When creating a song, the author always cares about the most accurate message possible. However, sometimes the meanings of some of their tracks can be puzzling. I am going to introduce you to selected songs by Michael Jackson, which, apart from their popularity, may not be entirely obvious in their message to everyone. Their importance can sometimes go unnoticed by people.

“Billie Jean,” considered Michael Jackson’s biggest hit, has quite a strange and also disturbing story. The main theme of this piece is the growing problem of how huge impact made-up accusations can have even on a world-famous musician. With this song, he wanted to make it clear that he knows what such fans are talking about and he won’t let himself be pushed around so easily.

One day around 1981 or 1982, the King of Pop started receiving a large amount of letters from a fan named Billie Jean, who seemed to have fallen deeply in love with him. I think it’s quite obvious that the most popular artists are used to these types of awkward situations, where love or rather obsession are involved. What is important is how to deal with the situation and set boundaries. Billie Jean strived to gain more attention around herself and did not stop her tiresome writings. So, the singer started rejecting and ignoring all the love messages he received, but then she decided to go even further and throw unnecessary accusations at him which took the form of a serious slander.

She openly admitted that in the next letter she sent, Michael was the father of her newborn child. If you look at the first verse of the song, Michael sang “She was more like a beauty queen from a movie scene, I said don’t mind, but what do you mean, I am the one?”. Thus, Michael confirmed the fact that she fell madly in love with him almost immediately, wanting to enter into a permanent relationship. The fascinated singer obviously wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to spend at least one night with a charming fan, but he was even more concerned about her words that he was the one.

Despite his mother’s earlier comments about being careful with such moments, he didn’t listen to them. There was a beautiful woman around and the emotions took over. As you may recall, MJ dealt with private issues during this period, given their confirmed night together. In the same song, he released his next official statement on the matter using the words: “She says I am the one, but the kid is not my son”. Probably to this day, Billie Jean claims that Michael is the father of her child.

Let’s move on to another song with a completely different sound and meaning – “Stranger in Moscow”. When this song was released, the King of Pop had undergone plastic surgery and his appearance was completely different from before. There are at least a few theories as to why he decided to write this track. The first one concerns his bittersweet feelings when quite loud pedophilia scandal took place in 1993, and when the media was constantly attacking him from every side.

The second story is that MJ wrote the song’s lyrics during the so-called “Dangerous Tour” when he could see a crowd of his fans from a hotel window in Moscow. At the same moment, he apparently felt a terrible loneliness within himself, having no connection with those people outside the window. Then he found the motivation to write and perform this song. In the end, you can hear hostile Russian words, probably directed at him: “Why have you come from the West? Confess, to steal the great achievements of the people. The accomplishments of the worker”.

It’s time to look deeper into another hit by Michael Jackson, which also gives a lot to think about. It is one of the most recognizable songs of the artist, which was released in November 1988. There is a dark story behind the writing of this piece, which is probably not that known to everyone. “Smooth Criminal” shows an existing problem of spousal or partner abuse. The lyrics of this song are extremely strong and emotional. MJ makes it clear that many women have experienced physical abuse and violence from their partners.

The song prompts us to ask a question to the victim of rape: “Annie, are you okay? Will you tell us that you’re okay?”. This crime was carried out by the titular “smooth criminal”’ and during the song, you can hear the policeman’s voice. The horrific act happened and is followed by apologies and expressions of remorse by the perpetrators. But in many cases, it doesn’t end and the cycle repeats itself. 

Each time, especially the most popular songs around the world, are interpreted differently by recipients. And the interpretations make the song being played over and over again. Curiosity and speculation fuel interest and we have to remember that one of the main goals of every musician is to gain as much interest as possible.

Marcel Mańkowski