A lot of questions got resolved yesterday about the new Michael Jackson single “This Is It” — in particular, exactly who wrote the tune. (The answer apparently being Jackson and veteran singer-songwriter Paul Anka.) But you may still be wondering just who is Safire, the singer who originally recorded the track when it was called “I Never Heard.”
Safire was born Wilma Cosme on the island of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and subsequently moved to New York’s Spanish Harlem. In the late ‘80s, she recorded a clutch of singles for Cutting Records and became a leading light of the on-the-rise Latin hip-hop/freestyle scene (a largely regional phenomenon whose ranks yielded stars like Stevie B, Exposé, and Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam).
After signing with Mercury/Polygram, Safire put out her first, self-titled, album, featuring the Marc Anthony-penned single “Boy I’ve Been Told.” Her big commercial break came with the slow-paced 1989 hit, “Thinking of You,” a song dedicated to her uncle, who had passed away from AIDS complications. Spin magazine put her on their cover (see left), and the singer was also featured in the pages of Vogue. In 1990 Safire released a less successful second album, I Wasn’t Born Yesterday, which featured the Jackson-Anka composition.
According to Safire’s current manager Sal Abbatiello, the song was originally intended as a duet between Safire and Anka, whose writing credits also include the English lyrics for “My Way.” “They thought Safire was going to be the next Gloria Estefan,” says Abatiello. “She had put out three big dance records and she was becoming a very well known artist. And then she put out the ballad ‘Thinking of You,’ which was one of the most played records of the year. But when Michael met her in California at the studio, he saw how young and beautiful she was. He told Paul, ‘You can’t do the record with her, she’s too young.’ And he gave her the song.”
Safire continues to perform, and following Jackson’s death earlier this year, she posted a tribute on her myspace page which concluded, “R.I.P. Michael you will truly be missed but you will live on in every song. Love always SAFIRE.”
Of course, one of the songs Jackson will live on through is “This Is It,” or, if you prefer, “I Never Heard.” Either way, you can hear Safire’s version of the track below as well as her biggest hit, “Thinking of You.”
More on Michael Jackson:
Michael Jackson single controversy
‘This Is It’: Stream it here
Jay-Z pays tribute to Michael Jackson
More from EW’s Music Mix:
American Music Awards noms announced: Taylor Swift, Eminem, Michael lead the pack
Black Eyed Peas, ‘Meet Me Halfway’: Watch the brand-new video here
Kylie Minogue live review
Lady Gaga gets serious for gay rights, covers Lennon’s “Imagine”
Comments (1-30) of 96 Add your comment
Nice to find out who she was.Nice voice.
I don’t understand how you could write up such an information filled item about little known Safire without going into her position among the popular artists in the FREESTYLE genre that was huge in the late 80’s in mostly New York and Philadelphia, and of course South Florida where many hispanic & Italian folks from NYC later moved. Most people outside of these denesely populated areas have no clue what the Freestyle genre is, and that most hispanic ‘dance songs’ from the late 80’s/early 90’s fall into this category. Safire is NOT to be considered a Latin hip-hop artist. Please consult with someone who knows what the Freestyle genre is/was. I say was, because there hasn’t been a hit Freestyle song in many years, some considering Rockell to be one of the last few Freestyle artists. Tommy Boy Records has numerous Freestyle;’s Greatest Beats compilations for which you can reference, and that Safire appears on. Your inability to recognize this info. is quite disturbing, as most people today consider the reggaeton genre to be an off shoot of Latin Hip-hop, which clearly Safire was NOT. A popular producer of many Freestyle songs was Tony Moran, who later went on to remix a slew of Michael Jackson hits in the 90’s into dancefloor anthems. God, I hate when people don’t properly research information before trying to educate the masses, especially when they leave out KEY information!!!
Whoa dude…
Dude, calm down. You aren’t the only one familiar with freestyle. To EW’s credit Safire is listed as latin hip-hop/freestyle artist in the article. Furthermore, the purpose of the article is not to educate the “masses” about freestyle, Expose, Sweet Sensation, or any other freestyle star. The point of the article is to describe Safire’s relation to the new MJ single. Also, the cover is from Spin and is well over a decade old.
First off, I told the writer to consult with someone more familiar with the Freestyle genre, did you not get that? And clearly the writer of this article either Goggled Safire or went to her Wiki page, if she even has one. I ASSUME he referred to her as a Latin hip-hop artist from the dated SPIN cover image that again, was prolly found through Google, and why I then said most younger people today think of reggaeton when they think of Latin hip-hop. Why is it that people always argue but never actually want to think about things after they read them? I stand by my original post & def. think that Clark didn’t properly research Safire or her genre of music, Freestyle before writing this article, which is SAD, since for almost a decade Fresstyle was heard daily on the WKTU 103.5 FM in New York City, where EW has offices.
