P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)

"P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)"
U.S. 7" vinyl
Single by Michael Jackson
from the album Thriller
B-side	"This Place Hotel" (UK) "Working Day and Night"
Released	September 19, 1983
Format	7" 12"
Recorded	1982
Genre	Funk disco
Length	3:58
Label	Epic
Writer(s)	James Ingram Quincy Jones
Producer(s)	Quincy Jones
Michael Jackson singles chronology
"Human Nature" (1983) "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" (1983) "Thriller" (1984)

"P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" is a song by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It is the sixth single from Jackson's sixth solo album, Thriller (1982). The original demo version of the song was written by Jackson and Greg Phillinganes. Quincy Jones passed on the song itself but liked the title and, with James Ingram, fashioned a totally new song with that title. The demo version is featured on The Ultimate Collection.

"P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" was released on September 19, 1983, as the penultimate single from Thriller. The single charted at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and no. 46 on the Hot Black Singles chart, becoming the sixth Top 10 hit from the album. In the UK, the song reached a peak position of 11. The single was most successful in Belgium, charting within the Top 10 at no. 6. The song has been covered and sampled by numerous artists, including Monica, Justin Guarini and Kanye West. The original demo was also remixed by The Black Eyed Peas singer will.i.am for Thriller 25.

"P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" was never performed live by Jackson. In a rehearsal for the Dangerous World Tour, however, Jackson sang a small part of the demo version, describing it as "something I wrote that I haven't recorded yet."

Recording

James Ingram later described working with Jackson and Jones as being in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. "It's almost like I got the chance to go to Oz and Quincy was the Wizard of Oz and Michael Jackson was who he was dealing with in his world. Their work ethic is unbelievable."^[1] He noted how Jones would fall asleep on the board, waking up to answer a question. "He works in the Alpha state a lot", Ingram added.^[1] Two of Jackson's sisters, Janet and La Toya, provided backing vocals in the guise of the P.Y.T.s. The two sisters sang "na na na" back at their brother towards the end of the song.^[2][3][4] It has a tempo of 126 beats per minute, making it one of Jackson's fastest songs.^[5]

Release and reception

"P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" was released on September 19, 1983, as the sixth single from Thriller. The single charted at no. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and no. 46 on the Hot Black Singles chart, becoming the sixth Top 10 hit from Thriller.^[3][6] In the United Kingdom, the song reached a peak position of 11.^[2] It was most successful in Belgium, charting within the Top 10 at no. 6.^[2] The single was placed at no. 14 in the Netherlands.^[2] "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" charted at number 24 in Canada and peaked at number 51 in Germany.^[2]

Response to "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" was mixed to positive. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic thought that it was "frizzy funk."^[7] Eric Henderson of Slant Magazine believed that "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" was a "lush disco paradise."^[8] However, Rolling Stone reviewer Christopher Connelly, while discussing the album in a review, stated that the song "isn't up to the spunky character of the other tracks." Connelly mentioned that one of Jackson's weaknesses was "a tendency to go for the glitz," and cited the song as one example of this.^[9] Davitt Sigerson, from the same magazine, also agreed with Connelly, calling it one of Thriller's "forgettables".^[10] Jon Pareles of The New York Times called the song "fluff", and believed that the other songs from the album were what made Thriller such a hit.^[11]

Cover versions and references to the song

• 2002: American Idol runner-up Justin Guarini sang "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" on the first season of the show.^[12]
• 2003: Lene Nystrøm, lead singer of the group Aqua, released "Pretty Young Thing" as the second single in 2004 from her debut solo album, Play with Me. It proved to be far less successful that the lead single "It's Your Duty" was.
• 2007: A part of the lyrics to Justice's "D.A.N.C.E." refer to Jackson's song, and are said to be in homage to the singer.^[13][14]
• 2008: Similar to "D.A.N.C.E", the song "New Classic", featured in Warner Bros.' film Another Cinderella Story, refers to the Jackson song (creating the backronym "paid, young, and taking on the world from the driver's seat/trying everything just to reach your dreams").
• 2010: San Franciscan pop band Snowblink covered the song for their 3/12/2010 Daytrotter session.
• 2010: R&B singers T-Pain and Robin Thicke covered the song for Quincy Jones' album, Q: Soul Bossa Nostra.^[15]
• 2011: The song is performed in the twelfth episode, "Silly Love Songs", of musical television series Glee, by character Artie Abrams (played by Kevin McHale).^[16]
• 2012: The Wood Brothers performed a version of the song for The A.V. Club's A.V. Undercover series.^[17]

Sampling

My first concert ever was the Bad tour. I was absolutely mesmerized. I've always been a fan of Michael's for the simple fact that what he's done no one else will really be able to do. And that's something that makes you legendary.

