Smooth Criminal

Composition

"Smooth Criminal" evolved from an earlier song written by Jackson, "Al Capone" (named after real life gangster Al Capone), released on the 2012 reissue Bad 25. It is in the key of A minor, 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. The original mix of the song includes the sound of Jackson's fast-thumping heart and heavy breathing, which travel from left to right thanks to Hugo Zuccarelli's Holophonics system.

Chart performance

"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 Recording Industry Association of America, and 2x 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

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 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.

On October 23, 2024, the video achieved 1 billion views on YouTube, making it the fifth of Jackson's videos to reach this milestone after "Billie Jean", "They Don't Care About Us", "Beat It" and "Thriller."

Critical reception

Jason Elias of AllMusic wrote that "Smooth Criminal" was "a gorgeous and exhilarating record ... [it] presents 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: "[Smooth Criminal] is 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 Thriller, it was this track ... This is pop music as suspense drama."

Track listings

• 7-inch single

1. "Smooth Criminal" (single mix) – 4:10
2. "Smooth Criminal" (instrumental) – 4:10

• 12-inch maxi and CD-maxi

1. "Smooth Criminal" (extended dance mix) – 7:46
2. "Smooth Criminal" (extended dance mix radio edit) – 5:20
3. "Smooth Criminal" ("Annie" mix) – 5:35
4. "Smooth Criminal" (dance mix – dub version) – 4:45
5. "Smooth Criminal" (a cappella) – 4:12

• Visionary single CD side:

1. "Smooth Criminal" – 4:10
2. "Smooth Criminal" (extended dance mix) – 7:45

DVD side:

1. "Smooth Criminal" (music video (Shortened Version)) – 4:11

• Cassette single

1. "Smooth Criminal"
2. "Smooth Criminal" (instrumental)

• 3-inch CD single

1. "Smooth Criminal" (extended dance mix) – 7:46
2. "Smooth Criminal" ("Annie" mix) – 5:35
3. "Smooth Criminal" (dance mix – dub version) – 4:45

• Japanese 3-inch CD single

1. "Smooth Criminal"
2. "Smooth Criminal" (instrumental)

Personnel

Adapted from single liner notes and Michael Jackson's website.

• Michael Jackson – vocals
• Bill Bottrell – drum machine
• Bruce Swedien – police announcement
• David Williams – electric guitar
• Kim Hutchcroft – saxophone
• Larry Williams – saxophone
• Gary Grant – trumpet
• Jerry Hey – trumpet and horn arrangement
• Kevin Maloney – muted piano
• Christopher Currell – Synclavier
• Denny Jaeger – Synclavier
• Michael Rubini – Synclavier
• John Barnes – synthesizer
• Michael Boddicker – synthesizer
• Dr. Eric Chevlen – heartbeat recording

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Alien Ant Farm version

| B-side = * "Orange Appeal"

• "Denigrate"
• alternative metal
• hard rock

In May 2001, the American rock band Alien Ant Farm released a "funky metallic" cover of "Smooth Criminal" as the second single from their second studio album, Anthology (2001). According to the band's lead singer, Dryden Mitchell, the band would play a few riffs of the song while warming up before gigs and audience members would request the entire song.

The cover became a number-one hit on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks 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 11 other countries. Alien Ant Farm's 1999 album Greatest Hits includes a hidden track, "Slick Thief", which is an early version of "Smooth Criminal".

Mitchell said he came to resent how popular the cover was, and did not want to perform it, thinking: "We're a better band than just this song." However, he accepted that fans wanted to hear it and decided he was being immature. He described it as a "fun party song" like the Beastie Boys' "Fight for Your Right".

Music video and reaction from Jackson

The music video was directed by Marc Klasfeld and shot in San Fernando, California. It features the band performing in a wrestling ring and in front of a suburban house. The video also references various Michael Jackson music videos and elements of his personal life, including the original "Smooth Criminal" video, the Moonwalk, and Jackson's pet chimpanzee Bubbles.

Before its release, Alien Ant Farm sent the video to Jackson for his approval. At his request, they reshot some scenes to remove a child wearing a surgical mask, a reference to how Jackson wore them in public to allegedly cover cosmetic surgeries. However, Jackson decided he preferred the video with the mask. Reflecting on the video in 2022, Mitchell said, "We went through quite a bit of money and bullshit to make sure that we were appeasing Michael Jackson."

Track listings

UK CD single

1. "Smooth Criminal"
2. "Orange Appeal"
3. "Denigrate"
4. "Smooth Criminal" (CD-ROM video)

UK cassette single

1. "Smooth Criminal"
2. "Denigrate"

European CD single

1. "Smooth Criminal" (album version)
2. "Orange Appeal"

European maxi-CD single

1. "Smooth Criminal" (album version)
2. "Movies"
3. "Denigrate" (non-LP version)
4. "Smooth Criminal" (video)

Australian CD single

1. "Smooth Criminal" (album version)
2. "Orange Appeal"
3. "Denigrate" (non-LP version)
4. "Smooth Criminal" (video)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Other covers

Croatian duo 2Cellos performed the song in a viral YouTube video. Jean Rodríguez sang lead vocals for Tony Succar's Latin-flavored version of "Smooth Criminal", from the album Unity: The Latin Tribute to Michael Jackson (2015), including a section in Spanish. A video of their 2016 performance at the offices of Sirius XM went viral.

References

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