Should Blood on the Dance Floor have not come out

[Spaceship]

It's the best selling remix album ever but it flopped in the US, which apparently made Sony no longer consider MJ a priority.

The single "Blood on the Dance Floor" was a smash in almost every country, but that could have just been a non-album single.

 

[Mister_Jay_Tee]

It didn't need remixes. An EP would have been cool.

 

[Hurley509]

Blood on the Dancefloor is a strange case. A hybrid mix of EP and remix collection. It was released simply to accompany the HIStory roll out and yet was used a barometer of his waning popularity in the eyes of Sony music. Personally I think the album was released as a test - do the words "Michael Jackson" still sell on their own merit? The answer, in the US at least, was no. Michaels sales in the US had been declining throughout the entire 90s and much of his fanfare was international. The videos of flocking, screaming fans were often collated overseas. Michael was more inclined to hide himself in the US. The media had really done their best to unperson him. And while HIStory had a couple of hit singles, it only managed to ship 4 million copies in the US, which is far less than Dangerous and BAD before them. Regardless of the underpromotion of the album in the US, Sony would have had expectations for the albums sales and those weren't met. It may be the biggest selling remix album of all time but it is not as though the world has had many great remix albums, and certainly none that spring to mind from anyone as substantial as Michael Jackson.

Should the album have been released? Hindsight is always 20/20 but I wonder where he may have sat on the priority list had he not done so. A promotional single may have worked. Maybe a re-release of the entire HIStory album with 5 bonus tracks. But something about Blood of the Dancefloor smelt more like Blood In The Water for Sony execs. And while they did still give him 30 million to make his next album with, it seems they took away a lot of the direction and artistic reigns from him and were only going to allow him to project an image and produce a product that they wanted. Promotion in the US including an in-store signing which is frankly bizarre for someone like Michael Jackson. But if we could do it all over again, I'd greenlight promotional singles and perhaps an EP but the confusion of a remix album and everything that came with it led to what Sony deemed a 'flop' and lost Michael the right of artistic control.

 

[mj_frenzy]

The 'Blood On The Dance Floor' song should not have been released so late, because when it came out it sounded very outdated, given that in 1997 the new jack swing genre had already become an obsolete genre.

Also, it was not a good idea at all to take songs with serious, important themes (like, 'Earth Song') or with deeply personal, sad themes (like 'Stranger In Moscow') and remix them in order to become uptempo and danceable.

 

[Agonum]

It's the best selling remix album ever but it flopped in the US, which apparently made Sony no longer consider MJ a priority.

The single "Blood on the Dance Floor" was a smash in almost every country, but that could have just been a non-album single.

“Michael no longer a priority” – what’s apparent about that? Cite a source for that statement, please. (Of course, there is none.)

I don’t quite understand your question. The five previously unreleased tracks are mighty fine songs. I know I was very happy to buy the album back when it was released. The title track is one of my all time favourites.

I could do without the remixes, though. I always just play the originals anyway. However, it made sense to release a remix album at the time. Janet had have one that was fairly successful, for example.

All in all, it was a very special gift to all the fans in the midst of the HIStory tour hysteria.

 

[SmoothGangsta]

MJ just wasn't as popular in the US after 93. It makes sense that marketing efforts would be placed elsewhere.

 

[filmandmusic]

It was redundant imo
Great songs though, too good to put on a meaningless remix album. But poor single choices. I remember being very disappointed when realizing it had only 5 new tracks

 

[SilkySnare]

Any new song should come out, let alone five of them.
It's a cool little album that goes by waaaay to fast. If at least 4 more songs were added, it would have been incredible.
As it is, I love listening to it. It's borderline experimental and I love it.

 

[DarylJoel_B]

Also, it was not a good idea at all to take songs with serious, important themes (like, 'Earth Song') or with deeply personal, sad themes (like 'Stranger In Moscow') and remix them in order to become uptempo and danceable.

YES. and the You Are Not Alone remix too! these three remixes are the absolute worst. who wants to DANCE to Stranger in Moscow?? god that remix... just a complete insult to the poignancy of the original. there was no point in making it. period.

