Man in the Mirror

Composition

"Man in the Mirror" was composed by Glen Ballard and Siedah Garrett. Jackson added background vocals from Garrett, The Winans and the Andraé Crouch Choir, which gave the song its distinctive sound. The song is said to have been one of Jackson's favorite songs. Arranged with a gospel choir, Jackson would use a gospel choir again several years later on his hit "Will You Be There". Siedah Garrett also sang Jackson's duet "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" in summer 1987. The song is played in the keys of G and G# Major at a tempo of 100bpm. The vocal range is Ab3-C6.

The single sleeve for "Man in the Mirror" contained a dedication to Yoshiaki Ogiwara, a five-year-old boy from Takasaki, Gunma, Japan who was kidnapped for ransom and subsequently murdered in September 1987. The killing was highly traumatic to the Japanese public and to Jackson himself, who was touring Japan at the time and subsequently dedicated concerts in Osaka and Yokohama to the boy's memory.

Critical response

"Man in the Mirror" is one of Michael Jackson's most critically acclaimed songs. When Ed Hogan reviewed the song, he called it "gentle." Jon Pareles of The New York Times noted that this song has "gospelly lift." Rolling Stone's Davitt Sigerson thought that "Man in the Mirror" stands among the half dozen best things Jackson has done, and he continued: "On "Man in the Mirror," a song he did not write, Jackson goes a step further and offers a straightforward homily of personal commitment: "I'm starting with the man in the mirror/I'm asking him to change his ways/And no message could have been any clearer/If you wanna make the world a better place/Take a look at yourself and then make a change.""

Music video

One of the videos is a notable departure from Jackson's other videos mainly because Jackson himself does not appear in the video (aside from a brief clip toward the end of the video in which he can be seen donning a red jacket and standing in a large crowd). Instead, it featured a montage of footage from various major news events such as the nuclear explosion of Operation Crossroads, the Civil Rights March on Washington, John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy's assassinations, the Vietnam War, the Kent State shootings, the Iranian hostage crisis, Cesar Chavez, Solidarity's birth and growth, The Troubles, Ethiopian famine, increases in U.S. homelessness, Live Aid, the first Farm Aid with Willie Nelson, Jessica McClure's rescue, Salvadoran Civil War, Camp David Accords (with Anwar El Sadat, Menachem Begin and Jimmy Carter), INF Treaty signing (with Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan), and other notable people including Martin Luther King, John Lennon, Lech Wałęsa, Mother Teresa, Desmond Tutu, Mahatma Gandhi, Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela, Pieter Willem Botha, Muammar al-Gaddafi, the Ku Klux Klan, and Adolf Hitler.

The Man in the Mirror music video was directed, produced and edited by Don Wilson. Don and Michael Jackson developed the idea for the video. Larry Stessel who was Video Commissioner at Epic Records at the time was the Executive Producer.

PCM Stereo music video version of this song was included on Number Ones, Michael Jackson's Vision, the Target version DVD of Bad 25, and the song's video that released on VHS in 1989.

An alternate live video was used as the opening song in Jackson's film Moonwalker with live audio and footage from several live performances of the song during the Bad World Tour.

Chart performance

"Man In The Mirror" was the 4th consecutive number-one single for Jackson's Bad in the United States. The single debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 48 on February 6, 1988, and reached number 1 by its 8th week on the chart, on March 26, 1988, where it remained for 2 weeks.

The song originally peaked at number 21 in the United Kingdom in 1988. However, following Jackson's death on June 25, 2009, "Man in the Mirror" re-entered the UK Singles Chart at number 11, and the following week the song peaked at number 2, held off by Cascada's "Evacuate the Dancefloor". The chart had also contained over 12 Michael Jackson songs in the Top 40. This song had been at top 100 for 15 consecutive weeks in this chart. In Australia the song originally charted at number 39. After the singer's death, the song re-entered the chart and peaked at number 8, much higher than its original release. It was also the top single in iTunes downloads in the US and the UK. It has sold 567,280 copies in the UK as of January 2016.

Live performances

Jackson performed a live, extended version of the song at the 1988 Grammy Awards. He also performed the song as the ending of the concert during the Bad World Tour's second leg, and regularly during the Dangerous World Tour. Live versions of the song are available on the DVDs Live at Wembley July 16, 1988 and Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour. On July 16, 1996, Jackson also performed "Man in the Mirror" at the Royal Concert Brunei for the last time prior to the United We Stand benefit concert.

The instrumental introduction to the song was played at the end of Jackson's memorial service, while his casket was being carried out; followed by the appearance of a spotlight shining on a microphone on an empty stage. After a closing prayer that incorporated themes from the song, the spotlight remained shining on the lone microphone. The song is also featured as the final number in Michael Jackson's This Is It.

Track listing

1. "Man in the Mirror" (single version) – 5:00
2. "Man in the Mirror" (album version) – 5:19
3. "Man In The Mirror" (instrumental) – 5:00

1. Man in the Mirror (single version) - 5:00
2. Man in the Mirror (instrumental) - 5:00

1. Man in the Mirror (music video) - 5:00

Running time: 5 minutes 30 seconds

Sampling/remixes

Cover performances

1980s

2010s

Personnel