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In the Closet

"In the Closet"
Michael Jackson - In the Closet.png
Original album artwork by Mark Ryden
Single by Michael Jackson
from the album Dangerous
Released April 9, 1992
Format
Recorded March—May 1991
Genre New jack swing
Length
  • 6:31 (Album Version)
  • 4:49 (Single Version)
Label Epic
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
  • Michael Jackson
  • Teddy Riley
Michael Jackson singles chronology
"Remember the Time"
(1992)
"In the Closet"
(1992)
"Someone Put Your Hand Out"
(1992)
Music video
"In the Closet" on YouTube

"In the Closet" is a song by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It is the third single from his eighth album, Dangerous. The song became the album's third consecutive top ten pop single, reaching number six on the Billboard Hot 100. It also became its second number one R&B single.

The song, written and composed by Michael Jackson and Teddy Riley, is about keeping a relationship secret between lovers. "In the closet" is an English idiom used when one is not open about an aspect of their life, particularly in regard to sexual orientation. Despite the song's suggestive name its lyrics do not allude to hidden sexual orientation but rather a concealed relationship; "Don't hide our love / Woman to man." The New York Times stated, "Only Jackson would use that title for a heterosexual love song..." The song's female vocal was originally labeled "Mystery Girl" but was later revealed to be Princess Stéphanie of Monaco.

The song, with its heavy industrial-sounding percussion and uptempo arrangement, is typical of producer Teddy Riley's style. The unique, Eastern-influenced backing vocals, reaching crescendo at middle eight imbue the song with an erotic edge usually missing from Jackson's music. With mostly whispered and subdued vocals, embellished with gasps, moans, and shudders, along with lyrics that include "...And if it's aching, you have to rub it," it is generally considered one of Jackson's most provocative songs.

The song was not performed during Jackson's Dangerous World Tour (however, during his concert in Toulouse, the band played a short instrumental before "Man in the Mirror"), but a short version, with the intro of "She Drives Me Wild," was the third song of a medley including "Scream" and "They Don't Care About Us" during the HIStory World Tour. Princess Stéphanie's spoken lines were replaced with Jackson's live speech for the sequence.


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