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Cover of ANThology by Alien Ant Farm
Cover: ANThology

Song · Alien Ant Farm

“Smooth Criminal” by Alien Ant Farm

From the album ANThology (2001)

“Smooth Criminal” by Alien Ant Farm appears on 46 radio countdowns from 26 stations between 2001 and 2026. It was first released in 2001 on the album ANThology. Its best result is #4 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 2001. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #4 alternative song of 2001, #986 alternative song of all time and #93 of the '00s.

46countdowns
26stations
#4best position
0#1 finishes
10top 10 finishes
2001–2026years charted

Watch

Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal (Official Video - Shortened Version)

Video from YouTube (michaeljacksonVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Smooth Criminal" was Michael Jackson's song from Bad in 1987, but in 2001 Alien Ant Farm dragged it into nu metal territory on their album ANThology and turned it into an international hit of their own.

Jay Baumgardner produced and mixed it, and the band plays it straight-faced and heavy: Terry Corso's electric guitar chugging and snapping, Tye Zamora's bass bouncing hard with backing vocals on top, and Mike Cosgrove's drums punching out that restless beat. Dryden Mitchell leans into the lead vocal with a manic grin you can practically hear, keeping all the song's jittery urgency while swapping the dance-floor gloss for crunch.

It's a cover that knows exactly what it's doing: loud, loose, a little cheeky, and hooky enough to have rock radio singing along to a pop song without blinking.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
2001 4 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 2001 107
2001 8 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 2001 91
2001 8 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 2001 106
2001 11 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 2001 101
2001 10 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 2001 100
2001 11 K-Rock New York, NY K-Rock Top 92.3 Songs of 2001 93
2001 18 WFNX Boston, MA WFNX Top 100 Songs of 2001 100
2001 8 107.7 The End Seattle, WA The End Top 107 Songs of 2001 107
2001 35 89X Detroit, MI / Windsor, ON 89X Top 89 Songs of 2001 89
2001 25 CD101 Columbus, OH CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2001 101
2001 10 CFNY 102.1 The Edge Toronto, ON CFNY Top 30 Songs of 2001 30
2001 8 The Buzz Burlington, VT / Plattsburgh, NY / Montreal, QC The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 2001 99
2001 20 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) WEQX Top 102.7 of 2001 103
2001 49 WHTG Monmouth-Ocean, NJ G106.3 Top 106 Songs of 2001 106
2001 8 97X Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL 97X Top 97 Songs of 2001 97
2001 14 WBCN Boston, MA WBCN Top 41 Songs of 2001 40
2001 10 99X Atlanta, GA 99X Top 99 Songs of 2001 99
2001 6 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 2001 100
2001 13 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 100 Songs of 2001 100

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
2002 79 K-Rock K-Rock Top 92 Party Songs of All-Time (2002) 92
2002 36 The Buzz The Buzz Top Songs of All-Time (Labor Day 2002, partial) 144
2004 66 Q101 Q101 Top 300 Party Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2006 61 107.7 The End The End Top 107 Songs of the Millennium (December 2006) 107
2006 141 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 269 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2007 1441 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 372 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 1510 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 343 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 1503 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 1533 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 1600 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 1663 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 1731 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 135 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2014) 500
2015 137 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2015) 500
2019 121 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2019) 500
2020 130 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2021 76 107.7 The End The End Obligatory Top 100 Alternative Songs of All Time (2021) 100
2022 253 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 2000s 907
2022 142 101X 101X 500 (2022) 498
2022 190 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2023 108 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2023) 500
2024 93 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Cover Songs 850
2025 290 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2025) 400
2026 105 101X 101X 500 (2026) 500

Charting alongside it in 2001

Best songs of 2001 →
  1. 1Hash PipeWeezer
  2. 2SchismTool
  3. 3How You Remind MeNickelback
  4. 5It's Been AwhileStaind
  5. 6Fat LipSum 41
  6. 7I Wish You Were HereIncubus

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