For other albums titled Thriller, as well as other uses, see. Thriller is the sixth by American singer , released on November 30, 1982, in the United States by and internationally by. It explores genres similar to Jackson's previous album, , including , , and. It is the second best-selling album in the United States and was the first album to , with U. The album won a record-breaking eight in 1984, including. Thriller broke racial barriers in pop music, enabling Jackson's appearances on and meeting with at the. In the same year, the album was inducted into the along with Off the Wall. Jackson's previous album 1979 received critical acclaim and was a commercial success, selling over 20 million copies worldwide. The years between Off the Wall and Thriller were a transitional period for Jackson, a time of increased independence. I sit in my room sometimes and cry. It's so hard to make friends... I sometimes walk around the neighborhood at night, just hoping to find someone to talk to. But I just end up coming home. Jackson confided in Branca that he wanted to be the biggest and wealthiest star in show business. Someday those magazines are going to be begging me for an interview. Maybe I'll give them one, and maybe I won't. Jackson reunited with Off the Wall producer to record his sixth studio album, his second under the label. The pair worked together on 30 songs, nine of which were included on the album. Several members of the band were involved in the album's recording and production. Unlike many artists, Jackson did not write these songs on paper. Instead, he dictated into a sound recorder; when recording he would sing from memory. The relationship between Jackson and Jones became strained during the recording. Jackson spent much of his time rehearsing dance steps alone. When the album was completed, both Jones and Jackson were unhappy with the result and remixed every song, spending a week on each. Jones and songwriter gave detailed accounts of what occurred for the 2001 reissue of the album. Jones wanted to shorten the long introduction, but Jackson insisted that it remain because it made him want to dance. The ongoing against made it necessary to move in a different musical direction from the disco-heavy Off the Wall. Eventually, they found of Toto to play the rhythm guitar parts and of the rock band to play the solo. Wanting a notable person to recite the closing lyrics, Jones brought in actor , an acquaintance of Jones' wife; Price completed his part in two takes. Temperton wrote the spoken portion in a taxi on the way to the recording studio. Demos of all these songs exist and have leaked onto the internet. The song was written and co-produced by Jackson. The track mixed uptempo funk and disco with the somber themes of paranoia and obsession. Problems playing these files? Thriller explores genres including , , and. According to Steve Huey of , it refined the strengths of Off the Wall; the and tracks are more aggressive, while the tunes and ballads are softer and more. Thriller foreshadows the contradictory themes of Jackson's later works. With Thriller, Jackson began using a motif of and darker themes including imagery in the title track. Bassist Louis Johnson ran through his part on a Yamaha bass guitar. The song opens with a long bass-and-drums introduction. It slides smoothly into a startling that's used very daringly. The purpose of the hiccup—somewhat like a gulping for air or gasping—is to help invoke a certain emotion, be it excitement, sadness or fear. The album's title track was released as a single and also became a hit internationally. The cover for Thriller features Jackson in a white suit that belonged to photographer Dick Zimmerman. The sleeve reveals a cub at Jackson's leg, which Zimmerman reported the singer mostly kept away from his face fearing he would be scratched. Another picture from the shoot, with Jackson embracing the cub, was used for the 2001 special edition of Thriller. The album won a record-breaking eight in 1984, including Album of the Year. Jackson won seven of the Grammys for the album, while the eighth Grammy went to Bruce Swedien. That same year, Jackson won eight , the Special Award of Merit and three. Thriller was recognized as the world's best-selling album on February 7, 1984, when it was inducted into the. It is one of four albums to be the best-seller of two years 1983—1984 in the US. On December 16, 2015, Thriller was certified 30× platinum by the , for shipments of at least 30 million units in the US. After the inclusion of into the RIAA album awards in 2017, Thriller was re-certified 33× platinum for a total of 33 million album-equivalent units. The album topped the charts in many countries, sold 4. Still popular today, Thriller sells an estimated 130,000 copies in the US per year; it reached number two in the in February 2003 and number 39 in the UK in March 2007. Jackson changed the way the industry functioned: both as an artistic persona and as a financial, profitable entity. As a result, Jackson earned record-breaking profits from compact disc sales and from the sale of copies of the documentary, The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller, produced by Jackson and. Funded by MTV, the film sold over 350,000 copies in its first few months. In a market then driven by singles, Thriller raised the significance of albums, yet its multiple hit singles changed perceived notions as to the number of successful singles that could be taken from an individual album. Thriller retains a position in ; biographer J. A one-man rescue team for the music business. A songwriter who sets the beat for a decade. A dancer with the fanciest feet on the street. Video Concert Hall, the first nationwide music video TV network, taped the one-hour special in Hollywood and Atlanta, where the TV studios of Video Concert Hall were located. The Thriller TV special was hosted by Thriller video co-star , distributed by Henderson-Crowe Syndications, Inc. From the moment Thriller was released, it set the standard for the music industry: artists, record labels, producers, marketers and even choreographers. The music video was ahead of its time and it is considered a monumental one—not only in Jackson's career, but also in the history of pop music. Epic Records' approach to creating a song and video that would appeal to the mass market ended up influencing the way that professionals now market and release their songs. John Landis' production of a mini-movie, rather than the usual short music video, would raise the bar for other directors and producers. Before the success of Thriller, many felt Jackson had struggled to get MTV airing because he was black. MTV denies