Somebody's Watching Me

"Somebody's Watching Me" is the debut single by R&B artist Rockwell, released on the Motown label in 1984. The song's lyrics relate the narrator's paranoid fear of being followed and watched. It featured former Motown artists Michael Jackson on the chorus and Jermaine Jackson on additional backing vocals.[1] A clip of the song was remixed and released on Michael Jackson's Immortal album in 2011, with parts of songs such as "Is It Scary", "Threatened" and "Monster".

Original Recording


Rockwell is the son of Motown CEO Berry Gordy Jr. At the time of the recording Rockwell was estranged from his father and living with Ray Singleton, his father's ex-wife. Singleton served as executive producer on the project and would occasionally play some demo tracks to Berry Gordy. The elder Gordy was less than enthusiastic about Rockwell's music until he heard the single with a familiar voice featured prominently on background vocals.[1][2]
Produced by Curtis Anthony Nolen, the song featured backing vocals by ex-Motown artist Michael Jackson and Alan Murray on percussion.[1][3] "Somebody's Watching Me" peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984, and reached the top of the Billboard R&B singles chart, as well as reaching number six on the UK Singles Chart.

Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour


For the 2011 Cirque du Soleil show Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour the background vocals from this song found its way into a medley that included "Is It Scary", "Threatened", and "Thriller."