Helena

Helena" is the third single and first track from My Chemical Romance's second studio album, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. The lyrics describe lead singer Gerard Way's feelings for his late grandmother, Elena Lee Rush (friends called her 'Helen', and because of this, Way always thought of her as "Helena"). The single has become a moderately-selling hit, both in the U.S. and internationally. Way said in an interview with Channel [V] the band got influences for Helena from the song "Aces High" by Iron Maiden and tracks by The Ventures. This song is also My Chemical Romance's fifth overall single. Gerard Way not only described it as representing the band's image and sound, it is usually used to end shows. The single was certified Gold Record in United States

Music video

The music video was shot on-location in the Immanuel Presbyterian church on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, directed by Marc Webb, and choreographed by Michael Rooney. The video has a simple plot, with Gerard Way as a very emotional mourner at a funeral where the band is performing. There are also mourners who dance and mourn the death of Helena. Near the end, the dead body of Helena (played by actress and dancer Tracy Phillips) rises and dances down the nave representing crossing over into the afterlife. After she falls back into the casket, the pallbearers (also played by My Chemical Romance and a fan named Cameron) carry the casket to the hearse (in the pouring rain), surrounded by a phalanx of dancing men and women with umbrellas.

Though the song in general is about the band members Gerard Way and Mikey Way's late grandmother, it was stated in an interview that the video told a different story. The music video shows the funeral of a girl, who, according to Gerard Way, died tragically. The sixth pallbearer and the majority of the mourners are fans who'd received emails from the band asking if they'd like to be in the video.

During the "Making Of..." video, found as a bonus on the Life on the Murder Scene CD/DVD, it was noted that Frank Iero, while joking about being "4'9"", didn't actually carry any weight of the casket, and that it rested on the other band members and their 6th pallbearer to carry the weight. Also noted was that the rain used in the sequence between the church and the hearse wasn't planned for, but the director used it to his advantage, as it set the mood of a funeral.

The video was nominated for five Moonmen at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards: Best Rock Video, Best Choreography, Best New Artist, and the MTV2 and Viewer's Choice Awards (both of which are chosen by viewers).They lost to bands such as Green Day, Fall Out Boy, and The Killers. Though the band did not win any awards, they did do a surprise performance of the song towards the end of the show. They also won an MTV Video Music Awards Latin America "tongue" for the Best New Artist - International. They also won a Best Video award in the 2005 Kerrang! Awards. In November of 2005, the video was nominated for two MTVU Woodie Awards (voted on by college students) and won the Woodie of the Year. In the Philippines, Helena has reached a cult-like status because of the popularity of Alternative music.

The video was also voted #1 by viewers of MTV Latinamerica in the 2005 "100 Most Wanted Videos".

Smooth Criminal

Smooth Criminal" is the seventh single from Michael Jackson's Bad album (1987). The song contains a fast-paced beat intertwined with Jackson's lyrics about a woman named Annie, who has been attacked in her apartment by a smooth assailant. It was released as a single on October 24, 1988 and peaked at 7 on the Billboard Hot 100.[1] It was re-released on April 10, 2006 as a part of the Visionary: The Video Singles box-set. The re-released Visionary single charted at #19 in the UK. In 2003, the song appeared on the Number Ones greatest hits album.

Song information

The song was the centerpiece in Jackson's musical film Moonwalker, featuring Joe Pesci. In the film, Jackson plays with his young friends outdoors when they come upon a cave, which leads to a kind of dream world in which "Mr. Big" Frankie Lideo has been selling drugs to youths in order to get everyone hooked. The "Mr. Big" character was a play on the name of Michaels manager, Frankie Dileo. In the movie, Joe Pesci is often heard repeating his character's last name, "Lideo, L-I-D-E-O, They never spell my name right." This was an inside joke between Jackson and Dileo. "Smooth Criminal" was presented in a ten-minute long clip in which Jackson dances through a 1930s-style nightclub (known in the film as "Club 30s"). The version of the song used in the clip is different from the album version: the background beats are different, there are several new lyrics (see below), and the song is much longer overall. The version of the video that is usually aired on network television is 4 minutes long and is merely a sped up version of the clip from the film. Jackson briefly moonwalks before the famous anti-gravity lean. The ten minute long "Smooth Criminal" clip is reminiscent of the musical number known as "The Girl Hunt Ballet" which is featured as the final number in the 1952 musical film The Band Wagon starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. "The Girl Hunt Ballet" is a spoof of Mickey Spillane's hard-boiled detective novels.[2]

"Smooth Criminal" was a song that almost didn't make it into the Bad album. With the final decision to include the song, Jackson originally decided to make the music video a western-styled short film. However, he later decided to change the style into a 1930s nightclub style.[3]

An early version of the song was written by Jackson and John Barnes in 1985 and the original demo was recorded in 1986. The original title was "Al Capone". This version didn't make the album and was re-worked and re-written as "Smooth Criminal".

