Dangerous

Dangerous was the first album Michael Jackson released in the 1990s, on November 22, 1991. It became his third best-selling album and second to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart, where it spent the next 4 weeks - selling 7 million copies in the US. With sales of approximately 30 million copies worldwide, it is Jackson’s best-selling recording of the nineties and near ties with Bad as his second-best selling album, behind Thriller.

According to the sleeve notes on the later remastered edition of the album, recording sessions began in Los Angeles, California at Ocean Way/Record One Studio 2 on June 25, 1990. The sessions ended at Larrabee North and Ocean Way Studio on October 29, 1991, being the most extensive recording project of Jackson’s career at the time (over 16 months compared to the usual 6 spent for his previous three studio albums).

In March 1991, Jackson signed a 15 year, 6 album deal to Sony Music. The press reported that Sony actually handed over $1 billion to Jackson, but that was not the case. At the time, Sony estimated that if the albums Jackson released under the new contract sold at the same level they currently sold, it would generate over $1 billion in profits for them. Additionally, Jackson was awarded the highest royalty rate in the business.