Hollywood Tonight Explained

Hollywood Tonight
Cover:Michael Jackson - Hollywood Tonight.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Michael Jackson
Album:Michael
Recorded:
  • 1999–2008 (vocals)
  • 2010 (additional music overdubs and mixing)
Genre:
Length:4:31
Label:Epic
Producer:
Prev Title:Hold My Hand
Prev Year:2010
Next Title:Behind the Mask
Next Year:2011

"Hollywood Tonight" is a song by American singer-songwriter 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 Algerian dancer Sofia Boutella dressed in a 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.[1] 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.[2] 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 from those left by Jackson.[2]

On December 3, 2010, before the album Michaels release, the song premiered on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.[3] The song was first released as a single to radio stations in Italy, on February 11, 2011,[4] and it was first listed on BBC Radio 2's playlist A one-day later.[5] In Poland, the song was released on February 14, 2011.[6] A later announcement from the official Jackson website stated that "Behind the Mask" would be released as a radio single in the United States, Canada, Japan and France, with "Hollywood Tonight" taking its place for the rest of the world.[7] Despite this, "Hollywood Tonight" was released to urban contemporary and adult contemporary radio stations in the US 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 that the track "features Michael in a notably deeper voice, and concludes with military-style whistling."[8] Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly said the song "feels leaner and more urgent, crackling with Jackson's trademark percussive shuffle and pop."[9] 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."[10] Jason Lipshutz, Gail Mitchell and Gary Graff from Billboard thought the song "sounds like Britney Spears' 'Lucky' crossed with Justin Timberlake's 'LoveStoned'."[11] 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."[12] 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."[13]

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."[14]

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).[15]

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,[16] 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,[17] [18] and on June 11, 2011, it became Jackson's first number-one hit on the chart since his 1995 hit "Scream"[19] [20] and his 13th overall as a solo artist.[21]

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.[22] On March 10, as expected the full video[23] was released with a new mix called "Throwback Mix", featuring alternate demo vocals without autotune, sampling the beat of "Billie Jean" and removing the spoken word bridge.[24]

The video was directed by Wayne Isham,[25] who previously directed the video for Jackson's 1995 number-one hit "You Are Not Alone".[26] It was shot in front of the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, California.[27]

The lead dancer in the video is Sofia Boutella, who wears an outfit inspired by Jackson's stage costumes. 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. It also includes images of Jackson from the music videos for "Black or White", "Billie Jean", "Jam", "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "In the Closet".

Michael Jackson: The Experience

Hollywood Tonight is a playable song in the PlayStation Vita, Nintendo 3DS and iOS versions of .

Official versions

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2011)!scope="col"
Peak
position
Italy (Musica e Dischi)[28] 26
Poland (Dance Top 50)[29] 19
UK Singles (OCC)[30] 152

Year-end charts

Chart (2011)!scope="col"
Position
US Hot Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[31] 30

Release history

Region! scope="col"
DateFormat(s)
ItalyApril 8, 2011Digital single[32]
February 11, 2011
United Kingdom
April 10, 2011Digital single
April 16, 20117" single
April 26, 2011CD single[33]
PolandFebruary 14, 2011
SpainMarch 8, 2011[34]
ChinaMarch 22, 2011[35] [36]
SwedenMarch 10, 2011[37]
Korea[38]
March 31, 2011CD single
United StatesApril 5, 2011Urban airplay[39] [40]
GermanyApril 8, 2011Digital single[41] [42]
April 15, 2011CD single[43]

