King of Pop Michael Jackson is arguably the greatest entertainer of all time. Though he's no longer with us, his music left a lifelong, lasting impression. MJ released "Bad" on August 31, 1987, before embarking on a a wildly successful tour to promote the album 30 years ago this week.
Filled with memorable songs like the title anthem, "Dirty Diana," and "Smooth Criminal," "Bad" made a huge impact on pop culture. MJ's later years were tainted by child abuse allegations, criticism over his ever-changing skin tone, and other issues. "Bad" serves as a musical hurrah for MJ before scandal clouded over his image.
In honor of the 30th anniversary, here are 13 things you may or may not know about the "Bad" album:
- Hollywood juggernaut Martin Scorsese directed the "Bad" music video. Similar to its predecessor "Thriller", the video clocks in at a whopping 18 minutes.
Spike Lee made a documentary on the making of the "Bad" album titled "Bad 25." One of the fun revelations from the film was that the "Annie" mentioned in "Smooth Criminal" comes from the given name for CPR dummies.
- MJ originally wanted to duet on the song "Bad" with Prince, but Prince refused to say the opening line "Your butt is mine." He also wasn't down with MJ saying that to him. Too much star power perhaps?
"Bad" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard chart. It stayed there for six weeks and earned five No. 1 singles, a Billboard record that wasn't touched until Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" album came out in 2010.
- Rock band Alien Ant Farm did a popular cover of "Smooth Criminal." It hit the top 10 on MTV's TRL in 2001.
- Weird Al Yankovic made a famous video parody of "Bad" called "Fat," in which he wore a fat suit while imitating the iconic Subway battle. For his efforts, he won a Grammy in 1988 for "Best Concept Music Video."
- Fans speculated that the "Diana" in the song "Dirty Diana" referred to Princess Diana or Diana Ross. MJ claimed that "Diana" referred to groupies, but both female celebrities were flattered to be connected to the song regardless.
- Album track "Leave Me Alone" got a humorous music video that poked fun at MJ's relationship with the press. In the video, dummy headlines flash across the screen like "Michael Weds Alien" and "Bubbles The Chimp Bares All About Michael."
- The Weeknd often covers "Dirty Diana" in concert. The track appears as "D.D." on his mixtape "Echoes of Silence."
- "Bad" won a 1990 Grammy for "Best Short Form Music Video" for "Leave Me Alone." MJ also did a dazzling live performance of "Bad" tracks during the show.
- "Bad" lost the "Best Choreography" award at the 1988 MTV Video Music Awards to Janet Jackson's "Pleasure Principle." At least it stayed in the family!
10 of the 11 songs on "Bad" got accompanying music videos, which was unheard of back then. The only song that didn't get a music video was the duet with Stevie Wonder titled "Just Good Friends."
- With a gross revenue of $124 million, the "Bad World Tour" is the highest grossing concert tour of all time. Additionally, after selling out 7 nights at London's Wembley Stadium and performing for over 504,000 people each show, MJ earned the title of the most successful concert series of all time.
