“Got The Hots” is about a girl Michael has a crush on and how he wants to convince her to (make) love (with) him. The song was written by Rod Temperton and produced by Quincy Jones, and is a typical “MJ love song”, heavily influenced by the 80s pop and R&B scene.

It was originally recorded for Thriller, but like many other tracks, didn’t make the final cut. In 1988, Temperton and Siedah Garrett rewrote the lyrics and recorded it as “Baby’s Got It Bad” for Garrett’s debut album Kiss of Life.

“Got the Hots” was to be on the expanded Special Edition of Thriller in 2001 but was withdrawn. In 2008, “Got The Hots” appeared as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of Thriller 25 and on some versions of King of Pop, and in 2013 it was on the iTunes exclusive The Ultimate Fan Extras Collection.

This song saw a proper international release in 2022 with its inclusion on Thriller 40.