Michael Jackson’s biopic might have left some critics cold, but it’s a runaway success by every other measure. Antoine Fuqua’s “Michael” just passed $700 million at the global box office, while renewed interest in the late superstar’s catalog has sent classics like “Billie Jean,” “Beat It” and “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” back to the top of the streaming charts. Curiously, it also revived a song not featured in the film — or even released during Jackson’s lifetime.
“Chicago,” a deep cut from the King of Pop’s 2014 posthumous album “Xscape,” was never issued as an official single or pushed at radio. Yet the twisty R&B track has quietly become Jackson’s eighth most-played track on Spotify with more than 655 million streams. Since the release of “Michael,” “Chicago” has zoomed into the top 30 of US Spotify and the top 100 on YouTube’s US Top Songs.
For fans, the resurgence feels improbable. Originally recorded during the chaotic sessions for Jackson’s 2001 album “Invincible” under the title “She Was Loving Me,” the song never made the final cut and spent years in limbo before surfacing on “Xscape.” Even then, it remained largely overlooked until social media introduced it to a new generation.
In 2023, a sped-up version of “Chicago” began circulating widely on TikTok, with users gravitating toward the lyric: “She smiled and looked at me / I was surprised to see that a woman like that was really into me.” The audio became a popular “sound” for lip-syncs, nostalgic edits and dance trends, helping turn a footnote in an iconic discography into a streaming staple.
The song’s dramatic narrative arc — the object of his affection leads a double life — could explain its unlikely resonance. And, according to the song’s producer Cory Rooney, storytelling was central to its conception. During the early stages of the “Invincible” sessions in 1999, Jackson invited a group of Sony executives to Los Angeles to preview material from the unfinished album. Rooney, then a senior vp at Sony, was among them at the session, where Jackson only played them one song: “Break of Dawn.” Afterward, Tommy Mottola urged Rooney, a hitmaker in his own right, to pen something for Jackson.
Rooney approached legendary songwriter and Jackson confidant Carole Bayer Sager for advice. “Michael is one of the world’s most amazing storytellers,” Rooney recalls her saying. “He’s really good when he’s singing a song that has a story.” So he went home and wrote what was then called “She Was Loving Me.”
Despite only hearing a rough demo, Jackson connected with the song immediately. “My phone rings and it’s Michael,” Rooney says. “He goes, ‘Man, I love, love this song.’” Jackson told him he planned to spend the weekend learning the lyrics before flying to New York to record the track at the Hit Factory. “‘If you can make time for me, I’ll be ready to record it on Monday.’” Rooney made the time.
What struck Rooney most was Jackson’s precision in the studio. Rather than reworking the demo, the singer became fixated on faithfully reproducing its phrasing and emotional tone. Jackson spent two days recording the song, separating the lower and upper vocal ranges into different sessions. Between takes, Rooney remembers Jackson dancing around the booth as they worked through the track together. “He respected writers,” Rooney says. “He respected producers.”
The sessions also sparked a lasting friendship that extended beyond the studio. Rooney says Jackson regularly called him to discuss ideas, including an ambitious concept for a potential “She Was Loving Me” visual. “At the end of the video, two limos pull side by side,” Rooney says with a laugh. “Michael rolls his window down and then the other limo rolls down its window — and it’s Prince.”
Though the track was later renamed “Chicago,” Rooney says neither he nor Jackson originally referred to it that way. Jackson was fascinated, however, by the reference. “Why Chicago?” Jackson asked during the sessions. “I told him, ‘It’s the only city that sings well,’” Rooney says. Jackson substituted alternatives like “California” and “New York” before agreeing Rooney had chosen the right one.
Ultimately, “She Was Loving Me” never appeared on “Invincible.” Rooney says it had less to do with the quality of the record than the arduous sessions, which stretched across multiple years, producers and competing creative directions. Rooney’s role evolved beyond songwriting. As tensions mounted, he became an advocate and sounding board for Jackson.
“He trusted me,” Rooney says. “I became a friend.” As a result, Rooney says he gradually stopped pitching songs for the album altogether, including “She Was Loving Me,” which quietly drifted into the background as “Invincible” neared completion. Still, Jackson insisted that their song still had a future, telling Rooney, “‘Don’t do anything with that record because I am going to use it.’” The moment never came. Damien Shields, author of “Michael Jackson: Songs & Stories From the Vault,” says the track was first resurfaced when 2010’s posthumous “Michael” was being compiled, but “it just slipped through the cracks.”
“Chicago” finally emerged on “Xscape,” where Jackson’s original vocals were paired with updated production from Timbaland. The producer initially singled out “Chicago” as a potential lead single in interviews, but the album’s promotional focus shifted elsewhere. Instead, audiences discovered it on their own — a not uncommon occurrence for Jackson fans. “Some songs that Sony would never think to promote are now some of the most viral songs Michael has,” Shields says. He singles out 1995’s “They Don’t Really Care About Us” from “HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I.” A minor hit by Jackson’s standards at the time, the protest anthem’s video recently surpassed 1.3 billion views on YouTube alone.
For younger listeners discovering Jackson through clips, edits and streaming recommendations, “Chicago” may not register as an obscure posthumous release at all. It simply exists as another Michael Jackson song. Rooney himself remained largely unaware of the song’s growing popularity until his daughter told him “Chicago” had become “a pretty big deal” on TikTok. “I found out when everybody else found out,” he says.
More than two decades after Rooney first wrote the song, “Chicago” has finally become the kind of hit Jackson always believed it could be. “I knew at one point it would see the light of day,” Rooney says quietly. “Because I knew that Michael would make sure of it.”
