"You Are Not Alone" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his ninth studio album, HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995).

An R&B ballad, "You Are Not Alone" was written by fellow American singer-songwriter R. Kelly for Jackson in response to difficult times in his own personal life.

It holds a Guinness World Record as the first song to debut at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, and was certified platinum by the RIAA.

It also topped the charts in Austria, Belgium, France, Ireland, New Zealand, Romania, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

After his death in June 2009, Kelly paid tribute by including a version of the song created by himself as a hidden track on his album Love Letter (2010).

The internal committee noted similarities between the melodies and recommended pursuing a lawsuit against Kelly and Zomba Record Holding Holland BV.

[13] On September 4, 2007, the Court of Appeal in Brussels reversed the 2003 ruling, based on the fact that Kelly's earliest evidence of writing "You Are Not Alone" was August 1995, 21 months after the brothers had registered their score for "If We Can Start All Over".

The court also stated that the van Passel brothers "did not create their work merely in order to register it with SABAM and put it in a drawer, but at least informed third parties of the existence of their composition".

[15] In his weekly UK chart commentary in Dotmusic, James Masterton said that it "probably ranks as one of the most beautiful songs Michael Jackson has ever recorded".

[16] Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote, "A far cry from "Scream", Jackson undergoes a gigantic moodswing here.

[17] A reviewer from Music Week rated it five out of five, adding, "Barely a yelp or gulp to be had on this dead simple R Kelly-penned and produced ballad.

[19] Jon Pareles of The New York Times felt it was the only conventional love song on the new material on HIStory.

[20] James Hunter of Rolling Stone noted that, "the excellent current single 'Scream' or the first-rate R&B ballad 'You Are Not Alone' – manage to link the incidents of Jackson's recent past to universal concepts, like injustice or isolation.

When he bases his music in the bluntness of hip-hop, Jackson sketches funky scenarios denouncing greed, blanket unreliability and false accusation".

"[25] Revisiting "You Are Not Alone" in 2022, Tom Breihan of Stereogum negatively described the song as "thin gruel" and as a "sort of generic sad ballad", while complimenting Jackson's vocals for sounding "as tender and reassuring as ever".

[30][31][32] It broke the record set by his previous double A-side single "Scream" and "Childhood", which was the first song in the 37-year history of Billboard to debut at number five — where it peaked.

[31][34] The music video for "You Are Not Alone" was directed by American director Wayne Isham and was released to ABC, MTV, and BET on July 28, 1995.

[36] The slightly extended version that appeared on HIStory on Film, Volume II was notable for scenes where special effects were used to give Jackson white, feathery, almost angelic wings.

Diana Ross recorded a version of this song on her international-only released album, Voice of Love produced by Nick Martinelli.

Ross would also close her successful 2010–12 More Today Than Yesterday: The Greatest Hits Tour with this song as a tribute to Jackson.

The top twelve acts from the sixth series of TV talent show The X Factor in the United Kingdom released a cover version of the song on November 15, 2009, in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital.

The song starts with Kelly paying tribute to Jackson, saying "In loving memories of my hero... MJ".