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{{short description|1983 song by Michael Jackson}}{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2014}}

factoids

| genre =

• R&BWEB, Shelter, Scott,weblink The 10 most underrated Michael Jackson songs, AXS (company), AXS, 25 June 2014, March 23, 2018,
• quiet stormWEB,weblink The 30 Best '90s R&B Songs – 20. SWV, "Right Here (Human Nature)" (1992)

Spin (magazine)>Spinlast1=Johnstonfirst2=Mosidate=August 8, 2017TITLE= THE QUIET STORM PITCHFORK (WEBSITE)>PITCHFORK DATE= MAY 19, 2012, October 11, 2022,

• soft rockNEWS, Ricardo, Baca,weblink Michael Jackson's musical career, The Denver Post, June 26, 2009, | length =
• 4:06 (album version)
• 3:47 (single version)| label =
• Epic
• CBS| writer =
• Steve Porcaro
• John Bettis| producer = Quincy Jones| prev_title = Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'| prev_year = 1983| next_title = P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)| next_year = 1983| misc =

{{External music video|{{YouTube|ElN_4vUvTPs |"Human Nature"}}|header=Audio video|type=single}}{{Audio sample }}}}"Human Nature" is a song performed by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson, and the fifth single from his sixth solo album, Thriller. The track was produced by Quincy Jones and performed by some band members of Toto with Jackson providing vocals. It was originally written by keyboardist Steve Porcaro, based on a conversation he had with his young daughter Heather after a boy hit her at school,{{Citation |title=Steve Porcaro Story Behind Human Nature by Michael Jackson |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITQPxZKm9dY |access-date=2023-06-27 |language=en}} Porcaro said "he probably likes you and it's human nature". Porcaro, along with some Toto bandmates, had been assisting with the production of Thriller, but he had not intended for "Human Nature" to be used by Jackson. However, Jones inadvertently heard a demo version of the track and thought it would be a great fit for the album. Jones then brought in songwriter John Bettis to rewrite the verses, whose lyrics are about a passerby in New York City.WEB, KLCS interview of Steve Porcaro,weblinkweblink 2017-06-02, dead, 3 September 2015, Youtube, The song would ultimately replace the track Carousel, which had been already recorded for Thriller.AV MEDIA,weblink This Song ACCIDENTALLY Made It on “Thriller”, en, 2024-04-17, www.youtube.com, "Human Nature" was released as a single on July 4, 1983. Like the four Thriller singles before it, the song became a top 10 hit in the US, reaching number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. It also reached number two on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and is certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In Canada and the Netherlands, the single reached number 11. The single was not released in the UK. The song garnered positive reviews from music critics. "Human Nature" has been sampled by numerous artists, including Nas with "It Ain't Hard to Tell", and Teddy Riley who remixed SWV's single "Right Here", with a sample of "Human Nature", with the remix reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100.MAGAZINE, Billboard,weblink SWV Right Here (Human Nature)/Downtown Chart History,

