Dangerous (Michael Jackson album)

Dangerous is the eighth studio album by American singer Michael Jackson. It was first released by Epic Records on November 21, 1991, more than four years after Jackson's previous album, Bad (1987). Co-produced by Jackson, Bill Bottrell, Teddy Riley, and Bruce Swedien, the album was Jackson's first since Forever, Michael (1975) without longtime collaborator Quincy Jones. Guest appearances include Heavy D, Princess Stéphanie of Monaco, Slash and Wreckx-n-Effect. The album incorporates new jack swing, a popular genre at the time, R&B and pop. Elements of industrial, funk, hip hop, electronic, gospel, classical and rock are also present. Jackson wrote or co-wrote 12 of the album's 14 songs, discussing topics like racism, poverty, romance, self-improvement, multiculturalism and the welfare of children and the world.

Dangerous is considered an artistic change for Jackson, with his music focusing on more socially conscious material, and including a broader range of sounds and styles. It features catchy pop hooks and choruses while also introducing underground sounds to a mainstream audience. The album's tone is noted by critics as gritty and urban, with sounds including synthetic basslines, scratching, and drum machine percussion, as well as unconventional sounds like honking vehicle horns, sliding chains, swinging gates, breaking glass, and clanking metal. Jackson also incorporates beatboxing, scat singing, and finger snapping throughout the album. Nine singles from the album premiered between November 1991 and December 1993, including one exclusively released outside North America ("Give In to Me").

Dangerous debuted at number one on the US Billboard Top Pop Albums chart and was outpacing both Thriller (1982) and Bad in sales, being certified 4× platinum in the US within two months of its release. It reached number one in 13 other countries and became the best-selling album worldwide of 1992. The album produced four singles that reached the top ten of the US Billboard Hot 100: "Remember the Time", "In the Closet", "Will You Be There" and the number-one single "Black or White". The title track was frequently performed in the rest of Jackson's touring career, beginning at the Dangerous World Tour, which grossed $100 million (equivalent to $218 million in 2024). Initially polarizing critics, Dangerous has since received rave reviews, being viewed as Jackson's final "classic" album.

By 1994, Dangerous was one of the best-selling albums of all time having sold 25 million copies worldwide; today its sales stand at 32 million. It was certified 8× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2018. The album been included in several publications' lists of the greatest albums of all time, and its artistry and thematic content in particular have been praised as Jackson's finest. At the 1993 Grammy Awards, it received four Grammy Award nominations, winning Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. Jackson won two American Music Awards at the 1993 American Music Awards for the album, including Favorite Pop/Rock Album. Jackson also received special Billboard Music Awards for Best Worldwide Album and Best Worldwide Single for "Black or White" in recognition of the album's and single's respective global record sales.