Bad (2012 Remaster)
Michael Jackson · Bad 25th Anniversary
Gonna tell you right
Just show your face
In broad daylight
I'm telling you
On how I feel
Gonna hurt your mind
Don't shoot to kill
Come on
Come on
Lay it on me
All right...
I'm giving you
On count of three
To show your stuff
Or let it be
I'm telling you
Just watch your mouth
I know your game
What you're about
Well they say the sky's the limit
And to me that's really true
But my friend you have seen nothin'
Just wait 'til I get through...
Because I'm bad, I'm bad
come on -( really, really bad)
You know I'm bad, I'm bad
(- really, really bad)
You know I'm bad, I'm bad
( - really, really bad)
And the whole world has to
Answer right now
Just to tell you once again
Who's bad...
The word is out
You're doin' wrong
Gonna lock you up
Before too long
Your lyin' eyes
Gonna tell you right
So listen up
Don't make a fight
Your talk is cheap
You're not a man
You're throwin' stones
To hide your hands
But they say the sky's the limit
And to me that's really true
And my friends you have seen nothin'
Just wait 'til I get through...
Because I'm bad, I'm bad
come on - really, really bad
You know I'm bad, I'm bad
(- really, really bad)
You know I'm bad, I'm bad
(- really, really bad)
And the whole world has to
Answer right now
Just to tell you once again
Who's bad...
We can change the world tomorrow
This could be a better place
If you don't like what I'm sayin'
Then won't you slap my face...
Because I'm bad, I'm bad
come on -really, really bad)
You know I'm bad, I'm bad
( - really, really bad)
You know I'm bad, I'm bad
(- really, really bad)
And the whole world has to
Answer right now
Just to tell you once again
You know I'm bad, I'm bad
(Bad bad - really, really bad)
You know I'm bad, I'm bad
(- really, really bad)
You know you know you know
And the whole world has to
Answer right now
Just to tell you once again
you know I'm uuuuh
I'm bad
And now I'm bad
You know you know
come on
And the whole world has to
Answer right now
Just to tell you once again
you know I'm bad, I'm bad
You know it
you know I'm bad, I'm bad
really really bad
you know I'm bad, I'm bad
And the whole world has to
Answer right now
Just to tell you once again
Who's bad?
Bad (2012 Remaster)
"Bad" is the song that gave Michael Jackson an edgier image. Released by Epic Records on 7 September 1987 as the second single from his album Bad, the track was written and composed by Jackson, and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. According to Wikipedia, 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.
The song 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, where it remained for two weeks. It also reached number one on the Hot R&B Singles, Hot Dance Club Play, and Rhythmic charts.
The album version runs 4:07, and an extended dance mix runs 8:22. The song's music video, directed by Martin Scorsese, is one of the most famous in pop history, featuring a young Wesley Snipes and a choreographed dance sequence that became iconic. The video was a major event, and it helped cement Jackson's status as the biggest pop star in the world.
What I find most interesting about "Bad" is how it captures a specific moment in Jackson's career. He was transitioning from the boyish charm of his earlier work into something more confident and confrontational. The song's title is a challenge, a declaration that being "bad" is not a weakness but a form of power. The collective reception, from the sources I read, is that this is a song that helped define the late 1980s pop landscape. It is a song that sounds like a statement, and it still carries that energy today. The song was the second single from the album Bad, which became one of the best-selling albums of all time. The album's title track helped define Jackson's late-1980s sound, blending dance-pop and funk with a harder edge.