I'll be your night lovin' thing
I'll be the freak you can taunt
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Much like it's rock-infused earlier sibling "Beat It," "Dirty Diana" was another song about tenacious groupie hoes. Well-known for his penchant for being shy--at least that's the persona Michael Jackson sought to promote--this fifth single from his Bad album was, pardon the pun, dirty. So much so that when I first heard the song by watching the video, I looked around to see if some adult would stride in and tell me to turn the channel. It almost seemed as though Michael was a bit uncomfortable by the song's subject matter, evidenced by the first few frames of the clip, the corners of his mouth twisting into wry smile. As a kid, I thought that this track was a very interesting ode to who I assumed was long-time friend Diana Ross. Though he said the track was about no one in particular, he still intended to keep it off the Bad concert's set list when he played the the original Wembley Stadium lest Princess Diana be offended. Much to his surprise, Princess Di asked him to play it because it was one of her favorites. Fast-forwarding to Michael's This Is It tour, concert tour choreographer Kenny Ortega's idea to have a pole dancer who would lure Michael onto a giant bed on which she performed acrobatics while he was tied to the bed only further illustrates the pure sex that drips from this song. I never much thought of Michael as sexy, but after this track, I never looked at him the same again.
Michael Jackson: "Dirty Diana"
