"Man in the Mirror" | ||||
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Single by Michael Jackson | ||||
from the album Bad | ||||
B-side | "Man in the Mirror" (instrumental) | |||
Released | January 1988 [1] | |||
Recorded | May 1987 [2] | |||
Studio | Westlake (studio D), Los Angeles | |||
Genre | ||||
Length |
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Label | Epic | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) |
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Michael Jackson singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Man in the Mirror" on YouTube |
"Man in the Mirror" is a song by the American singer Michael Jackson. It was written by Glen Ballard and Siedah Garrett and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. It was released in January 1988 as the fourth single from Jackson's seventh solo album, Bad (1987). [1]
In the US, "Man in the Mirror" became Jackson's number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified triple platinum. It was nominated for Record of the Year at the 31st Grammy Awards. It reached number 21 on the UK singles chart in 1988, and reached number 2 following Jackson's death in 2009. A remix was included on the soundtrack of Jackson's tribute tour Immortal , and an instrumental version was played at his memorial service.
"Man in the Mirror" was written by Glen Ballard and Siedah Garrett. Jackson's producer, Quincy Jones, invited Garrett to his home with a group of other songwriters and asked them to write material for Jackson's next album. Garrett recalled that Jones told the group: "I just want hits, that's all I want." [5]
Garrett took the brief to Ballard, her writing partner, who began playing a keyboard figure; Garrett wrote the lyrics. The two recorded a demo over the course of a week, with Garrett on vocals. Garrett delivered the tape to Jones, who called back a few hours later to tell her he approved. [5] At Jackson's request, Garrett and Ballard wrote a longer middle eight and modified the lyrics. Jones enlisted the Andraé Crouch Choir to record gospel vocals. [5]
The song runs for 5 minutes and 19 seconds and the sheet music for the song shows the key of G major. 2 minutes and 53 seconds, the key changes to A-flat major. [6]
When Ed Hogan reviewed the song, he called it "gentle." [7] Jon Pareles of The New York Times noted that this song has "gospelly lift." [8] Rolling Stone's Davitt Sigerson thought that "Man in the Mirror" stands among the half dozen best things Jackson has done: "On 'Man in the Mirror,' a song he did not write, Jackson goes a step further and offers a straightforward homily of personal commitment: 'I'm starting with the man in the mirror/I'm asking him to change his ways/And no message could have been any clearer/If you wanna make the world a better place/Take a look at yourself and then make a change.'" [9]
In 2009, Josh Tyrangiel from Time named "Man in the Mirror" among Jackson's ten best songs and "one of Jackson’s most powerful vocals and accessible social statements, not to mention the best-ever use of a gospel choir in a pop song". [3] In 2017, ShortList 's Dave Fawbert said the song contained "one of the greatest key changes in music history". [10]
The video is a notable departure from Jackson's other videos, mainly because Jackson does not appear in it, aside from a brief clip toward the end in which he can be seen donning a red jacket and standing in a large crowd. Instead, it features a montage of footage of various major news events and famous people. [11]
The "Man in the Mirror" music video was directed, produced and edited by Don Wilson. Wilson and Jackson developed the idea for the video. Larry Stessel, Epic Records' video commissioner at the time, was the executive producer. It features clips of starving children in Africa, Adolf Hitler, Hitler's American "relatives", George Lincoln Rockwell's American Nazi Party, the Ku Klux Klan, John F. Kennedy and his body being carted away after his assassination, Robert Kennedy and his assassination, Martin Luther King Jr., the Kent State shootings, Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, the start of the Iran hostage crisis, Muammar Gaddafi, Desmond Tutu, Mikhail Gorbachev, John Lennon, Nelson Mandela, Pieter Botha, Lech Wałęsa, the June Struggle in South Korea, the Camp David Accords, INF Treaty, homeless people in the U.S., the rescue of Jessica McClure, kids in graduation, and other historical figures. [12] [13]
The PCM Stereo music video version of this song was included on Number Ones , Michael Jackson's Vision , the Target version DVD of Bad 25 , and the song's video that released on VHS in 1989.
