Michael Jackson’s Lost Music Video for ‘Dangerous’
Not willing to end without leaving a lasting impact, the album wraps up with the menacing title track, ‘Dangerous’. A tale of seduction and deception, warning against sexual sin. Teddy Riley returns to the producer’s chair with a track that adds to the cast of “dangerous” women who populated many of Michael Jackson’s songs, from ‘Billie Jean’ to ‘Dirty Diana’. With this song, the album comes full circle.
‘Dangerous’ was originally recorded in September 1990 with Bill Bottrell, but Jackson was not satisfied with its initial incarnation. When Teddy Riley came onto the project in early 1991, Jackson got him to work on the unfinished demo. “Dangerous was about a woman who was just so beyond, you know, beyond the best girl he’s ever been with… Michael came in with the hook, I did the music and then we finalised the song… There’s no science to it, I just feel my way through the production,” said Riley when asked about the track.
Teddy Riley developed a mechanical, new jack beat, perhaps the heaviest of the collection, without sacrificing the gritty textures of Bottrell’s original work. The lyrics warn the listener against allowing a seductive woman to lead you down the wrong path, which Jackson seems all too happy to do. “But I loved it, cause it’s dangerous.”
Upon the album’s release, the track ‘Dangerous’ was generally well received by music critics. Nelson George said of the song, “it is a pile driving track…that explodes from radio speakers. ‘Dangerous’ in fact, opens another window into Michael’s artistic process.” Writer Barry Farber noted that the same lyrics “are an excellent representation of how sex can sometimes feel like a powerful biologically driven force.” Jon Pareles, a writer for The New York Times, said “He is a great dancer, yet his songs proclaim a terror of the body and of fleshly pleasures.”
It was originally planned that ‘Dangerous’ would become the tenth single from the album, set for a January 1994 release with grand plans for an elaborate music video. However, the proposed release was scrapped after allegations were made against the singer in August 1993 and Michael Jackson’s hospitalisation in the November.
However, although ‘Dangerous’ wasn’t chosen as a single, its live performances showcased the King of Pop’s ingenuity in synchronised dance and solidified Michael’s reputation as an era defining performer for a new generation. Most notably his 1993 American Music Awards, was influenced by Judy Garland’s song-and-dance number ‘Get Happy’ from the 1950 movie musical Summer Stock. Jackson and his dancers wearing suits and fedoras as a nod to Garland’s costume, and Jackson’s introduction mirrors Garland’s from the film scene. The song was later added to the setlist during the final leg of Jackson’s Dangerous World Tour. This version included him singing the second verse, the bridge, and the third spoken interlude, in the same style he performed during the 1993 American Music Awards.
The second version of the song was performed at the 1995 MTV Music Awards and as a regular during the History World Tour. This version does not contain the second verse, bridge, or third speaking interlude, but instead had samples from Yes’ ‘Owner of a Lonely Heart’, ‘The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly’, ‘Smooth Criminal’, Janet Jackson’s ‘You Want This’ and ‘Let’s Dance’, Monty Norman’s ‘James Bond Theme’ and Duran Duran’s ‘A View to a Kill’.
The concept and general plot originally considered for the music video for ‘Dangerous’ was later adapted for Michael Jackson’s 2001 video for ‘You Rock My World’. The film sees Jackson, dressed in similar attire to that he would perform ‘Dangerous’ in, attempt to gain the affections of a woman that ultimately causes a fight to break out between the artist and gang members in a bar. The dance performed during the video consists of fragments from the cancelled ‘Dangerous’ music video, during what was ultimately the King of Pop’s last appearance in the medium that he became a master of.
After 30 years and 32 million albums sold worldwide, it’s hard to comprehend the legacy that Michael Jackson’s ‘Dangerous’ has left behind, especially 12 years after the King of Pop’s own sudden demise. His R&B-rap fusions set the blueprint for years to come, while his industrial soundscapes and metallic beats were later popularized by artists as diverse as Nine Inch Nails and Lady Gaga.
As one of the world’s highest selling records of all time, some consider ‘Dangerous’ as Jackson’s artistic peak, and the most ground-breaking record of its era. The very peak of his powers, with his widest ever emotional range, free from genre and musical convention. On reflection, Scholar Susan Fast characterises ‘Dangerous’ as Jackson’s coming-of-age album: “it offers a compelling narrative arc of postmodern angst, love, lust, seduction, betrayal, damnation, and above all else racial politics.”
Michael Jackson, fully formed and no longer content with being labelled the Peter Pan of Pop or the music industry’s commercial darling, had a bold approach when recording ‘Dangerous’. A much sharper, riskier album than anything he had created before, Jackson was determined to hold up a mirror to the world, to shame us for our disfunction and the despair we accept around us. But at the same time, bring hope and clarity with his universal message. A spiritual and ideological cleanse that is just as relevant today as it was the day he first released it all those years ago.