"Bad" is a song by the American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on September 7, 1987, as the second single from his album Bad. It was written and composed by Jackson, and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. It was influenced by a true story Jackson read about a young man who tried to escape poverty by attending private school but was killed upon returning home.

"Bad" received positive reviews, with some critics noting that it helped give Jackson an edgier image. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Cash Box Top 100 and remained there for two weeks. It also charted reached number one on the Hot R&B Singles, Hot Dance Club Play and Rhythmic. It reached number one in Ireland, Norway, Spain and the Netherlands, and the top ten in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and several European countries. "Bad" is certified platinum in the US.

The music video premiered in a TV special, Michael Jackson: The Magic Returns, on CBS during prime time on August 31, 1987. It was directed by Martin Scorsese and co-starred Wesley Snipes in one of his first appearances. The video, inspired in part by the film West Side Story, shows Jackson and a group of gangsters portraying a street gang dancing in a subway station, set at the Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets station. It has been praised by critics as one of the most iconic videos of all time. Jackson's jacket influenced fashion.

Background and inspiration

Michael Jackson wrote and recorded "Bad" in 1986. It was co-produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones, and included on his seventh studio album, Bad, in 1987.

Jackson planned to duet on "Bad" with Prince, but Prince declined the invitation; in a later interview, Prince said: "The first line of that song is 'your butt is mine'. Then I said 'Who's going to sing that to who?' ... because you sure aren't singing that to me, and I sure ain't singing it to you." Prince instead submitted his song "Wouldn't You Love to Love Me", but Jackson rejected it, so it was instead given to Taja Sevelle.

In Jackson's 1988 autobiography Moonwalk, Jackson wrote:

In a 1988 interview with Ebony and Jet magazines, Jackson said he was inspired by a true story that he had read about in either Time or Newsweek. Jackson stated that the story was about a student who went to school in upstate New York, who was "from the ghetto", had tried to make something of his life and planned to leave all of his friends behind when he returned from Thanksgiving break. He added that the student's friends' jealousy resulted in them killing the student; Jackson stated that the student's death was not included in the music video.Michael: In His Own Words . Exclusive Ebony/Jet Showcase Bad Interview. Hulu.com. 1988. Various Jackson biographers have concluded that the story he was referring to was that of Edmund Perry. However, Perry was not killed by kids in his neighborhood; he was killed by a plainclothes police officer when Perry and his brother allegedly attacked and badly beat the officer in a mugging attempt.Dyson, Michael Eric. The Michael Eric Dyson Reader. New York: Basic Civitas Books, 2004Taraborrelli, J. Randy. Michael Jackson: The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story, 1958-2009. New York: Hachette Book Group, 2009.

Composition The song is written in the key of A minor with a time signature in common time. The pitch is raised almost a quarter of a whole tone from standard pitch, A440 Hz, up to circa A454 Hz. Jackson's vocal range spans from A♭3 to B♭ 5. The track has a tempo of 114.1 beats per minute. The main bassline is based in the A blues scale.

"Bad" was viewed as a revived "Hit the Road Jack" progression. Davitt Sigerson wrote in Rolling Stone magazine, "When Jackson declares that 'the whole world has to answer right now,' he is not boasting but making a statement of fact regarding his extraordinary stardom. If anything, he is scorning the self-coronation of lesser funk royals and inviting his fickle public to spurn him if it dare." Sigerson compared the track to material by James Brown, whose "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" is openly referenced by the four note brass introduction to the song. Lyrically, "Bad" pertains to proving to people that you are tough by boasting, with Jackson asking "who's bad?"

Chart performance "Bad" charted within the top ten, at number eight, on the Billboard Hot 100 on October 10, 1987 and peaked at number one on October 24, 1987. "Bad" stayed at the top position for two consecutive weeks. "Bad" was Jackson's Bad album's second number one single on the Billboard Hot 100, and Jackson's eighth number one entry on the chart. The track also charted on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles and Billboard Hot Dance Club Play at number one. "Bad" was commercially successful internationally, generally charting within the top ten, and reaching the top position on some charts. "Bad" debuted at number five on the United Kingdom charts on September 26, 1987. The following week, the song charted at its peak position of number three, where it remained for two weeks. "Bad" remained within the chart's top ten positions for four weeks, and charted within the top 100 for a total of eleven weeks in 1987. "Bad" peaked at number five on Canadian music charts on November 7, 1987. "Bad" peaked at number four in Sweden on October 14, 1987. The song spent four weeks within the chart's top ten. On October 3, "Bad" debuted at number nine in France, and after six weeks of charting within the top ten, the song peaked at number four on November 14. "Bad" debuted on New Zealand music charts at number four on October 18, and the following week moved to its peak position of number two. The song then stayed within the top ten for the next five weeks. The track charted within the top fifty positions for fifteen weeks in 1987 and 1988.

