"Man in the Mirror" is a song by the American singer-songwriter

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

. It was written by

Glen Ballard Basil Glen Ballard Jr. (born May 1, 1953) is an American songwriter, lyricist, and record producer. He is best known for co-writing and producing Alanis Morissette's 1995 album '' Jagged Little Pill'', which won Grammy Awards for Best Rock Alb ...

and Siedah Garrett and produced by Jackson and

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

. It was released on February 6, 1988, as the fourth single from Jackson's seventh solo album, '' Bad'' (1987). "Man in the Mirror" topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for two weeks, becoming Jackson's tenth number-one single on the chart, and was certified 3× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It was nominated for

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

at the

31st Grammy Awards The 31st Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 22, 1989, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Album of the Year went to George Michael for ''Faith'', and Song of the Year w ...

. The song peaked at number 21 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

upon release in 1988, but in 2009, following the news of Jackson's death, the song peaked at number 2. Keeping the

gospel choir Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

arrangement, the song was remixed for the soundtrack of Jackson's tribute tour ''

Immortal Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film ''The Wisdom of ...

''.

Writing and recording

"Man in the Mirror" was written by

and Siedah Garrett. Jackson's producer,

, 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." 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 it was "really good". 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.

Critical response

When Ed Hogan reviewed the song, he called it "gentle." Jon Pareles of ''The New York Times'' noted that this song has "gospelly lift." ''Rolling Stone'' 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.'" In 2009,

Josh Tyrangiel Josh Tyrangiel is an American journalist. He was previously the deputy managing editor of ''TIME'' magazine and an editor at ''Bloomberg Businessweek''.Stephanie Clifford (November 17, 2009"Josh Tyrangiel Named Editor of BusinessWeek"/ref> In Ju ...

from ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'' 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." In 2017, ShortList's Dave Fawbert listed the song as containing "one of the greatest key changes in music history".

Music video

One of the videos is a notable departure from Jackson's other videos mainly because Jackson himself does not appear in the video (aside from a brief clip toward the end of the video in which he can be seen donning a red jacket and standing in a large crowd). Instead, it featured a montage of footage of various major news events and famous people. The "Man in the Mirror" music video was directed, produced and edited by Don Wilson. Don and Jackson developed the idea for the video. Larry Stessel who was video commissioner at Epic Records at the time was the executive producer. It features a montage of clips of starving children in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

, Hitler's American "relatives",

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, the Ku Klux Klan,

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

and his body being carted away after his assassination,

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and his assassination,

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

, the

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Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

, start of the

Iran hostage crisis On November 4, 1979, 52 United States diplomats and citizens were held hostage after a group of militarized Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over ...

, Muammar Gaddafi, Desmond Tutu, Mikhail Gorbachev, Nelson Mandela, Pieter Botha,

Lech Wałęsa Lech Wałęsa (; ; born 29 September 1943) is a Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who served as the President of Poland between 1990 and 1995. After winning the 1990 election, Wałęsa became the first democrati ...

, the

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South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

homeless people Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

in the U.S., the

rescue of Jessica McClure Jessica McClure Morales (born March 26, 1986; widely known as "Baby Jessica" in 1987) fell into a well in her aunt's backyard in Midland, Texas, on October 14, 1987, at the age of 18 months. Over the next 56 hours, rescuers worked to succes ...

, kids in graduation, and other historical figures. PCM Stereo music video version of this song was included on '' Number Ones'', ''

Michael Jackson's Vision ''Michael Jackson's Vision'' is a deluxe DVD video album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released on November 22, 2010 by Epic Records, Legacy Recordings, and Jackson's own label, MJJ Productions. It includes three DVDs, feat ...

'', the Target version DVD of ''

Bad 25 ''Bad 25'' is the 25th anniversary edition reissue of American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson's seventh studio album '' Bad'' (1987). This is the second album by Jackson re-released on its 25th anniversary, the first being ''Thriller 25'' (20 ...

'', 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 ''Moonwalker'' is a 1988 American experimental anthology musical film starring Michael Jackson. Rather than featuring one continuous narrative, the film expresses the influence of fandom and innocence through a collection of short films about J ...

'' 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 Bad was the first solo concert tour by American singer Michael Jackson, launched in support of his seventh studio album ''Bad (album), Bad'' (1987). Sponsored by Pepsi and spanning 16 months, the tour included 123 concerts for over 4.4 million ...

in Europe and America. Clips from

Met Center The Met Center was an indoor arena that stood in Bloomington, Minnesota, United States, a suburb of Minneapolis. The arena, which was completed in 1967 by Minnesota Ice, just to the north of Metropolitan Stadium, seated 15,000. It was the home of ...

among others can be seen.

Live performances

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 World Tour Bad was the first solo concert tour by American singer Michael Jackson, launched in support of his seventh studio album '' Bad'' (1987). Sponsored by Pepsi and spanning 16 months, the tour included 123 concerts for over 4.4 million fans across ...

