American Songwriter has published a short feature highlighting that Michael Jackson, though a prolific songwriter behind hits such as "Billie Jean" and "Beat It", did not personally write some of his best-known songs. The piece serves as a reminder that several of the tracks most closely associated with Jackson were in fact penned by other writers.

The article picks out three examples. "Thriller", the title track of his sixth album and one of the biggest hits of all time, was written by Rod Temperton and features a spoken-word section by horror actor Vincent Price, with a video running almost 14 minutes. "Man In The Mirror", from his seventh album, was written by Glen Ballard and Siedah Garrett, with Garrett explaining the song's theme of changing oneself from within. "Ben", Jackson's first number one single and the title track from both his second album and a film of the same name, was written by Don Black and Walter Scharf.