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Thriller 40th Anniversary

this article is a month old now, but I just discovered it. it covers a lot of ground in the overall creation of ‘billie jean’. quite a bit of technical studio information for a mainstream publication.


www.smoothradio.com

The Story of... 'Billie Jean' by Michael Jackson

Unravelling the enigmatic allure of Michael Jackson's iconic hit, 'Billie Jean', unveils a narrative as intriguing as the song's infectious rhythm.
www.smoothradio.com www.smoothradio.com
 
BlackAnon said:
I've been listening to this for the last few days. This deserved to be released somewhere......Thriller, Victory.

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This is by far my favourite new song released on Thriller 40. What made it even more special was that I had no idea of this song’s existence before it was revealed as one of the tracks to be released on disc 2 of Thriller 40.
 
It's amazing all the news stuff we have for Thriller40th, lot of amazing new songs, lot of never seen footages for the Doc from making of, Victory tour etc .., it was really unreal to see Michael interview from early 80's, I wish we will see more of that, it's very cool to have Thriller and Beat it in High qualities now, yes that could have been better, but it's still a very cool anniversary.
 
I always wondered if the brothers knew what Michael was going to do with billie jean. How far did he go in rehearsals? Was anyone actually prepared for the routine he was going to perform? Maybe that is why he decided to not sing live so he could keep all of it a secret?
 
filmandmusic said:
I always wondered if the brothers knew what Michael was going to do with billie jean. How far did he go in rehearsals? Was anyone actually prepared for the routine he was going to perform? Maybe that is why he decided to not sing live so he could keep all of it a secret?
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The M25 rehearsal footage shows the brothers there so I think they knew what was happening. I don't think I've heard a Billie Jean performance where Michael didn't sound winded and I think it would've been the same case especially since he performs it right after a high energy performance with his brothers
 
BlackAnon said:
I don't think I've heard a Billie Jean performance where Michael didn't sound winded and I think it would've been the same case especially since he performs it right after a high energy performance with his brothers
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I think he could have sounded a lot better that night than on his tours. The song was always late in the set.
 
filmandmusic said:
I think he could have sounded a lot better that night than on his tours. The song was always late in the set.
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A 1983 live version would've been a good move but I think Michael was set back by wanting everything to sound perfect. He could've did pre-recorded vocals like his brothers but that probably felt unnecessary for a one-off performance
 
BlackAnon said:
The M25 rehearsal footage shows the brothers there so I think they knew what was happening. I don't think I've heard a Billie Jean performance where Michael didn't sound winded and I think it would've been the same case especially since he performs it right after a high energy performance with his brothers
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Till this day...I still can't understand for the life of me why we don't have that in full!🤦🏿‍♂️
 
filmandmusic said:
I always wondered if the brothers knew what Michael was going to do with billie jean. How far did he go in rehearsals? Was anyone actually prepared for the routine he was going to perform? Maybe that is why he decided to not sing live so he could keep all of it a secret?
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michael was advised to mime to the original recording because the orchestra would not be able to replicate it in a decent way. the j5 medley was also prerecorded musically, and vocally. only michael sang live. jermaine had to share his mic during ‘I’ll be there’. had ‘billie jean’ gone that same route, it might’ve sounded like the pepsi version. which I don’t think would have been suitable for a special event like that..

I think michael’s solo performance was mainly kept secret from his family. jermaine & tito both claimed that they didn’t know he was going to do it. tito even went to hug michael at the end of it, who was already beginning his speech to transition into it. the family probably wasn’t home when michael rehearsed in the kitchen the day before when the volume turned up loud. michael did however, do a full run through of the song for Suzanne de passé and other man involved with the show. moonwalk and all..

this is information I gathered from a variety of articles and documentaries. if I can find them I’ll share them.
 
Victorious said:
I think MJ said in the recent 'Lost Tapes' that he improvised everything of the Billie Jean performance except for the moonwalk..?
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I don’t recall michael discussing the motown 25 performance at all in the (now deleted) ‘lost tapes’. the majority of the performance seems improvised, except for the midsection which contains the moonwalk and the opening. michael had been practicing the moonwalk years before that. he was actually supposed to debut it on the ‘triumph’ tour during ‘don’t stop til you get enough’, according to jeffrey daniels, who was one of the people who taught it to him.

the info that I found claims that he did a full rehearsal which included the move.. I wonder if it was a dress rehearsal?
 
83magic said:
I don’t recall michael discussing the motown 25 performance at all in the (now deleted) ‘lost tapes’. the majority of the performance seems improvised, except for the midsection which contains the moonwalk and the opening. michael had been practicing the moonwalk years before that. he was actually supposed to debut it on the ‘triumph’ tour during ‘don’t stop til you get enough’, according to jeffrey daniels, who was one of the people who taught it to him.

the info that I found claims that he did a full rehearsal which included the move.. I wonder if it was a dress rehearsal?
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Ooh nice info, I wonder when he would do the moonwalk during the DSTYGE performance! He already did the toe stand then so it is no surprise he also was able to moonwalk around 1981.
His career could have been different if he did it first during that song. Billie Jean for one would have been less legendary!
 
