"Stranger in Moscow" is the fifth and final single from Michael Jackson's album HIStory. The song was released worldwide in November 1996 but was not released in the US until August 1997. The track was written by Jackson in 1993, at the height of the highly publicized child abuse accusations made against him, while on tour in Moscow. In the ballad, Jackson sings of a fall from grace that has left him lonely, isolated, paranoid and on the verge of insanity. When the song was complete, with Jackson happy with the result, he decided to make the second disc of HIStory a full studio album instead of a greatest hits compilation with several new tracks. Upon release, "Stranger in Moscow" was praised by critics, today it remains one of his most critically acclaimed pieces. Commercially the single saw mixed results by Jackson's standards, but the highly successful album had already been on the market.
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