Bad, Dangerous & the Video Era
"Bad" (1987), "Dangerous" (1991) and "HIStory" (1995), the world-conquering tours, the short-film music videos and the Super Bowl that drew the audience to the halftime show — the peak of the King of Pop.
Part of Michael Jackson
45 moments in this segment.
- — "Bad" (1987). "Bad" produces a record five #1 singles and launches Michael’s first solo world tour — 123 shows seen by 4.4 million people.
- — Fan frenzy — arriving in Japan (1987). AP archive of the mania that met Michael everywhere — fans mobbing his every arrival.
- — "Bad" live — Yokohama (1987). The Bad World Tour opens in Japan — the first time he toured as a solo artist.
- — Michael Jackson — "The Way You Make Me Feel". A swaggering "Bad"-era single and video.
- — Michael Jackson — "Man in the Mirror". The gospel-tinged anthem of personal and social change.
- — Michael Jackson — "Dirty Diana". A rock-leaning "Bad" single — his fifth #1 from one album, a record.
- — Backstage on tour. Rare backstage footage from the touring years.
- — Live at Wembley — the Bad Tour (1988). Michael at Wembley on the record-breaking Bad world tour.
- — The King of Pop at his peak. By the late 1980s Michael Jackson was the most famous entertainer on the planet, the "King of Pop".
- — Moonwalker (1988). Michael’s anthology feature film — music, fantasy and the "Smooth Criminal" centrepiece.
- — "Smooth Criminal" & the lean (1988). "Smooth Criminal" and the gravity-defying anti-gravity lean became one of his most iconic visual signatures.
- — Michael Jackson — "Leave Me Alone". A Grammy-winning video satirising the tabloid coverage of his life.
- — Michael Jackson — "Liberian Girl". “Liberian Girl” by Michael Jackson “Liberian Girl” is the eighth of nine short films for the “Bad” album and features three dozen actors, musicians and celebrities in a humorous “behind-the-scenes” look at the set of a Michael Jackson short film as everyone awaits Michael’s arrival. At the short film’s conclusion, when everyone converges on the set, it is revealed that Michael was actually there the whole time, as he descends from a camera crane laughing and says, “Okay everyone, that’s a wrap!”Director Jim…
- — The "Black or White" world premiere (1991). Premiered simultaneously to an estimated 500 million viewers worldwide.
- — "Dangerous" & "Black or White" (1991). "Dangerous" and the "Black or White" video — with its groundbreaking morphing finale — kept Michael at the cutting edge of pop and music video.
- — Michael Jackson — "Remember the Time". The ancient-Egypt-set "Dangerous" video, an all-star short film.
- — Michael Jackson — "In the Closet". A sultry "Dangerous" single and video.
- — Michael Jackson — "Jam" (with Michael Jordan). The "Dangerous" single that paired the King of Pop with the era’s biggest athlete.
- — Fans faint at the sight of him. The Beatlemania-scale hysteria — fans fainting and weeping at his mere presence.
- — Fan frenzy — the sunglasses moment. The crowd erupts as Michael simply removes his sunglasses — the scale of the hysteria.
- — Michael Jackson — "Who Is It". Another "Dangerous" single showcasing his beatbox-built production.
- — "Jam" live — Bucharest (1992). Michael opening the Dangerous Tour with explosive energy.
- — Live in Bucharest — the Dangerous Tour (1992). The Dangerous Tour, broadcast to a global TV audience from Bucharest.
- — Michael Jackson — "Heal the World". The humanitarian ballad that named his children’s charity.
- — The Super Bowl XXVII halftime (1993). Michael’s 1993 Super Bowl halftime show drew more viewers than the game — and rewrote the halftime show as a global stage forever after.
- — Michael Jackson — "Give In to Me". A rock ballad from "Dangerous" with Slash on guitar.
- — The Grammy Legend Award (1993). Sister Janet presents Michael the Grammy Legend Award at the peak of his fame.
- — Michael Jackson — "Will You Be There". The "Free Willy" theme and a "Dangerous" highlight.
- — Michael Jackson — "Gone Too Soon". A "Dangerous" ballad dedicated to Ryan White.
- — Michael & Janet Jackson — "Scream" (1995). The most expensive music video ever made, a sci-fi siblings’ duet hitting back at the press.
- — "HIStory" & "Earth Song" (1995). The "HIStory" double album and the epic "Earth Song" leaned into spectacle and message, and the giant promo statues toured Europe.
- — The MTV VMAs medley (1995). Michael’s career-spanning medley at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards.
- — Michael Jackson — "Stranger in Moscow". A melancholy "HIStory" single, written in his most isolated period.
- — Michael Jackson — "They Don’t Care About Us". The protest single and its Brazil / prison videos by Spike Lee.
- — The HIStory Tour (1996–97). Michael’s final solo world tour, the biggest of his career.
- — Fan-cam — a "Billie Jean" surprise. Audience footage of the electricity when "Billie Jean" begins live.
- — HIStory World Tour — Seoul (1996). Live from the biggest tour of his career.
- — Michael Jackson — "Blood on the Dance Floor". The title track of the 1997 remix album.
- — Michael Jackson — "Ghosts" short film. A 38-minute Stephen King-co-written horror short — Michael pushing the music-film form.
- — "Thriller" live — HIStory Tour. Michael performing "Thriller" live on the HIStory World Tour.
- — "Michael Jackson & Friends" — Munich (1999). A charity mega-concert, including the night a bridge collapsed mid-performance and he fell.
- — 30th Anniversary Celebration (2001). A star-studded Madison Square Garden show marking 30 years of his solo career — and a J5 reunion.
- — Artist of the Century (2002). Michael receives the "Artist of the Century" award at the American Music Awards.
- — The fans. Wherever Michael went, the fans followed in their millions — a devotion few entertainers have known. The subject dates from 1988; this photograph was taken in 2004.
- — The "Bad" LP. The vinyl label of "Bad" — the album that produced a record five #1 singles. The subject dates from 1987; this photograph was taken in 2019.
