Revisit Billie Eilish’s cover of Michael Jackson’s hit ‘Bad’
When you think of pop superstardom, two names immediately spring to mind: Billie Eilish and Michael Jackson. Both rose to fame at a very young age, with Eilish releasing her first song ‘Ocean Eyes’ when she was just 14. Meanwhile, Jackson was only ten when he dazzled audiences in the Jackson Five. Here, we revisit Billie Eilish’s ode to the King of Pop.
Triple J’s Like A Version segment has seen performances from some of the world’s biggest stars, including Childish Gambino, Lorde, CHVRCHES, Tame Impala, Tash Sultana, HAIM, Gang of Youths, Halsey, DMA’S, Aurora and Arctic Monkeys. When Eilish was invited to perform a few covers on the Australian radio station, she chose to perform Jackson’s 1987 hit single ‘Bad’, which served as the lead track for the album of the same name.
‘Bad’ was an act of reinvention. By the late ’80s, Jackson was doing his utmost to destroy his family-friendly image. Gone was the loveable kid from The Jackson 5 – replaced by the leather-clad bad boy from the inner city. Jackson’s original intention was to sing the song as a duet with Prince. Speaking in a 2001 interview ahead of Bad’s special edition re-release, producer Quincy Jones explained that the idea was to conjure up a sense that the pair were rivals.
Jones, the mastermind behind the ‘We Are The World’ project, was the only person with the kind of gravitas to secure both musicians for the project. However, when he approached Prince and played him the song, the glam star explained that he believed it would be a hit without him and turned down the offer. It’s more likely that Prince couldn’t stand the idea of handing over creative control to both Jones and Jackson.
So that was that. Jackson recorded the song solo, and, as Prince predicted, it became a hit. Martin Scorsese was hired to direct the music video and brought a number of his collaborators along for the ride, including cinematographer Michael Chapman, who worked with the director on Taxi Driver and Raging Bull; writer Richard Price, who helped pen The Color of Money; producer Barbara De Fina; and Scorsese’s go-to editor Thelma Schoonmaker. Eilish uses her trademark vocals in this stripped-back version to bring a sultriness to Jackson’s original composition.
Featuring Finneas on acoustic guitar and a wonderful savouring of lines like “Your butt is mine,” Eilish’s ‘Bad’ is well worth a listen.