Production

(File:Steve Porcaro 2013 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|upright|Porcaro in 2013)The first version of "Human Nature" was written and composed by Steve Porcaro of Toto.Halstead, p. 144 He wrote the song when his first-grade daughter came home crying after a boy pushed her off the slide. He blurted out three reasons for the incident to comfort her: the boy liked her, people can be strange, and it's "human nature".BOOK, Knopper, Steve, MJ: The Genius of Michael Jackson,weblink 13 December 2015, 2015, Scribner, 978-1-4767-3039-4, 106, He recorded a rough demo of the song in their studio while the Toto song "Africa" was being mixed. Fellow Toto keyboardist David Paich added some synthesizer strings on top of the demo. Originally, the song was offered to Toto but they passed on it as they preferred stadium rock-oriented material.AV MEDIA, Toto's Steve Porcaro: The Story Behind "Human Nature,' Michael Jackson,weblinkweblink 2021-11-16, live, September 15, 2020, March 2, 2021, {{cbignore}}Paich had prepared some demo tracks for producer Quincy Jones to listen to as possible songs for Thriller and asked Porcaro to make Jones a tape with the songs. Running low on cassette tapes, Porcaro used the tape on which he had already recorded his "Human Nature" demo, putting Paich's songs on the reverse side and marking that on the label as the side that Jones should listen to. Jones listened to Paich's songs but did not think they were right for Thriller. However, he did not stop the tape when the songs finished playing, and the cassette deck playing the tape had "auto-reverse" capability, meaning that it started playing the other side as soon as the first side was finished. As Jones described it, "All of a sudden, at the end, there was all this silence, there was: 'why, why, dah dah da-dum dah dah, why, why'. Just a dummy lyric and a very skeletal thing—I get goosebumps talking about it. I said, 'This is where we wanna go, because it's got such a wonderful flavor'".BOOK, Thriller 25: The Book, 13, However, Jones was dissatisfied with the original lyrics for the verses and asked John Bettis, who had written lyrics for hits by the Carpenters and the Pointer Sisters, among others, to write new lyrics for the song. He completed the song in two days.BOOK, Behind The Hits:Inside Stories of Classic Pop and Rock and Roll, Shannon, Bob, Bob Shannon (WCBS-FM), John Javna, 1986, Warner Books, New York, 0-446-38171-3, 14, Jones asked if the song could be included on Jackson's album, to which Porcaro and Bettis agreed. Porcaro discusses Bettis' input in "Human Nature":}}The song, as it turns out, did not change much musically from the demo through to the final album, as Jones liked the song as it was.WEB,weblink Meeting Steve Porcaro and hearing "Chicago 1945", July 4, 2014, March 2, 2021, It was, for the most part, recreated in the studio. Even engineer Bruce Swedien asked Porcaro, who played most of the parts and helped Jackson with the vocal phrasing, to help reproduce the phrasing of the accents of the "Why, why" that can be heard on the demo.