Who the F–k cares? You must have something up your butt. The world does not revolve around New York City or WKTU or the freestyle movement.
I guess everyone has gone bonkers anymore. How can you have an article entitled WHO EXACTLY IS SAFIRE and leave out key information. There’s nothing up my butt dude. Its called proper research and facts. And I only bring up KTU because they were a promiminet supporter of the Freestyle genre, long after the music stopped being made, and artists like Safire were relevant. I hate arguing on blogs, but I also hate stupid people who make comments with no actual thoughts to back them up.
Phil, I still say you’re missing the point of the whole article. A detailed description of freestyle does nothing to inform EW readers on how Safire ended up recording a song penned by MJ and Paul Anka. Everything I needed to know about Safire is in the article. The brief statement from the manager explains enough for me. When I’m ready to read a history of Freestyle, I’ll be sure to consult your treatise.
Say whatever you want and hate on safire all you want her fans love her and she contribute alot to freestyle music. Let me guess you probably know her and hate the fact that michael and paul did give her the song. Now lets get back to the topic.
Seriously Phil, maybe you should trade in some of your old records for a grammar book (“everyone has gone bonkers ANYMORE?…”) What the heck does that mean? I think it is you who are bonkers, throwing your weight around about a niche subject that you obviously take pride in knowing everything about, and using this knowledge as a method to feel better than others. Look at the music you’re using… Emotional but Joyful. Now look at your attitude: Preachy and Smug. Why not learn everything about EMO instead? Seems much more your style. Furthermore, if you’re such a freestyle EXPERT then why no mention of The San Francisco Bay Area? (which was a HUGE part of the freestyle scene)
Hot 97.7 was where it was at in 1988 in the Bay. Plus no mention of Noel, no mention of where you received your PhD in Freestyle from. Oh wait the article wasn’t ABOUT freestyle, it was about Safire (who I love), and you aren’t about educating people about freestlye, you’re about making them feel dumb for not already knowing stuff you think is privileged information. How about starting a blog and teaching ’stead o’ preachin’?
hey now, don’t bring emo music into this…but yeah, honestly, phil is going way out of his (or her?) mind. but everyone who is bothering in sending back long comments about how idiotic what he’s saying is is just fueling the fire. you can’t get anyone to shut up if you’re talking back. he has obviously failed to see that even though the view of a certain genre changes throughout the years, the fact that a certain artist was considered part of that genre at some point makes them still a part of it.
You are right ghyn. I apologize for the longwinded unnecessary post.
Freestyle lives on. Good post. Fnck’em if don’t understand that Freestyle was a movement onto itself and part of an important part of history of the Latino music scene. I’m sure this bonehead gets all his facts right about the Beatles.
Ok Safire, relax. Nice job posting under the name Phil by the way. But just be glad that someone is even mentioning your obscure name in 2009, mmkay?
Dude, Phil posts on here all the time and, I must say, he knows his s*it.
Oh awesome… I am laughing out loud!
HELLO! Where the F@#K have you been “MR.SUCCESFULL DUDE IN THE MUSIC BUISNESS OF LATIN HIP HOP/FREESTYLE!!!!” GET IT THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULL : SAFIRE’ IS QUEEN OF LATIN HIP HOP !!!! She made her marks in the dance music world as well as pop like Micheal Jackson. She does what you call LATIN (which she definatley is) HIP HOP (which was the original name New York producers gave to artist such as Safire’,Cynthia,Nayobe,Latin Rascals,Noel,The Original Cover Girls and of course Mr. Stevie B himself who happens to be KING OF LATIN HIP HOP!!!! And Freestyle and so on!!!!Dude! I lived through this actual time. And you need to go put your stupid comments of YOU TUBE because all people do on that site is talk stupid trash. Especially some of the younger generation. Are you one of them ? !!!! Because there is a confussion of what the old school of LATIN HIP HOP vs. the new school which is really latino rappers not doing any dance material at all!!!!!
I wouldn’t agree that people outside of those areas don’t know freestyle. I come from Massachusetts and I am not latino and I was only a child back in the late 80s but I was listening to freestyle back then and still do. In addition, many others from the same area did and do listen to freestyle.
Add another to to Jacksons name thief.
Jackson sang a song he wrote. How does that make him a thief? Add another name to Josh, idiot.
