MTV Interview With Bill Bellamy

July 28, 1995

This interview was part of a 30 minute special - 'Michael Jackson Changes HIStory' - produced by MTV and televised simultaneously on ABC and MTV. The 'You Are Not Alone' video was premiered following the interview.

Bellamy = Bill Bellamy of MTV
MJ = Michael Jackson

Bellamy : You, Janet, and the video [Scream] have been nominated for 11 MTV Music Video Awards, and that hasn't happened in the last decade. How does that make you feel?

MJ : Very, very honored, and I am sure Janet is too. We have worked very hard on it and to reap the fruits of his type of thing is a wonderful achievement. I am very, very happy.

Bellamy : It's awesome! When I watch the [Scream] video, there's so much energy in the video; you guys are just like electric. What was it like working together, doing it, the dancing and the whole thing.

MJ : It was great because we love to dance and to get to dance with my sister reminds me of old times, cause it allowed us to play and goof off and throw stuff, and it was fun. The 'making of" is as much fun as seeing the real short.

Bellamy : You guys have to do another video for us [fans], 'cause we are loving it, man.

MJ : Thank you [smiling].

Bellamy : When we look at your videos, they are every innovative, they are always on the cutting edge. How much are you involved in the creative process of the videos?

MJ: Very much. 'Cause, I pretty much come up with the concepts and I like to collaborated on - this one [Scream], I didn't come up with the concept, it was done by the directory - but I pretty much like to conceptualize and choreograph, but it's always a collaborative effort on everything.

Bellamy : Of all your videos, when you think back on it, what is Michael Jackson's favorite video?

MJ : My favorite? Hmmm, probably something like 'Thriller' to 'Smooth Criminal', I like kinda rough edge. We're gonna do more of that kinda stuff.

Bellamy : You're gonna do more stuff like that?

MJ : Yeah.

Bellamy : Oh, yeah [with excitement].... Michael, you're an artist known for producing your own material, but you also collaborate with a lot of others. How do you choose who you wanna work with?

MJ : Chee, uhm.. I pretty much don't, I pretty much don't pick the artist I want to work with. It kinda happens spontaneously, I think. They present something that I think is interesting and we kinda collaborate on it.

Bellamy : Who would you like to work with that you haven't worked with, yet?

MJ : It would probably be somebody like Tchaikovsky or Claude Debussy - an artist that isn't around any more.

Bellamy : Who were some of the people that you collaborated with on HIStory?

MJ : I worked with R. Kelly, I worked with Notorious B.I.G, I worked with BoyzIIMen, who are phenomenal.

Bellamy : Shequille told me.....

MJ: Yes, Shequille O'Neal, of course! He was great.

Bellamy : He was really nervous, you know. He couldn't believe it, he wanted to scream, he said.

MJ : He was, he was great.

Bellamy : So, was it a lot of fun?

MJ : Yeah!

Bellamy : On the new video ['You Are Not Alone'], is a song that is written and produced by R. Kelly. How did you guys hook up?

MJ : It was a song he presented and I liked it. Actually, we produced this one together... It just is a wonderful song, he is a wonderful artist.

Bellamy : It's a truly beautiful song. I mean, the first time I heard it, I liked it immediately. I mean, was it the same type of impact when you heard it too?

MJ : Yeah, for me, I always have to hear it twice.

Bellamy : Two times!?

MJ : Even when I love it, I wanna hear it again. But I loved it!

['You Are Not Alone' video is shown.]

Bellamy : We rocked that, baby!

[They shake hands.]