Release and reception

s other songs. "If this town is just an apple, let me take a bite", quivers Jackson's voice over a cascading synthesizer and percolating bass line. Though written by John Bettis and Steve Porcaro of Toto, the lyrics resonate with Jackson's yearning to break free from his tower of celebrity and mingle with young people in a "city that winks its sleepless eye".The Standard-Times (New Bedford)>South Coast Today.POWERS>FIRST=ANNURL=HTTP://WWW.SOUTHCOASTTODAY.COM/APPS/PBCS.DLL/ARTICLE?AID=%2F20080215%2FLIFE%2F802150316THE STANDARD-TIMES (NEW BEDFORD)>SOUTH COAST TODAYACCESS-DATE=APRIL 11, 2009ARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20120930212910/HTTP://WWW.SOUTHCOASTTODAY.COM/APPS/PBCS.DLL/ARTICLE?AID=%2F20080215%2FLIFE%2F802150316, dead, }}"Human Nature" was released in July 1983, as the fifth single from Thriller. It was not released in the UK for unknown reasons. The song achieved chart success in the US. Reaching number two on Billboard's Hot Adult Contemporary chart and number seven on the Hot 100, the song became Jackson's fifth Top 10 hit from Thriller.George, p. 39NEWS,weblink Jacksons captivated JFK Stadium, Borza, Michael J., September 7, 1984, The Daily Collegian (Penn State), The Daily Collegian, April 11, 2009,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160304052631weblink">weblink March 4, 2016, dead, "Human Nature" charted at number 27 on the R&B singles chart. In the Netherlands the single reached number 11.WEB,weblink Dutch Singles Chart Archives, April 11, 2009, dutchcharts.nl, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090708142754weblink">weblink July 8, 2009, mdy, John Rockwell, of The New York Times, stated that "Human Nature" was a "haunting, brooding ballad" with an "irresistible" chorus.NEWS,weblink Michael Jackson's 'Thriller': Superb Job, Rockwell, John, December 19, 1982, The New York Times, April 11, 2009, Allmusic noted that the "gentle and lovely" "Human Nature" coexisted comfortably with the "tough, scared" "Beat It".WEB, {{Allmusic, album, r10089, yes, |title=Allmusic's 'Thriller' Review|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|website=Allmusic|access-date=April 11, 2009}} They later added that the song was a "soft rocker".WEB, {{Allmusic, album, r1314329, yes, |title=Allmusic's Thriller 25 review|access-date=April 11, 2009|website=Allmusic}} Reflecting on Thriller, Slant expressed their fondness of the song, stating that it was "probably the best musical composition on the album and surely one of the only A/C ballads of its era worth remembering".MAGAZINE,weblink Slant's 'Thriller' review, Henderson, Eric, Slant Magazine, 2003, April 11, 2009, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20080228152525weblink">weblink February 28, 2008, mdy-all, The magazine added that the track's "buttery harmonies" were powerful. Stylus also praised the song, describing it as "the smoothest of ballads".MAGAZINE,weblink Thriller - The Diamond, February 21, 2009, Stylus Magazine, March 20, 2015,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150320145345weblink">weblink dead, However, they further added that the music "does little to embody the song's message" and that it couches Jackson's "glazed voice" in "bubble synths and drum pillows".About.com's Bill Lamb looked back on the track 25 years after its release. He felt that the song "set down a blueprint for what would become known as adult R&B".WEB, Bill, Lamb,weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20080228053714weblink">weblink dead, February 28, 2008, About.com's Thriller 25 review, About.com, April 11, 2009, Kelefa Sanneh of Blender described the "soft-serve balladry" of the song as a "silk-sheets masterstroke".MAGAZINE, Kelefa, Sanneh,weblinkweblink dead, May 23, 2016, Thriller - 25th Anniversary Edition Blender review, Blender (magazine), Blender, April 11, 2008, March 10, 2009, In a 2008 IGN review, Todd Gilchrist explained that the elements of "Human Nature" worked better today than they did before. He added that it may be because modern R&B "sucks".WEB, Todd, Gilchrist,weblink IGN's Thriller 25 review, IGN, April 11, 2009, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20080214080402weblink">weblink February 14, 2008, mdy-all, Tom Ewing, reviewer for Pitchfork Media, described the song as "meltingly tender", with MTV adding that it was an "airy ballad".WEB, Tom, Ewing,weblink Pitchfork Media's Thriller 25 review, Pitchfork Media, April 11, 2008, February 21, 2009,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090113054416weblink">weblink January 13, 2009, dead, mdy, WEB,weblink Michael Jackson biography, MTV, April 11, 2009, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120804113359weblink">weblink August 4, 2012, mdy-all, Rolling Stone claimed that the "most beautifully fragile" "Human Nature" was so open and brave it made "She's Out of My Life" seem phony.MAGAZINE, Rob, Sheffield,weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20080207111157weblink">weblink dead, February 7, 2008, Rolling Stone's Thriller 25 review, Rolling Stone, April 11, 2009, The Los Angeles Times concluded that it was Jackson's delivery that made the "middling ballad" take off.NEWS,weblink Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' turns 25, Gamboa, Glenn, February 12, 2008, Los Angeles Times, April 11, 2009, {{dead link|date=June 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

Live performances

The song was first performed during the Jacksons' Victory Tour. Michael started to sing "Ben", but stopped and proceeded to sing "Human Nature". It was also performed during Michael's Bad World Tour and Dangerous World Tour. Jackson also performed the song live during his 1996 Royal Brunei concert. It was going to be performed for Jackson's This Is It concerts, which were canceled due to his death; however, it was included on the posthumous album to coincide with the concerts. Live versions of the song are available on the DVDs Live at Wembley July 16, 1988 and (Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour). Toto has performed the song in some of their shows with vocals by Joseph Williams. A live version is available on the 2019 DVD 40 Trips Around the Sun.

Track listing

• 7-inch vinyl
• "Human Nature" (single version) – 3:47 (Misprinted as 4:05)
• "Baby Be Mine" – 4:20

Official remixes

1. Album version – 4:06
2. Single version – 3:47WEB,weblink The Essential Michael Jackson by Michael Jackson, Apple Music (US), October 8, 2020,
3. Live – 4:29 (This version is taken from Live at Wembley July 16, 1988 and included in the deluxe edition of Bad 25.)
4. "Speechless"/"Human Nature" – 3:18 (Immortal version)

Personnel

• Written and composed by Steve Porcaro and John BettisJackson, Michael. Thriller booklet. Sony BMG.
• Produced by Quincy Jones
• Michael Jackson: vocals
• David Paich: synthesizer
• Steve Porcaro: synthesizer, synthesizer programming
• Steve Lukather: guitar
• Jeff Porcaro: drums
• Paulinho Da Costa: percussion
• Michael Boddicker: E-mu Emulator
• Arrangement by David Paich, Steve Porcaro and Steve Lukather

