Scream

"Scream" is a hard, defiant duet between Michael Jackson and his sister Janet, released as the lead single from HIStory. It answers the press scrutiny and personal attacks Jackson faced in the early 1990s with pure frustration, its lyrics venting at a world that would not leave him alone. Built on a tense, industrial-leaning groove, it is one of the most aggressive singles of his career, and pairing him with Janet, herself a superstar, made it a genuine event. The accompanying video, set on a stark black-and-white spacecraft, was reported at the time as one of the most expensive music videos ever produced. It won a Grammy for its short film. "Scream" showed a harder, angrier Jackson than fans were used to, trading polish for raw nerve, and it set the confrontational tone for much of the HIStory album that followed.

The song brought Michael together with Janet's longtime collaborators Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, whose production shaped its hard, percussive sound. Recorded for HIStory in the mid-1990s, the track was designed as a sibling duet, with the two Jacksons trading and stacking vocals over a dense, aggressive beat. The result matched the album's theme of striking back at critics and the media.

A tense, uptempo track with an industrial edge, driven by hard synth stabs, clattering percussion, and layered, snapping vocals from both Jacksons. The arrangement is dense and metallic, with sharp dynamics and a driving, agitated groove that mirrors the song's frustration. The two voices interlock and overlap, trading lines across the beat.

The song's video became a benchmark for scale and expense in the 1990s, reportedly among the most costly ever made, and it won a Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video. As a rare pairing of two of pop's biggest stars, it drew enormous attention and marked a harder turn in Jackson's image.

Jackson performed "Scream" on the HIStory World Tour, staging it with sharp, angular choreography that matched the song's aggression. It was planned for the This Is It concert series.