filmandmusic said:
Ooh nice info, I wonder when he would do the moonwalk during the DSTYGE performance! He already did the toe stand then so it is no surprise he also was able to moonwalk around 1981.
His career could have been different if he did it first during that song. Billie Jean for one would have been less legendary!
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Well he was wearing the glove on the destiny & triumph tour but it didn't get paid any attention until m25 so...idk lol
 
filmandmusic said:
Ooh nice info, I wonder when he would do the moonwalk during the DSTYGE performance! He already did the toe stand then so it is no surprise he also was able to moonwalk around 1981.
His career could have been different if he did it first during that song. Billie Jean for one would have been less legendary!
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He probably would’ve did it during the portion where he’s freestyling.
 
filmandmusic said:
Ooh nice info, I wonder when he would do the moonwalk during the DSTYGE performance! He already did the toe stand then so it is no surprise he also was able to moonwalk around 1981.
His career could have been different if he did it first during that song. Billie Jean for one would have been less legendary!
Click to expand...
unless it was televised, it probably would have had a far less impact if he did the moonwalk on the ‘triumph’ tour. motown 25 proved to be a much bigger platform. the move itself probably wasn’t as impressive at that point, if he didn’t have the confidence to unveil it to the public.

I can’t imagine the ‘billie jean’ performance without it. the short film is the only way that I experience that. having said that, ‘billie jean’ was critically acclaimed and a number hit on both sides of the atlantic, before the legendary performance. if I’m not mistaken, the performance caused the song to go back to number one in america.
 
83magic said:
unless it was televised, it probably would have had a far less impact if he did the moonwalk on the ‘triumph’ tour. motown 25 proved to be a much bigger platform. the move itself probably wasn’t as impressive at that point, if he didn’t have the confidence to unveil it to the public.

I can’t imagine the ‘billie jean’ performance without it. the short film is the only way that I experience that. having said that, ‘billie jean’ was critically acclaimed and a number hit on both sides of the atlantic, before the legendary performance. if I’m not mistaken, the performance caused the song to go back to number one in america.
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I wonder why he didn't moonwalk in any video until captain eo
 
83magic said:
unless it was televised, it probably would have had a far less impact if he did the moonwalk on the ‘triumph’ tour. motown 25 proved to be a much bigger platform. the move itself probably wasn’t as impressive at that point, if he didn’t have the confidence to unveil it to the public.
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I think the Triumph tour would have been extended due to high demand But yes the impact would have been far less for sure.
I don’t think it was a matter of confidence to be honest. I think Michael was waiting for the right moment to showcase the move, he always knew how to get the maximum result out of something.
83magic said:
I can’t imagine the ‘billie jean’ performance without it. the short film is the only way that I experience that. having said that, ‘billie jean’ was critically acclaimed and a number hit on both sides of the atlantic, before the legendary performance. if I’m not mistaken, the performance caused the song to go back to number one in america.
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imagine the uproar if Michael performed BJ on tour without the moonwalk. I think everybody was waiting for it on This Is It and then it never happened 😀
 
filmandmusic said:
I think the Triumph tour would have been extended due to high demand But yes the impact would have been far less for sure.
I don’t think it was a matter of confidence to be honest. I think Michael was waiting for the right moment to showcase the move, he always knew how to get the maximum result out of something.

imagine the uproar if Michael performed BJ on tour without the moonwalk. I think everybody was waiting for it on This Is It and then it never happened 😀
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I found the article stating that michael rehearsed ‘billie jean’ in full costume with the moonwalk. that was how he persuaded the executives to allow him to perform a non motown song.
www.aol.co.uk

Why Michael Jackson's 'Motown 25' moonwalk almost didn't happen 40 years ago: 'After that was over, we just knew this was incredibly special'

Jackson’s actual moonwalk was surprisingly brief: It lasted only two and a half seconds. But like most myths, it has evolved exponentially over the years.
www.aol.co.uk www.aol.co.uk
But that delicate game of politics was upended when Mischer witnessed Jackson’s rehearsal for his “Billie Jean” performance. “I think Linda Ronstadt was there, Smokey Robinson was there, Diana Ross was there, but the place was empty, basically,” Mischer said. “So we watched ‘Billie Jean’ for the first time, the whole thing, the hat, the socks, the moonwalk — after that was over, we just knew this was incredibly special
 
83magic said:
I found the article stating that michael rehearsed ‘billie jean’ in full costume with the moonwalk. that was how he persuaded the executives to allow him to perform a non motown song.
www.aol.co.uk

Why Michael Jackson's 'Motown 25' moonwalk almost didn't happen 40 years ago: 'After that was over, we just knew this was incredibly special'

Jackson’s actual moonwalk was surprisingly brief: It lasted only two and a half seconds. But like most myths, it has evolved exponentially over the years.
www.aol.co.uk www.aol.co.uk
But that delicate game of politics was upended when Mischer witnessed Jackson’s rehearsal for his “Billie Jean” performance. “I think Linda Ronstadt was there, Smokey Robinson was there, Diana Ross was there, but the place was empty, basically,” Mischer said. “So we watched ‘Billie Jean’ for the first time, the whole thing, the hat, the socks, the moonwalk — after that was over, we just knew this was incredibly special
Click to expand...
That kinda ruined the surprise & the fact that he had to prove to them that hard to do it after they claimed they begged him. These stories don't add up. I just don't see him doing a full dress rehearsal & he didn't even know he was wearing his mother's jacket... my brain is going into overload. I need a min🤦🏿‍♂️
 
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