"Human Nature" is a song performed by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson, and it is the fifth single from his sixth solo album, Thriller.

The track was produced by Quincy Jones and performed by some band members of Toto with Jackson providing vocals.

Porcaro, along with some Toto bandmates, had been assisting with the production of Thriller, but he had not intended for "Human Nature" to be used by Jackson.

Jones then brought in songwriter John Bettis to rewrite the verses, whose lyrics are about a passerby in New York City.

It also reached number two on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and is certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

He blurted out three reasons for the incident to comfort her: the boy liked her, people can be strange, and "it's human nature".

[17] A template for new jack swing and hip-hop soul ballads, "Human Nature" is comparatively slower and more intimate than Thriller's other songs.

"If this town is just an apple, let me take a bite", quivers Jackson's voice over a cascading synthesizer and percolating bass line.

Though written by John Bettis and Steve Porcaro of Toto, the lyrics resonate with Jackson's yearning to break free from his tower of celebrity and mingle with young people in a "city that winks its sleepless eye".

[21] John Rockwell of The New York Times stated that "Human Nature" was a "haunting, brooding ballad" with an "irresistible" chorus.

[22] AllMusic noted that the "gentle and lovely" "Human Nature" coexisted comfortably with the "tough, scared" "Beat It".

[24] Reflecting on Thriller, Slant expressed their fondness of the song, stating that it was "probably the best musical composition on the album and surely one of the only A/C ballads of its era worth remembering".

[26] However, they further added that the music "does little to embody the song's message" and that it couches Jackson's "glazed voice" in "bubble synths and drum pillows".

[28] Tom Ewing, reviewer for Pitchfork Media, described the song as "meltingly tender", with MTV adding that it was an "airy ballad".

[29][30] Rolling Stone claimed that the "most beautifully fragile" "Human Nature" was so open and brave it made "She's Out of My Life" seem phony.