Earth Song

Michael Jackson's "Earth Song" arrived in late 1995 as a dramatic departure from the dance-pop that had defined much of his career. Written entirely by Jackson and co-produced with David Foster and Bill Bottrell, the track opens with a hushed spoken-word plea before swelling into a gospel-tinged orchestral crescendo. Jackson's vocal range is on full display, shifting from fragile whispers to raw, full-throated cries. It was the third single from his ninth studio album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I, released on November 8, 1995, through Epic Records.

The song became a massive hit across Europe, topping the UK Singles Chart as the 1995 Christmas number one and reaching number one in Germany, Iceland, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. In the United States, it wasn't released as a commercial single, so it never charted on the Billboard Hot 100, but it did hit number 32 on Billboard's Hot Dance/Disco chart in 1996. The music video, directed by Nick Brandt and filmed across four continents, juxtaposes scenes of deforestation, war, and animal cruelty with images of natural beauty, ending with a sequence of healing and renewal. It has amassed over 1.6 billion views on YouTube.

Critics praised the song's ambition and emotional power, though some found its message heavy-handed. It earned a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Performance – Male in 1997 and was recognized by animal rights and environmental groups. A dance remix appeared on Jackson's 1997 album Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix, and in 2011, the track was paired with Jackson's poem "Planet Earth" for the Immortal remix album. The song has been covered by artists including Pentatonix, the cast of Glee, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.[modifier]