"Cheater" is a song written by

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 Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

and

Greg Phillinganes Gregory Arthur Phillinganes (born May 12, 1956) is an American keyboardist, vocalist, and arranger. A session musician, Phillinganes has contributed to numerous albums over a broad array of artists and genres. He has toured with artists includin ...

and was originally slated to appear on Jackson's seventh studio album, ''

Bad Bad or BAD may refer to: Common meanings *Evil, the opposite of moral good * Erroneous, inaccurate or incorrect * Unhealthy, or counter to well-being *Antagonist, the threat or obstacle of moral good Acronyms * BAD-2, a Soviet armored trolley ...

'' (1987), but it was removed from the track listing for unknown reasons. After being sent to US and UK radio stations, the full commercial release of "Cheater" was cancelled for unspecified reasons, turning the song into a promotional single and releasing on September 14, 2004. The song was then released on November 16, 2004 on '' The Ultimate Collection'' album.

Background

"Cheater" was written and produced by Michael Jackson, and co-written by

. The song was originally intended for Jackson's seventh studio album, ''

'' (1987). However, it failed to make into the final track listing. As promotion of the

limited edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, collector's edition or expanded edition are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as b ...

box set A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists ...

from '' The Ultimate Collection'',

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

distributed a sampler of the compilation featuring twelve tracks. Eight songs were previously released, while four – "Beautiful Girl", "Scared of the Moon", "We've Had Enough", and "Cheater" – remained unreleased until the compilation's release. The sampler was titled ''Highlights from The Ultimate Collection'' in the United States, and ''The Ultimate Collection Sampler'' in Europe. A music video was also shown on some channels; it features clips from the '' Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour'' DVD, which was included in the same album the song appears in.

Critical reception

The song received positive critical reception.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

described the song as "good stuff" and "so funky, loose, and alive that it's hard not to wish that Jackson didn't fuss over his albums and just record like this all the time."

Track listing

*Digital download # "Cheater" (demo) – 5:08 *European promo CD # "Cheater" (radio edit) – 3:58 *UK 12" vinyl # "Cheater" (demo) – 5:09 # " One More Chance" ( R. Kelly remix) – 3:50

Credits and personnel

* Michael Jackson – songwriting, production, lead and background vocals *

– songwriting, piano, synthesizers *

Bill Bottrell William Allen Bottrell (born October 27, 1952) is an American record producer and songwriter. He is perhaps best known for his production and uncredited guest appearance on Michael Jackson's 1991 single "Black or White", which peaked the ''Bill ...

and Matt Forger – audio engineering * David Williams – guitar Credits adapted from ''The Ultimate Collection'' liner notes.

References

{{authority control 2004 songs 2004 singles Michael Jackson songs Songs written by Michael Jackson Song recordings produced by Michael Jackson Epic Records singles Songs written by Greg Phillinganes American hip-hop songs