Who Did “You Are Not Alone” Better: Michael Jackson Or R. Kelly?

Robbie Daw | December 9, 2010 10:05 am

Included as a bonus cut on R. Kelly’s upcoming 10th album Love Letter is his version of Michael Jackson’s “You Are Not Alone.” Kelly, of course, penned the 1995 chart-topping single—Jackson’s last Hot 100 #1 during his lifetime—for the King Of Pop. Incidentally, Love Letter and Michael will duke it out in the charts next week, as they’re both released on December 14th. But before that, let’s head below and hear the two versions of “You Are Not Alone.” First up we have Michael Jackson’s Wayne Isham-directed “You Are Not Alone” video, featuring MJ’s then-wife Lisa Marie Presley. Maybe they were experiencing marital bliss at the time, but did the whole world really need to see them this naked?

“You Are Not Alone” became Jackson’s second Top 10 hit off HIStory: Past, Present And Future, Book 1, following his duet with sister Janet, “Scream.”

Next is Kelly’s version, which has a slightly different keyboard arrangement and contains the singer’s spoken tribute “In love and memories of my hero MJ forever” at the beginning.

Normally we’d raise an eyebrow over an artist taking one of Michael’s classics. (Alien Ant Farm, anyone?) But given that Jackie Collins’ favorite source of inspiration R. Kelly wrote “You Are Not Alone”, he’s pretty much got a free pass with this one. We’re just surprised it took him 15 years to release his rendition.

Which version of “You Are Not Alone” do you prefer?

[Via Rap-Up.com]