"This Time Around" 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 ninth studio album, '' HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I'', with a guest appearance by rapper

the Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in the New York rap scene and gangsta rap tradi ...

It was released as a promotional single in the US, and is the album's fourth single overall. The song, which details a musician's problems with being famous and dealing with stardom, was written by Jackson, while the music was composed by

Dallas Austin Dallas L. Austin (born December 29, 1970) is an American songwriter, record producer, and film producer from Columbus, Georgia. Biography Early life During a 2019 interview with DJ Vlad, Dallas Austin detailed previously unknown or unconfir ...

Bruce Swedien Bruce Swedien ( ) (April 19, 1934 – November 16, 2020) was an American recording engineer, mixing engineer and record producer. He was widely known for his work with Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Paul McCartney and Barbra Streisand. Swedie ...

and René Moore. Austin and Jackson produced the song, while Swedien and Moore served as co-producers. In the United States, "This Time Around" entered three ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' component charts, respectively peaking at numbers 18, 23, and 36 on the Dance Music/Club Play Singles,

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (previously known as Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay) is a chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the top R&B and hip hop songs in the United States, based on audience impressions from a panel of radio stations monitored ...

, and Rhythmic Top 40, having charted solely due to radio airplay throughout the country. It received positive reviews from contemporary music critics.

Background and composition

The song and lyrics were written by

, while the music was composed by

and René Moore. "This Time Around" is a song by Jackson that includes vocals by rapper

Austin and Jackson produced the song, while Swedien and Moore co-produced the song. It was recorded by both American musicians in 1995 for Jackson's ninth studio album, entitled '' HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I'', which was released in 1995 as a two-disc set.'' HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I'' liner notes

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 ...

(1995). "This Time Around" was written in

common time A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates the ...

, and was played in the key of

D minor D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative major is F major and its parallel major is D major. The D natural minor scale is: Changes needed ...

. The track'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 a moderate 106 beats per minute. The track has a basic sequence of Dm11–Dm9 as its

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural, or simply changes) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from ...

. The song's lyrics are about Michael and Biggie's problems with being famous and dealing with stardom, and throughout the song Jackson asserts that he's been falsely accused as Biggie compares his issues and sympathizes with Jackson. On December 26, 1995, the track was released by

as a promotional single in the United States only. The promo was formatted in three different versions, which were as a standalone CD single with just the song, as a 12" single with remixes and as a

maxi-single A maxi single, maxi-single, or maxi CD (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. Maxi singles are often mistaken for extended plays (EPs), especial ...

. The D.M. Radio Mix was released on the

remix album A remix album is an album consisting of remixes or rerecorded versions of an artist's earlier released material. The first act who employed the format was American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson ('' Aerial Pandemonium Ballet'', 1971). As of 200 ...

'' Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix'' in May 1997.

Critical reception

The song received positive reviews from contemporary music critics in their review for the album. James Hunter 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 the song as being a "dynamite jam...done with Atlanta R&B hotshot Dallas Austin that's ripe for remixes". Jon Pareles of ''

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 ...

'' believed that Jackson "muttered" lyrics such as "They thought they really had control of me". As a commercial single was not released for the song, "This Time Around" was ineligible to chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at the time. The track appeared on ''Billboard'' component charts in the United States solely based on radio airplay throughout the country. It peaked at number 36 on the ''Billboard''

Rhythmic Top 40 The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and previously named Rhythmic Songs, Rhythmic Top 40 and CHR/Rhythmic) is an airplay chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on ...

chart in 1995. In 1996, the song peaked at number 18 on the ''Billboard'' Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart and at number 23 on the ''Billboard'' Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart.* George, Nelson (2004). '' Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection'' booklet p, 48.