Monica^[18]

• 2002: Jackson's demo version of "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" was sampled on Monica's single "All Eyez on Me".^[3][19] "We used vocals from the song that didn't make the Thriller album", stated producer Rodney Jerkins. "He [Jackson] had more vocals and ad-libs that were never heard, and we used the ones that were not heard."^[3] Jackson hand delivered his original masters to Monica, who, as a longtime Jackson fan, was touched by the move.^[18][20]
• 2003: The chorus of "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" was sampled by rapper Memphis Bleek on "I Wanna Love U". The song, sung by Donell Jones, featured on Bleek's M.A.D.E. album.^[3][21]
• 2005: The song has been interpolated by Johntá Austin on rapper Bow Wow's song "Is That You (P.Y.T.)", from his album Wanted.
• 2007: "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" was also sampled on rapper Kanye West's "Good Life", the third single from his Graduation album.^[22]

P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) 2008

"P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) 2008"
Song by Michael Jackson featuring will.i.am from the album Thriller 25
Released	February 8, 2008
Format	CD, digital download
Recorded	November 2007
Genre	Hip hop R&B
Length	4:37
Label	Epic
Writer	Michael Jackson William Adams Keith Harris Greg Phillinganes
Producer	Michael Jackson will.i.am
Thriller 25 track listing
"The Girl Is Mine 2008" (11) "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) 2008" (12) "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008" (13)

For Thriller 25, The Black Eyed Peas rapper will.i.am remixed the demo version of "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)".^[23] The singer commented on Jackson and the project, "You always just dream of meeting him, let alone working with him. I wouldn't have believed it. I grew up in the projects in East Los Angeles and Thriller was filmed about two blocks from my house, but my mother was really strict and she wouldn't let me go to the factories—she didn't care who was filming a video there; but I'm on the 25th anniversary, 25 years later—that's pretty awesome."^[1] Entitled "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) 2008", the remix was well received by Rolling Stone. The publication described the track, along with "The Girl Is Mine 2008", as being one of the best songs on the album.^[24] They noted that will.i.am "updates the songs' original sound to make them dancefloor-worthy twenty-five years after their release".^[24]

Personnel

• Written, composed and arranged by James Ingram and Quincy Jones
• Produced by Quincy Jones
• Greg Phillinganes – synthesizer, synthesizer programming
• Michael Boddicker – vocoder, E-mu Emulator
• James Ingram – Portasound keyboard
• Paul Jackson, Jr. – guitars
• Louis Johnson – electric bass
• N'dugu Chancler – drums
• Michael Jackson, Louis Johnson, Greg Phillinganes, James Ingram, Steven Ray – handclaps
• P.Y.T.'s:
  • Janet Jackson
  • La Toya Jackson
  • Becky Lopez
  • Bunny Hull
• Additional background vocals:
  • James Ingram
  • Howard Hewett

Track listing

45 RPM

A-Side

1. P.Y.T (Pretty Young Thing) – 3:58

B-Side

1. Workin' Day and Night (Live-Jacksons) – 4:26

Disco single

A-Side

1. P.Y.T (Pretty Young Thing) – 3:58

B-Side

1. This Place Hotel – 4:41
2. Thriller (Instrumental) – 5:56

Official versions

• Album Version – 3:58
• Demo Version – 3:47
• 2008 Remix with will.i.am – 4:21
• Instrumental Version (Unreleased) – 3:58

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1983–84) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[25] 40 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[26] 6 Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[27] 7 Canada (CHUM)[28] 11 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[29] 13 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[30] 17 Germany (Official German Charts)[31] 51 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[32] 13 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[33] 14 Ireland (IRMA)[34] 4 Poland (LP3)[35] 19 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[36] 11 US Billboard Adult Contemporary[37] 37 US Billboard Hot 100[37] 10 US Billboard Hot Black Singles[37] 46 US Cash Box[38] 15

Chart (2009) Peak position Belgium (Back Catalogue Singles Flanders)[39] 26 Canada (Hot Canadian Digital Singles)[37] 48 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[33] 68 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[40] 92 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[41] 98 US Billboard Hot Digital Songs[37] 14 Year-end charts Chart (1983) Position US Cash Box[42] 96 Chart (1984) Position Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[43] 65

Notes

^ a: This demo, recorded between April and October 1982, was included on the compilation album Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection, issued in November 2004.^[3][44][45]

