Leave Me Alone (Michael Jackson Song)
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"Leave Me Alone" is a song by American singer
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 ...
from his 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). It was released as the eighth single outside of North America on February 13, 1989, and originally only appeared on CD editions of ''Bad'', as well as the 2001 cassette and digital editions. It was written and composed by Jackson and produced by Jackson and
Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...
. "Leave Me Alone" topped the charts in Greece, the Republic of Ireland, and Spain (in 2006), and peaked within the top ten of the charts in Belgium, New Zealand, Spain (upon its original release), and the United Kingdom. "Leave Me Alone" was generally well received by critics. In the music video, Jackson pokes fun at the rumors about him. The video was the recipient of a
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
in 1990 for Best Music Video. The song was never performed on any of Jackson's tours.


Background

"Leave Me Alone" was a response to negative rumors about Jackson that frequently appeared in the tabloids post-1985 after the success of '' Thriller.'' Beginning in 1986, the tabloids began to publish rumors about Jackson, one of the first being a story claiming that Jackson slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to slow the aging process. A picture leaked out to the media of him lying down in a hyperbaric chamber at a hospital he visited. When Jackson bought a pet
chimpanzee The chimpanzee (; ''Pan troglodytes''), also simply known as the chimp, is a species of Hominidae, great ape native to the forests and savannahs of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed one. When its close rel ...
named Bubbles, the tabloids viewed it as evidence of Jackson's increasing detachment from reality. It was also reported that Jackson had offered to buy the bones of
Joseph Merrick Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890) was an English man known for his severe physical deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "The Elephant Man", and then went to live at the London Hospital, ...
, the "Elephant Man"; Jackson stated that the story was "a complete lie." These stories inspired the derogatory nickname "Wacko Jacko", which was pinned on Jackson in 1986. He despised the moniker. Another frequent response from the media was about Jackson's plastic surgery. Jackson's manager said of the media's criticism towards the topic, "So many terrible things have been written. Okay, so he had his nose fixed, and the cleft — big deal. I got news for you, my nose has broken five times. It's been fixed twice. Who gives a shit? Who cares? Elvis had his nose done.
Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...
had her nose done, had her breasts done? Everybody's had it done." The song has been viewed as having a "paranoia theme", a theme that Jackson had frequently used on previous studio albums. ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...
'' felt that Jackson showed "obvious expressions of distrust" in the song and that the song was one of multiple songs where Jackson's "persistent loneliness in his music" was "prominent". In 2009, J. Edward Keyes, of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'', described "Leave Me Alone" as sounding like "vintage Michael" and the song works because of its music, "a batch of thick chords for Jackson to vamp over". Keyes noted that the song was a "kind of darker inversion" of " The Way You Make Me Feel", and that "Leave Me Alone" was "worked-up and angry, and Jackson's aggressive scraping of the high notes makes plain his frustration."


Composition

"Leave Me Alone" is a funk song played with a synthesizer and a guitar. According to MusicNotes.com, the song is set in the key of E minor with Jackson's voice range being sung from B3 to A5. The song's
tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...
is moderate and its metronome is 124
beats per minute Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...
. It is raised from the regular tuning pitch, A440hz.


Critical and commercial reception

"Leave Me Alone" was generally well received by contemporary music critics. In a retrospective assessment,
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 ...
, a writer for
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 ...
, stated he felt that "Leave Me Alone" was the best track on ''Bad'', commenting "why are all of his best songs paranoid anthems?" Steve Morse, a writer for ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'', described "Leave Me Alone" as a "send-up" of Jackson's feuds with the "paparazzi-filled tabloids."
Jon Pareles Jon Pareles (born 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''.The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', commented that "Leave Me Alone" had an "unmistakable message". After Jackson's death in June 2009, ''Rolling Stone'' listed "Leave Me Alone" as being one of Jackson's most monumental works, and the song's composition was generally praised. "Leave Me Alone" performed well on various charts. It was released as a single outside the United States and Canada. The song, similar to ''Bad''s previous singles, proved to be a commercial success internationally. "Leave Me Alone"'s most successful territory was Ireland, where the song peaked at No. 1. The song saw similar chart success on the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Norwegian and Switzerland charts, peaking within the top 10 at Nos. 2, 5, 6 and 10, respectively. "Leave Me Alone" also peaked within the top 20 in Austria, France and Sweden, peaking at Nos. 15, 17 and 19, respectively. The single was least successful in Australia, where the song peaked at number 37.