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

Track listings

;US CD promo # "This Time Around" – 4:21 # "Earth Song" (Radio Edit) – 4:58 # "Earth Song" – 6:46 ;US 12" promo # "This Time Around" (Dallas Main Extended Mix) – 7:15 # "This Time Around" (Maurice's Hip Hop Around Mix) – 4:25 # "This Time Around" (Maurice's Hip Hop Around Mix w/o Rap) – 4:25 # "This Time Around" (Dallas Main Mix) – 6:40 # "This Time Around" (Album Instrumental) – 4:12

Remixes

;

David Morales David Morales (; born August 21, 1961) is an American disc jockey (DJ) and record producer. In addition to his production and DJ work, Morales is also a remixer. David Morales has remixed and produced over 500 releases for artists including Mar ...

mixes * "This Time Around" (D.M. Mad Club Mix) – 10:23 * "This Time Around" (D.M. Mad Alternate Mix) – 10:36 lso known as "D.M. Mad Club Mix #2"* "This Time Around" (D.M. Mad Dub) – 8:00 * "This Time Around" (D.M. Radio Mix) – 4:05 * "This Time Around" (D.M. A.M. Mix) – 7:47 * "This Time Around" (D.M. Bang Da Drums Mix) – 6:34 * "This Time Around" (The Timeland Dub) – 7:22 * "This Time Around" (The Neverland Dub) – 7:46 ;

Maurice Joshua Maurice Joshua (born in Chicago, Illinois), usually credited under the name Maurice, is an American record producer. His single " This Is Acid (A New Dance Craze)" (1988), reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play chart in April ...

mixes * "This Time Around" (Maurice's Club Around Mix) – 9:00 * "This Time Around" (Maurice's Club Around Radio Mix) – 4:00 * "This Time Around" (Maurice's Hip Hop Around Mix) – 4:25 * "This Time Around" (Maurice's Hip Hop Around Mix w/ Drop) – 4:18 * "This Time Around" (Maurice's Hip Hop Around Mix w/o Rap) – 4:25 ;

mixes * "This Time Around" (Dallas Main Extended Mix) – 7:15 * "This Time Around" (Dallas Main Mix) – 6:40 * "This Time Around" (Dallas Main Mix w/o Rap) – 6:40 * "This Time Around" (Dallas Radio Remix) – 4:31 * "This Time Around" (Dallas Radio Remix w/o Rap) – 4:31 * "This Time Around" (Dallas Clean Album Remix) – 4:21 * "This Time Around" (Album Instrumental) – 4:12 ;Uno Clio mixes * "This Time Around" (Uno Clio 12" Master Mix) – 9:25 * "This Time Around" (Uno Clio Dub Mix) – 8:06 ;

Georgie Porgie "Georgie Porgie" is a popular English language nursery rhyme. It has the Roud Folk Song Index number 19532. Origins and variations Originally the lyrics were: :Georgie Porgie, pudding and pie, :Kissed the girls and made them cry, :When the gi ...

mixes * "This Time Around" (Georgie's House N Around Mix) – 6:04 ;Joey "The Don" Donatello mixes * "This Time Around" (The Don's Control This Dub) – 4:30 ;UBQ mix * "This Time Around" (UBQ's Opera Vibe Dub) – 7:00 ;David Mitson mix * "This Time Around" (David Mitson Clean Edit) – 4:21

Personnel

* Produced by

and René Moore * Recorded by Bruce Swedien and René Moore * Mixed by Bruce Swedien * Arranged by Michael Jackson, Dallas Austin, Bruce Swedien, and René Moore * Michael Jackson – lead and backing vocals *

The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in the New York rap scene and gangsta rap tradi ...

– rap * Dallas Austin – keyboards and synthesizers * René Moore – percussion, keyboards, and synthesizers * Bruce Swedien – percussion * Michael Thompson – guitar * Keith Rouster and Colin Wolfe – bass guitar

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1995 songs 1995 singles Michael Jackson songs The Notorious B.I.G. songs Song recordings produced by Dallas Austin Song recordings produced by Michael Jackson Songs written by Michael Jackson Songs written by Dallas Austin Songs written by Bruce Swedien Songs written by the Notorious B.I.G. New jack swing songs