References

1. Bennett, Joy (December 24, 2007). Thrills to come: King of Pop teams up with Kanye, Akon, will.i.am. for remix of world's' best-selling album: is new CD coming next? at the Wayback Machine (archived July 12, 2009). Jet. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
2. Halstead 2003, p. 42.
3. Halstead 2007, p. 256.
4. Lyle, Peter (November 25, 2007). "Michael Jackson's monster smash". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
5. The Complete Michael Jackson. International Music Publications. 1997. p. 69. ISBN 1859094473.
6. Yeany, Ron (February 10, 1984). "MJ breaks record with record and makes 25 million sales". The Daily Collegian. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
7. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Michael Jackson – Thriller". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
8. Henderson, Eric (October 18, 2003). "Michael Jackson: Thriller". Slant Magazine. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
9. Connelly, Christopher (January 28, 1983). "Michael Jackson: Thriller". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
10. Sigerson, Davitt (October 27, 1987). "Michael Jackson: Bad". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
11. Pareles, Jon (September 3, 1987). "Critic's Notebook; How Good Is Jackson's 'Bad'?". The New York Times. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
12. Blay, Ryan (September 2, 2002). "Two compete on 'American Idol' for a record deal with RCA". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
13. Gamboa, Glenn (February 12, 2008). "Michael Jackson's ‘Thriller' turns 25". PopMatters. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
14. O'Neil, Luke (July 31, 2007). If it fits in the mix, it works at the Wayback Machine (archived June 24, 2007). The Boston Globe. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
15. "Quincy Jones feat. Robin Thicke and T-Pain's P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) cover of Michael Jackson's P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)". WhoSampled. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
16. Idolator Staff (January 22, 2011). "'Glee' Covers Katy Perry And Michael Jackson For Valentine's Day". Idolator. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
17. Modell, Josh (August 21, 2012). "The Wood Brothers cover Michael Jackson". The A.V. Club. Onion, Inc. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
18. Moss, Corey (July 3, 2002). "Monica's Next Album Showcases Her Newfound Potty Mouth". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
19. Saraceno, Christina (December 11, 2002). Monica Eyes the Spotlight at the Wayback Machine (archived May 20, 2007). Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
20. Reid, Shaheem (May 8, 2002). "Monica Brings New Perspective To Third Album". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
21. Reid, Shaheem (May 5, 2003). "Memphis Bleek Gets Past Bleak Period, Now Has It M.A.D.E.". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
22. Pattison, Louis (September 13, 2007). "Kanye West – Graduation". NME. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
23. "Kanye West, Akon, will.i.am for 'Thriller' reissue". NME. November 30, 2007. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
24. Kreps, Daniel (December 20, 2007). The "Thriller" Remixes: Kanye, Akon, Will.i.am and Fergie Try to Top the Chipmunks' "Beat It" at the Wayback Machine (archived December 24, 2007). Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
25. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
26. "Ultratop.be – Michael Jackson – P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
27. "Radio 2 Top 30 : 14 april 1984" (in Dutch). Top 30. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
28. CHART NUMBER 1401 – Saturday, November 19, 1983 at the Wayback Machine (archived November 7, 2006). CHUM. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
29. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 4422." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
30. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 4377." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
31. "Offiziellecharts.de – Michael Jackson – P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
32. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Michael Jackson search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
33. "Dutchcharts.nl – Michael Jackson – P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
34. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – P.Y.T.". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
35. "P.Y.T. (PREETY YOUNG THING) – Michael Jackson" (in Polish). LP3. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
36. "Archive Chart: 1984-04-07" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
37. "Thriller – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
38. CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – December 3, 1983 at the Wayback Machine (archived September 11, 2012). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
39. "50 Back Catalogue Singles – 04/07/2009". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
40. "Swisscharts.com – Michael Jackson – P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
41. "Chart Log UK: Jessie J – JX". Zobbel.de. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
42. The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1983 at the Wayback Machine (archived August 25, 2012). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
43. "Jaaroverzichten 1984" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
44. Rashbaum, Alyssa (September 9, 2004). "Michael Jackson's Ultimate Box Set Has Demos, Hits, Live DVD". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
45. "CDs". The Washington Post. December 10, 2004. Retrieved May 3, 2009.

Bibliography

• Halstead, Craig (2003). Michael Jackson the Solo Years. Authors On Line. ISBN 0-7552-0091-8.
• Halstead, Craig (2007). Michael Jackson: For the Record. Authors On Line. ISBN 978-0-7552-0267-6.