Both the style of the clip and the clothes and mannerisms Jackson portrayed were reused in the arcade, the Sega Master System, the Sega Mega Drive and the Sega Game Gear adaptations of Moonwalker. The song itself serves as the soundtrack for the first stage, in Club 30s, the nightclub from the movie, in all versions of the game.

The song was performed live during the second leg of Jackson's 1987–88 Bad World Tour. The performance featured a dance routine modeled after the scene from Moonwalker. By the time the 1992 Dangerous World Tour came around, this performance became a regular on Jackson tours. Jackson also performed the song on the HIStory Tour. This time Jackson had devised a way to perform the patented anti-gravity lean, which was featured in the Moonwalker video, on stage. Much like the robot move from "Dancing Machine" to the Moonwalk from "Billie Jean", this showcased Jackson's talent for creating unique moves to enhance stage performances. This performance can be seen on the Bucharest Dangerous Tour performance which is included as a DVD in The Ultimate Collection boxed set.

Part of the song is also briefly used in the middle of the live version of the song Dangerous since the performance at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards. On the HIStory Tour during the performance of Dangerous he also used a briefly part of the song during the performance. He would perform it on This is It but it was cancelled due to his sudden death.

Black or White

"Black or White" is a 1991 hit single taken from Michael Jackson's Dangerous album, released in October 1991. The single is considered the biggest selling rock song of the 1990s. "Black or White" is a mix of hard rock, dance and hip hop.

Written, composed, and arranged by Jackson with the rap lyrics by Bill Bottrell, it is a song that promotes racial unity. The song's introduction and main riff are performed by guitarist Slash and Bill Bottrell.

The song peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart, as well as in 18 other countries.

"Black or White"

Single by Michael Jackson
from the album Dangerous
Released October 11, 1991
Format 7" single
12" single
CD single
Recorded 1990
Genre Hard rock, dance, hip hop
Length 3:22 (radio edit)
4:15 (album version)
Label Epic
Writer(s) Michael Jackson
Producer Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson singles chronology
"Speed Demon"
(1989) "Black or White"
(1991) "Remember the Time"
(1992)

Dangerous track listing
"Heal the World"
(7) "Black or White"
(8) "Who Is It"
(9)

Release

To prepare the audience for the special occasion of the televised premiere of the "Black or White" video, Epic Records released the song (without the accompanying images) to radio stations just two days in advance.[1] In a period of twenty-four hours, "Black or White", described by the record company as "a rock 'n' roll dance song about racial harmony", had been added to the playlists of 96 percent of 237 of the United States of America's top forty radio stations.[1][2]

"Black or White" was the first single off of Dangerous, produced by Michael Jackson and Bill Bottrell, it began to be promoted on radio stations the first week of November 1991 in New York and Los Angeles.[2][3] "Black or White" was officially released one week later.[2] It was written and composed by Jackson with rap lyrics by Bill Bottrell, the song's introduction and main riff were played by Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash and Bill Bottrell.[3]

"Black or White" is also described as a mix of hard rock, dance and rap, hard rock elements such as Slash's guitar and Jackson's vocal style.[4][5][6][7][8] These songs are also compared by Rolling Stone's Allan Light in his Dangerous review, he says about it, "Neither this slow-burn solo nor the Stones-derived riff on 'Black or White' offers the catharsis of Eddie Van Halen's blazing break on 'Beat It'".[9]

Reception

"Black or White" stormed into Billboard's Hot 100 at number thirty five.[10] A week later it shot up to number three and on its third week, December 7 1991, it ascended to number one, making it the fastest chart topper since the Beatles' "Get Back" also won the Hot 100 in just three weeks in 1969.[10][11] It achieved the year at number one, and remained at the top of the singles chart into 1992, for a total of seven weeks, making Michael Jackson the first artist to get number one popular hits in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.[11]

The single also made an extraordinary and amazing debut in the UK, where it became the first single by an American to go into the singles chart at number one since 1960, when "It's Now Or Never" by Elvis Presley did in the same manner.[10] Around the world, "Black or White" hit number one in the US, UK, Mexico, Cuba, Zimbabwe, Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, India, Israel, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the Euro Chart Hot 100, number two in Germany and number three in Holland.[10][11] The single was certified platinum in the US, selling over one million copies.[11]