Bad is an album of recorded music by pop music icon Michael Jackson, released in 1987. After the monumental success of Thriller, Jackson and co-producer/collaborator Quincy Jones produced a slicker funk/pop confection. Bad is currently certified at 8x Platinum by the RIAA in the United States, and worldwide has sold an estimated 32 million copies. In addition it achieved 5 #1 singles in the U.S., a world record which has never been broken.
Rolling Stone stated that "even without a milestone recording like "Billie Jean", Bad is still a better record than Thriller." The magazine further went on to say that the "filler" content in Bad - including songs such as "Speed Demon", "Dirty Diana" and "Liberian Girl" - is written by Jackson himself, making Bad "richer, sexier and better than Thriller's forgettables."
Jackson set another record with this album, becoming the first (and currently, only) artist to have five songs to hit #1 from one album. In July 2006, it was announced by the The Official UK Charts Company that Bad was the ninth biggest selling album in British history. It turned out to be the last collaborative effort by Jackson and Jones, as Jackson moved on to write and produce more of his own records. In September of 1987, Jackson embarked upon his first solo world tour to support this album - The Bad Tour, which seen Jackson during the next sixteen months perform 123 concerts to over 4.4 million fans worldwide. The tour was the most successful of the 1980s, with over $125 million grossed at the box office when it wrapped in January of 1989.
Jackson originally wanted the album to be a multiple-disc set with 30 tracks in all. However, Quincy Jones cut it down to 10 tracks and made it a single-disc LP. The CD release contained an extra track, "Leave Me Alone". In one of the interviews with Quincy Jones - which appeared on the special edition of Bad - Quincy said that he wanted "Bad" to be a duet between Michael Jackson and Prince. Quincy set up a meeting with Michael Jackson and Prince, but Prince finally said that Bad would be a hit without him.