's second leg, and regularly as the ending of the

Dangerous World Tour The Dangerous World Tour was the second world concert tour by American singer Michael Jackson to promote his eighth studio album '' Dangerous.'' The tour was sponsored by Pepsi-Cola. All profits were donated to various charities including Jack ...

. Live versions of the song are available on the DVDs ''

Live at Wembley July 16, 1988 ''Live at Wembley July 16, 1988'' is a live concert DVD by American recording artist Michael Jackson released on September 18, 2012. It was included with the ''Bad 25'' reissue, as well as by itself. This is the third Jackson tour stop released on ...

'' and '' Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour''. The song was rehearsed for the

HIStory World Tour The ''HIS''tory World Tour was the third and final worldwide solo concert tour by American singer and recording artist Michael Jackson, covering Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania and North America. The tour included a total of 82 concerts spanning ...

, but was cut from the final set list and was replaced with

HIStory History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

as the ending song. On July 16, 1996, Jackson also performed "Man in the Mirror" at the Royal Concert Brunei for the last time prior to the United We Stand benefit concert. 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 September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

. 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. After a closing prayer that incorporated themes from the song, the spotlight remained shining on the lone microphone. The song is also featured as the final number in ''

Michael Jackson's This Is It ''Michael Jackson's This Is It'' is a 2009 American documentary–concert film about Michael Jackson's rehearsals and preparation for the concert series of the same name scheduled to start on July 13, 2009, at the O2 Arena, but cancelled du ...

''.

Track listing

*12" and CD # "Man in the Mirror" (Single Version) – 5:04 # "Man in the Mirror" (Album Version) – 5:19 # "Man in the Mirror" (Instrumental) – 5:19 *7" # "Man in the Mirror" (Single Version) - 5:04 *7" / 12" picture disc # Man in the Mirror – 4:55 # Man in the Mirror (Instrumental) – 4:55

Chart performance

"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 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 1988. However, following Jackson's death on June 25, 2009, "Man in the Mirror" re-entered the

at number 11, and the following week the song peaked at number 2, held off by

Cascada Cascada (, Spanish for "Waterfall", stylized as CASCADA, CASC''A''DA and cascada) is a German dance music act founded in 2004 by singer Natalie Horler and DJs/producers DJ Manian and DJ Yanou. They are best known for their hit singles " Every ...

'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. It has sold 567,280 copies in the UK as of January 2016.

Personnel

* Written and composed by Siedah Garrett and Glen Ballard * Produced by Quincy Jones * Co-Produced by Michael Jackson * Michael Jackson: lead & background vocals ** Featuring Siedah Garrett, the Winans and the

Andraé Crouch Andraé Edward Crouch (July 1, 1942 – January 8, 2015) 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 profess ...

Choir * Ollie E. Brown: Clap and Cymbals *

Dann Huff Dann Lee Huff (born November 15, 1960) is an American record producer and songwriter. For his work as a producer in the country music genre, he has won several awards, including the ''Musician of the Year'' award in 2001, 2004, and 2016 at the Co ...

: Guitar *

Greg Phillinganes Gregory Arthur Phillinganes (born May 12, 1956) is an American keyboardist, singer-songwriter, and musical director based in Los Angeles, California. A prolific session musician, Phillinganes has contributed the role of keyboards to numerous alb ...

: Piano * Glen Ballard,

Randy Kerber Randy Kerber (born September 25, 1958) is an American composer, orchestrator and keyboard player, who has had a prolific career in the world of cinema.SeRandy Kerberat the IMDb Kerber was born in Encino, California. He began his first national ...

: Synthesizers * Glen Ballard:

Drum programming Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices and computer software, such as sequencers and workstations or hardware synthesizers, sampler and sequencers, to generate sounds of musical instruments. These ...

* Siedah Garrett: Background vocals * The Winans: Carvin, Marvin, Michael and Ronald Winans ** Andrae Crouch and his Choir: Sandra Crouch, Maxi Anderson, Rose Banks, Geary Faggett, Vonciele Faggett, Andrew Gouche, Linda Green, Pattie Howard, Jean Johnson, Perry Morgan, Alfie Silas, Roberto Noriega * Rhythm arrangement by Glen Ballard and Quincy Jones * Synthesizer arrangement by Glen Ballard, Quincy Jones and Jerry Hey * Vocal arrangement by Andrae Crouch

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

*
Glen Ballard biography
{{Authority control 1980s ballads 1988 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Michael Jackson songs Protest songs Pop ballads Song recordings produced by Quincy Jones Song recordings produced by Michael Jackson Songs about poverty Songs written by Glen Ballard Songs written by Siedah Garrett 1987 songs Gospel songs Epic Records singles