Fool he did not write it all he failed to give credit to another he took it from
JOSH !! Michael is not a thief, – Michael is dead and not Michael released the song. Sony, who released the song could be blamed.But, you believe that Paul Anka, 68 year old pensioner, is so honest about the story of this song? Anf finally, the song sounds much better with the voice of Michael, than the voice of Sa-Fire.The song version of Michael is better that the version of Sa-Fire. And Mr.Anka is co-writer of the song many years ago, and the song was not finalized.Sony finalized the song. After 26 years Mr.Anka, claims his 50% ..poor Mr.pensioner Anka, that never in his muzical career didn`t win no Gramy Awards. JOSH Take a look on Wikipedia site abot Paul Anka, and youwill see ” Anka stated that Michael Jackson’s new release titled “This Is It” was a collaborative effort between the two musicians, and that it was co-written by Anka in 1983. According to Anka, after recording the song, Michael Jackson decided not to use it, and the tune was then recorded and released by singer Sa-Fire.” Michael is not a thief….he`s dead, please respect it!!!
Anka a pensioner? Dana, do you have the vaguest idea who Paul Anka is? He was rock’s first teen idol in the late 1950’s, but unlike virtually every teen idol since, he wrote his own songs. Diana. Puppy Love. Put Your Head On My Shoulders. Lonely Boy. Even as a teen, his songs were covered by other artists. The last track Buddy Holly recorded was Anka’s “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore”.
By the mid-60’s the pop hits stopped (for a while), but he was in demand as a songwriter. He wrote the theme song to the Tonight Show that was used throughout the nearly 30 years Johnny Carson hosted the show. He could have retired off the royalties to that song alone. He wrote Tom Jones’ “She’s A Lady”.
Then in the mid-70’s he made a comeback as a pop singer. His song (You’re) Having My Baby went to #1 on charts around the world, and he followed up with hits like One Man Woman, I Don’t Like To Sleep Alone, and Times Of Your Life.
He co-wrote the song with Jackson in 1983, before Thriller came out. And Jackson would have been delighted to work with a man who had contributed so much to pop history, who, like himself had a childhood robbed by stardom, and a comeback after several years when he was considered a faded artist.
Anka was the first artist to have top 40 hits in the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. He can still draw big audiences in Vegas. He appeared on the first American Idol finale to a standing ovation.
Hardly a pensioner.
Rock Golf, I know very well who who Paul Anka is. Paul Anka was born in 1946 and I was bor in 1954,and I can say that I know all the period .Paul Anka wasn`t the first rock`s idol ,Elvis Presley who was born in January 8,1935 was the idol of rock music, ..sorry, but you must look for the rock artists of `50`s’,60`s.Paul Anka was a good singer and composer, but no more. there are other rock`s “maestro” names before Paul Anka.
I remember hearing “Thinking of You” when it was first released. But completely forgot about it till I heard it again today in this article. It’s kind of a nice song but, obviously, not very memorable.
Good point, Partylikeapumpkin. Safire was one of Freestyle’s best artists. Latin Hip Hop?? Haha, No.
Ha ha. Yup. Latin Hip Hop & Freestyle are completely interchangeable terms unless you are a music afficionado in denial.
hate on her all you want but safire is the true quuen of freestyle …
My cat’s breath smells like cat food.
That’s some nice police work there Chief.
Loved Safire in the 80s! I even had the “Thinking of You” cassette single.
Holy eyebrows, batman… get that girl some wax. (I know, I know… our grooming standards were different in the 80s)
“Thinking Of You” is at least deserving of some respect, being a top 10 hit, and one of the few Latinas to hit the Top 10 as a solo artist other than say, Gloria Estefan.
I agree i love safire i have follow her career threw the years and i must say she is one classy lady. I dont understand how anyone can discredit her by saying she was’nt part of the freestyle movement i guess she probably gonna get haters.
That is a godawful song. The worst of 80s pop.
“Boy I’ve Been Told” is one of my favorite 80’s dance songs. It was wild yesterday when I saw all this news about Safire, who I hadn’t heard anything about in a good 20 years.
What is the controversy? Artists pen songs and then allow other artists to cover them. Later they cover it themselves. Prince does this and nobody calls it a controversy. I dont get it.
Wait… “Controversy” was a cover album?
Safire has a great voice and is a beautiful woman to top it off. I hope to hear more from her. Keep it up Safire!
I’m sorry yall but this chick has NO talent what so ever, its such a shame that she’s tryna ride off of michaels legacy
She’s not trying to live off of Jackson’s legacy fool. The media is giving her publicity!