 

[filmandmusic]

Xscape as a remix album was a lot better, BOTDFs remixes were bland

 

[8701girl]

I liked the main songs from ''blood on the dancefloor'' just not the remixes'' cuz the remixes killed the vibe

 

[SmoothCriminal1995]

I love Blood On The Dance Floor, the remixes didn't fit the vibe, but those 5 new songs and the short film was perfect. It showed how Mike grew as a songwriter/artist and the short film showed how he grew as a performer.

He was nearly 40 and the video fit his age and showed he'd grown and was maturing cool and gracefully, which suited his artistry at that point.

 

[Mister_Jay_Tee]

Yeah, the song BOTDF may not have sounded like 97 but it doesn't sound like 91 either. It's a wholly unique sound and vibe, very rustic and organic actually, in a way neither Dangerous or HIStory was. And his look to accompany it was tbh in his top 5 best. Funny how it's basically the same sorta theme of YRMW yet they do feel almost decades apart. That's what aging does though.

The remixes are also, fine. Scream Louder is genuinely catchier to me than the original, and 2 Bad with the Fugees working the beats is pretty inspired. This Time Around as a song has the most remixes and all of them go hard actually. And there are good Stranger in Moscow remixes, the one on HIStory in the mix isn't the best at all, but it still places the ad-libs at the end to start the song in a pretty dynamic way, and actually faithfully samples the originals melody but at a faster tempo. So really still, this is a great introduction to House Music, and MJs vocals just sound good over anything, what era and genre can't he sing?

 

[Spaceship]

All of the remixes are inferior to the original versions that MJ himself worked on.

"Superfly Sister" is a forgettable Dangerous outtake that was only included because there wasn't any time to finish "In the Back". None of the songs that were produced by Bryan Loren were good.
"Is It Scary" is a poor man's "Ghosts", even lazily reusing lyrics from it.
"Ghosts" is a poor man's "Thriller".
"Blood on the Dance Floor" is alright but it was outdated even by 1997 standards. New jack swing was basically dead at that point.

So, that just leaves "Morphine". Nice song, but that doesn't make up for the rest of the album.

 

[Mister_Jay_Tee]

I didn't like the album so it's bad. Shame on you.

 

[kreen]

It's the best selling remix album ever

Fans REALLY need to stop repeating that bit of Sony PR after all of these years. Remix albums are usually low-key releases by niche artists, so OF COURSE any remix album with the name Michael Jackson on it and a major push by a big label will by default become « the best-selling remix album of all time ».

The album was a huge commercial disappointment for Sony, which shipped millions of copies only for them to remain unsold in the racks.

For the record, I love the album, and unlike most fans, I dig the remixes themselves, except for a couple which are just « house » remixes of some of the slower ballads from HIStory.

The song BOTDF is a contender in my book for the best MJ song of all time: I count FIVE hooks in the song, which means that it has more hooks by itself than the entire Invincible album.

And the HIStory Tony Roman remix is also a better recording than the original version, as it cuts off the fat, hits harder and adds a new hook by taking that one bit where MJ says « History! » and turning it into a repeated one-word « chorus ».

 

[Mister_Jay_Tee]

Fans REALLY need to stop repeating that bit of Sony PR after all of these years.

I mean, make up your mind, is it Sony PR, or is it a Sony disappointment? Seems they're happy with it just the same. Plenty of records undersell, not many literally are shy of Thriller.

For the record, I love the album, and unlike most fans, I dig the remixes themselves, except for a couple which are just « house » remixes of some of the slower ballads from HIStory.

I used to dig all the remixes except for Money's. Which I never liked and still don't. And I don't even know why money was remixed. Guess it was supposed to be a single?

and adds a new hook by taking that one bit where MJ says « History! » and turning it into a repeated one-word « chorus ».

And that's a Great point too.