Charts

{{col-begin}}{{col-2}}

Weekly charts{| class"wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style"text-align:center"|+1983–1984 weekly chart performance for "Human Nature"

! scope="col"| Chart (1983–1984)! scope="col"| Peakposition!scope="row"| Australia (Kent Music Report)BOOK, David, Kent, David Kent (historian), Kent Music Report, Australian Chart Book 1970-1992, Australian Chart Book, St Ives, New South Wales, St Ives, N.S.W., 1993, 0-646-11917-6, | 64{{singlechart|Flanders|12|artist=Michael Jackson|song=Human Nature|access-date=June 3, 2016|rowheader=true}}!scope="row"| Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)WEB,weblink Radio2 top 30: 8 oktober 1983, nl, Top 30, June 3, 2016, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160327133214weblink">weblink March 27, 2016, mdy-all, | 11!scope="row"| Canada (CHUM)WEB,weblink CHART NUMBER 1394 – Saturday, October 01, 1983, 2016-06-03, bot: unknown,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20060213015752weblink">weblink February 13, 2006, mdy-all, . CHUM. Retrieved June 3, 2016.| 3!scope="row"| Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)WEB,weblink Adult Contemporary - Volume 39, No. 4, Sep 24, 1983, RPM (magazine), RPM, July 17, 2013, June 3, 2016, | 1!scope="row"| Canada Top Singles (RPM)WEB,weblink Top Singles - Volume 39, No. 5, Oct 01, 1983, RPM (magazine), RPM, July 17, 2013, June 3, 2016, | 11{{singlechart|Dutch40|14|artist=Michael Jackson|song=Human Nature|access-date=June 3, 2016|rowheader=true}}{{singlechart|Dutch100|11|artist=Michael Jackson|song=Human Nature|access-date=June 3, 2016|rowheader=true}}{{singlechart|New Zealand|33|artist=Michael Jackson|song=Human Nature|access-date=June 3, 2016|rowheader=true}}{{singlechart|Billboardhot100|7|artist=Michael Jackson|rowheader=true|access-date=September 20, 2021}}!scope="row"| US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)WEB,weblink Thriller – Awards, AllMusic. All Media Network, June 3, 2016, | 2!scope="row"| US Black Singles (Billboard)| 27!scope="row"| US Cash BoxMAGAZINE,weblink CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending SEPTEMBER 24, 1983, Cashbox (magazine), Cash Box magazine, June 3, 2016, mdy-all, February 22, 2020,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20200222014311weblink">weblink dead, | 10{{singlechart|West Germany|64|artist=Michael Jackson|song=Human Nature|songid=12516|access-date=March 31, 2020|rowheader=true}}{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="text-align:center"|+2009 weekly chart performance for "Human Nature"! scope="col"| Chart (2009)! scope="col"| Peakposition{{singlechart|Australiapandora|63|artist=Michael Jackson|song=Human Nature|url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20090804140000weblink|urltitle=Week Commencing 13th July 2009|access-date=June 3, 2016|rowheader=true}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}!scope="row"| Belgium (Back Catalogue Singles Flanders)WEB,weblink 50 Back Catalogue Singles – 18/07/09, nl, Ultratop. Hung Medien, June 3, 2016, | 12!scope="row"| Canada Hot Digital Singles (Billboard)| 27{{singlechart|Denmark|39|artist=Michael Jackson|song=Human Nature|access-date=June 3, 2016|rowheader=true}}!scope="row"| Italy (FIMI)WEB,weblink Classifica settimanale WK 29 (dal 2009-07-13 al 2009-07-19), it, Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana, June 3, 2016, | 29{{singlechart|Dutch100|40|artist=Michael Jackson|song=Human Nature|access-date=June 3, 2016|rowheader=true}}{{singlechart|Sweden|38|artist=Michael Jackson|song=Human Nature|access-date=June 3, 2016|rowheader=true}}{{singlechart|Switzerland|46|artist=Michael Jackson|song=Human Nature|access-date=June 3, 2016|rowheader=true}}{{singlechart|UKsinglesbyname|62|artist=Michael Jackson|access-date=June 3, 2016|rowheader=true}}!scope="row"| US Hot Digital Songs (Billboard)| 21{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"|+2013 weekly chart performance for "Human Nature"! scope="col"| Chart (2013)! scope="col"| Peakposition{{singlechart|France|165|artist=Michael Jackson|song=Human Nature|access-date=June 3, 2016|rowheader=true|refname=France}}{{col-2}}

