Background and Composition
"Dirty Diana" was written and co-produced by Michael Jackson, and produced by Quincy Jones. It appeared on Jackson's seventh studio album, Bad. The song was released by Epic Records on April 18, 1988 as the fifth single from Bad. After "Beat It", "Dirty Diana" was the second hard rock song of his solo career, more specifically a hard rock ballad, with lyrics about a persistent groupie. Jackson hired Billy Idol's guitarist Steve Stevens to back him on the track. Initial reports at the time suggested the song was a poke at his close friend Diana Ross, however this was later denied. In fact, Ross started using the song as an overture at her concerts shortly before she appears on stage. In an interview from the special edition of Bad, Jones later confirmed that the song's lyrics were about groupies. Jackson also confirmed this during an interview with Barbara Walters, adding that it was not about Diana, Princess of Wales, though he was told personally by the Princess that it was her favorite among his songs.
In his Bad review, Los Angeles Times' Richard Cromelin describes clearly "Dirty Diana" as a hard rock song, he says about it, "'Dirty Diana' is trying to be this year's 'Beat It' − a hard-rock song about a tenacious groupie that's sent into orbit by a Steve Stevens guitar solo". All Music Guide's Stephen Thomas Erlewine also considers "Dirty Diana" as a hard rock song, observing on the album that, "This meant that he moved deeper into hard rock, deeper into schmaltzy adult contemporary, deeper into hard dance – essentially taking each portion of Thriller to an extreme" and qualifying the track as the, "misogynistic 'Dirty Diana'".
Jon Pareles, a writer for The New York Times viewed "Dirty Diana" as a song about a "groupie who latches onto the narrator, mixes the sexual fears of 'Billie Jean' with the hard-rock lead guitar of 'Beat It'". In his Bad review, Thom Duffy, music critic for the Orlando Sentinel, described "Dirty Diana" as a heavy metal ballad, saying that, "Dirty Diana, a tale of a maliciously seductive fan, finds Jackson doing credible heavy-metal rock wailing", which, the critic said, was, "accompanied by a solo from Steve Stevens, the guitarist from Billy Idol's band". Philadelphia Inquirer also described "Dirty Diana" as a heavy metal ballad, the newspaper said, "Plus, to tap the rock crowd (in the style of the 'Thriller' crossover smash 'Beat It' with Eddie Van Halen), Michael cut a heavy metal-tinged 'Dirty Diana' featuring Billy Idol's guitar sizzler Stevie Stevens". "Dirty Diana" is written in common time and moves at a moderate tempo of 104 beats per minute. Jackson's vocals are sung on a range of Bb3 to G5. The instrumentation consists of guitar and piano, and is played in the a key of G minor.
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