Music video

The
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
for "Leave Me Alone" was directed by Jim Blashfield and produced by Blashfield, Jerry Kramer (who also directed additional footages), Dennis E. Jones, Paul Diener, Jackson, and Frank DiLeo. It was filmed in January 1988 in
Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...
and was released on January 2, 1989. The video also appeared in the 1988 film ''
Moonwalker ''Moonwalker'' is a 1988 American experimental film, experimental anthology film, anthology musical film starring Michael Jackson. Rather than featuring one continuous narrative, the film expresses the influence of fandom and innocence through ...
''. In essence, the video is an
amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...
consisting of stylistically crude images based around Jackson's successful career since 1982's '' Thriller''. There is an emphasis on the tabloid view of Jackson's personal life and public image, referring to the nickname "Wacko Jacko" given to him by the press, and the various headlines associated with him in the 1980s. Lampooning rumours that he tried to purchase
Joseph Merrick Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890) was an English man known for his severe physical deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "The Elephant Man", and then went to live at the London Hospital, ...
's bones, Jackson dances with
stop motion Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exh ...
"Elephant Man" bones in the video. In the video, there are images of shrines to actress
Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was an English and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 19 ...
, a real life close friend of Jackson. Throughout the video newspaper headlines, published by "National Intruder", with bizarre titles are shown, such as "Michael's Space-Age Diet" and "Michael Proposes to Liz". Another notable scene in the music video was a nose being chased by a surgical scalpel, which was a reference to Jackson's plastic surgeries being scrutinized by the media. At the end of the video, it is revealed that a gigantic Jackson himself is the amusement park. He breaks free, tearing the park to pieces. That scene is somewhat reminiscent of ''
Gulliver's Travels ''Gulliver's Travels'', originally titled ''Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'', is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clerg ...
'', where Gulliver eventually breaks free from the Lilliputians' bonds. "Leave Me Alone" was the recipient of multiple nominations for its music video. The video won a
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
in 1990 for
Best Short Form Music Video The Grammy Award for Best Music Video is an accolade presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to performers, directors, and producers of quality short form music videos. ...
at the
32nd Grammy Awards The 32nd Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 21, 1990, and hosted by Garry Shandling. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Performers * Bette Midler - Wind Beneath My Wings * Gloria Estefan - Don't Wa ...
. The video also won the Cannes Gold Lion Award for Best Special Effects. The video also won Best Special Effects at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards and received five nominations for Video of the Year, Viewers' Choice, Breakthrough Video, Best Editing and Best Art Direction. The winners were respectively:
Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...
's "This Note's for You" ("Video of the Year"),
Art of Noise Art of Noise (also the Art of Noise) were a British avant-garde synth-rock group formed in early 1983 by engineer/producer Gary Langan and programmer J. J. Jeczalik, along with keyboardist/arranger Anne Dudley, producer Trevor Horn, and ...
's "
Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...
" ("Breakthrough Video"),
Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreographe ...
's "
Straight Up Various unique terms are used in bartending. Definitions and usage Straight, up, and straight up In bartending, the terms "straight up" and "up" ordinarily refer to an alcoholic drink that is shaken or stirred with ice and then strained and ...
" ("Best Editing"), and
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
's " Express Yourself" ("Best Cinematography", "Best Art Direction") and " Like a Prayer" ("Viewers' Choice"). Erlewine described the music video as being "weirdly claustrophobic" and felt that, "not coincidentally, it was the best video from the album."


Track listing

* 12" single / 3" CD # "Leave Me Alone" – 4:40 # "
Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" is a song by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson. Written by Jackson and released by Epic Records on July 10, 1979, the song is the first track on Jackson's fifth studio album, ''Off the Wall'' (1979). Ad ...
" – 6:04 # "Human Nature" – 4:05 * 7" single # "Leave Me Alone" – 4:40 # "
Human Nature Human nature comprises the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of Thought, thinking, feeling, and agency (philosophy), acting—that humans are said to have nature (philosophy), naturally. The term is often used to denote ...
" – 4:06 * Maxi-CD # "Leave Me Alone" – 4:40 # "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" (single version) – 3:55 # "Human Nature" – 4:05 # "
Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson recorded for his sixth studio album ''Thriller (album), Thriller'' (1982). It is the opening track of the album and was released as its fourth single on May 9, 1983, by Ep ...
" (12" version) – 6:30 * ''Visionary'' CD side: # "Leave Me Alone" – 4:40 # "
Another Part of Me "Another Part of Me" is a song by American singer and songwriter Michael Jackson. Produced by Quincy Jones (and co-produced by Jackson), it was released as the sixth single on July 11, 1988, for the singer's seventh studio album, '' Bad'' (1987). ...
" (extended dance mix) – 6:18 * ''Visionary'' DVD side: # "Leave Me Alone" (music video) – 4:36


Personnel

Credits adapted from ''
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 ...
: Special Edition''s liner notes: * Written, composed, vocal synthesizer, solo and background vocals by Michael Jackson * Produced by Quincy Jones * Co-produced by Michael Jackson * Larry Williams – drum programming, synthesizers * Paul Jackson, Jr. – guitar * Casey Young –
Synclavier The Synclavier is an early digital synthesizer, polyphonic digital sampling system, and music workstation manufactured by New England Digital Corporation of Norwich, Vermont. It was produced in various forms from the late 1970s into the ea ...
, synthesizer programming * Greg Phillinganes – synthesizer * Rhythm and vocal arrangements by Michael Jackson


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


See also

* List of number-one singles of 1989 (Ireland) * List of number-one singles of 2006 (Spain)


References

{{authority control 1987 songs 1989 singles CBS Records singles Cultural depictions of Elizabeth Taylor Cultural depictions of Joseph Merrick Epic Records singles Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Michael Jackson songs Music videos directed by Jim Blashfield Number-one singles in Greece Number-one singles in Spain Song recordings produced by Michael Jackson Song recordings produced by Quincy Jones Songs about loneliness Songs about the media Songs written by Michael Jackson