Hollywood Tonight

"Hollywood Tonight" is a song by American recording artist Michael Jackson, included on his posthumous album, Michael. The song was released by Epic Records on February 11, 2011, as the second single from Michael. The spoken parts were performed by Jackson's nephew, Taryll Jackson and written by Teddy Riley. An accompanying music video was released on March 10, 2011. It features Algeria-born French dancer Sofia Boutella dressed in a Michael Jackson inspired outfit performing a routine with 60 dancers.

Background And Release


The song was written by Michael Jackson during the time of the Invincible album. Michael pulled the track out of the archives in 2007 to work on the song with producer Theron "Neff-U" Feemster. Jackson first put down a sketch of the lyrics in 1999, then he began working out the music with longtime friend and collaborator, Brad Buxer, who co-wrote the song. Over the next ten years, Jackson returned to the track numerous times. Jackson and Brad Buxer continued tinkering with it in Las Vegas in 2007. In October 2008, when Jackson lived in Los Angeles, he asked recording engineer Michael Prince to put the latest mix of the song on CD so he could listen to it and see what might be improved, but he never got around to working on it again. Teddy Riley co-produced the song along with Theron "Neff-U" Feemster following Jackson's death. Riley also wrote a new bridge, performed by Taryll Jackson, that included different lyrics than those left by Jackson.

On December 3, 2010, before the album Michael's release, talk show host and comedian Ellen DeGeneres premiered the song "Hollywood Tonight" on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

The song was released to radio stations as a single first in Italy on February 11, 2011. And it was listed on BBC Radio 2's playlist A from February 12, 2011. In Poland, the song was released on February 14, 2011.

In a later announcement from Jackson' official website, "Behind the Mask" will be released as the radio single in countries including the United States, Canada, Japan and France. "Hollywood Tonight" will be the single released to radio in the rest of the world. But actually, the song was released in U.S. urban and urban AC radio stations on April 5, 2011.

Reception


The song received generally positive reviews from music critics. Teddy Riley, the producer said, "I was looking at just doing the next level of "Billie Jean" meets "Dangerous" or "Leave Me Alone." It's like one of those driving bass lines that you will remember."

Joe Vogel of The Huffington Post stated that the song was "definitely an album highlight. The song begins with a haunting Gothic church choir, before transforming into an energetic dance stomper", and "The track features Michael in a notably deeper voice, and concludes with military-style whistling".

Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly said the song "feels leaner and more urgent, crackling with Jackson’s trademark percussive shuffle and pop."

Dan Martin of NME called the album Michael "not as terrible as you may think", and "the worst thing you can say about "Hollywood Tonight" is that its catchy signature gets annoying after a while."

Jason Lipshutz, Gail Mitchell and Gary Graff from Billboard thought the song "sounds like Britney Spears' 'Lucky' crossed with Justin Timberlake's 'LoveStoned.'"

Neil McCormick of Daily Telegraph said, "it has the extraordinary confidence of a pop classic and presages an album that may well be Jackson's best work since his Eighties glory days."

Jim Farber of the Daily News praised "Hollywood Tonight" for exhibiting Jackson's "old verve."

Gerard McGarry of Shout! Music Magazine stated that "while this single doesn't quite touch on the greatness of classic Jackson tracks, it does recall that infectious disco groove that used to be his trademark. There's a strong 80's vibe to Hollywood Tonight - even the female dancer in the video looks like a young Brooke Shields, who Michael was linked to in the 80's."

Negative review comes from Carl Cortez of Assignment X for the "throwback mix" on 7 inch single and music video, he said the mix is "a little sharper than the original, but again, the song really isn't all that good. Another previously unreleased B-side or even the original demo might have been more interesting."

Chart Performance


"Hollywood Tonight" was released as the second single from the album, Michael, in most territories. Due to the massive airplay on BBC Radio 2 in the United Kingdom, the song debuted at number 38 on The UK Radio Airplay Chart on Week 7, 2011 (from February 13 to February 19, 2011), and peaked at number 35 on Week 8, 2011 (from February 20 to February 26, 2011).

In the United States, the song debuted at number 89 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for the week ending April 16, 2011, marking Jackson's 52nd solo hit on this chart, and peaked at number 60. It debuted at number 36 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart for the week ending April 30, 2011, and on June 11, 2011, it became Jackson's first number-one hit on the chart since his 1995 hit "Scream" and his eighth overall as a solo artist.

Music Video


Jackson's official website announced a music video for "Hollywood Tonight". While expected originally to be released at the end of February, it was later pushed back to March 10, 2011. A 19-second sneak preview of the video was made available on Jackson's official Facebook page.

On March 10, as expected the full video was released with a new mix called "Throwback Mix" featuring alternate demo vocals without autotune and sampling the beat of "Billie Jean".

