Generally speaking, a lead single is not considered (always) the best track on an album. Many times it has to do with the record company rather than the singer himself, & as a result of that, a lot of other parameters/circumstances must be taken into account right before its release.
Regarding MJ, I think he really had the final word also on that matter, so I believe the selection of the lead singles was not exclusively a matter of the marketing/promoting policy. Also, I am not going to explain the selection of his lead singles at great length (for obvious reasons), but I will only try to comment on these songs in a nutshell:
‘Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough’:
MJ introduced himself as a solo artist in the most emphatic manner. I think the falsetto is exactly what made this song sound iconic while its relentless percussion (once hearing it) seems to stick into your head forever. Also, I wish MJ had incorporated its intro into his shows (as he did in 1995 during his ‘Video Music Awards’ performance).
Needless to say, I have no option but to agree with that decision.
‘The Girl Is Mine’:
I think that ‘The Girl Is Mine’ was among his weakest songs he has ever recorded & this collaboration for me never made sense. Also, when it comes to duets/featured artists, I think, for the most part, MJ deserved much better collaborators.
Regarding this album, the selection of the singles (& especially the timing of their releases) was done in a rather unorthodox way, so the choice of ‘The Girl Is Mine’ (as the lead single) probably should not surprise me.
‘I Just Can't Stop Loving You’:
There is no doubt this song was not the best track on the ‘Bad’ album. In fact, it is not even on the same level with the other, far superior ballad of that album (‘Liberian Girl’. The meaningless, spoken intro sounded totally out of place & hopefully they realised that rather early & removed it.
It seems that MJ had a weakness for this specific ballad, so I suppose the decision to be released as the first single made a lot of sense.
‘Black Or White’:
Surprisingly, this time a global themed song (accompanied with a global oriented music video) was chosen to be released as the first single.
This lead single was (thematically) very different from the previous, three singles &, in my opinion they did the right thing in regard to that matter. In many respects, ‘Dangerous’ was a totally different project &, as such, it had to be treated/promoted not in the ordinary way.
‘Scream’:
I have always regarded this album as a musical therapy for MJ rather than a way to dominate the charts (or surpass his previous albums in terms of sales).
In this spirit, I think the selection of ‘Scream’ was the best possible choice. Not only is this song (musically) very strong, but also its release (as a lead single) had a symbolic role. In other words, the fact that Janet contributed (vocally) to this song & conveyed its serious (personal) message along with her brother emphasized the amount of support that MJ received from his family during that period.
‘You Rock My World’:
This song was not the best track on that album, but at the same time I firmly believe that it was the safest choice as a lead single. It was a radio-friendly song (lyrically & musically), it has a decent basic, rhythmic groove, but undoubtedly failed to live up to the anticipation & change the course of the music (as his previous songs did effectively in the past).
Finally, I have to admit that it really annoyed me that the first word he uttered (on his most anticipated lead single) had to do with the name of a producer (‘Darkchild’. I can understand that it was regarded (back then) as a way of a ‘sonic signature’ that was widely being used by Rodney Jerkins on the songs he produced, but from that point onwards MJ seemed to follow the trend (instead of being the trendsetter).
Regarding MJ, I think he really had the final word also on that matter, so I believe the selection of the lead singles was not exclusively a matter of the marketing/promoting policy. Also, I am not going to explain the selection of his lead singles at great length (for obvious reasons), but I will only try to comment on these songs in a nutshell:
‘Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough’:
MJ introduced himself as a solo artist in the most emphatic manner. I think the falsetto is exactly what made this song sound iconic while its relentless percussion (once hearing it) seems to stick into your head forever. Also, I wish MJ had incorporated its intro into his shows (as he did in 1995 during his ‘Video Music Awards’ performance).
Needless to say, I have no option but to agree with that decision.
‘The Girl Is Mine’:
I think that ‘The Girl Is Mine’ was among his weakest songs he has ever recorded & this collaboration for me never made sense. Also, when it comes to duets/featured artists, I think, for the most part, MJ deserved much better collaborators.
Regarding this album, the selection of the singles (& especially the timing of their releases) was done in a rather unorthodox way, so the choice of ‘The Girl Is Mine’ (as the lead single) probably should not surprise me.
‘I Just Can't Stop Loving You’:
There is no doubt this song was not the best track on the ‘Bad’ album. In fact, it is not even on the same level with the other, far superior ballad of that album (‘Liberian Girl’. The meaningless, spoken intro sounded totally out of place & hopefully they realised that rather early & removed it.
It seems that MJ had a weakness for this specific ballad, so I suppose the decision to be released as the first single made a lot of sense.
‘Black Or White’:
Surprisingly, this time a global themed song (accompanied with a global oriented music video) was chosen to be released as the first single.
This lead single was (thematically) very different from the previous, three singles &, in my opinion they did the right thing in regard to that matter. In many respects, ‘Dangerous’ was a totally different project &, as such, it had to be treated/promoted not in the ordinary way.
‘Scream’:
I have always regarded this album as a musical therapy for MJ rather than a way to dominate the charts (or surpass his previous albums in terms of sales).
In this spirit, I think the selection of ‘Scream’ was the best possible choice. Not only is this song (musically) very strong, but also its release (as a lead single) had a symbolic role. In other words, the fact that Janet contributed (vocally) to this song & conveyed its serious (personal) message along with her brother emphasized the amount of support that MJ received from his family during that period.
‘You Rock My World’:
This song was not the best track on that album, but at the same time I firmly believe that it was the safest choice as a lead single. It was a radio-friendly song (lyrically & musically), it has a decent basic, rhythmic groove, but undoubtedly failed to live up to the anticipation & change the course of the music (as his previous songs did effectively in the past).
Finally, I have to admit that it really annoyed me that the first word he uttered (on his most anticipated lead single) had to do with the name of a producer (‘Darkchild’. I can understand that it was regarded (back then) as a way of a ‘sonic signature’ that was widely being used by Rodney Jerkins on the songs he produced, but from that point onwards MJ seemed to follow the trend (instead of being the trendsetter).