Year-end charts{| class"wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style"text-align:center"|+1983 year-end chart performance for "Human Nature"

! scope="col"| Chart (1983)! scope="col"| Position!scope="row"| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)WEB,weblink Jaaroverzichten 1983, nl, Ultratop. Hung Medien, June 5, 2016, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140126213619weblink">weblink January 26, 2014, mdy, | 91!scope="row"| Canada Top Singles (RPM)WEB,weblink The Top Singles of 1983, RPM (magazine), RPM, 39, 17, December 24, 1983, June 5, 2016, | 90!scope="row"| US Billboard Hot 100WEB,weblink Top 100 Hits for 1983, Longbored Surfer, June 5, 2016, | 89!scope="row"| US Cash BoxWEB,weblink The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1983, Cashbox (magazine), Cash Box magazine, June 5, 2016, mdy, September 11, 2012,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120911042042weblink">weblink dead, | 79{{col-end}}

Certifications

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for "Human Nature"}}{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|type=single|artist=Michael Jackson|title=Human Nature|award=Platinum|relyear=1983|certyear=2024|access-date=April 23, 2024}}{{Certification Table Entry|region=Denmark|type=single|artist=Michael Jackson|title=Human Nature|award=Gold|relyear=1983|certyear=2023|id=12027|access-date=January 12, 2023}}{{Certification Table Entry|region=Mexico|title=Human Nature|artist=Michael Jackson|relyear=1983|certyear=2022|type=single|award=Gold|number=1|refname=MX certification|access-date=April 21, 2022}}{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Michael Jackson|title=Human Nature|award=Silver|relyear=2004|certyear=2020|id=16803-168-1|access-date=October 30, 2020}}{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|artist=Michael Jackson|title=Human Nature|award=Platinum|relyear=1983|certyear=2018}}{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}

Samplings

Songs that have sampled "Human Nature" include:
• "Right Here (Human Nature Remix)" by SWV, a 1993 Teddy Riley-produced remix of the group's 1992 song "Right Here". It spent seven weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart. The music video for the remix included clips of Jackson performing on the Dangerous World Tour, including a hologram of the pop singer intercut with wildlife footage from Free Willy, which the song was featured in and on its soundtrack.
• "It Ain't Hard to Tell" (1994) by Nas. Nas has performed "It Ain't Hard to Tell" as a mashup with "Human Nature" using Jackson's original vocals at some concerts.It Ain't Hard To Tell vs. Human Nature – Nas feat. Michael Jackson (live at Lovebox 2014, London – fancam) YouTube
• "I'm in Heaven" (2003) by Jason Nevins featuring Holly James, used an interpolation of the hook from "Human Nature".
• "She Ain't You" by Chris Brown from his album F.A.M.E. (2011).
• "Don Life" by Big Sean (feat. Lil Wayne) from his album Detroit 2 (2020).

Other versions

"Human Nature" was covered by Miles Davis on his 1985 album You're Under Arrest; at the time Davis also suggested that the song could become a jazz standard.WEB, Miles Davis: 'Coltrane was a very greedy man. Bird was, too. He was a big hog' – a classic interview from the vaults, Richard Cook,weblink theguardian.com, November 6, 2012, 2021-03-04, Toto has occasionally performed the song as part of a tribute to Jackson and to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the band.

References

{{Reflist}}

Sources

• George, Nelson (2004). (Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection) booklet. Sony BMG.
• BOOK, Halstead, Craig, Michael Jackson: For the Record, 2007, Authors OnLine, 978-0-7552-0267-6,
• BOOK, Thriller 25: The Book, (Thriller 25, Thriller 25: The Book), 2008, ML Publishing Group, 978-0-9768891-9-9,

External links

{{Spoken Wikipedia|date=2023-06-29|Human Nature - article narration.ogg}}{{Thriller (album)}}{{Michael Jackson songs}}{{Good article}}{{authority control}}


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