Michael Jackson - Thriller (Picture Disc, Reissue)
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Description
Thriller is the sixth studio album by American singer Michael Jackson, released on November 30, 1982, by Epic Records. Reunited with Off the Wall producer Quincy Jones, Jackson was inspired to create an album where "every song was a killer". With the ongoing backlash against disco, Jackson moved in a new musical direction, incorporating pop, post-disco, R&B, rock, and funk. Thriller features a single guest appearance, with Paul McCartney becoming the first artist to be featured on Jackson's albums. Recording took place from April to November 1982 at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, with a production budget of $750,000.
Thriller became Jackson's first number-one album on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart. It produced seven singles: "The Girl Is Mine", "Billie Jean", "Beat It", "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' ", "Human Nature", "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)", and "Thriller". All the singles reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, setting the record for the most top 10 singles from an album, with "Beat It" and "Billie Jean" reaching number one on the chart. Following Jackson's performance of "Billie Jean" at Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, where he debuted his signature moonwalk dance, the sales of the album significantly increased, selling one million copies worldwide per week. Michael Jackson's Thriller, the "Thriller" music video, premiered to great anticipation in December 1983 and played regularly on MTV, which also increased the sales of the album. It spent a record 37 weeks at number one on the Billboard 200, from February 26, 1983, to April 14, 1984, and has spent 400 weeks on the chart and counting.
By the end of 1983, Thriller became the best-selling album of all time, having sold 32 million copies. It was the best-selling album worldwide in 1983, and was also the best-selling album in the United States in 1983 and 1984, making it the first album to be the country's best-selling for two years. The album's success set the standard for the music industry with its songs, music videos, and promotion strategies influencing artists, record labels, producers, marketers, and choreographers. The album broke racial barriers in popular music, enabling Jackson's appearances on MTV and meeting with President Ronald Reagan at the White House. It was one of the first to use music videos as successful promotional tools, and the videos for the songs "Billie Jean" and "Beat It" and the short film Michael Jackson's Thriller all received regular rotation on MTV and are credited for transforming music videos into a serious art form, with the latter also popularizing short films in the music industry.
Thriller remains the best-selling album of all time, with sales of 66 million copies worldwide. It is the second-best-selling album in the United States and was the first to reach 30× Platinum or 3× Diamond. As of February 2017, it has sold 33 million certified album-equivalent units in the US. It won a record-breaking eight Grammy Awards at the 1984 Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, while "Beat It" won Record of the Year. Jackson also won a record-breaking eight American Music Awards at the 1984 American Music Awards. Viewed by critics and publications as one of the greatest albums of all time, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry of "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant recordings", and Michael Jackson's Thriller was inducted into the National Film Preservation Board's National Film Registry of "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant films". Regarding the importance of Thriller, Rolling Stone wrote; "It's hard to imagine the present-day musical landscape without Thriller, which changed the game both sonically and marketwise."
Release Info
Label: Sony Music 190758664217
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Picture Disc, Reissue
Country: Europe
Released: 2018
Genre: Rock, Funk / Soul, Pop
Style: Pop Rock, Funk, Soul
Tracklist
A1 Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
A2 Baby Be Mine
A3 The Girl Is Mine
A4 Thriller
B1 Beat It
B2 Billie Jean
B3 Human Nature
B4 P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)
B5 The Lady In My Life
