You Rock My World

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"You Rock My World"
Single by Michael Jackson
from the album Invincible
Released	October 23, 2001
Format	CD single
Recorded	July - September 2000 at Record One Studios in Los Angeles
Genre	R&B, Funk, Pop
Length	5:38 (Album Version) 4:25 (Radio Edit)
Label	Epic Records
Writer(s)	Michael Jackson Rodney Jerkins Fred Jerkins III LaShawn Daniels Nora Payne
Producer	Michael Jackson Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins
Michael Jackson singles chronology
"Smile" (1997) "You Rock My World" (2001) "Cry" (2001)
Invincible track listing "Heaven Can Wait" (5) "You Rock My World" (6) "Butterflies" (7) Number Ones track listing "Earth Song" (14) "You Rock My World" (15) "Break of Dawn" (16) The Essential Michael Jackson disk two track listing "They Don't Care About Us" (16) "You Rock My World" (17) King of Pop track listing "You Can't Win" (85) "You Rock My World" (86) The Collection track listing "Heaven Can Wait" (65) "You Rock My World" (66) "Butterflies" (67) Audio sample file info · help

"You Rock My World" is a song by American pop singer Michael Jackson and lead single from his 2001 album Invincible. The song peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Jackson's last top ten hit in the United States. It is the fourth song Jackson has done which centers on him trying to win a girl's heart. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 44th Grammy Awards. The music video for the song is the last to feature any participation from Jackson; the follow-up single, "Butterflies", had no video, and he does not appear in the video for "Cry". Following nearly all appearances, video or performance, his hair has been short.

[edit] Song information

A comedic spoken intro was recorded by Chris Tucker and Jackson, which involves Tucker and Jackson discussing their attraction to a particular woman, and the two arguing about whether or not Jackson can "pick her up".

In the music video, a majority of Tucker's dialogue is composed of references to Jackson's past singles, e.g. when the two have reached the club in pursuit of Jackson's love interest, Tucker is suddenly nonsupporting of Jackson's goal and asks that they "beat it", stating he has a "bad" feeling, suggesting that the girl is "dangerous". While Tucker and Jackson are eating at the beginning of the video, Tucker notes that the girl is a "pretty young thing" and states that "the girl is mine", precipitating a competition between him and Jackson to see who will get the girl.

Jackson and Rodney Jerkins played all the instruments in the song, which was recorded at Record One Studios in Los Angeles from July to September, 2000. The single marked Jackson's 30th anniversary as a solo artist (his first solo single, "Got to Be There", had been released in October 1971).

[edit] Remixes

The song has also been remixed by Kanye West and Adil Omar. The official remix features Jay-Z and produced by Trackmasters.

[edit] Music video

The music video for "You Rock My World" was premiered in Europe, Asia, and South Africa on September 21, 2001. In wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the U.S., the premiere was delayed there until September 26.

Like many of Jackson's music videos, this one takes the form of a short film, based on a story written by Michael Jackson and Paul Hunter. It follows a story in which Michael Jackson and Chris Tucker spot an attractive woman (played by actress-choreographer Kishaya Dudley) and follow her into a nightclub. They find that the club is a hangout for a gang of thugs, one of whom (Michael Madsen) is already interested in the girl.

Michael dances through the club after the girl while singing, and draws the attention of the thugs. Chris's easygoing dance moves are edited together with Michael's routine, serving as comic relief. There is also a cameo appearance by sister Janet Jackson doing a few dance moves while Michael walks by. Finally Michael challenges the thugs to a fight by smashing liquor bottles against the wall. Madsen orders his thugs to get rid of Michael, but Michael's own friends line up behind him. One thug (Billy Drago) taunts Michael to "show me what you got." After a percussion interlude and a series of aggressive dance moves, Michael charges the thugs. He takes down one who attacks him with a knife, then spins around and lands a knockout punch in Billy's face.

As Billy falls, he knocks a lamp into a case of liquor, starting a fire. The guests evacuate, but Michael is still caught up in the fighting. After freeing himself, he confronts the club boss (Marlon Brando), who compliments him on his performance. Outside the club Michael and the girl are reunited and share a passionate kiss before escaping in Chris's car.

The video was made in Dolby Surround sound, and won an NAACP Image Award for Best Music Video in 2001. There are short-film and single-length versions of the video. Three of them were approved by Michael Jackson.^{[1] [2]} There is also a longer version of the video featuring more dialogue between Tucker and Jackson, along with various other changes available on the web. It is unclear whether this third version is an official product or a homemade edit using outtakes.

[edit] Charts

The song was Jackson's last worldwide hit, peaking at number one on the French Singles Chart and number two on the UK Singles Chart, the Canadian Singles Chart, the Dutch Singles Chart, the Danish Singles Chart, the Norwegian Singles Chart, and the Finnish Singles Chart. In both China and the United Kingdom, it was held from the top spot by Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You out of My Head". The song also peaked at number four on the Australian Singles Chart and the Irish Singles Chart, and at number ten in the U.S., becoming Jackson's highest charting single since his 1995 number-one single, "You Are Not Alone".

The day following Jackson's death on June 25, 2009, the "You Rock My World" video peaked at #15 on the U.S. iTunes Store.