It is obvious that you have never seen Safire perform and never heard her songs before.
Shovel your smoke elsewhere.
Freestyle & Latin Hip Hop are different styles of music in the same category with Reggaeton being an offshoot of these styles, along with influences from Soca & Dancehall. Freestyle…House…Hip Hop…all of this music is blended together & the 80’s were a great time of musical freedom & discovery that led to a number of great artists in the above categories. Even Rap became more mainstream with the introduction of these styles. In today’s Hip Hop genre, the music has suffered from vulgarity, repetition, & plain lack of talent. Hopefully, this look at the past of Freestyle & Latin Hip Hop will enrich the lives of every person that once listened to local radio stations and purchased extended singles on LP & cassette from the music they heard. We enjoyed music for the message it gave versus the shock value & disdain that some Hip Hop artists have given to this great mix of emotion & nastalgia that music should breed! Hip Hop will continue to grow & change throughout the ages & will only get stronger with the influences of past styles, to include Freestyle & Latin Hip Hop. Latin influence is prevelent in society more today than it ever has been. So, let’s recognize contributers to this style of music, big & small, without using it to make a watered-down & weak point that makes little sense…unless you’re the person that wrote it! And for the record, there are still Freestyle artists performing & creating new music.
i dont wanna read eevrything but the world does revolve around nyc. believe that. bye.
I hate to break it to you, but as a former music journalist AND someone who has followed Hip Hop, Latin Hip Hop and Freestyle from its earliest inception, I can tell you that in the beginning the labels “Freestyle” and “Latin Hip Hop” were used interchangeably. The sound was dominated by producers such as the Latin Rascals, who produced both Hip Hop and Freestyle. Remember, Hip Hop is (and certainly was) not per definition the same as Rap… And music labels change. Things that we would consider mainstream now, were underground then. Electro became Hip Hop. Techno became Electro. New Wave became old, and then new again…
In fact, there was even a compilation album that I remember reviewing, called “This is Latin Hip Hop”. If I’m not mistaken, it featured a track or two by Sa-fire.
In short, I don’t see anything wrong with the information in this piece.
Ahhhh, a professional. Thank you. Someone who actually gets PAID to write about music. (or has in the past) That’s a valid source.
Hey Freestylemaster, please go back and re-read my original post, and then read your ‘professional’ Bambina’s whom you’re praising, while chastising me. OK, Done? As I mention in my original post, the producer Tony Moran, WAS IN THE LATIN RASCALS mentioned by Bambina! And because I don’t say who I work for I’m not a valid source? You’re a joke, just like other bloggers, who wanna offer an opinion, but nothing to back it up. Anyways, my original purpose in even posting earlier was that I think its kinda weird how everyone is jumping on thise Sa-Fire story since the ‘new” MJ single, isn’t new after all. And I am not some expert, but I felt, & knew that Freestyle music was regional, and sorry to leave out the mention of the Bay Area (I did say densely Hispanic populated cities in my original post though)& that my grammar wasn’t quite perfect. But I’m NOT sorry that I criticized the writer of this piece since my original intent was to stir up a conversation for Freestyle music, for which I think Sa-Fire contributed to, and which was overlooked. And as per many of the passionate commentors here, I think I helped that out. Its sad that entertainment writers today will jump on ANY story to fill web space but fail to do proper & efficient background checking. But then again, the world has changed, and no longer do we get full articles..we get watered down quick blog items. I was just sad to see that Entertainment Weekly finally took its time off from TWILIGHT coverage and Idol Music Mix pieces to give some shine on an artist that many don’t remember, and that a genre that many kids today don’t quite know about…and wouldn’t since the writer of this piece really didn’t care to go into detail about it. I never once claimed to be any expert, I’d love to see where I mention that, but I don’t feel bad about defending my comments since I make statments & back them up with facts. So go ahead, write some snobby response again…but I’ll also point out, I’m using my real name, not some’expert’ handle like freestylemaster, OK?
Sorry Phil, re-read your post, and stand corrected. And choose to remain an anonymous wuss. I am happy that you are willing to defend your statements so eloquently and without the cattiness and lame attitude I brought to the table to begin with. It’s gotta suck dealing with commentary on your writing when you are just trying to shed some light on an issue. Now pay it forward to the writer of the original article.
That chick has a freestyle unibrow.
But seriously, she was as good as it gets in Freestyle. “Boy I’ve Been Told” is sick…although Alisha “Too Turned On” is my fav freestyle jam from those days.
