"Somebody's Watching Me" is a song recorded by American singer Rockwell, released by the

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''mot ...

label in 1984, as the lead single from his debut studio album of the same name. It features

guest vocals In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other ...

by brothers

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 ...

(in the chorus) and

Jermaine Jackson Jermaine La Jaune Jackson (born December 11, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and bassist. He is best known for being a member of the Jackson family. From 1964 to 1975, Jermaine was second vocalist after his brother Michael of The Jacks ...

(additional backing vocals). The song became a major commercial success internationally, topping the charts in Belgium, France, and Spain, and reaching the top 5 in Canada, West Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. In the UK, it reached No. 6 and is Rockwell's only top 40 hit on 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 ...

Background and composition

Rockwell is a son of Motown CEO

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record la ...

. At the time of the recording, Rockwell was estranged from his father and living with

Ray Singleton Raynoma Mayberry Liles Gordy Singleton (March 8, 1937 – November 11, 2016) was an American R&B producer, songwriter, and vocalist perhaps best known for her association with ex-husband, Berry Gordy during the early days of Motown when she was ...

, his father's ex-wife and the mother of his older half-brother, Kerry Gordy. Singleton served as executive producer on the project and would occasionally play some demo tracks to Berry. The elder Gordy was less than enthusiastic about Rockwell's music until he heard the single with

's familiar voice featuring prominently on background vocals. "Somebody's Watching Me" was written in the key of

C minor C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E major and its parallel major is C major. The C natural minor scale is: : ...

, though the final recording is a

quarter tone A quarter tone is a pitch halfway between the usual notes of a chromatic scale or an interval about half as wide (aurally, or logarithmically) as a semitone, which itself is half a whole tone. Quarter tones divide the octave by 50 cents each, ...

sharp. The song is in time with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

of 124 beats per minute. The vocals span from C₄ to C₅. Produced by Curtis Anthony Nolen, the song featured backing vocals by

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

and

, with Alan Murray on percussion.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

DJ BoBo version: "Somebody Dance with Me"

DJ BoBo Peter René Baumann (born 5 January 1968), better known under his stage name DJ BoBo, is a Swiss singer-songwriter, rapper, dancer, and music producer. He has sold 14 million records worldwide and has released 12 studio albums as well as several ...

based his 1992 single "

Somebody Dance with Me "Somebody Dance with Me" is a song by Swiss artist DJ BoBo featuring Emel Aykanat. It was released in November 1992 as the second single from his debut album, ''Dance with Me'' (1993). The song is on some parts based on sampling taken from " Someb ...

" on "Somebody's Watching Me" with new lyrics and rap. The DJ BoBo single reached No. 1 in Sweden and Switzerland, and the Top 5 in Austria, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and Norway. In 2012, a remix of the hit was made by

Remady Marc Würgler (; born on 12 December 1977), better known by his stage name Remady, is a Swiss music producer from Zürich. His beginnings was under the name Player & Remady also known as Remady P&R. He later started to simply be called "Remady", ...

titled "Somebody Dance With Me (Remady 2013 Mix)" by DJ BoBo featuring

Manu-L Emanuel Gut (born 1983) better known by his stage name Manu-L, is a Swiss singer and musician. The name is derived from his given name stylized in a different fashion. He is best known for being part of the musical duos, Myron and Remady & Manu- ...

. Released early in 2013, it charted on the

Swiss Hitparade The Swiss Hitparade (german: link=no, Schweizer Hitparade) is Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland. The Swiss charts include: * Singles Top ...

, reaching No. 4. The mix was made on the 20th anniversary of the initial hit by DJ BoBo in November 1992.

Beatfreakz version

In 2006, Dutch dance group

Beatfreakz Beatfreakz (also spelled BeatFreakz) were a Dutch house group consisting of members Dennis Christopher, Dimitrie Siliakus and Mark Simmons. For a period of time, Errol Lafleur was also part of the group. History The group was founded in 2000 by ...

recorded a pseudo-cover of the song that samples the chorus but omitted the verses. This version was a top-10 hit in Belgium, Finland, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

Track listing

Dutch CD single #"Somebody's Watching Me" ( Hi_Tack radio edit) #"Somebody's Watching Me" (Hi_Tack remix) #"Somebody's Watching Me" (Dennis Christopher remix) #"Somebody's Watching Me" (E-Craigs 2006 mix) #"Somebody's Watching Me" (BeatFreakz Clubmix) #"Somebody's Watching Me" (

Ian Carey Ian Harshman (September 13, 1975 – August 19, 2021), better known by his stage name Ian Carey, was an American house DJ, musician, and record producer based in Miami, Florida. Biography Carey grew up in Hancock, Maryland, graduating from Hanco ...

club mix)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1983 songs 1984 debut singles 2006 debut singles Data Records singles Ministry of Sound singles Motown singles Number-one singles in France Number-one singles in Spain Rockwell (musician) songs Songs written by Rockwell (musician) Spinnin' Records singles Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles Halloween songs

Background and composition

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

DJ BoBo version: "Somebody Dance with Me"

Beatfreakz version

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

See also

References