Illegal Alien (track)
by Genesis
Illegal Alien appears on the following album(s) by Genesis:
- Genesis (track #5) (this album) (1983)
- Platinum Collection (track #14) (compilation) (2004)
- 1983-1998 (track #5) (compilation) (2007)
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Illegal Alien ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
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Showing latest 5 ratings for this track. | Show all 101 ratings for this track.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Track ratings | Avg. track rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 04/17/2026 15:49 | Pavloss | 2,378 | 60/100 |
| ! | 11/21/2025 19:09 | Exist-en-ciel | 168,760 | 71/100 |
| ! | 10/02/2025 15:08 | dukeboxkool | 8,459 | 75/100 |
| ! | 08/26/2025 13:29 |  ExTeaSea | 13,135 | 85/100 |
| ! | 11/20/2024 20:49 | Siromynian | 18,131 | 71/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some tracks can have several thousand ratings)
This track has a Bayesian average rating of 73.2/100, a mean average of 71.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 73.0/100. The standard deviation for this track is 18.2.
Illegal Alien favourites
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Illegal Alien comments
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This is a super shaky song and somehow rules at the same time. (Edited)
Squonk007 12/19/2021 17:26 | #277665
Dated but a fun track at the time. (Edited)
One of Genesis' most hated tunes, though I don't think it quite deserves the ire it gets. It's arguably a bit on the insensitive side with Collins' cheesy Mexican accent and the dramatization of an illegal alien's struggles in a new land, but the spirit of the song is one that tells of having tolerance and love for your fellow man, regardless of their background. They probably could have expressed that better and missed out on a lot of hate... Regardless of what you think of the message, the instrumentation is fine enough: poppy, very catchy, perhaps nothing out of the ordinary. Truly, the only super noteworthy thing about the song is the controversial lyrics. Overall, it's OK. I don't hate it or love it.
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