text: earth song " earth song " is the third single from michael jackson 's album history : past , present and future , book i. it is the fifth song on the second disc of the album . it is a ballad that incorporates elements of blues , gospel and opera . jackson had a long - standing history of releasing socially conscious material such as " we are the world " , " man in the mirror " and " heal the world " . however , " earth song " was the first that overtly dealt with the environment and animal welfare . " earth song " was made for the dangerous album but it failed to make the final cut . the song was written and composed by jackson ; the task of production was split between jackson , david foster and bill bottrell . " earth song " was accompanied by a lavish music video shot in four geographical regions . it centered on the destruction and rebirth of earth and went on to receive a grammy nomination in 1997 . the song was a top five hit in most european countries . it remains jackson 's best - selling single in the united kingdom , and was the country 's number - one christmas single in 1995 . " earth song " was not released as a single in the united states . jackson went on to receive recognition from various animal and environmental organizations . in 2011 the song was paired - up with the poem " planet earth " ( previously released on michael jackson 's this is it , in 2009 ) and released as a song in the remix album immortal . the song was the last song to be rehearsed by jackson , shortly after midnight on june 25 , 2009 , making it the final song ever performed by michael jackson . background jackson already had a long - standing history of writing charitable or socially conscious material . as a child , he had recorded the song " in our small way " for his first album got to be there . as an adult , jackson used his fame and wealth to promote various causes . in 1985 , he co - wrote the charity single " we are the world " with lionel richie , which was released worldwide to aid the poor in africa and the us . the single became one of the best - selling singles of all time , with nearly 20 million copies sold and millions of dollars donated to famine relief . it was also the first time jackson was seen as a humanitarian . all of the profits from his single " man in the mirror " went to charity . jackson founded the " heal the world foundation " in 1992 , inspired by his charity single of the same name . following the illness and death of ryan white , jackson helped draw public attention to hiv / aids , something that was still controversial at the time . he publicly pleaded with the clinton administration at bill clinton 's inaugural gala to give more money to hiv / aids charities and research . he would go on to perform the song " gone too soon " for white and other victims of the illness . production " earth song " was originally written and composed by jackson in the hotel imperial in vienna , austria under the title " what about us " . a demo , which featured jackson singing the ending in falsetto , was to be released as part of a bonus disc for the remastered dangerous album in 2001 but the release was cancelled ; the song along with other tracks were leaked on the internet . production of the song was a collaborative effort between jackson , david foster and bill bottrell . andrae crouch 's choir and jackson engage in a back and forth chant as the song reaches its climactic finale . jackson 's intent was to create a song that was lyrically deep yet melodically simple , so the whole world , particularly non - english - speaking fans , could sing along . he conceptualized a song that had an emotional message . composition " earth song " is a ballad that incorporates elements of blues , gospel and opera . in the socially conscious track , jackson issues a wakeup - call about the dire situations that mankind has caused and is facing , ranging from war to devastation to animals and earth itself . the song reveals itself to be highly spiritual at the end where jackson calls on people to remember the earth is their inheritance from god via their ancestor abraham . " what about death again " reminds all to think about eternal death , asking people to check their heart for repentance , or to see if they really cared at all . having disfellowshipped himself from jehovah 's witnesses , jackson simplified his faith to focus on the biblical jesus christ until his death . the song is written in the key of ab melodic minor . reception critical response " earth song " received mixed reviews from music critics . james hunter of rolling stone stated , " the slow blues - operatic ' earth song ' for all its noble sentiments , sounds primarily like a showpiece " . a san jose mercury news review called it " flat " and " whiny " , believing jackson had already experimented with these concepts earlier in his career . the philadelphia inquirer described the track as " a healing , rhythmic ballad that evokes religious imagery " . a review in the sacramento bee was favorable , describing jackson 's vocal performance as " cool " . michael mehle of rocky mountain news described the finale as " anthemic " and a " powerful gospel opus " . a ledger - enquirer review observed of " earth song " , " [ it ] enjoys the same kind of subtlety , building to a dramatic call - and - response finish with the andrae crouch choir " . contra costa times 's review called it " a bit sappy and overblown " but also acknowledged that it was " epic " and destined to be a " massive smash hit " . commercial performance " earth song " remains jackson 's best - selling single in the united kingdom , where it sold 1 . 