Synopsis

On a deserted Los Angeles street, Michael Jackson spots a woman walking home and tries to win her attention with a playful mixture of singing, dancing, and flirtation. At first, she ignores his advances, but encouragement from bystanders keeps him pursuing her through the neighborhood. His energetic performance gradually breaks through her resistance, turning the encounter into a spontaneous romantic fantasy. The extended short film ends with the two finally embracing beneath a burst of water from a fire hydrant.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was filmed in June 1987 on Skid Row in Los Angeles and released on October 31, 1987, shortly after "Bad" began its run of major singles.

• Model and dancer Tatiana Thumbtzen played Jackson's love interest. The role became her best-known screen appearance and led to her joining Jackson during performances on the Bad World Tour.

• La Toya Jackson appears briefly as one of Thumbtzen's friends, making the video another family appearance in Michael Jackson's videography.

• The full-length version runs for roughly seven minutes and plays more like a compact street musical than a conventional performance clip. Its opening includes a sample from Roy Ayers' 1985 track "Hot."

• The choreography was nominated at the 1988 MTV Video Music Awards, where it competed against Jackson's own "Bad" video. Janet Jackson's "The Pleasure Principle" won the category.

• Jackson performed the song live at the 30th Grammy Awards on March 2, 1988, pairing it with "Man in the Mirror." The appearance helped cement the song's dance routine as one of the defining live moments of the Bad era.

• The video has been preserved on several Jackson collections, including Video Greatest Hits - HIStory, Number Ones, Michael Jackson's Vision, and the Bad 25 bonus DVD.