This article is about Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix. You may have been looking for Blood on the Dance Floor.
Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix (often shortened to Blood on the Dance Floor; commonly abbreviated as BOTDF) is the first remix album by Michael Jackson, released through Epic Records on May 20, 1997. The record consists of remixes of tracks featured on his ninth studio album, HIStory: Past, Present, and Future, Book I, along with five new previously unreleased songs.
Despite it being a remix album, unlike other releases of this type under Jackson's name, this is considered one of his most important albums, having become the best-selling remix album in history, selling over six million copies. The lyrical content delved into some of the heaviest topics Michael penned about, being regarded as featuring some of the singer's most underrated and personal tracks.
Background[]
Between March 1996 and January 1997, Michael focused on finishing the five original songs, "Blood on the Dance Floor", "Morphine", "Superfly Sister", "Ghosts" and "Is It Scary". Most of these have stayed in the vault for years, originating from the Dangerous and HIStory albums. Sony was behind in choosing the remixes, eventually going for already-released ones, featured on physical copies of the artist's singles.
Artwork[]
The album cover features Jackson in a red suit, dancing through a checkerboard. Behind the singer, a city resembling lower Manhattan, New York emerges through the clouds. The artwork is a painting created by Will Wilson, inspired by one of Jackson's poses during "They Don't Care About Us" at the HIStory World Tour.[1]
Track list[]
| Standard edition | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Blood on the Dance Floor" | 4:13 |
| 2. | "Morphine" | 6:28 |
| 3. | "Superfly Sister" | 6:27 |
| 4. | "Ghosts" | 5:12 |
| 5. | "Is It Scary" | 5:35 |
| 6. | "Scream Louder (Flyte Tyme Remix)" | 5:26 |
| 7. | "Money (Fire Island Radio Edit)" | 4:22 |
| 8. | "2 Bad (Refugee Camp Remix)" | 3:32 |
| 9. | "Stranger in Moscow (Tee's In-House Club Mix)" | 6:53 |
| 10. | "This Time Around (D.M. Radio Mix)" | 4:04 |
| 11. | "Earth Song (Hani's Club Experience)" | 7:55 |
| 12. | "You Are Not Alone (Classic Club Mix)" | 7:36 |
| 13. | "HIStory (Tony Moran's HIStory Lesson)" | 8:00 |
| Total length: | 1:16:49 | |
Singles[]
March 21, 1997
Promotional singles[]
September 7, 1997
Cut songs[]
Trivia[]
- In early press releases, "In the Back" was in the place of "Superfly Sister".[2]
- Along with the former, "Seven Digits" was briefly considered for the album. However, as it was very incomplete and needed more work compared to "Superfly Sister," it was left on the cutting room floor.
- The title track is the only one from the album to have been performed at the HIStory World Tour.
- It's often rumored, that Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix was initially going to be an EP, consisting of only the five original songs Jackson worked on. The speculations would also insist, that the remixes were added against Michael's will by Sony, as he was known for having hated the idea of tinkering with his creations.
- It used to be widely speculated that the album's artwork showed Jackson predicting the September 11 attacks, due to the Twin Towers being featured and Michael's arms resembling a clock, pointing at the hours; 9 and 11.[3] However, these were only rumors and gossip, likely due to the popularity of online conspiracy theories at the time (early 2010s).
References[]
- ↑ https://www.artofdesignonline.com/blood-on-the-dance-floor
- ↑ http://www.mjtunes.com/modules/mydownloads/singlefile.php?lid=128#:~:text=It%20was%20scheduled%20to%20feature%20on%20Michael%27s%201997%20album%2C%20Blood%20On%20The%20Dance%20Floor%2C%20until%20Superfly%20Sister%20replaced%20it%20-%20early%20press%20releases%20listed%20it%20as%20one%20of%20the%20tracks%20on%20the%20album.
- ↑ https://www.mjvibe.com/the-truth-behind-blood-on-the-dance-floor-album-cover/