For the duet ballad "I Just Can't Stop Loving You," Michael Jackson wanted to share vocals with Barbra Streisand or Whitney Houston.

Streisand passed on the invitation because she had concerns about their large age difference (16 years), and thought the song's lyrics would be unbelievable for her and Jackson to sing together.

[3] Houston’s label, Arista Records, thought that, if she performed on the song, it might detract from the promotion of her sophomore album, Whitney.

While reporting for a recording session, Garrett thought that she was summoned to do overdubs for a song she'd co-written titled "Man in the Mirror."

I just want to touch you and hold you..."[5] This intro was mixed out on the 7" single, on future releases of Bad and on most compilation albums.

An alternate version of the single, featuring the original mastered album version mix with the spoken word intro for "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" backed by the album outtake "Don't Be Messin' 'Round", was released in select Walmart stores in 2012 to mark the release of Bad 25.

Sheet music for "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" sets the key of C major (C Mixolydian) with a tempo of 100 beats per minute.

"[4] Richard Cromelin from the Los Angeles Times was negative with the song, and particularly the spoken word opening, writing: "The soliloquy is meant to be revealing, tender and vulnerable, but with his quivering timbre and the haunting music behind, it comes off a little creepy, like Norman Bates gearing up for "Psycho IV'.

"[5] Davitt Sigerson from Rolling Stone wrote a review about the song, commenting: "Churls may bemoan 'I Just Can't Stop Loving You,' Jackson's duet with the often indistinguishable Siedah Garrett, as a second unworthy entry.

Without descending to musical McCarthyism and questioning the honor of anyone who can fault a record with both finger snaps and timpani, it need only be asked, Who, having heard the song at least twice, can fail to remember that chorus?

This was perhaps due to the quick release of the album title track as the second single (it debuted on the Hot 100 at #40 in the same week that "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" hit number one).

On June 5, 2012, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Jackson's Bad album (on which "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" appears), the single was re-released to Walmart stores in the United States, but was denied a digital release.