Blogocentric Formulations

Smooth Criminal

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Song: "Smooth Criminal"
Original: Michael Jackson
Cover: Alien Ant Farm


It wouldn't be a WDC Soundtrackers activity if I didn't include a little MJ... and it's not every day that someone covering such a musical icon comes up with a version that even holds a candle to the original. But Alien Ant Farm came about as close as anyone could by recording a cover that is distinctly their own but still faithful to the original. And if you check out the video below, you can see their respect for Michael Jackson's accomplishments thanks to the incredible number of homages and references to Michael Jackson and his work in their own music video.

"Smooth Criminal" is one of my favorite Michael Jackson songs. The seventh single from his 1987 album Bad, this was supposed to be the original title of the album, but producer Quincy Jones didn't like it and they opted for Bad instead. This song pioneered a lot of things, including Michael Jackson's now famous "anti-gravity lean" which involves some very complicated rigging to pull off. There have been a couple other good covers of this song, including Naya Rivera and Grant Gustin singing it on Glee, and the 2Cellos guys recording the track being played entirely with, well, two cellos, which became an internet sensation in 2011.