Cry or Privacy?

[Paul MCC]

Which one is better?

 

[Lilloue03]

Cry is my favorite of the two imo

 

[Michaels Lover]

Privacy

 

[MsAshley]

cry is really boring

 

[Paul MCC]

I wonder if people dislike Cry so much because R. Kelly wrote it, or if the track actually sucks? I try to stay unbiased about these things. I really love You Are Not Alone, and I can't just erase the magic of Michael's performances or his contribution to the song just because it was written by a monster.

Honestly, it's a good thing R. Kelly only wrote three songs for him. Otherwise, we’d have to hate a huge chunk of Michael’s discography

 

[etoile 37]

Privacy. I have nothing against Cry, I just really like Privacy.

 

[Fuzball]

or if the track actually sucks?

This! The song's bland.

WMCIG or IHTD on the album would have been a better choice.

 

[Blues_Away2023]

I honestly think Privacy is terrible and Cry is a very weak poor man’s attempt at MITM or HTW.

Both shit

 

[apple🍎]

I wonder if people dislike Cry so much because R. Kelly wrote it, or if the track actually sucks? I try to stay unbiased about these things. I really love You Are Not Alone, and I can't just erase the magic of Michael's performances or his contribution to the song just because it was written by a monster.

Honestly, it's a good thing R. Kelly only wrote three songs for him. Otherwise, we’d have to hate a huge chunk of Michael’s discography

Cry is extremely bland and generic. The title is "Cry" but the song doesn't evoke any "cry" emotion, either through melody or lyrics.

You Are Not Alone does so through both. Even though it's a very simple song


Heal the World and We Are the World are very simple, kinda childlike at times, but they're both very catchy, sweet songs and they convey their core message through melody really efficiently

And Cry is very long winded too. I don't know what that song is about. I think it's about empathy or something.

That all being said, I think I'd rather listen to Privacy. Privacy is just really not memorable at all, it pales in comparison to Leave Me Alone and Tabloid Junkie. Even outside of MJ's catalog, Piece of Me and Rumors are much more interesting

 

[Paul MCC]

Cry is extremely bland and generic. The title is "Cry" but the song doesn't evoke any "cry" emotion, either through melody or lyrics.

You Are Not Alone does so through both. Even though it's a very simple song


Heal the World and We Are the World are very simple, kinda childlike at times, but they're both very catchy, sweet songs and they convey their core message through melody really efficiently

And Cry is very long winded too. I don't know what that song is about. I think it's about empathy or something.

That all being said, I think I'd rather listen to Privacy. Privacy is just really not memorable at all, it pales in comparison to Leave Me Alone and Tabloid Junkie. Even outside of MJ's catalog, Piece of Me and Rumors are much more interesting

My main beef with Privacy is that rock sound! Dammit, it’s a rock song, but why does the guitar solo sound so weak? I really wish Slash had actually worked on this track.

To be honest, it didn't even have to be Slash - any decent guitarist who knows how to command attention with their skills would’ve done! Why couldn’t they have brought in Lenny Kravitz? Honestly, why not?
With all due respect to Michael Thompson, I think inviting him to record the solo was a mistake. I don't know, maybe he’s a legend to some people, but man... Compare the solo in Privacy to the one in Beat It - do they have anything in common? I don’t think so. When you bring a guest guitarist onto a track, he has to hook you with a unique riff!

Black or White, Beat It, Dirty Diana - we love those songs not just for Michael’s incredible vocals, but for those catchy guitar melodies. In Privacy, the guitar sound is underwhelming; I’d even say they totally blew it. I wanted more from this song! It could have been so much more

 

[apple🍎]

My main beef with Privacy is that rock sound! Dammit, it’s a rock song, but why does the guitar solo sound so weak? I really wish Slash had actually worked on this track.

To be honest, it didn't even have to be Slash - any decent guitarist who knows how to command attention with their skills would’ve done! Why couldn’t they have brought in Lenny Kravitz? Honestly, why not?
With all due respect to Michael Thompson, I think inviting him to record the solo was a mistake. I don't know, maybe he’s a legend to some people, but man... Compare the solo in Privacy to the one in Beat It - do they have anything in common? I don’t think so. When you bring a guest guitarist onto a track, he has to hook you with a unique riff!

Black or White, Beat It, Dirty Diana - we love those songs not just for Michael’s incredible vocals, but for those catchy guitar melodies. In Privacy, the guitar sound is underwhelming; I’d even say they totally blew it. I wanted more from this song! It could have been so much more

Yup, there's nothing in Privacy that stands out. Even the guitar riff! I guess that's the meaning of the word bland and generic, but at least it feels more solid a concept and a song. There's a clear concept in the first place. It's a rock song that leans too much into pop, but it's not great at either

 

[michaeljackson.nl]

shit or more shit

 

[Hot_Street]

Both are mediocre copies of his hits.

 

[love1sfatal]

Cry is weak lyrically and vocally but overall just a very very okay attempt at making another MITM

Privacy is better lyrically than Cry but also feels like the weakest of all his other fame-themed songs + his vocals are...really weird. dont know how else to describe them. the production is just a bit too much at times and if anything the camera sounds get annoying after a while

i know Cry has always been treated like shit within the fandom but i'll choose that song in this case

 

[Paul MCC]

Unpopular opinion, but I actually like the camera shutter sound in Privacy. At first, yeah, it really stands out. But by the end of the song, I personally don't even notice it anymore.

It's a similar story with Heartbreaker. I think it's no secret that Michael borrowed that sound from Ginuwine's Pony. When I first heard Heartbreaker, I was like, "What the heck? Why did he put this awful sound in the song?" But over the years, you stop obsessing over it and just accept it as part of the song.

 

[ChanceToDance]

Trash vs Garbage: Dawn Of The Mediocrity

 

[SmoothGangsta]

I think they're both just ok but I personally like Privacy more.

 

[Paul MCC]

Trash vs Garbage: Dawn Of The Mediocrity

Tell me, do you cry?

 

[Hot_Street]

Instead of Cry, he could have released WMCIG Solo, and instead of Privacy, Xscape would have been better.

 

[AlwaysThere]

Overtime I’ve found “Cry” to be a decent song. It’s one of those tracks that would be a career highlight for any other artist, but from the guy who gave us “Earth Song” and “Man in the Mirror,” it just feels hollow and half-baked.

“Privacy” is probably my least favorite Jerkins track, but it still absolutely rips from a production standpoint.