Personnel

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Michael Jackson's new single confirmed as 'Hollywood Tonight'. Jan 26, 2011. 2011-02-20. Music-news.com.
  2. Web site: Exclusive: Inside Michael Jackson's "Hollywood". Joe. Vogel. The Huffington Post. 2011-03-14. 2011-03-20.
  3. Web site: Ellen Debuts New Michael Jackson Song "Hollywood Tonight. SoulCulture. December 4, 2010. 2011-02-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20101210055040/http://www.soulculture.co.uk/blogs/music-blog/newmusic/ellen-debuts-new-michael-jackson-song-hollywood-tonight-video/. 2010-12-10. dead.
  4. Web site: "Hollywood Tonight": il nuovo singolo di Michael Jackson in radio dall'11 febbraio . Feb 3, 2011. Feb 20, 2011. michaeljackson.com.
  5. Web site: BBC Radio 2 Playlist. 2011-02-12.
  6. Web site: 'Hollywood Tonight' drugim singlem z płyty 'MICHAEL'. michaeljackson.com. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110218063109/http://www.michaeljackson.com/pl/news/%E2%80%98hollywood-tonight%E2%80%99-drugim-singlem-z-p%C5%82yty-%E2%80%98michael%E2%80%99. 2011-02-18.
  7. Web site: New Michael Jackson Singles Coming From The Global #1 Album "Michael". 2011-02-27. 2011-02-28. Michaeljackson.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20110303044226/http://www.michaeljackson.com/us/news/new-michael-jackson-singles-coming-global-1-album-michael. 2011-03-03. dead.
  8. Web site: Joe Vogel: Is Michael Really Michael? A Review of the King of Pop's New Album. Huffingtonpost.com. 2010-12-04. 2011-02-20.
  9. Music Review: Michael . https://web.archive.org/web/20101211113530/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20447912,00.html . dead . December 11, 2010 . . Leah Greenblatt . 2011-12-08 . 2011-02-11.
  10. Web site: Dan . Martin . December 4, 2010 . Album review: Michael Jackson – 'Michael' (Epic) . . 2011-02-20.
  11. Web site: Michael Jackson's 'Michael' Track-By-Track . Jason . Lipshutz . Gail . Mitchell . Gary . Graff . December 8, 2010 . 2011-02-11 . Billboard.
  12. Web site: Michael. Farber. Jim. 2010-12-13. Daily News. Mortimer Zuckerman. 2011-02-20.
  13. Web site: Michael Jackson - Hollywood Tonight - Single review. Gerard. McGarry. unrealityshout.com. 2011-04-11. 2011-05-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20110413072714/http://unrealityshout.com/blogs/michael-jackson-hollywood-tonight-single-review. 2011-04-13. dead.
  14. Web site: Single Review: MICHAEL JACKSON – "Behind the Mask" 7 inch (Record Day 2011 Exclusive) . Carl. Cortez . Assignment X . 2011-04-20. 2011-05-28.
  15. Web site: The UK Radio Airplay Chart. 2011-02-19. 2011-03-05. August 20, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110820090141/http://www.ukairplaychart.com/c/?export=&action=&chart_type=&country=&group=&channel_id=&show_feeds=&range=weekly&length=100. dead.
  16. Ask Billboard: StarGate, Michael Jackson, Pia Toscano - Chart Beat. Billboard. 2011-04-08. 2011-04-11.
  17. Web site: Chart Highlights: Pop, Country Songs & More - Chart Beat . Billboard.com. 2011-04-18. 2011-04-18.
  18. Web site: Michael Jackson: 'Hollywood Tonight' #36* Billboard Hot Shot Debut. promotion-us.com. 2011-04-20. 2011-05-17. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110916195822/http://blog.promotion-us.com/michael-jackson-hollywood-tonight-36-billboard-hot-shot-debut. 2011-09-16.
  19. Web site: Chart Highlights: Pop Songs, Adult Contemporary & More - Chart Beat. 2011-05-30. 2011-05-31. Billboard.com.
  20. Web site: Michael Jackson: Hollywood Tonight #1 Billboard Dance Chart!. promotion-us.com. 2011-05-31. 2011-06-01. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110603084732/http://blog.promotion-us.com/michael-jackson-hollywood-tonight-1-billboard-dance-chart. 2011-06-03.
  21. Web site: Hooray For 'Hollywood': Michael Jackson Tops Dance/Club Play Songs. Gary. Trust. Billboard.com. 2011-05-31. 2011-06-01.
  22. Web site: Hollywood Tonight Music Video Teaser on Facebook. facebook.com. Sony Music. 2011-03-05. 2011-03-05.
