Everyone Knows the Line — But What Does “Annie, Are You OK?” Mean in 'Smooth Criminal?'

The King of Pop is having a moment nearly two decades after his 2009 death. However, Michael Jackson never really left pop culture. Now, with the Michael biopic, fans are revisiting the lyrics, ad-libs, and catchphrases that made him instantly recognizable.

Longtime MJ supporters want to know what “Annie, are you OK?” means and whether the famous line has any connection to a real woman.

The famous phrase comes from Michael’s 1988 hit “Smooth Criminal,” where Annie is a fictional woman who gets attacked in her apartment. Michael keeps asking if she is OK because, in the story, something violent has happened to her.

Michael released “Smooth Criminal” as a single in October 1988, more than a year after it first appeared on his Bad album. The album dropped on Aug. 31, 1987, but “Smooth Criminal” quickly became its own hit.

The phrase also has a real-world connection. The American Heart Association’s CPR blog says the line was inspired by the standard name used for CPR demonstration mannequins. Michael had CPR training and “picked up” the phrase after learning to check whether a victim was responsive.

Michael himself once revealed that fans almost never got “Smooth Criminal” at all.

During Michael Jackson’s Private Home Movies, he said he usually wrote around 100 songs for an album before narrowing the final tracklist down. “Smooth Criminal,” despite becoming one of his most recognizable records, almost got cut from Bad.

Other Michael phrases have also turned into pop culture staples. Fans still repeat his famous “hee-hee,” “shamone,” and “Who’s bad?” Those phrases became part of his performance language and helped shape Michael into the icon fans still celebrate today.

Michael’s famous phrases could be trending because Michael, the biopic about his life and career, continues to pull big numbers in theaters.

The film stars Jaafar Jackson as his uncle Michael, with Antoine Fuqua directing. It also features Miles Teller as John Branca, Colman Domingo as Joe Jackson, Nia Long as Katherine Jackson, and Juliano Valdi among the young Jackson family cast.

The movie follows Michael’s rise from the Jackson Five to solo superstardom. In theaters, Michael has been a major commercial hit. According to Box Office Mojo, the film opened domestically with $97.2 million and has reached $184.2 million in North America, $246.1 million internationally, and $430.3 million worldwide.

As for part 2, the door is wide open. Lionsgate vice chair Adam Fogelson told The Town with Matthew Belloni podcast that there is “a massive amount of music” and life experiences left to explore.

“There is a massive amount of music, some of his greatest music, and life experiences separate and apart from [sexual abuse] allegations, a ton of that would fill more than a second movie on its own,” Adam said. “It turns out the general public really wanted to see a movie that did not engage with those allegations and celebrated the man and his music and the, you know, the trajectory to the top.”