The Way You Make Me Feel

THE STORY BEHIND ' The Way You Make Me Feel '

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This is the "strut" of the album, a song that oozes confidence and charm. The story below details how Michael’s mother inspired the beat, the legendary chemistry with the leading lady in the video, and the iconic Grammy performance that redefined live music.

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By 1986, Michael Jackson was deep into the writing process for Bad. He had the aggressive tracks ("Bad") and the smooth ballads ("I Just Can't Stop Loving You"), but the album was missing a specific kind of rhythmic swing.

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The inspiration for "The Way You Make Me Feel" came from the most important woman in Michael’s life: his mother, Katherine Jackson. Katherine loved R&B music with a "shuffle" rhythm, a swinging, triplet-based beat that makes you want to snap your fingers. She explicitly asked Michael to write a song with that specific "shuffling" feel.

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Michael, always eager to please his mother, went into his home laboratory and programmed a drum beat that locked into a hard, swinging shuffle. He added a rolling bassline and the iconic finger snaps that open the track. When he played the demo for Katherine, she danced to it immediately. It became her favorite song on the album.

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The short film for "The Way You Make Me Feel" is famous for its visual style. Directed by Joe Pytka, the entire video is washed in a cool, monochromatic blue light, creating a dreamy, urban atmosphere.

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The video features Michael pursuing a woman down a city street. Unlike the dangerous gangs of "Beat It" or "Bad," the gang in this video is playful. They aren't fighting; they are wingmen, cheering Michael on as he tries to impress the girl.

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The leading lady was played by model and dancer Tatiana Thumbtzen. She was chosen out of hundreds of women because she didn't just look good; she had an attitude that matched Michael’s. The chemistry between them on set was electric and real. During the filming, Michael was reportedly so shy that he struggled to make eye contact with her when the cameras weren't rolling, but as soon as the director yelled "Action!", he transformed into the confident suitor.

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The chemistry with Tatiana Thumbtzen spilled over into real life in a controversial way. During the Bad tour, Tatiana was hired to perform the song on stage with Michael.

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In the original choreography, she was supposed to simply strut across the stage while Michael chased her. However, during a show in Kansas City in 1988, Tatiana decided to improvise. Caught up in the moment, she stopped and kissed Michael on the lips in front of 18,000 people. Michael was visibly stunned but smiled. However, Michael’s management was furious at the break in protocol. Tatiana was fired from the tour shortly after, cementing the "what if" romance as a piece of Jackson mythology.

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The Sonic Architecture: The "Shuffle" Musically, the song is a masterclass in the "shuffle groove."

• The Beat: The drums are programmed to swing heavily. It isn't a straight "1-2-3-4" beat; it has a "skip" to it. This gives the song its strutting, walking-down-the-street feeling.

• The Harmonies: The background vocals on the song are incredibly dense. Michael stacked his own voice dozens of times to create the harmonies in the chorus. If you listen to the acapella, it sounds like a full gospel choir, but it is 100% Michael.

• The Horns: The brass section acts as the "punch" of the song. The horns blast on the off-beats, adding to the aggressive, confident energy.

 

The Grammy Performance of 1988 While the album version is great, the live version became legendary at the 1988 Grammy Awards.

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Michael opened the performance alone on stage, wearing a simple blue shirt and a fedora, standing in silhouette. He performed a slow, bluesy version of the song's intro, snapping his fingers and singing with raw, unpolished soul. It was a moment of pure theater. Then, as the beat kicked in, he spun around, and the full band exploded. This performance is widely cited by critics as one of the greatest live TV performances in history, proving that Michael didn't need pyrotechnics to captivate an audience, just a spotlight and a hat.

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The album version of the song opens with a distinctive soundscape: generic city noise and men shouting "Hey!" and "Go on girl!" This was designed to set the scene of a street corner.

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Interestingly, this intro was often cut from radio edits, meaning many fans who grew up listening to the radio only heard the drum beat start. The full album version includes nearly 30 seconds of this atmospheric buildup, which Michael felt was crucial to establishing the "narrative" of the chase.

 

Released on November 9, 1987, "The Way You Make Me Feel" shot to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It stayed there for one week.

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Its success was pivotal. It was the third consecutive #1 single from the Bad album (following "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" and "Bad"). This momentum proved that the album wasn't front-loaded; it was a juggernaut that was going to dominate the charts for years.

 

The song remains one of Michael’s most covered tracks. Its simple chord structure and infectious rhythm make it a favorite for bar bands and pop stars alike. It was famously covered by the Jonas Brothers and featured prominently in the dance movie Center Stage (2000), introducing it to a new generation of dancers.

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It stands as the "feel good" anthem of the Bad era, a song that isn't about saving the world or fighting gangs, but simply about the joy of falling in love and feeling cool while doing it.