"Behind the Mask" is a song written and originally recorded by Japanese electronic band Yellow Magic Orchestra. In 1982, a cover version was recorded by American singer Michael Jackson for his album Thriller, but managerial disputes prevented its release. On February 21, 2011, the song was released by Epic Records as the third single from the posthumous album Michael. Shanice provides background vocals on the song.

Quincy Jones heard Yellow Magic Orchestra's version during the Thriller sessions, and brought it to Michael Jackson, who had recorded the song, added an extra melody line and a few extra lyrics to Chris Mosdell's original. Mosdell has said of the collaboration, "when Michael Jackson took it, he made it into a love song about a woman. It was a completely different premise to me, I was talking about a very impersonal, socially controlled society, a future technological era, and the mask represented that immobile, unemotional state. But hey, I let him have that one." An agreement to share the royalties equally between Sakamoto, Mosdell and Jackson broke down when the management of Yellow Magic Orchestra disagreed and it prevented the song from being released on Jackson's sixth studio album, Thriller. It remained unreleased for 28 years.

However, as a part of Sony Music's 10 album recording deal with the Estate of Michael Jackson, the song was announced to be released on the posthumous album of Jackson's, titled Michael. It was also as a radio single not only in France, but also the United States, Canada, and Japan.

The song received mainly positive reviews from music critics. Jody Rosen from Rolling Stone called the song "a fiercely funky cousin to "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' ." Dan Martin from NME thought the song was "an absolute revelation, a swirl of psychedelic, orchestra-twinged R&B", and said "Jackson howls a solid-gold melody at his fearsome best, and blippy production and robotic backing vocals dancing behind it." Jason Lipshutz with Gail Mitchell and Gary Graff from Billboard thought the song was "a must-listen songs on Michael", and it "holds the highest number of Jackson's signature 'hee-hee!' exclaims". Joe Pareles from New York Times said, the song was originally a 1979 hit by Ryuichi Sakamoto’s group Yellow Magic Orchestra with Jackson's lyrics about a coldhearted woman, but the final version which was completed by Mr. McClain was mixed with applause and squeals from concert crowds from Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour DVD. Leah Greenblatt from Entertainment Weekly thought the song seemed "oddly dated by sax flourishes — though perhaps that makes it a good companion to the lilting closer Much Too Soon, an actual relic of the early ’80s". The author of the forthcoming book, Man in the Music: The Creative Life and Work of Michael Jackson, Joe Vogel thought John McClain's update to the song was skillful, making it sound brand new and retro at the same time. And he thought the song is "definitely one of the highlights of the album".

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