Phil… The vacuum that is the collective brainpower of these bloggers has escaped… you are wasting your time. They are as dimwitted as the person who wrote the Safire piece.
Wow, I had no idea Marc Anthony wrote “Boy I’ve Been Told…” But isn’t there a lyric in that song that says, “Breaking up is hard to do”? So could it be argued that Marc would have to share writing credits on that track with… Neil Sedaka? Talk about the company you keep! The 60’s pop singer/songwriters strike back!
honestly no one cares!
There are very few bands that actually write their own songs. The Beatles and U2’s of the world are few and far between. I’m sure if you looked up Madonna or even Elvis publishing rights you would be amused how few songs they wrote by themselves. Just the way it is … it’s hard to write a song.
Phil, don’t get your wookie all bent out of shape.
The real point is that this is just ANOTHER in a long line of trainwrecks that follow in the wake of anything touched by the Jackson’s… I mean, REALLY, no one checked the history first before releasing this luke-warm, lame-o/same-o old Micheal Jackson song? This goes along with the canceled concert in Viena that no one wanted to attend and all the other half-hearted, half started Jackson “projects” … The family is so BLINDED by money-grubbing that they will just keep throwing every piece of S thay can against the wall to try and bleed out every dime from their dead sibling. The Jackson clan are a pathetic mess and have not one sense of dignity between them…
PHIL NEEDS A CHILL PILL. WOW, I havnt had so many letter L’s in a sentence in a long time.
I’ve been listening to MJ’s music since the days of the J-5. I am the same age as Michael. I could go on and on about various things, but this is about the song “This Is It”. WHO CARES WHO WROTE IT? I briefly listened to part of it, and turned it off. I think the song SUCKS. No wonder Michael didn’t want it.
I co-sign some of what Buffy said. Both songs sucked. I listened to part of both Safire and Michael’s version and I turned it off. I see why MJ scrapped it in the first place.
Secondly, it should be clear that MJ did not rip anyone off. He and Paul Anka wrote the song. MJ decided not to use it and gave it to Safire to release instead. Sony, wanting to capitalize on MJ’s posthumous popularity, released the song which he had recorded SEVERAL YEARS EARLIER. Paul Anka, who supposedly co-wrote the song, also realizing beau-coup bucks were at stake, wanted his share for co-authoring the song.
To my knowledge, during MJ’s extensive career, he has NEVER been accused of copywrite infringement. And, in this particular instance, if he had released this song, how would he be infringing upon something he wrote?
This article was not to go into depth about Safire’s work and importance to the freestyle movement, but to give a general overview of who she was/is and her connection to MJ.
No one is questioning the validity of any of the Freestyle Historians PhD’s. Clearly, everyone that has gone out of their way to educate the masses on what was clearly an obscure and cultural musical niche knows what they are talking about. But we could have gone without the sanctimonious speech about the roots of Latin Freestyle when the article was meant only to “connect the dots”.
Actually Michael Jackson has gone to court for copyright infringement allegations against him and has settled those by paying big bucks.
What i dont understand is what is all the fuss about 18 years ago a song written by micael and paul was given to a artist name safire paul said yesterday that he they gave her the song. So what did she do wrong i dont get it if both party agree for her to do it and michael was still alive when all this went down what exactly did she do wrong. Also i remenber safire from back in the days and she was one of the pioneers of freestyle music dont discredit what she was part of by saying she wasn’t. Your a fool phil. And come to think of it she is one of the best to come out of that patheic music good for her.
Hey manny, can u PLEASE RE-READ what I wrote? I was DEFENDING & PRAISING SAFIRE’S POSITION & CONTRIBUTIONS TO FREESTYLE!! Why does no one get that from my posts!? I was saying that the writer of this piece simply lumped her into the Latin hip-hop category from finding the dated Spin magazine cover with that title on it!!! Why does no one get that, & why I am getting ripped on by these stupid bloggers who obv. can’t read!!
Ummm, does anyone care that Mike Jackson was a pedophile who preyed on little boys? I know a great song he should release from the grave – I Like Little Boys Butts…what does Mike Jackson and kmart have in common? Little boys shorts half off…hahaha….and safire, johnny o, cynthia, suave, pajama party, & more, Lisette Melindez….these were the greats of the freestyle movement…great songs, great music….AND none of them banged little kids at their ranches…ok, can we stop talking about the dead child molester now? who cares…
Loser. Take it somewhere else.
Louis, Michael Jackson was a true American hero. Get your facts straight.
Oh wait, he was a materialistic shallow child molester. My bad, I misspoke.