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Bad

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  • Award Snub: Bad was infamously snubbed at the 30th Annual Grammy Awards in 1988. The Album of the Year snub was particularly shocking, losing to The Joshua Tree by U2 right after an acclaimed performance of "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "Man in the Mirror".
  • Narm Charm: Michael Jackson in leather clothes telling us he's "bad" and trying his hardest to look intimidating was seen as hilarious even at the time, but the song is catchy and the choregraphy is still impressive.
  • Older Than They Think: "Liberian Girl" was written for The Jacksons' album Victory (and interviews from before that album came out even mention it), but Michael decided to keep it for himself and put the Triumph outtake "Be Not Always" in its place.
  • Overshadowed by Controversy: A somewhat mild example around this time. Upon its debut, the music video for "Bad" was less known for the song, its cinematography, its choreography, or anything of that sort, and more for the fact that it was when people first began to notice the start of Jackson's radical changes in physical appearance, most notably accusations of skin bleaching to look less "ethnic".note 
  • Retroactive Recognition:
    • There's always people who are surprised to learn that Martin Scorsese directed the music video of "Bad" (the song).
    • The title track's music video also put a then-unknown Wesley Snipes on the map. His Star-Making Role as Nino Brown in New Jack City was specifically written with him in mind after screenwriter Barry Michael Cooper saw him in Jackson's video.
  • Tear Jerker: The music video for "Man in the Mirror".

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