Meet Annie: Michael Jackson’s Inspiration for His Hit Song “Smooth Criminal”

With Michael still doing big numbers in movie theaters across the globe, the intrigue into the life and legacy of Michael Jackson is at an all-time high. Fans are streaming their favorite Jackson tracks in droves, they’re reading think pieces about what and who was left out of the film, and many are also taking a deeper dive into the moments that were glossed over. 

Case in point, people seem to be fascinated with Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal.” The making of the top 10 hit wasn’t really discussed in the movie, despite the track’s release fitting within the Michael timeline (the song was on the 1987 Bad album). Although it’s been discussed in folklore before, an engineer who worked on “Smooth Criminal” with Jackson and producer Quincy Jones is peeling back layers behind one of music’s long-thought mysteries. The identity of Annie, who inspired the famous lyrics, “Annie are you okay?” 

Who Is Annie in Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal”? 

For those who need a refresher, in the song “Smooth Criminal,” Annie is mentioned a lot. Here are just a few of the lyrics:

“Annie, are you okay? Will you tell us that you're okay?
There's a sound at the window that he struck you, a crescendo, Annie
He came into your apartment, and left the bloodstains on the carpet
Then you ran into the bedroom, you were struck down, it was your doom

“Annie, are you okay? So, Annie, are you okay? Are you okay, Annie?
Annie, are you okay? So, Annie, are you okay? Are you okay, Annie?
Annie, are you okay? So, Annie, are you okay? Are you okay, Annie?
You've been hit by, you've been hit by, a smooth criminal.”

Fast forward to an interview conducted by Anthony Marinelli for his Anthony Marinelli Music Podcast, and Marinelli sat down with recording engineer Matt Forger, who worked on “Smooth Criminal.” Marinelli flat-out asked Forger, “Who is Annie? And is she really okay? 

Smiling, Forger replied, “Uh No.” Forger then went on to say: 

“She suffered a fate as is described in the song. She was brutally attacked, but that was part of the creative nature of how Michael pieced together things in a storyline to create a song lyric. Annie is the name for if you take a CPR class, it’s the Resuscitation Annie is the mannequin that you practice the process of CPR, so you’re not doing it on a human being.

“At one point, the brothers as a group traveled extensively touring, the Jacksons, and at one time, someone had the presence of mind of ‘You know, we should give everybody CPR lessons.’ The principle of giving CPR is, here is someone in distress. The first thing you need to do is evaluate, well, are they breathing? Are they conscious? Can they respond? So you go up to your subject, and because the device is called an Annie, you say, ‘Annie, are you okay? Are you okay, Annie?’”

So just to recap, Annie is a CPR doll that was used back in the day, and Jackson got his legendary lyrics for “Smooth Criminal” from taking a CPR class. With such creativity, no wonder he became the King of Pop. Take a look at "Annie" below.

Related: As ‘Michael’ Continues Riding Box Office Success, Paris Jackson Debuts Her Own Movie