The song also charted at number two in Norway in the thirty-ninth week of 1987, and charted within the top ten positions for eight weeks in 1987. The song was also very successful on the Australian music charts, peaking at number four. "Bad" debuted on Austrian charts at number ten on November 1, 1987. The following week the song charted out of the top ten and the next week returned to the top ten at number nine, which was its peak position. The song debuted at number eighty-seven in Dutch on September 9, 1987. The following week, the song moved up to number eleven, which was seventy-three positions higher than its previous week. The song peaked at number one, and remained at the top position for two consecutive weeks. In 2006, Jackson's music re-entered charts following his music being re-issued for his Visionary album. The track entered Spanish charts for the first time on April 4, 2006, and debuted at the top position. "Bad" remained within the top twenty positions for nine consecutive weeks. The song debuted at its peak position at number five in Italy on April 6. After Jackson's death in June 2009, his music re-entered charts again worldwide. In July, the track peaked at number eleven in Italy, number twenty in Spain, number twenty-five in Sweden, number thirty-seven in Denmark and number forty in the United Kingdom.

Critical reception "Bad" was well received by contemporary music critics. Some critics noted that the song helped Jackson's image become more edgy. Davitt Sigerson, a writer for Rolling Stone magazine, commented that the track "needs no defense" and he generally praised Jackson's vocal performance in the song. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic listed "Bad", along with two other songs from the album, as being top picks from the album's eleven tracks. In separate review of the song, Erlewine commented that Jackson's vocals "sounded like [he was] the love child of James Brown and Mavis Staples" and added that "musically speaking, in this case, 'Bad' is very good". He also noted that the track's "authority and boasting helped to humanize" Jackson and "changed his image", remarking that it was "fun hearing him talking trash and being his own bigger booster". Jennifer Clay of Yahoo Music noted that while Jackson's new edgier image was a "little hard to swallow", the image worked musically on the album's songs "Bad", "Man in the Mirror", and "Dirty Diana".

Music video

The full music video for "Bad" is an 18-minute short film written by novelist and screenwriter Richard Price, shot by Michael Chapman, and directed by Martin Scorsese. The video was shot in Brooklyn over a 6-week period during November and December 1986. The video has many references to the 1961 film West Side Story, especially the "Cool" sequence. The video used a different version of the song as opposed to the commercially released version. This version, using a different organ solo in the middle, hasn't been commercially released as of yet.

In the video, Jackson portrays an African American teenager named Darryl, who has just completed a term at an expensive private school. He returns to the city and takes the subway back to his neglected neighborhood. Darryl finds his home empty, but is later greeted by his old gang-friends, led by "Mini Max" (a then mostly unknown Wesley Snipes). At first, relations are friendly but slightly awkward, as the gang starts to realize how much Darryl has changed and how uncomfortable he has become with their criminal activities. Darryl later takes the gang to the subway station (Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets in Brooklyn) in an attempt to show them that he is still "bad" by attempting to rob an elderly man. He has a change of heart at the last minute and Max chastises him, telling Darryl he is no longer bad. With Darryl provoked, the video then cuts to him and a group of street youths dancing while he sings the song "Bad". Darryl insists that Max is headed for a fall which is nearly Darryl's undoing. Eventually, Max accepts that Darryl is better off without him and leaves him in peace after a final handshake.

The video was not commercially released until it was included in the video albums; Video Greatest Hits – HIStory (long version on DVD and short version in VHS), Number Ones (short version), Michael Jackson's Vision (long version) and the Target version DVD of Bad 25 (short version). The full video was introduced in a TV special, Michael Jackson: The Magic Returns, on Primetime, a CBS television show on August 31, 1987. The full video won awards at various prestigious award ceremonies including Favorite Single (Soul/R&B) at the American Music Awards and Biggest Selling Album by a Male Soloist in the UK from the Guinness Book of World Records. The video has been praised by critics as one of the most iconic and greatest videos of all time; Jackson's outfit has been cited as an influence on fashion.

After Jackson's death in June 2009, Letitia James, a member of the New York City Council, began trying to convince the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to rename or co-name the Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets station or to hang a plaque at the station in Jackson's honor. However, her request was denied in September 2009. James commented, "Having Michael Jackson visit and moonwalk at this station was a huge deal not only for Brooklyn, but all of New York in the '80s ... And renaming this station in his honor would put it on the map and help ensure that people don't forget." A source from the MTA commented that no subway stations in the MTA system are named or co-named after individuals, mostly because it could confuse riders. The MTA also declined to put a plaque in the station, due to MTA guidelines forbidding such a thing.

Choreography