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 a remix album by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson, released through Epic Records on May 20, 1997. It consists of eight remixes of tracks featured on his ninth studio album, HIStory: Past, Present, and Future, Book I, along with five new previously unreleased songs.
Despite 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, with sales exceeding six million copies. The lyrical content delved into some of the heaviest topics Jackson penned about, being regarded as featuring some of his most underrated and personal tracks.
Background[]
While the sales of HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I and the HIStory World Tour were doing well, the project came about as Jackson still wanted to boost the ticket sales. Between 1996-1997, he focused on touch-ups for some older outtakes from his past two albums in Los Angeles and Montreux, Switzerland.
After finishing any required work in California, Jackson traveled to France, which led to some difficulties with communication between him and the personnel on completing mixes. His wife, Debbie Rowe, also gave birth to Jackson's eldest child, Prince, adding to the struggles with finishing tracks. According to engineer Matt Forger, in the mixing phase, he had to fly to Paris to play tracks for Jackson, who then got on the phone with engineers in Los Angeles to give them his thoughts. Another time, Forger was meant to visit Jackson in France, it was during the mastering phase, which he oversaw, thus Brad Sundberg was sent instead, which led to technical difficulties with Forger's equipment, but the album was delivered to Sony Music in time for release.[1]
Jackson only intended for the new, original songs to be released, but Sony didn't see it succeeding if it wasn't a complete album; thus, they ordered multiple remixers to send their tracks for the record. Forger was put in charge of fleshing them out, but Jackson himself expressed frustration due to his negative stance on remixes in general. Although not stated to be a fact, Forger said it is possible there was a contractual obligation for them to be included.[1]
Artwork[]
Jackson during "They Don't Care About Us" (HIStory World Tour)
The album cover was created by artist Will Wilson and features Jackson in a red suit, dancing through a checkerboard. Behind him, a city resembling lower Manhattan, New York, emerges through the clouds. The artwork is inspired by one of Jackson's poses during "They Don't Care About Us" at the HIStory World Tour, as well as the "Blood on the Dance Floor" music video.[2][3]
With the rising popularity of online conspiracy theories in the 2000s, it used to be widely speculated that the album's artwork was predicting the September 11 attacks, due to the supposed feature of the Twin Towers, and Jackson's arms resembling a clock, pointing at the hours 9 and 11.[3] However, Wilson himself debunked this theory, stating, "There is no hidden meaning in the painting".[4]
Promotion[]
Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix was minimally promoted for Jackson's standards, though the album still garnered some more sucess from said promotion for it.
Film[]
Poster for Michael Jackson's Ghosts short film
The biggest promotion for Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix was the short film, Michael Jackson's Ghosts, unveiled at the Cannes Film Festival. It was released theatrically in the United States in October 1996, and released in the United Kingdom in May 1997. It was also released on cassette in most parts of the world.[5] The film was written by Jackson and Stephen King and directed by Stan Winston. The story was loosely based on the events and isolation Jackson felt following the 1993 child sexual abuse accusations.
Singles[]
March 21, 1997
Promotional singles[]
September 7, 1997
Spotify[]
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 | |
Cut songs[]
Trivia[]
- In early press releases of Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix, "In the Back" was in the place of "Superfly Sister".[6]
- Along with "In the Back", "Seven Digits" was briefly considered for Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix. However, as it was very incomplete and needed more work compared to "Superfly Sister," it was left on the cutting room floor.
- "Blood on the Dance Floor" is the only track from the album to have been performed at the HIStory World Tour.
- On October 20, 2000, Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 151: Matt Forger Special (Part 2) – The MJCast
- ↑ Art of Design - Blood on the Dance Floor
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The truth behind "Blood On The Dance Floor" Album cover. - MJVibe
- ↑ The truth behind "Blood On The Dance Floor" Album cover. - MJVibe
- ↑ The Many Faces of Michael Jackson
- ↑ Michael Jackson - In The Back / Michael Jackson Music database - MjTunes