Smooth Criminal" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his 1987 album Bad. First broadcast on television as a video in early October 1988, it was released as the album's seventh single on October 21, 1988, and peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100.[3] It was re-released on April 10, 2006, as a part of the Visionary: The Video Singles box set. The re-released Visionary single charted at number 19 in the UK. The song is one of Jackson's signature songs, and has appeared on numerous greatest hits albums.
The song contains a fast-paced beat intertwined with Jackson's lyrics about a woman named Annie, who has been violently attacked in her apartment by a smooth assailant.
The song serves as the theme song to Jackson's 1988 film Moonwalker, and plays as the background soundtrack in a section of the video game Michael Jackson's Moonwalker.