Thriller 40th Anniversary

Michael Jackson Reflects on Gang Members Being Featured in the “Beat It” Short Film
December 05, 2024
Michael Jackson on hiring real gang members to be featured in the short film for “Beat It”: “They’re rebels, but rebels who want attention and respect. Like all of us, they just want to be seen. And I gave them that chance. For a few days at least they were stars.”
 
Bill Bottrell:

You must be careful with this. It's true the Bad release sounds extremely similar to the Hayvenhurst demos.

Demos finished, mixed and sent to Quincy:
Smooth Criminal
Leave Me Alone
Price of Fame
Speed Demon
I Just Can’t Stop Loving You
Dirty Diana
Liberian Girl


Nothing of Liberian Girl was changed. Merely an intro was added. Likely the same for these others. So this is a very bad and uninformed take.

And these are Michael's songs, not Rod Temperton tracks or anything else. Michael didn't feel like writing songs like Heartbreak Hotel or Billie Jean or the Girl is Mine anymore. You don't have to like the new stuff but show some understanding.
I don't see your point, you post demo done for the most part in 86 for Bad album and say that the same thing that demo done in 83/84 ?

And yes that the problem that Michael didn't want to continue what he was the best, very good music, that have killed his career.
 
I'm still not satisfied with Thriller40 weak bonus track list not good documentary Without official Blue ray
 
Thank you for confessing to lacking taste

You have written in this thread, a thread about Thriller that nobody care about Thriller the song and that smooth criminal is awesome ? You can't talk seriously about music or taste

And I don't why you complain about mjfanboy27,I'm 1000% disagree with him, but you have done exactly the same thing various times about Thriller40th.
 
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Michael Jackson Previewed Fashions from His “Beat It” Short Film On This Date in 1983
March 20, 2025
On this date in 1983, Michael attended the premiere of the musical “Dreamgirls” in Los Angeles, giving everyone a preview of the fashions he would be wearing in the “Beat It” short film which premiered 11 days later, including the soon-to-be iconic red leather zipper jacket.
 
Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” Hits #1 on Billboard Hot 100 On This Date in 1983
April 30, 2025
The short film “Beat It” premiered on March 31st on MTV and its heavy rotation on the music video network drove the song to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 on this date in 1983, making it the second single from “Thriller” album to hit #1.
 
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Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ Rocks Back Into The Top 10, 40 Years Later​

ByHugh McIntyre,
Senior Contributor.
Hugh McIntyre covers music, with a focus on the global charts.

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Jun 28, 2025 at 08:45am EDT
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Michael Jackson’s Thriller surges back into the More
RON GALELLA COLLECTION VIA GETTY IMAGES
More than 40 years after it first became one of the biggest albums of all time, Thriller by Michael Jackson continues to prove its lasting appeal. The multi-genre, hit-packed collection remains present on several rankings in the United States, and this time around, it even manages to return to the top 10 as sales climb and Americans keep falling in love with the superstar’s music again and again.

Thriller’s Sales Rise​

Sales of Thriller across all formats grew by more than 28% from one week to the most recent tracking period. Luminate reports that the set sold 3,900 copies in the U.S. in the previous tracking frame. That sum is enough to push Thriller from No. 17 to No. 10 on the Vinyl Albums chart.




Not all of those purchases were on wax, but Thriller has remained a must-own for vinyl collectors for a long time, so it can usually be found on the list. At the same time, the Grammy-winning effort jumps from No. 30 to No. 25 on the Top Album Sales ranking, which blends all formats, including vinyl, CD, cassette, and digital downloads.


Thriller Lives on Five BillboardCharts​

Thriller can be found on five charts this week, and it ascends on all of them. In addition to both the Top Album Sales and Vinyl Albums tallies, the collection lives inside the top 40 on both the Top R&B Albums and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts, surging to Nos. 13 and 29, respectively.

Michael Jackson Climbs the Billboard 200​

Thriller enjoys its greatest lift on the Billboard 200, a general consumption ranking. On that tally, it rockets 30 spaces north, landing at No. 108. The full-length moved 11,500 equivalent units in the tracking period reflected on the current Billboard charts, with most of that activity coming from streaming platforms.
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Michael Jackson’s Multiple Hit Albums​


Jackson claims a pair of hit albums in the U.S. at the moment, as is often the case. The Essential Michael Jackson, which features many of the songs that come from Thriller as well as numerous other smashes, rises to No. 88 on the Billboard 200 while holding steady on the Top R&B Albums (No. 10) and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts (No. 23).


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Hugh McIntyre
 
This new comparative video shows the first time Michael danced to Thriller, and the last time. Both looking very similar specially when he spins, I loved that shot so I looped it. He looks the same in both sides, that's cool to see after so many years and knowing MJ's health on the last one... it just feels special in some way. Will make more comparisons between eras, because that's what the Multiverse is about. :)
 
Just watched the doc.

I'm disappointed that it misidentified a 1977 pic of MJ with a big afro as 1989, but other than that, I liked it.
 
wait what doc?

The Thriller 40 doc

hTFDGuZ.png


The middle photo pretty obviously isn't 1980; it's clearly pre-Off the Wall, which came out in 1979. It really didn't occur to the filmmakers to proofcheck dates? Frankly, they shouldn't have alluded to MJ's changing face at all.

Aside from that, I liked the doc. The best part was probably seeing MJ record "The Girl is Mine", although the HD footage of the Victory tour was also nice. But I'm kinda surprised they didn't mention how the first mix of the album sounded bad, so they had to cut down the length of the songs.
 
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The Thriller 40 doc

hTFDGuZ.png


The middle photo pretty obviously isn't 1980; it's clearly pre-Off the Wall, which came out in 1979. It really didn't occur to the filmmakers to proofcheck dates? Frankly, they shouldn't have alluded to MJ's changing face at all.

Aside from that, I liked the doc. The best part was probably seeing MJ record "The Girl is Mine", although the HD footage of the Victory tour was also nice. But I'm kinda surprised they didn't mention how the first mix of the album sounded bad, so they had to cut down the length of the songs.
that's why it says circa 1980 lol
 
Rick Baker to Be Honored with the Vincent Price Award at the Hollywood Horrorfest

Rick Baker’s collaboration with Michael Jackson is especially celebrated in pop culture. In the music video Thriller (1983) Baker designed and created the “werecat” transformation of Michael, helping bring to life one of the most iconic visuals in music video history.
 
In terms of tracklist maybe. However I still think a victory tour release should come first. It's still technically Thriller era. Prime Mj + his brothers in HD is a no brainer. This was also MJs peak in the US so I think it will do better than History. We already have people here commenting on the playback. Imagine the critics/general public's responses.
Indeed. Who would want a HIStory concert when there's nothing actually to listen to? It's just an audience cheering over the top of the CD. People get mad enough when something is autotunes, but miming is so much worse. It would end MJ's career.

The documentary should’ve been promoted during T40 but the ball was dropped…..the hype is over.
To be honest the hype never started.

It'll drop somewhere and they won't say anything about it. I'm just interested in seeing the new footage anyway, don't care about how much celebrities love Thriller.
Exactly. I don't see the point myself.

So we cant even get Thriller & Beat it on Bluray? Package it with the doc or album...
And sell it to who? Even a few years ago, the masses weren't interested in buying music videos on disc when it's on YouTube for free. Most people never had a BD player, and got rid of their DVD player long ago.
 
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