The director of "Hollywood Tonight" is Wayne Isham. Isham directed Jackson's 1995 number-one hit "You Are Not Alone". Shot at the sidewalk and street at the front of the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, California.

Led by Algerian-born French dancer Sofia Boutella, her outfit was based on Jackson himself. More than 60 dancers performed a Jackson-inspired routine as seen in a video posted by TMZ. The video revolves around a young woman arriving in Hollywood, vying to become a known dancer. The video included Jackson images and video clips throughout, including "Jam", "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough", "In the Closet", "Black or White" and "Billie Jean".

Michael Jackson: The Experience


"Hollywood Tonight" is a song that you can dance and sing to on Michael Jackson: The Experience but only on the PlayStation Vita,Nintendo 3DS and iOS versions.

Track Listing


Korean CD Maxi Single (S10988C) / EU Digital EP

No. Title Length
1. "Hollywood Tonight" (Throwback Mix) 3:46
2. "Hollywood Tonight" (DJ Chuckie Radio Edit) 3:54
3. "Hollywood Tonight" (DJ Chuckie Remix) 6:02
4. "Hollywood Tonight" (Radio Edit) 3:46
Total length:
16:48


EU 7" Single (34-788083 / 88697880837)

No. Title Length
1. "Hollywood Tonight" (Throwback Mix) 3:46
2. "Behind the Mask" (Radio Edit) 3:36
Total length:
7:22


EU CD Single Epic 88697902982 (Sony)/ EAN 0886979029828

No. Title Length
2. "Hollywood Tonight" (Throwback Mix) 3:48
3. "Hollywood Tonight" (DJ Chuckie Remix) 5:58
Total length:
6:06


Official Versions


Album Version 4:31
Radio Edit 3:46
Throwback Mix 3:46
Throwback Instrumental 3:59
Throwback Instrumental - No Beatbox 4:00
DJ Chuckie Remix 6:01
DJ Chuckie Radio Edit 3:53
DJ Chuckie Remix - No Talk 6:01
DJ Chuckie Dub 5:00
Jody Den Broeder Extended Vocal 6:53
Jody Den Broeder Dub 6:53
Jody Den Broeder Radio Edit 3:51
Yiannis Walk Of Fame Mix 7:11
Yiannis Walk Of Fame Dub 7:07

Charts


Chart (2011) Peak Position

Belgium (Ultratip 50 Wallonia) 5
Belgium (Ultratip 50 Flanders) 16
German Singles Chart 55
Polish Dance Chart (ZPAV) 19
UK Singles Chart 152
UK Radio Airplay Chart 35
US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 60
US Billboard Dance/Club Play Songs 1


Year-end Charts


Chart (2011) Position

US Hot Dance Club Songs (Billboard) 30

Release History


Italy

April 8, 2011 Digital Single
February 11, 2011 Radio airplay, digital download
CD single (promo), Radio airplay

United Kingdom

February 11, 2011 CD single (promo), Radio airplay
April 10, 2011 Digital Single
April 16, 2011 7" Single
April 26, 2011 CD single

Poland

February 14, 2011 Radio airplay, digital download

Spain

March 8, 2011 Radio airplay, digital download

China

March 22, 2011 Radio airplay, digital download

Sweden

March 10, 2011 Radio airplay, digital download

Korea

March 10, 2011 Radio airplay, digital download
March 31, 2011 CD single

United States

April 5, 2011 Urban airplay

Germany

April 8, 2011 Digital Single
April 15, 2011 CD single

Personnel


Written and composed by Michael Jackson and Brad Buxer
Spoken bridge written by Teddy Riley
Produced by Teddy Riley and Michael Jackson
Co-produced by Theron "Neff-U" Feemster and Brad Buxer
Arrangement by Michael Jackson, Teddy Riley and Theron "Neff-U" Feemster
Mixed by Jean-Marie Horvat, Teddy Riley and Scott Elgin
Mix Engineers: John Hanes assisted by Tim Roberts, Jean Marie Horvat, Teddy Riley, Scott Elgin
Programming and Finisher: Teddy Riley
Additional Background Vocals: Mischke
Vocals recorded by Michael Durham Prince and Mischke
Spoken Bridge Written by Teddy Riley and Labyron Walton
Spoken Bridge by Taryll Jackson
Whistling: Danny Ray McDonald Jr. and Michael Durham Prince
Beat Box by Michael Jackson
Engineered by Scott Elgin, James Murray, Michael Durham Prince and Jon Nettlesbey
Assistant Engineer: Quentinn Gilkey
Keyboard: Theron "Neff-U" Feemster and Edward Brown
Guitar: Erick Donell Walls and Eric Jackson
Guitar Engineer: Cristian Delano
Horns: The Regiment
Drum Programming by Brad Buxer and Theron "Neff-U" Feemster