Black or White

"Black or White"
Single by Michael Jackson
from the album Dangerous
Released	November 11, 1991 (1991-11-11)
Recorded	1989–1990[1]
Studio	Westlake (Los Angeles) Record One (Los Angeles) Larrabee (Hollywood)
Genre	Pop rock
Length	4:16 (album version) 3:22 (single version)
Label	Epic
Songwriter(s)	Michael Jackson Bill Bottrell
Producer(s)	Michael Jackson Bill Bottrell
Michael Jackson singles chronology
"Liberian Girl" (1989) "Black or White" (1991) "Remember the Time" (1992)
Music videos
"Black or White" (short version) on YouTube
"Black or White" (long version) on YouTube
Audio sample
file help

"Black or White" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on November 11, 1991, as the first single from his eighth studio album, Dangerous (1991). Jackson wrote, composed, and produced it with Bill Bottrell. Epic Records described it as "a rock 'n' roll dance song about racial harmony".

"Black or White" reached number-one on the US Billboard Hot 100 on December 7, 1991, making it the fastest US chart-topper since the Beatles' "Get Back". The song stayed at the top spot for a total of seven weeks, making Jackson the first artist to have multiple number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. It is certified 3× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Around the world, "Black or White" hit number-one in at least 20 countries and territories, including the UK, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cuba, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Zimbabwe and the Eurochart Hot 100. It was the best-selling single, worldwide, of the year 1992.^[2]

The music video for "Black or White" premiered on MTV, BET, VH1, and Fox, which gave them their highest Nielsen ratings ever at the time, as well as the BBC's Top of the Pops in the UK on November 14, 1991. The video was directed by John Landis, who previously directed Thriller, and featured Macaulay Culkin and George Wendt. It was co-choreographed by Jackson and Vincent Paterson. It premiered simultaneously in 27 countries, with an audience of 500 million viewers, the most ever for a music video.

"Black or White" was honored with the first-ever Billboard No. 1 World Single award.^[2] The music video of the song appears on the video albums Dangerous: The Short Films (long version), Video Greatest Hits – HIStory (long version, without graffiti on VHS version but with graffiti on DVD version), Number Ones (short version), and Michael Jackson's Vision (long version without graffiti). In 2003, Q magazine ranked "Black or White" at number 84 on their list of the "1001 Best Songs Ever".^[3]