 

[zinniabooklover]

[..] The remixes are also, fine. Scream Louder is genuinely catchier to me than the original,

omigosh! This used to be 'my' version. In recent years I've become obsessed with the video and also wanting the 'stop fking with me' line. It's just fabulous. But Scream Louder was always The One. Just listened to it after a gap of ???? years. I need to get back into it.

and 2 Bad with the Fugees working the beats is pretty inspired.

This was the other one I always liked but forgot about. I'm not usually keen on remixes but that's laziness as much as anything else. House music is not my thing and so many mixes are just uninispired. But it becomes a vicious circle where I can't be bothered with remixes bc I've heard lots of duff ones.

And the HIStory Tony Roman remix is also a better recording than the original version, as it cuts off the fat, hits harder and adds a new hook by taking that one bit where MJ says « History! » and turning it into a repeated one-word « chorus ».

Don't think I ever made it this far on the album. I was losing the will to live in the face of so many remixes. I need to investigate.

 

[kreen]

I mean, make up your mind, is it Sony PR, or is it a Sony disappointment

It's PR spin to cover up the disappointing reality and try to get some more sales : "the newest MJ album is red-hot! It's the best-selling remix album of all time! So what are you waiting for, go get your copy!"

 

[DuranDuran]

Remix albums and remix singles were usually bought by dance music fans, not really the general public. Remix singles were born in the disco era in the 1970s. Anyway, remix albums were most popular in the 1980s to the early 1990s. As usual, Mike was at the end of the popularity like with disco (Off The Wall) & New Jack Swing (Dangerous). Not when they were really hot. You could say that Farewell My Summer Love is a remix album and it came out in 1984 over a decade before Blood On The Dance Floor. Janet had More Control & Madonna had You Can Dance in the 1980s too.

 

[issabreakofdawn]

Fans REALLY need to stop repeating that bit of Sony PR after all of these years. Remix albums are usually low-key releases by niche artists,

Madonna, The Beatles, Linkin Park, Jennifer Lopez, Paula Abdul, P. Diddy, Justin Bieber and Bobby Brown are niche artists? I just named most of the Top 10 best selling remix albums by these artists. The fact that MJ beat all of these artists on a remix album is not anything to scoff at nor "PR talk" The Wiki link I have attached, has citations linked on the page.

so OF COURSE any remix album with the name Michael Jackson on it and a major push by a big label will by default become « the best-selling remix album of all time ».

Doesn't that actually prove the point, that MJ himself having the best selling remix album with his name slapped on it? I'd argue that BOTDF (along with HIStory tour running until late '97, over two years after HIStory album came out) helped extend and boost HIStory marketing and PR run.

I've been noticing a uptick of MJ fans downplaying MJ's success lately, I am BEGGING MJ fans to please research before downplaying MJ, We are MJ fans, not tabloids or Inside Edition. Thanks!

 

[kreen]

Madonna, The Beatles, Linkin Park, Jennifer Lopez, Paula Abdul, P. Diddy, Justin Bieber and Bobby Brown are niche artists? I just named most of the Top 10 best selling remix albums by these artists. The fact that MJ beat all of these artists on a remix album is not anything to scoff at nor "PR talk" The Wiki link I have attached, has citations linked on the page.

Judging by that list, MJ no longer holds the "record", as the Beatles' Love has outsold it by a large margin. Some of the albums in the list came out in the post-naptster era, where record sales had dropped off significantly, so you can't really compare with BOTDF. The fact is that record stores shipped back millions of copies of BOTDF to the label, as it significantly undersold compared to expectations. Whether we like it or not, it was a commercial disappointment for Sony. It's not how much it sold compared to other artists, it's how much it was supposed to sell considering it was MJ and Sony spent a lot of money promoting it.

 

[PurpleThriller]

Absolutely not,at least in my view (to answer OP's question).
Those 5 new tracks are among Mike's finest work,if you ask me.
I couldn't imagine Michael Jackson,as an artist.without ''Morphine'' or ''Is it scary'' being in his overall discography

 

[Hot_Street]

Is It Scary is my favourite.
I always felt this song opened a window deep into his soul, his insecurities.

