Michael Jackson’s ‘Smooth Criminal’ reaches 1 billion views on YouTubeMichael Jackson’s ‘Smooth Criminal’ reaches 1 billion views on YouTube

Legacy Recordings

Another Michael Jackson video has reached 1 billion views on YouTube.

The latest to reach the milestone is the 1988 Bad track “Smooth Criminal,” set in a 1930s gangster club. It’s most known for Jackson and his dancers performing a 45-degree lean, which seems physically impossible.

This is the fifth Jackson video to surpass 1 billion views. The others are “Thriller,” “Beat it,” “Billie Jean” and “They Don’t Care About Us.”

“Smooth Criminal” is one of six top 10 singles off Bad; it peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. The other five singles from the album — “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You,” “Bad,” “The Way You Make Me Feel,” “Man in the Mirror” and “Dirty Diana” — all went to #1.

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