"Man in the Mirror" was a number-one hit for singer Michael Jackson when released as a single in the spring of 1988. It is one of Jackson's most critically acclaimed songs and it was nominated for Record of the Year at the Grammy Awards. The song garnered massive airplay and topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks. The mid-tempo track is well known for its dramatic flourishes and Jackson's passionate delivery of its poignant lyrics. The song's lyrics were composed by Glen Ballard, Siedah Garrett (who can be heard singing in the background with Jackson) and Michael Jackson. Jackson added background vocals from Garrett, the Winans and the Andrae Crouch Choir, which gave the song its distinctive sound. It is rumoured that Jackson and Garrett wrote the lyrics to the song in one night. Arranged with a gospel choir, a year after David Bowie used the same device for "Underground", from the fantasy film Labyrinth, other popular artists at the time who had tracks featuring gospel choirs include Debbie Gibson, Mariah Carey and Madonna for her 1989 number one hit "Like a Prayer". Siedah Garett was one of the backing vocalists for Madonna's Re-Invention Tour of 2004 and performed a short solo during "Like a Prayer'. Jackson has performed a live, extended version of the song at the 1988 Grammy Awards. He also performed the song as the endings of his concert at his Bad World Tour's second leg, and regularly at his Dangerous World Tour. In the latter, the song was ensued by stuntman Kinnie Gibson dressed as Jackson flying out of the arena in a jetpack. On July 16, 1996, Jackson also performed "Man in the Mirror" at the Royal Concert Brunei. This song has been included in most of Jackson's numerous compilation albums but for some reason it was omitted from the recent Visionary: The Video Singles box set. The song was quoted by Jermaine Jackson during Celebrity Big Brother 2007, while confronting several white housemates who had been bullying an Indian housemate, the Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty. The song was played into the house the following morning as an alarm. The television series Cold Case used the song for the ending montage in the episode "Time to Crime". The song is sampled by Brooklyn MC Papoose during the summer of 2006 on his "Gonna Make a Change." The song describes his rough upbringing and his struggles. Later the song was freestyled by rapper Rhymefest with Michael singing the chorus & singing part of his second verse. Siedah Garett recorded a more stripped down acoustic version of the song for her 2004 album Siedah.
Bad is the seventh album by Michael Jackson that was released on August 31, 1987 by Epic/CBS Records. Released nearly five years after Thriller, the album sold over 25 million copies worldwide, and shipped 8 million units in the United States. Bad is the first album ever to feature five Billboard Hot 100 #1 single. Jackson began recording demos for the anticipated follow-up to Thriller a few months after his last performance with The Jacksons after their successful Victory Tour. Recording took place between November 1986 and July 9, 1987[3] (except for "Another Part of Me" which was recorded for Captain EO in 1986). Jackson wrote a reported sixty songs for the new album and recorded thirty, wanting to use them all on a three-disc set. Instead his longtime producer Quincy Jones cut it down to ten tracks and a bonus song making it a single LP. The CD release contained the bonus track, "Leave Me Alone". Jackson wrote nine of the eleven tracks himself while Terry Britten (writer of Tina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do With It") and Graham Lyle wrote "Just Good Friends" and Siedah Garrett and Glen Ballard wrote "Man in the Mirror". Contributions from other musicians included Stevie Wonder who sung a duet with Jackson on "Just Good Friends" while Steve Stevens contributed a guitar solo for "Dirty Diana". Originally Jones wanted "Bad" to have been a duet between Jackson and Prince; but apparently, Prince told him that the song "would be a hit without (him) on it". Years later, Prince (jokingly) explained his reason for declining was over either artist singing the song's "your butt is mine" lyric. Another song, "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", was also supposed to feature a famous female singer. Reportedly Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston all turned down the duet offer. R&B singer-songwriter Siedah Garrett was picked by Quincy Jones to sing with him on the song. According to Jones, song choices were difficult. For instance: he and Jackson deliberated over two MJ compositions intended for the album. One: "Streetwalker" favoured by the artist, and Jones' choice: "Another Part of Me". Jones said the dilemma was decided by Jackson's portly manager Frank DiLeo "shaking his butt" to "Another Part of Me". Jones joked: Jackson verbally chastised DiLeo, who he nicknamed "Rubba", for it.
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