Dangerous (Michael Jackson album)

Dangerous
Studio album by Michael Jackson
Released	November 26, 1991
Recorded	June 1989 – October 1991[1]
Studio	Record One, Los Angeles Westlake, Los Angeles Larrabee, Los Angeles Record Plant, Los Angeles Ocean Way, Hollywood Smoketree Ranch, Chatsworth Toad Hall, Pasadena
Genre	R&B pop new jack swing
Length	77:03
Label	Epic
Producer	Michael Jackson Bill Bottrell Bruce Swedien Teddy Riley
Michael Jackson chronology
The Original Soul of Michael Jackson (1987) Dangerous (1991) HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995)
Singles from Dangerous
"Black or White" Released: November 11, 1991 "Remember the Time" Released: January 14, 1992 "In the Closet" Released: April 9, 1992 "Jam" Released: July 13, 1992 "Who Is It" Released: July 13, 1992 "Heal the World" Released: November 23, 1992 "Give In to Me" Released: February 15, 1993 "Will You Be There" Released: June 28, 1993 "Gone Too Soon" Released: December 1, 1993

Dangerous is the eighth studio album by American singer Michael Jackson. It was released by Epic Records on November 26, 1991, more than four years after Jackson's previous album, Bad (1987). Co-produced by Jackson, Bill Bottrell, Teddy Riley, and Bruce Swedien, the album was Jackson's first since Forever, Michael (1975) without longtime collaborator Quincy Jones. Guest appearances include Heavy D, Princess Stéphanie of Monaco, Slash and Wreckx-n-Effect. The album incorporates R&B, pop and new jack swing, a growing genre at the time. Elements of industrial, funk, hip hop, electronic, gospel, classical and rock are also present. Jackson wrote or co-wrote 12 of the album's 14 songs, discussing topics like racism, poverty, romance, self-improvement, multiculturalism and the welfare of children and the world.

Dangerous is considered an artistic change for Jackson, with his music focusing on more socially conscious material, and including a broader range of sounds and styles. It features catchy pop hooks and choruses while also introducing underground sounds to a mainstream audience. The album's tone is noted by critics as gritty and urban, with sounds including synthetic basslines, scratching, and drum machine percussion, as well as unconventional sounds like honking vehicle horns, sliding chains, swinging gates, breaking glass, and clanking metal. Jackson also incorporates beatboxing, scat singing, and finger snapping throughout the album.

Dangerous debuted at number one on the US Billboard Top Pop Albums chart and in 13 other countries, selling 5 million copies worldwide in its first week,^[2] and went on to become the best-selling album worldwide of 1992. Initially polarizing critics, Dangerous has since been lauded as Jackson's final "classic" album. Nine singles premiered between November 1991 and December 1993, including one exclusively released outside North America ("Give In to Me"). The album produced four singles that reached the top ten of the US Billboard Hot 100: "Remember the Time", "In the Closet", "Will You Be There" and the number-one single "Black or White". The Dangerous World Tour grossed $100 million (equivalent to $211 million in 2023).

By 1994, Dangerous was one of the best-selling albums of all time having sold 25 million copies worldwide; today its sales stand at 32 million.^[3] It was certified 8× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2018. At the 1993 Grammy Awards, it received four Grammy Award nominations, winning Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. Jackson won two American Music Awards at the 1993 American Music Awards for the album, including Favorite Pop/Rock Album. Jackson also received special Billboard Music Awards for Best Worldwide Album and Best Worldwide Single for "Black or White" in recognition of the album's and single's respective record sales. Dangerous has been included in several publications' lists of the greatest albums of all time.