The song was originally written by Teddy Riley for BLACKstreet's 1999 album Finally.[1] However, while writing the song with Jackson, the singer asked Riley to give the song to him because he wanted to record it himself.[2] Riley agreed and the song was included on Michael's 2001 album Invincible.[1] In an interview with Hip-Hop Wired, Riley talked about the recording sessions of the song: "What I did with Michael doing strings on 'Heaven Can Wait', was like, we did the track first, that all took one day, and then the string section and then we did the guitar session and that's about three days. So the modern day is a little quick."[2] After receiving a digital release on October 30, 2001,[3] "Heaven Can Wait" was scheduled for release to radio stations across the United States, but was cancelled due to unspecified reasons.[1] At a tempo of 59 beats per minute, it is one of Jackson's slowest songs.
The song received mixed reviews from most music critics. Mark Anthony Neal of SeeingBlack.com praised the song, saying, "['Heaven Can Wait'] features arguably one of Jackson's best vocal performance since Thriller's 'The Lady in My Life'."[4] Milena Brown of PRessure PR thought the song was "breathless", and "clearly did not get the same recognition it deserved". Bill Johnson from The Urban Daily listed "Heaven Can Wait" as one of several songs that kept Invincible "simple and smooth [and] that excel the most".[5] Robert Hilburn of Los Angeles Times said the song was "a tale about turning away an angel who comes to take him to heaven because he wants to stay with his darling, seem aimed at the lower end of 'N Sync's fan base—a difficult stretch for a man of 43."[6]NME gave a mixed review to the song, saying "around this point you realise that Jackson is no longer pioneering—this would be a good Usher ballad. It has classic 'if I should die tonight' love lyrics and swelling chords, but doesn't add up to all that much."[7] The song charted for 16 weeks on the BillboardHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, peaking at number 72 on April 27, 2002.[8]
The song was originally intended for BLACKstreet, originally lined up to their 1999 album Finally, but it was given to Jackson when he asked for it after hearing its demo. In an interview with The Urban Daily on December 12, 2010, Riley confirmed that the upcoming album from Blackstreet will feature a cover of "Heaven Can Wait".[2][9] He said "Blackstreet is gonna do something incredible with that song."[10] However, Riley stated in 2006 to re-make the song, for a new BLACKstreet album, but the new album did not finish until 2011.[1]
