Will You Be There
"Will You Be There" | |
---|---|
Song | |
B-side | "Man in the Mirror" "Girlfriend" |
"Will You Be There" is a song by Michael Jackson which was released as a single in 1993. The single was taken from the 1991 album Dangerous and also appeared on the soundtrack to Free Willy.
Jackson was sued for this song by Italian artist Al Bano, who alleged that it plagiarized his song I cigni di Balaka. Italian judges stated that the two songs, both being very similar, are inspired by a traditional Indian song.
Song information
The song was one of the bigger hits from Dangerous, staying in the top 40 for over six weeks in the UK. The single achieved even greater success in the U.S., where it sold over 500,000 copies and stayed in the top 10 for six weeks, peaking at number 7 and later being certified Gold.[2] In Europe, the single reached number one in the MTV Eurochart, though it missed the top 10 in many of the other European charts, including Germany and France. The single has sold 1,312,000 copies worldwide.[3]
Video clip
The video clip was released...
Music video
The video was a mix of footage from Free Willy, the Dangerous World Tour and Jackson's performance of the song at MTV's 10th anniversary show in 1991. Audio is dubbed from the soundtrack.
Awards
"Will You Be There" won the MTV Movie Award for "Best Song in a Movie" in 1994. It was also included in the album All Time Greatest Movie Songs, released by Sony in 1999.
Other performances
Jennifer Hudson performed this song at the Memorial of Michael Jackson on July 7, 2009.
Track listing
- "Will You Be There" (Edit) – 5:22
- "Man in the Mirror" – 5:15
- "Girlfriend" – 3:04
- "Will You Be There" (Album version) – 7:40
Mixes
- Album version – 7:40
- Edit – 5:22
- Radio edit – 3:39
- Instrumental - 3:25[4]
Charts
Chart (1993) | Peak position |
---|---|
Austrian Singles Chart | 10 |
Canadian Singles Chart | 3 |
Dutch Singles Chart | 3 |
Eurochart Hot 100 Singles | 7 |
French Singles Chart | 29 |
German Singles Chart | 12 |
Irish Singles Chart | 3 |
Israeli Singles Chart | 4 |
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart | 2 |
Swiss Singles Chart | 11[5] |
UK Singles Chart | 8 |
US Billboard Hot 100 | 7 |
US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | 53 |
US Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 5 |
Chart (2009) | Peak position |
Australian Singles Chart | 42[6] |
Austrian Singles Chart | 21 |
Danish Singles Chart | 14 |
German Singles Chart | 26 |
New Zealand Singles Chart | 29[7] |
Swedish Singles Chart | 22 |
Swiss Singles Chart | 3[5] |
UK Singles Chart | 51[8] |
U.S. Billboard Hot Digital Songs | 10[9] |
Credits
- Written and composed by Michael Jackson.
- Produced by Michael Jackson.
- Co-produced by Bruce Swedien.
- Recorded and mixed by Bruce Swedien and Matt Forger.
- Solo and background vocals: Michael Jackson.
- Rhythm arrangement by Michael Jackson and Greg Phillinganes.
- Orchestra arranged and conducted by Johnny Mandel.
- Vocal arrangement by Michael Jackson.
- Choir arrangement by Andrae and Sandra Crouch, featuring the Andrae Crouch Singers.
- Keyboards: Greg Phillinganes and Brad Buxer.
- Synthesizers: Michael Boddicker.
- Synthesizers and synthesizer programming: Rhett Lawrence.
- Drums and percussion: Brad Buxer and Bruce Swedien.
- Percussion: Paulinho Da Costa.
- Prelude: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Opus 125: Presto (Beethoven)
- Performed by the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus.
- Directed by Robert Shaw.
- Performed by the Cleveland Orchestra.
- Conducted by George Szell.
- Performed by the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus.
References
- ^ "Dangerous". Sputnik. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
- ^ "HIStory: 1990's". Official Michael Jackson site. Retrieved 2007-01-06.
- ^ "Chart Action Wanted". MJJ Charts. Retrieved 2007-01-06.
- ^ THE JACKSONFAMILY-DATABASE - Michael Jackson
- ^ a b "Swiss Singles Chart Archives". hitparade.ch. Retrieved July 18, 2009.
- ^ "Australian Singles Chart". Australian Record Industry Association. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
- ^ "New Zealand Singles Chart". RIANZ. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
- ^ "UK Singles Chart". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 6 July 2009.
- ^ U.S. Billboard Hot Digital Songs
External links
- "Will You Be There" - An Ode to Song - exploratory theories behind the "true" meaning of the song.
- Lyrics at AllMichaelJackson.com
- Official YouTube video