An alternate live video was used as the opening song in Jackson's film Moonwalker with live audio and footage from several live performances of the song during the Bad world tour. The first segment of Moonwalker is a live performance of "Man in the Mirror" during his Bad tour in Europe and America. Clips from Met Center can be seen.
Jackson performed a live, extended version of the song at the 1988 Grammy Awards, having Garrett, the Winans, and the Andraé Crouch choir perform with him. It was staged by Vincent Paterson. He also performed the song as the ending of the concert during the Bad tour's second leg, and regularly as the ending of the Dangerous World Tour. Live versions of the song are available on the DVDs Live at Wembley July 16, 1988 and Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour . The song was rehearsed for the HIStory World Tour, but was cut from the final set list and was replaced with HIStory as the ending song. On July 16, 1996, Jackson also performed "Man in the Mirror" at the Royal Concert Brunei. The last time this song was performed was on October 21, 2001, at the United We Stand concert that was held in Washington D. C. as a tribute to the victims of September 11 attacks.
The instrumental introduction to the song was played at the end of Jackson's memorial service, while his casket was being carried out; followed by the appearance of a spotlight shining on a microphone on an empty stage, which symbolized his absence. After a closing prayer that incorporated themes from the song, the spotlight remained shining on the lone microphone. [14] [15] The song is also featured as the final number in Michael Jackson's This Is It .
"Man in the Mirror" was the 4th consecutive number-one single for Jackson's Bad in the United States. The single debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 48 on February 6, 1988, and reached number 1 by its 8th week on the chart, on March 26, 1988, where it remained for 2 weeks.
The song originally peaked at number 21 in the United Kingdom in 1988. However, following Jackson's death on June 25, 2009, "Man in the Mirror" re-entered the UK Singles Chart at number 11, and the following week the song peaked at number 2, held off by Cascada's "Evacuate the Dancefloor". This song had been at top 100 for 15 consecutive weeks in this chart. In Australia the song originally charted at number 39. After Jackson's death, the song re-entered the chart and reached number 8. It was also the top single in iTunes downloads in the US and the UK. [16] It has sold 567,280 copies in the UK as of January 2016. [17]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [49] | 3× Platinum | 240,000‡ |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [50] | Platinum | 90,000‡ |
Italy (FIMI) [51] | Gold | 50,000‡ |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [52] | 2× Platinum | 60,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [53] | 2× Platinum | 1,200,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [54] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Basil Glen Ballard Jr. is an American songwriter, lyricist, and record producer. He is best known for co-writing and producing on Wilson Phillips' debut and sophomore albums, Wilson Phillips and Shadows and Light, as well as co-writing and producing on Alanis Morissette's 1995 album Jagged Little Pill and Dave Matthews Band's 2001 album Everyday. As a songwriter, he co-wrote songs including "All I Need", "Man in the Mirror", "Hold On", "Hand in My Pocket", and Josh Groban's "Believe". As a producer, he has worked with No Doubt, Shelby Lynne, Goo Goo Dolls, P.O.D., Annie Lennox and others.
Andraé Edward Crouch was an American gospel singer, songwriter, arranger, record producer and pastor. Referred to as "the father of modern gospel music" by contemporary Christian and gospel music professionals, Crouch was known for his compositions "The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power", "My Tribute " and "Soon and Very Soon". He collaborated on some of his recordings with famous and popular artists such as Stevie Wonder, El DeBarge, Philip Bailey, Chaka Khan, and Sheila E., as well as the vocal group Take 6, and many popular artists covered his material, including Bob Dylan, Barbara Mandrell, Paul Simon, Elvis Presley and Little Richard. In the 1980s and 1990s, he was known as the "go-to" producer for superstars who sought a gospel choir sound in their recordings; he appeared on a number of recordings, including Michael Jackson's "Man In the Mirror", Madonna's "Like a Prayer", and "The Power", a duet between Elton John and Little Richard. Crouch was noted for his talent of incorporating contemporary secular music styles into the gospel music he grew up with. His efforts in this area helped pave the way for early American contemporary Christian music during the 1960s and 1970s.
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Aside from the gospel reckoning of "Man in the Mirror"...