Michael Jackson and Prince, often seen as musical rivals, nearly collaborated on Jackson’s hit song “Bad,” but the project never came to fruition.
In a 1997 interview with Chris Rock, Prince confirmed that he was initially intended to feature on Jackson’s “Bad” ten years earlier.
Recently, Sheila E., drummer and singer, echoed Prince’s statement on an episode of “The Jason Show,” explaining why the collaboration fell through.
Around the 15:30 mark of the show, host Jason Matheson asked Sheila E. about the rumored feud between Jackson and Prince. Sheila E. responded, “No, they hung out. We all hung out.” She then shared a “never told” story about their near collaboration.
She recounted, “So we get the song ‘Bad’ from Michael, and we’re here at Paisley [Park]. And Prince is like, ‘Wait a minute.’ He said, ‘Michael wants me to sing this song with him.’ So he played it for us. He goes, ‘Your butt is mine…’ He said, ‘What?! Your butt is mine?’ And he just walked away, he said, ‘Uh, uh.'”
Sheila E. revealed that they re-recorded the song at Prince’s Minnesota studio, describing it as “so funky, it was so amazing. It was an incredible rendition of what it should’ve been.” However, after recording, Prince decided to scrap the entire project. “Then Prince went like this,” Sheila said, mimicking pressing a button, “And he erased the whole thing. Right there.”
Sheila E. noted that this wasn’t an isolated incident, as Prince, known for his perfectionism, frequently discarded songs. “Oh yeah, it was fun. We did that all the time. I can name so many songs that we re-recorded that was sent to us. Ah, that’s another show.”
Despite the missed collaboration, “Bad” was a chart-topping success upon its release in September 1987, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks.