claims of racism in their broadcasting. Jackson transformed the medium of into an art form and promotional tool through the use of complex story lines, dance routines, special effects and cameo appearances by well known personalities. When the 14-minute-long video aired, MTV ran it twice an hour to meet demand. The short film marked an increase in scale for music videos and has been routinely named the best music video ever. The popularity of the video sent the album back to number one in the album chart, but Jackson's label did not support the release of the third music video from the album. They were already pleased with its success, so Jackson convinced MTV to fund the project. For most of us the images define the songs. The choreography in Thriller has become a part of global pop culture, replicated everywhere from to prisons in the Philippines. For a black artist in the 1980s to that point, Jackson's success was unprecedented. According to , Thriller paved the way for other African-American artists to achieve mainstream recognition, such as. He is the hottest single phenomenon since. Contemporary appeal Today, Thriller is still viewed in a positive light by critics some three decades later. But especially in the album's seven hit singles out of nine songs , the music stands on its own. In 2009, music critics for and both listed Thriller as the best album released since 1981. Thriller, along with other critic favorites, were then polled by the public. Thriller was reissued on October 16, 2001, in an expanded set titled Thriller: Special Edition. Sony also hired sound engineer and mixer to work with Jackson on creating 5. Despite numerous retries, the artist never approved any of the mixes. Consequently, Thriller was issued on SACD only in a stereo version. In February 2008, released ; Jackson served as. Thriller 25 was a commercial success and did particularly well as a reissue. It peaked at number one in eight countries and Europe. It peaked at number two in the US, number three in the UK and reached the top 10 in over 30 national charts. It was certified Gold in 11 countries including the UK, received a 2× Gold certification in France and received platinum certification in Poland. In the United States, Thriller 25 was the second best-selling album of its release week, selling one hundred and sixty six thousand copies, just fourteen thousand short of reaching the number one position. It was ineligible for the chart as a re-release but entered the at number one where it stayed for ten non-consecutive weeks , with the best sales on that chart since December 1996. With the arrival of Halloween that November, Thriller 25 spent an eleventh non-consecutive week atop the US catalog chart. This brought US sales of the album to 688,000 copies, making it the of 2008. This was Jackson's best launch since in 2001, selling three million copies worldwide in 12 weeks. After in June 2009, Thriller set additional records. It sold more than 100,000 copies, placing it at number two on the chart. Songs from Thriller also helped Jackson become the first artist to sell more than one million in a week. According to , Thriller was the 14th best-selling album of 2009 in the United States, with 1. For one week beginning November 20, 2015, Google Play Music offered a free copy of the album to its users in the U. It is called Thriller Google Play Exclusive Version. It adds a tenth track to the original, Billie Jean Home Demo from 1981. To date, Thriller remains the , selling over 66 million copies worldwide. Retrieved April 26, 2016. Retrieved June 29, 2017. Retrieved October 11, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2013. Retrieved January 10, 2013. Retrieved January 10, 2013. Retrieved August 21, 2018. Retrieved February 18, 2017. Archived from on January 2, 2008. Retrieved January 22, 2016. Archived from on October 21, 2012. Retrieved June 15, 2008. Archived from on December 23, 2007. Retrieved December 12, 2008. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved January 2, 2018. Thriller Special Edition Audio CD. Retrieved April 20, 2008. Interviewed by Jesse Jackson. Retrieved January 22, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2008. Archived from on December 4, 2008. Retrieved January 14, 2013. Retrieved November 11, 2006. Retrieved June 15, 2008. The story behind these seemingly nonsensical syllables is a fascinating one, originating in the Cameroonian language Duala... The New York Times. Retrieved April 19, 2007. Archived from on March 27, 2009. Archived from on January 9, 2008. Retrieved April 12, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2007. Archived from on December 28, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2018. Retrieved October 17, 2016. Retrieved August 21, 2016. In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian. Retrieved October 17, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2008. Retrieved April 5, 2008. Retrieved January 22, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2016. 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Retrieved July 26, 2009. Retrieved December 7, 2007. Retrieved June 23, 2008. Archived from on May 17, 2011. Retrieved April 5, 2008. Retrieved January 22, 2016. Archived from on May 19, 2011. Retrieved February 20, 2008. Retrieved February 20, 2008. Retrieved April 7, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2008. Retrieved May 22, 2008. Retrieved July 3, 2009. Retrieved January 18, 2010. Retrieved November 21, 2015. Australian Chart Book 1970—1992. Retrieved January 22, 2016. Archived from on January 7, 2016. Archived from on May 9, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2016. Archived from on May 9, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2013. Archived from on January 18, 2010. Retrieved May 2, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2016. Archived from on March 18, 2005. Retrieved January 22, 2016. Enter Michael Jackson in the field Interpret. Enter Thriller in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click on næste to go to page if certification is from the official website. Retrieved October 24, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2018. Archived from PDF on October 5, 2013. Retrieved May 20, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2016. Archived from on 2011-07-24. Archived from on August 19, 2010. Retrieved January 22, 2016. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Enter Thriller in the search field and then press Enter. Retrieved October 13, 2018. If necessary, click Advanced , then click Format , then select Album , then click SEARCH. The Magic and the Madness. Terra Alta, WV: Headline.