 

[zinniabooklover]

Is It Scary is my favourite.

It's a masterpiece, imo.

I always felt this song opened a window deep into his soul, his insecurities.

And so much more. The layers of meaning in this song seem to me to be endless. At any rate, I haven't come anywhere near the end of it yet. And that's just the song as I understand it and apply it to Michael and his life. That's not even counting what the song means to me personally and how I interpret it for myself.

 

[Prince Of Pop]

It didn't need remixes. An EP would have been cool.

That's what Michael wanted to do. Sony are the ones who wanted the remixes. IMO it's their fault the album flopped, not Michael's. The remixes, minus Scream Louder are all garbage and made no sense. Why the hell would you remix songs like You Are Not Alone and Stranger In Moscow into dance club songs? They weren't meant for that.

Secondly, it's Michael Fing Jackson. He doesn't need to have his music remixed. You can play 2 handfuls of his music in clubs the way they were originally recorded, and people would be on their feet dancing.

 

[PurpleThriller]

Is It Scary is my favourite.
I always felt this song opened a window deep into his soul, his insecurities.

I feel the same way about the song,to be honest.

 

[Prince Of Pop]

Xscape as a remix album was a lot better, BOTDFs remixes were bland

Agreed..but even some of those tracks were not good. They got it right with both version's of Love Never Felt So Good, Loving You, and the beginning of Blue Gangsta up until the 1st chorus. Everything else takes away from the original version or the alternate versions that were suppose to be on the Michael album (Blue Gangsta, Slave To The Rhythm, or Do You Know Where Your Children Are), and just wasn't that good IMO......the newer version of APWNN is one I had to listen to multiple times to actually enjoy it. It's ok but not as good as Michael's original IMO.

The rock version of Chicago (She Was Loving Me) was excellent and should have been on there instead of the contemporized version as I feel it capture's the essence of Michael's vocals and the way he sings them.

 

[Prince Of Pop]

Blood on the Dancefloor is a strange case. A hybrid mix of EP and remix collection. It was released simply to accompany the HIStory roll out and yet was used a barometer of his waning popularity in the eyes of Sony music. Personally I think the album was released as a test - do the words "Michael Jackson" still sell on their own merit? The answer, in the US at least, was no. Michaels sales in the US had been declining throughout the entire 90s and much of his fanfare was international. The videos of flocking, screaming fans were often collated overseas. Michael was more inclined to hide himself in the US. The media had really done their best to unperson him. And while HIStory had a couple of hit singles, it only managed to ship 4 million copies in the US, which is far less than Dangerous and BAD before them.

Making HIStory a double album with past hits and new songs was a bad idea.....another fault on Sony IMO. They should have released the greatest hits on their own separate cd (like they eventually did in 2001). I would have released a GH package in 93 or 94 (yes even during the 1st set of allegations..which they did with Number Ones when the 2nd set of allegations came out literally at the same time.), and released the new tracks from HIStory on their own in 95 or 96. I think doing something that way would have made HIStory sell much better.

 

[DuranDuran]

Secondly, it's Michael Fing Jackson. He doesn't need to have his music remixed. You can play 2 handfuls of his music in clubs the way they were originally recorded, and people would be on their feet dancing.

Mike has been releasing remix singles since at least The Jacksons' Destiny album. The 2nd version of Dancing Machine by The Jackson 5 is a remix. The 1st was on Get It Together, the 2nd was on the Dancing Machine album. Besides, not all clubs play the same kinds of music. It's less likely that a techno or house music club are gonna play New Jack Swing tracks or a ballad. So there's house & techno/rave remixes for that. Mariah Carey has usually recorded new vocals for house music remixes.

If The Beatles, Nat King Cole, Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Prince, Janet Jackson, Rod Stewart, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Whitney Houston, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Aretha Franklin, etc. either have remix singles or remix albums, what makes Michael Jackson exempt? There's a video of Mike listening to Ignition by R. Kelly, that was a remix and not the original version.