Singles #7: Michael Jackson - In The Closet (1991)

In The Closet is the third single off the Dangerous album, and having already worked with Macaulay Culkin, Eddie Murphy, Iman and Magic Johnson for the previous two videos, who's MJ gonna call for this one?

Well, MJ decided to go for a different look for this video and enlisted the help of famed black-and-white photographer Herb Ritts for this one. They decided that the video should show a side of MJ seldom seen, and that this will decidedly be a sexy video.

So in comes Naomi Campbell, who seduces and slithers her way around MJ throughout the video, making the desert hotter than it already is. MJ also tries to keep up the sex quotient with a sleek, tied-up ponytail hairstyle. He also toned up in the gym specially for this shoot, appearing in a tight-fitting singlet.

The video is memorable and beautifully shot, though I must say MJ looks a little uncomfortable at times. The dance moves are seemingly improvised and performed by MJ alone with no backup dancers. I kinda like this video cos it's quite different from the others. It also fits the sexually-charged nature of the song.

The song reached #1 on the R&B charts and #6 on the Hot 100, making it the third Top Ten hit of the Dangerous project. In case you're wondering who the Mystery Girl duetting with MJ in the song is, she is Princess Stephanie of Monaco. Not that I know who she is anyway. But she does a credible job here.

For this single, there were Mixes Behind Door #1, #2 and #3. The purple one pictured below here is the Japanese version for #3, with obi strip and standard jewel case.


This one below is Mixes Behind Door #1, and it contains 5 remixes of the song.


This Maxi-Single version is neither #1, #2 nor #3. And it contains one remix of Remember The Time as well.


This one below is the vinyl version of #2, and it contains 4 remixes of In The Closet.