"Smooth Criminal" is a song that digs into the darker side of Michael Jackson's music. The track, from his album Bad, was the album's seventh single, released on 14 November 1988. It peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Black Singles chart, and it reached No. 1 in Belgium, Iceland, the Netherlands, and Spain.

American Songwriter noted that the song opens with an eerie heartbeat, which alludes to the core refrain of the song. The lyrics jump right in to describe the scene of a crime: a woman being attacked in her apartment by this elusive "smooth criminal."

The upbeat tempo and strong beat don't seem to match the difficult subject matter, but they capture the frantic energy of attempting to help a victim of a violent crime. It is a song that is both danceable and disturbing, and that tension is part of what makes it so memorable.

What stays with me is how the song makes you move while telling a story of violence. It is a song that refuses to be comfortable, and that refusal is what gives it its power.

The song was the seventh single from Bad, released on 14 November 1988. It peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Black Singles chart, and it reached No. 1 in Belgium, Iceland, the Netherlands, and Spain. It is a song that is both danceable and disturbing.

The song opens with an eerie heartbeat, which alludes to the core refrain of the song. The lyrics describe a woman being attacked in her apartment by this elusive "smooth criminal." The upbeat tempo captures the frantic energy of attempting to help a victim of a violent crime. It is a song that stays with you long after it ends.