:18 * "This Time Around (Maurice's Hip Hop Around Mix w/o Rap)" – 4:25 ;

Mixes * "This Time Around (Dallas Main Extended Mix)" - 7:15 * "This Time Around (Dallas Main Mix)" - 6:40 * "This Time Around (Dallas Main Mix w/o Rap)" - 6:40 * "This Time Around (Dallas Radio Remix)" – 4:31 * "This Time Around (Dallas Radio Remix w/o Rap)" – 4:31 * "This Time Around (Dallas Clean Album Remix)" – 4:21 * "This Time Around (Album Instrumental)" – 4:12 ;Uno Clio Mixes * "This Time Around (Uno Clio 12" Master Mix)" – 9:25 * "This Time Around (Uno Clio Dub Mix)" – 8:06 ;

Georgie Porgie "Georgie Porgie" is a popular English language nursery rhyme. It has the Roud Folk Song Index number 19532. Origins and variations Originally the lyrics were: :Georgie Porgie, pudding and pie, :Kissed the girls and made them cry, :When the gi ...

Mixes * "This Time Around (Georgie's House N Around Mix)" – 6:04 ;Joey "The Don" Donatello Mixes * "This Time Around (The Don's Control This Dub)" – 4:30 ;UBQ Mix * "This Time Around (UBQ's Opera Vibe Dub)" – 7:00 ;David Mitson Mix * "This Time Around (David Mitson Clean Edit)" – 4:21

Personnel

* Produced by

and

René Moore René Moore (born Ivan Rene Moore;The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

– rap * Dallas Austin – keyboards and synthesizers * René Moore – percussion, keyboards, and synthesizers * Bruce Swedien – percussion * Michael Thompson – guitar * Keith Rouster and Colin Wolfe – bass guitar

Charts

References

{{Good article 1995 songs 1995 singles Michael Jackson songs The Notorious B.I.G. songs Song recordings produced by Dallas Austin Song recordings produced by Michael Jackson Songs written by Michael Jackson Songs written by Dallas Austin Songs written by Bruce Swedien Songs written by the Notorious B.I.G. New jack swing songs