bad

On August 31, 1987, nearly five years after the release of the massively successful “Thriller”, Michael Jackson finally dropped the follow-up album entitled “Bad”. It became the most pre-ordered album in the history of CBS Records and went on to garner six Grammy Award nominations (winning only two of them) the year later. The album cemented Jackson's status as one of the most successful artists of the 1980s.

Nine of the eleven tracks off “Bad” were released as singles. Five of them hit number one including “The Way You Make Me Feel”, “Smooth Criminal” and “Man in the Mirror”.

The themes of “Bad” helped fans delve more into the Michael Jackson mythos as more than a few of the songs on it talk about media bias, paranoia and racial profiling, things that bothered Michael Jackson even well into the 2000’s. There are also lyrical themes of romance, self-improvement, and world peace throughout the album.

Bad” was a landmark Michael Jackson record that still sounds fresh today. Check out the full version of the music video for “Bad” directed by Martin Scorsese.