Top 10 Alert!
Song#: 3675
Date: 10/08/1988
Debut: 47
Peak: 5
Weeks: 15
Genre: Pop, Jazz-Pop
Pop Bits: By this point, Michael's debut solo album Faith had generated five hit singles. The first one got to #2 while the following four each topped the Pop chart. After the last one, "Monkey," hit #1, Michael's label decided to roll the dice and release a sixth single. This low-key jazzy ballad was selected and pushed out. It would be a perfect fit for AC radio and indeed it would reach #1 on that chart. Over on the Pop chart it wouldn't continue his streak of #1s, but it would do well enough to become his seventh post-Wham! Top 10. Sales of the album continued and by February of '89 it would reach the 7 million mark.
ReduxReview: While it wasn't necessarily a bold choice for a single, it was an unexpected one. The retro jazzy ballad was a highlight from the album yet it most likely was never considered as a single candidate early on. Then after four straight #1s and Michael still a hot commodity, the label needed something to push out and my guess it was either this track or the quietly groovy "Hard Day," but since "Hard Day" had already made the rounds in a 12" remix version in '87 (#5 Dance/#21 R&B), that made "Kissing a Fool" the last viable single candidate on the LP. Sounding like a pop standard from maybe the 40s or 50s, I wasn't sure how the song would fare, but it ended up doing well and it was a nice song to round out the singles from the LP.
ReduxRating: 7/10
Trivia: In 1996, Faith would be certified for sales of over 10 million copies in the US. While that amount was impressive, it would only put the album in the Top 40 of best sellers. With other newer LPs selling more, it has slipped down the list further. Worldwide Faith sold an additional 15 million copies for a total of 25 million copies. That puts it in the Top 50 of the best selling albums worldwide.
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