"Billie Jean" is a song by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on January 3, 1983, as the second single from his sixth studio album, Thriller (1982). It was written and composed by Jackson and produced by Quincy Jones and co-produced by Jackson. "Billie Jean" blends post-disco, R&B, funk, and dance-pop. The lyrics describe a woman, Billie Jean, who claims that the narrator is the father of her newborn son, which he denies. Jackson said the lyrics were based on groupies' claims about his older brothers when he toured with them as the Jackson 5.
Bad is the seventh studio album by the American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson. It was released on August 31, 1987, by Epic Records. Written and recorded between 1985 and 1987, Bad was Jackson's third and final collaboration with the producer Quincy Jones. Jackson co-produced and composed all but two tracks, and adopted an edgier image and sound, departing from his signature groove-based style and falsetto. Bad incorporates pop, rock, funk, R&B, dance, soul, and hard rock styles, and incorporated new recording technology, including digital synthesizers. The lyrical themes include media bias, paranoia, racial profiling, romance, self-improvement, and world peace. The album features appearances from Siedah Garrett and Stevie Wonder.
"Smooth Criminal" is a song by the American pop singer Michael Jackson, released on November 14, 1988, from his seventh studio album, Bad (1987). It was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. The lyrics address a woman who has been attacked in her apartment by a "smooth criminal".
"Bad" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson. It was released by Epic Records on September 7, 1987, as the second single from his seventh studio album, Bad. The song 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.
"Black or White" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on November 11, 1991, as the first single from his eighth studio album, Dangerous (1991). Jackson wrote, composed, and produced it with Bill Bottrell. Epic Records described it as "a rock 'n' roll dance song about racial harmony".
"Rock with You" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson, written by Rod Temperton and produced by Quincy Jones. It was first offered to Karen Carpenter, while she was working on her first solo album, but she turned it down. It was released in October 1979, by Epic Records as the second single from Jackson's fifth solo studio album Off the Wall (1979). It was also the third number-one hit of the 1980s, a decade in which the pop singles chart would quickly be dominated by Jackson.
"She's Out of My Life" is a song written by American songwriter Tom Bahler and performed by American singer Michael Jackson. The song was released as the fourth single from Jackson's 1979 album Off the Wall released in April 1980. In 2004, the song appeared in The Ultimate Collection. It peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking the first time any solo artist had ever achieved four Top 10 hits from one album. In America, it earned a million-selling Platinum certification.
"Off the Wall" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson, from his fifth album of the same name (1979). It was written by English songwriter Rod Temperton and produced by Quincy Jones, and released by Epic Records as the album's second single in the UK on November 16, 1979 and as the third single in the US on January 31, 1980. The song was first offered to Karen Carpenter, while she was working on her first solo album, but she turned it down. Lyrically, the song is about getting over troubles.
"I Just Can't Stop Loving You" is a 1987 duet ballad by American singers Michael Jackson and Siedah Garrett, and was released as the first single on July 20, 1987, by Epic Records from his seventh album, Bad. The song was written by Jackson, and co-produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. The presence of Garrett on the track was a last-minute decision by Jackson and Jones, after Jackson's first two choices for the duet both decided against participating. Garrett, a protégé of Jones's who co-wrote another song on Bad, "Man in the Mirror", did not know that she would be singing the song until the day of the recording session. It became her first hit since Dennis Edwards' 1984 song "Don't Look Any Further". Garrett remains known primarily for her work with Jackson to this day.
"The Way You Make Me Feel" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson. It was released by Epic Records on November 9, 1987, as the third single from his seventh studio album, Bad. It was written and composed by Jackson and produced by Quincy Jones and Jackson.
"Man in the Mirror" is a song by the American singer-songwriter 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).
"Another Part of Me" is a song by American singer and songwriter Michael Jackson. Produced by Quincy Jones, it was released as the sixth single on July 11, 1988, for the singer's seventh studio album, Bad (1987). The song was originally featured in Jackson's 1986 3D film Captain EO. It is the sixth song on the album. As with earlier songs in his career such as "Can You Feel It" and "We Are the World", the lyrics emphasize global unity, love and outreach.
"P.Y.T. " is a song by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson. It is the sixth single from Jackson's sixth solo album, Thriller (1982). The song was written by James Ingram and Quincy Jones.
"You Rock My World" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his tenth and final studio album, Invincible (2001). It was released as the lead single from the album on August 22, 2001, by Epic Records.
American singer Michael Jackson released 67 singles as a lead artist, and 10 as a featured artist. One of the best-selling artists of all time, his album and single sales as of 2013 stood at 400 million. In the United States, Jackson amassed 13 Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles and was the first artist to have a top-ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades. In 2012, Jackson was ranked the fifth best selling singles artist in the United Kingdom with 15.3 million singles sold.
"Cry" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson that appears on his tenth studio album, Invincible (2001). The song was written by R&B singer-songwriter R. Kelly, who had previously written Jackson's 1995 single "You Are Not Alone". "Cry" was produced by Jackson and Kelly. It was released on December 5, 2001, under Epic Records as the third single from Invincible, and is Jackson's final single from a studio album. "Cry" is an R&B ballad with lyrics that highlight problems with the planet. The lyrics also urge people to unite to make the world a better place. Thus the track recalls previous Jackson songs that promote peace and environmentalism.
"Leave Me Alone" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his seventh studio album, Bad (1987). It was released as the eighth single outside of North America on February 13, 1989, and appears on most non-LP editions of Bad, including the CD, 2001 cassette and digital editions. It was written and composed by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones.
"Give In to Me" is a song by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson, released as the seventh single from his eighth studio album, Dangerous (1991). Released in February 1993 by Epic Records, the song peaked at number one in New Zealand for four consecutive weeks and at number two on the UK Singles Chart. The track was written and produced by Jackson and Bill Bottrell, and features Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash. Several critics wrote that the song has an aggressive sexual flavor. It was released in Europe, Australia and New Zealand only. The single release's B-sides include the album versions of "Dirty Diana" and "Beat It".
"Beat It" is a song by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson from his sixth studio album, Thriller (1982). It was written and composed by Jackson and produced by Quincy Jones and co-produced by Jackson. Jones encouraged Jackson to include a rock song on the album. Jackson later said: "I wanted to write a song, the type of song that I would buy if I were to buy a rock song... and I wanted the children to really enjoy it—the school children as well as the college students." It includes a guitar solo by Eddie Van Halen.
