Originally debuted at MTV's 10th anniversary special, the song gained recognition over a year and a half later due to its appearance on the soundtrack to the 1993 film Free Willy of which it is the main theme.

"Will You Be There" became yet another successful single from Dangerous, peaking at numbers seven and six on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100, selling 1 million copies and earning a platinum certification.

The album version of the song includes a prelude featuring the Cleveland Orchestra performing a portion of Beethoven's ninth symphony for 1 minute and 7 seconds.

[7] The suit was filed by the Cleveland Orchestra[8] for $7 million and was settled out of court with subsequent pressings of Dangerous including full credits in the album booklet.

In a follow-up case some months later, the court ruled in favor of Jackson and rejected the claim, stating that while the two songs were very similar, they both may have been inspired by the Ink Spots' 1939 hit "Bless You for Being an Angel".

Calling the former song "a symphonic, heart-wrenching confession in which the shackles of Jackson’s deepest insecurities snap and crash to the floor".

[10] The song was picked as critic's choice in a Billboard review from Larry Flick who described it as a "highly inspirational, gospel/pop tune", stating that Jackson "offers one of his purest vocals in a long while, wisely sidestepping busy instrumentation and studio gimmicks.

"[13] Rolling Stone wrote that "the grandiose 'Will You Be There' never catches fire" and added that "the sequencing of Dangerous often clusters similar songs in bunches", and with that "it's easy to overlook" the following track "Keep The Faith" which, like "Will You Be There", also features the Andrae Crouch Singers.

The second video from Dangerous: The Short Films combines the MTV's 10th anniversary special performance with the concert tour footage.

"Will You Be There" along with "Black or White" both made their live debuts at MTV's 10th anniversary special that was taped in the summer of 1991 and later aired on ABC the day after the release of Dangerous on November 27 that year.

Band member Alejandro Manzano said "...though we knew that any cover of [Michael Jackson's] music would pale in comparison to the original, we were still compelled to give a shout out to the late great in this time of need, by doing our rendition of one of our favorite songs of his, 'Will You Be There.

Fleur East performed the song on the eleventh season of the original The X Factor in the United Kingdom on November 8, 2014, during Queen vs. Michael Jackson week.