Bad 25

Bad 25 is a reissue of Michael Jackson’s seventh studio album, Bad (1987), released to mark its 25th anniversary on September 18, 2012. It was put out by Epic, Legacy Recordings, and MJJ Productions. This was Jackson’s second album to get a 25th anniversary reissue, after Thriller 25 in 2008. The original Bad has sold 35 million copies worldwide, ranking among the best-selling albums ever.

The standard two-disc set includes the original album plus unreleased material from the Bad recording sessions, such as early demos, demos of songs that didn’t make the final album, and remixes. A deluxe box set adds a live CD and DVD of Jackson’s July 16, 1988, performance at Wembley Stadium in London during his Bad world tour, along with a booklet of behind-the-scenes photos from the album and its short films, a two-sided poster, and a sticker. A vinyl version of the original 1987 release (without “Leave Me Alone”) was also issued. Three tracks—“Streetwalker,” “Fly Away,” and the Spanish version of “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You,” titled “Todo Mi Amor Eres Tú”—had previously appeared on the 2001 Bad: Special Edition. The Japanese edition includes a live version of “Bad” recorded at Yokohama Stadium in September 1987. Bad 25 is the ninth album released by Sony and Motown since Jackson’s death on June 25, 2009.

For promotion, Pepsi ran a “Live for Now” campaign, printing one billion cans worldwide with a photo of Jackson from the “Smooth Criminal” video. These were limited-edition 16-ounce (450 ml) cans. A documentary about the album screened at the 69th Venice International Film Festival from August 29 to September 8, 2012, and an edited version aired on ABC on November 22, 2012. On September 18, 2012, Sony Music and the Estate of Michael Jackson, in partnership with BET, broadcast a two-hour TV special called Bad 25: The Short Films of Michael Jackson, which showed the album’s short films and included interviews with fans, journalists, and critics.

Two singles were released. “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” was re-released as a CD single in the United States on June 5, 2012, as a Walmart exclusive, with the unreleased demo “Don’t Be Messin’ ‘Round” as the B-side. A vinyl version included the original B-side, “Baby Be Mine” from Thriller, instead. The single debuted at number one on Billboard’s Hot Singles Sales chart, selling 5,000 copies.