  23. Web site: Michael Jackson - Hollywood Tonight Official Video. via Youtube. mymusicplug.com. 10 March 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20160313145416/http://mymusicplug.com/m/michael-jackson-hollywood-tonight-official-video. 2016-03-13. dead.
  24. Web site: Michael Jackson: Hollywood Tonight (Throwback Mix). 2011-05-12. promotion-us.com. 2011-05-12. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110513181134/http://blog.promotion-us.com/michael-jackson-hollywood-tonight-throwback-mix. 2011-05-13.
  25. Web site: Watch The Making of Hollywood Tonight - The Official Michael Jackson Site. michaeljackson.com. 2011-03-24. 2011-03-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20110421052426/http://www.michaeljackson.com/us/news/watch-making-hollywood-tonight. 2011-04-21. dead.
  26. Web site: Hollywood Tonight Video - The Official Michael Jackson Site. michaeljackson.com. Sony Music Entertainment. 2011-03-11. 2011-03-11. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110314092356/http://www.michaeljackson.com/uk/news/hollywood-tonight-video. 2011-03-14.
  27. Web site: MJ Music Video Shoot Takes Over Hollywood. TMZ.com. 2011-02-22. 2011-02-25.
  28. Web site: Classifiche. Musica e Dischi. it. May 29, 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Michael Jackson".
  29. Web site: Dance Chart :: Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video . . 2011-06-16 . 2011-09-22 . pl . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120513130527/http://zpav.pl/rankingi/listy/dyskoteki/index.php?idlisty=398 . 2012-05-13 .
  30. Web site: CHART: CLUK Update 23.04.2011 (wk14) . zobbel.de . 2011-04-23 . 2011-08-16 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120212123446/http://www.zobbel.de/cluk/110423cluk.txt . 2012-02-12 .
  31. Best of 2011: Dance/Club Songs (41–50) . . . 3 January 2012.
  32. Web site: Hollywood Tonight - EP di Michael Jackson - Scarica Hollywood Tonight - EP su iTunes. iTunes. 2011-04-08. 2011-04-09.
  33. Web site: Hollywood Tonight: Michael Jackson: Amazon.co.uk: Music. amazon.co.uk. 2011-04-11.
  34. Web site: HOY SE LANZA "HOLLYWOOD TONIGHT", EL NUEVO SINGLE DE MICHAEL JACKSON. The Official Michael Jackson Site. MichaelJackson.com. 2011-03-08. 2011-03-10.
  35. Web site: 2011年3月22日Hit FM独家首播Hollywood Tonight-Michael Jackson. Hit FM. Kaixin001.com. 2011-03-22. 2011-03-22. October 5, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111005075834/http://www.kaixin001.com/home/?uid=46404901. dead.
  36. Web site: HIT FM - PLAYING THE HOTTEST HITS. https://web.archive.org/web/20100421035540/http://hitfm.myspace.cn/music.php?p=newbuzz. dead. 2010-04-21. Myspace. Hit FM. 2011-03-22.
  37. Web site: Äntligen kan vi presentera videon till "Hollywood Tonight"!. The Official Michael Jackson Site. MichaelJackson.com. 2011-03-10. 2011-03-13. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110315034014/http://www.michaeljackson.com/se/news/%C3%A4ntligen-kan-vi-presentera-videon-till-hollywood-tonight. 2011-03-15.
  38. Web site: Michael Jackson : Hollywood Tonight (Single) - 소니뮤직. sonymusic.co.kr. Sony Music Korea. 2011-03-10. 2011-03-13. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140916025104/http://www.sonymusic.co.kr/music/album.asp?albumid=105008. 2014-09-16.
  39. Web site: Urban/UAC Future Releases - R&B, Hip Hop, Release Schedule and Street Dates . 2011-03-18 . 2011-03-18 . All Access . https://web.archive.org/web/20110330173601/http://www.allaccess.com/urban/future-releases . 2011-03-30 . dead .
  40. Web site: The single, "Hollywood Tonight" impacts Urban/Urban AC on April 5th.. 2011-09-04. 2012-09-18. allaccess.com.
  41. Web site: Hollywood Tonight: Michael Jackson: Amazon.de: MP3-Downloads . https://archive.today/20130210084219/http://www.amazon.de/dp/B004UVBS0G . dead . 2013-02-10 . Amazon.de . 2011-08-16 .
  42. Web site: Hollywood Tonight: Michael Jackson: Amazon.de: MP3-Downloads . https://archive.today/20130210074259/http://www.amazon.de/dp/B004UVBRM0 . dead . 2013-02-10 . Amazon.de . 2011-08-16 .
  43. Web site: Hollywood Tonight: Michael Jackson: Amazon.de: Musik. amazon.de. 2011-04-01.

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