Hollywood Tonight by Michael Jackson Song Info
"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. 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 from those left by Jackson. On December 3, 2010, before the album Michael's release, the song premiered on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The song was first released as a single to radio stations in Italy, on February 11, 2011, and it was first listed on BBC Radio 2's playlist A one-day later. In Poland, the song was released on February 14, 2011. 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. Despite this, "Hollywood Tonight" was released to urban contemporary and adult contemporary radio stations in the US on April 5, 2011. Hollywood Tonight" is a playable song in the PlayStation Vita, Nintendo 3DS and iOS versions of Michael Jackson: The Experience. “Hollywood Tonight" peaked at #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs Chart in the Spring of 2011.
