Music

Retro Review: Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson

9 October 2015

By Lauren E. White

Choosing just one of the late and great Michael Jackson’s songs was an extremely difficult task. It was either Heal the World, You Are Not Alone or Man in the Mirror.

Released in 1998, from the album ‘Bad’, Man in the Mirror is Jackson’s most-downloaded song and arguably his best. The lyrics are deep and really hit home in certain places (‘I see the kids on the street with not enough to eat’) which is rather unusual for a song, especially one that is quite mainstream. Moreover, they are inspiring. During the darkest days, playing MJ’s classic can really pick you up as it makes you want to stand up and be heard; it makes you want to do something.

Man in the Mirror was nominated for Record of the Year at the Grammy Awards and topped the Billboard Top 100 for two weeks. Is it any surprise? Definitely not. While the lyrics are powerful and emotive, the whole feel of the song is not what you’d expect from a song discussing poverty and tragedy – Jackson’s team was clever and created a song that is so easy to sing along to, while conveying a serious message.

Uplifting, yet grounding and forgiving, Michael Jackson’s Man in the Mirror is a song that will live on for at least another seventeen years. Personally, it is one of my favourite songs from MJ and, possibly, of all time. It’s timeless and fresh with a hint of gospel – a song that I will always look to for inspiration in the crazy world in which we live.

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