Rockwell & Michael Jackson – Somebody’s Watching Me (SK Extended Mix · 2024)

Lyrics on screen
“Somebody’s Watching Me” is Rockwell’s biggest hit. Released on January 14, 1984, it peaked at #2 on the Billboard 100, and was certified gold in the US. It also reached the top 10 in eight countries overseas including the UK. The song is written about paranoia and has a famously spooky Halloween vibe.Kennedy Gordy (son of Berry Gordy, CEO of Motown at the time) had been writing songs as a child he later called ‘mediocre at best’. In his frustration, he prayed ‘to write a song that’ll go to the top of the charts’. Over the next two days, he wrote “Somebody’s Watching Me”.He played a demo of the song for his father, but he was not impressed. So Kennedy then sang the song for long-time childhood friend Michael Jackson, who liked it so much he asked Kennedy to perform it multiple times, each time adding more of his own family members to the audience. When Jackson then asked who Kennedy planned to have sing backups, he asked Jackson to do it.Kennedy, wanting to not use his father’s name, secretly submitted the song to Motown under the name Rockwell. When Motown signed Rockwell without his father’s knowledge, Berry Gordy was initially flabbergasted – but later very proud of his son, even referring to him as Rockwell in public.