16 million copies as of november 2012 . it debuted at number one on the uk singles chart , where it remained for six weeks throughout december 1995 — beating the u2 / brian eno project passengers in competition to win the christmas number one spot — and into early - 1996 . during its stay at number one , " earth song " kept the first single released by the beatles in 25 years , " free as a bird " , off the number one position . in early december , bookmakers correctly predicted that jackson would keep the beatles off the top position and go on to attain the christmas number - one single . the song also took the number one position in spain , italy , sweden and switzerland , peaking within the top five in almost every european state . in germany , it was jackson 's first single to reach no. 1 on the german singles chart and by staying on the pole position for 5 consecutive weeks , it 's also his most successful single there . the song was only released to radio in the u.s. , appearing on the hot dance music / club play chart . in 2006 , " earth song " reached number 55 on the european hot 100 singles chart , following the visionary : the video singles campaign , whereby 20 of jackson 's hit singles from the 1980s to the 1990s were reissued in several european countries . environmental recognition jackson received the genesis award : 1995 doris day music award , given each year for animal sensitivity . in 2008 , a writer for the nigeria exchange noted , " ' earth song ' drew the world 's attention to the degradation and bastardization of the earth as a fall out of various human activities " . music video the music video for " earth song " , directed by fine art photographer nick brandt , was expensive and well - received ; it gained a le film fantastique : best video award in 1996 , the 1995 doris day music award at the genesis awards and a grammy nomination for best music video , short form in 1997 . the production had an environmental theme , showing images of animal cruelty , deforestation , pollution , poverty and war . jackson and the world 's people unite in a spiritual chant — " earth song " — which summons a force that heals the world . using special effects , time is reversed so that life returns , war ends and the forests regrow . the video closes with a request for donations to jackson 's heal the world foundation . the clip was shown infrequently in the united states . the video was filmed in four geographic regions ( americas , europe and africa ) . the first location was the amazon rainforest , where a large part was destroyed a week after the video 's completion . natives of the region appeared in the video and were not actors . the second scene was a war zone in karlovac , croatia , with famous croatian actor slobodan dimitrijević and the residents of the area . the third location was tanzania , which incorporated scenes of illegal poaching and hunting into the video . no animals were harmed in the making of the " earth song " , as the footage came from documentary archives . the final location was in warwick , new york , where a safe forest fire was simulated in a corn field . the video was also included on the video albums : history on film , volume ii , number ones and michael jackson 's vision . brit awards in 1996 , jackson performed " earth song " at the brit awards in the united kingdom ; he was there to collect a special " artist of a generation " award . jackson sang while dangling off the edge of a high rise crane lift , which he had used the year before while performing it on the german tv show wetten dass . below , a chorus of backing performers joined in and many of them began to physically embrace jackson upon his descent . in response to the performance , jarvis cocker ran onto the stage without permission , lifted his shirt and pretended to break wind , before giving jackson the insulting v - sign . the pulp frontman had been there with his band , who had been nominated for three brit awards . cocker was subsequently questioned by police over claims he had assaulted some of the child performers , but he was later released without charge . the singer explained that he found the performance offensive , claiming that jackson had portrayed himself as christ - like and could do as he pleased because of his immense wealth and power . jackson condemned cocker 's behavior as " disgusting and cowardly " . the incident is referred to in the book politics and popular culture by john street , professor of politics at the university of east anglia . he says : " but to read popular culture as a straight - forward – or at least typical – political text is to take a very narrow view of its meaning , and hence of its political message ( s ) . as we have noted , the text 's meaning will depend on how it is heard and read . michael jackson may have intended his ' earth song ' as an exercise in compassion ; others – like jarvis cocker – saw it quite differently . one reason these alternative readings emerge is because of the way the performance of popular culture engages more than a literal text , it employs gestures and symbols , tones of voice , looks and glances , all of which might tell a different story " . 2010 grammy awards performance the song , along with a 3 - d short film that was to be featured in jackson 's series of comeback concerts this is it , was performed as a tribute to jackson . jennifer hudson , carrie underwood , smokey robinson , celine dion and usher all sang the song together , while the video played in the background . the film was shown in its original 3 - d format during the broadcast . target provided free 3 - d glasses to customers a week before the grammy awards . paris and prince jackson , jackson 's oldest children , appeared shortly after the performance to accept jackson 's lifetime achievement award , where they both gave a short speech . this was the first time the children had spoken publicly since the memorial service that was held for jackson on july 7 , 2009 . charts and certifications track listing personnel written , composed and lead and background vocals by michael jackson produced by michael jackson and david foster co - produced by bill bottrell choir performance by the andrae crouch choir keyboards : david paich bass guitar : guy pratt drums : steve synthesizer programming : steve porcaro co - performance by london philharmonic orchestra ( orchestral mix only ) orchestral arrangement by james horner ( orchestral mix only )