"You Are Not Alone" was the first single in US history to enter the Billboard Hot 100 at #1. It's far from Jackson's most popular song, but there was so much anticipation and promotion for the single that it jumped right to the top spot. It also hit #1 on the UK chart.

The song was written by R. Kelly, a huge Michael Jackson fan. Jackson asked Kelly to write a song for him after hearing Kelly's 1993 hit record "Bump N' Grind." R. Kelly went straight into the studio and came up with a very different song, "You Are Not Alone," which he wrote in Jackson's style. When the pair got together in Chicago to record the track, Jackson asked Kelly to provide backing vocals. Kelly is quoted in 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh as saying, "I actually imitated Michael when I sent him my first copy. He was laughing at me because I was imitating him." This all went down in 1994 around the time R. Kelly started facing allegations of sexual abuse.

Jackson was married to Lisa Marie Presley at the time, and she appears in the video, where both of them are topless. The couple divorced the following year after it became clear that Jackson wanted her to join him in the spotlight, but she wanted no part of it. Presley claimed that Jackson orchestrated their public appearances, and cited the video as an example of how he used her as part of his publicity. She had just returned from Hawaii when she found out he had plans to put her in the clip, and that she would be topless. When the couple did show affection in front of the cameras, it often appeared strained. Their kiss at the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards was one of the most awkward high-profile smooches, and another example of a last-minute manipulation - Presley said that she found out about the kiss 20 minutes before it happened.