Thriller 40

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For the documentary film, see Thriller 40 (film).

Thriller 40
Studio album (reissue) by
Michael Jackson
ReleasedNovember 18, 2022 (2022-11-18)
Recorded1979–1982
StudioWestlake (Los Angeles)
Genre
Length
  • 42:16 (disc 1)
  • 42:53 (disc 2)
Label
Producer
Michael Jackson chronology
Scream
(2017) 		Thriller 40
(2022)

Thriller 40 is the 40th-anniversary edition reissue of Thriller (1982), the sixth album by the American singer Michael Jackson. It was released on November 18, 2022, by Epic, Legacy Recordings and MJJ Productions. Thriller 40 is the third reissue of Thriller, following the 2001 special edition and Thriller 25 (2008).[1]

Background[edit]

Jackson released his sixth studio album, Thriller, on November 30, 1982. With sales estimated to be over 70 million copies worldwide,[nb 1][7][8][9] Thriller became the world's best-selling album of all time; the album was the first in history to yield seven top-ten singles. The success of Thriller put Jackson into the dominating position of pop music, becoming an international pop-cultural icon.[10]

Marketing and promotion[edit]

Promotion in Düsseldorf, Germany

The American singer Maxwell performed "The Lady in My Life" at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards.[11] He said, "I'm feeling honored to be here, honored to be able to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Thriller. I've been up since six in the morning trying to get everything together and, you know, just want to do right — it's Michael Jackson. There's nobody better, nobody greater, so I just want to do it well."[12]

Several other activities were planned before the release of Thriller 40.[13] On October 4, music journalist and filmmaker Nelson George announced he was directing a documentary on the making of Thriller, which will include never-before-seen footage.[14]

On November 1, the Michael Jackson Estate and Sony Music launched a worldwide campaign to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the album Thriller, featuring Fan Event Parties, Immersive Experience to be held in two countries: Düsseldorf, Germany on November 10–13 and New York on November 18–20 and there will be an event filming that will be part of Thriller 40 documentary on November 30.[15]

On November 14, Sony Music released the 4K version of Jackson's "Beat It" music video on YouTube.[16] A 4K remaster of the "Thriller" short film also appeared on iTunes and Tidal, though it was removed shortly after. On November 17, the 4K remastered "Thriller" short film was released on YouTube.

Bonus material[edit]

Thriller 40 includes the original demo for Jackson's song "Behind the Mask" (which was previously reworked for the 2010 posthumous album Michael),[17] the original demo for "Thriller" ("Starlight"); a demo of "Best of Joy" (released on the Michael album) titled "The Toy" (intended for the 1982 Richard Pryor film of the same name); the previously unreleased songs "She's Trouble", "What a Lovely Way to Go" and "Who Do You Know", and the tracks "Got the Hots" (first released as a bonus track on some editions of Thriller 25), "Carousel" (a shorter version was included on the 2001 special edition), "Can't Get Outta the Rain" (released in 2008 as part of the 3-CD edition of The Essential Michael Jackson) and "Sunset Driver" (released in 2004 on The Ultimate Collection).[citation needed]

Release[edit]

Announced on May 16, 2022, by the Estate of Michael Jackson, Thriller 40 is the twelfth release by Sony and/or Motown since the death of Jackson in 2009. The company also announced additional releases of the original album by audiophile reissue label Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab on both stereo Super Audio CD and LP, limited to 40,000 numbered copies.[18][19] The latter portion of the announcement was later credited by The Washington Post journalist Geoff Edgers with fueling public skepticism towards Mobile Fidelity that culminated in a subsequent controversy over them using Direct Stream Digital files in vinyl releases that were marketed as coming directly from analog master tapes.[20] The company also surprise released 360 Reality Audio and Dolby Atmos versions of the original album on Amazon Music and Apple Music respectively on the same day as Thriller 40.[21]

Documentary film[edit]

Main article: Thriller 40 (film)

A 90-minute documentary film titled Thriller 40 directed by Nelson George celebrating the 40th anniversary of Thriller was released in the United States on December 2, 2023, airing on Showtime and later appeared on Paramount+ only for Showtime subscribers. Internationally it debuted the same day in the UK, Australia, Canada, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Latin America and South Korea.[22][23] On October 27, 2023, the Michael Jackson estate released a trailer for the Thriller 40 documentary film.[22]

Commercial performance[edit]

In the United States, as per Billboard's rule, Thriller 40 is regarded as the same album as Thriller and re-entered the Billboard 200 albums chart at number seven. The album sold a combined total of about 37,000 copies in the first week in the US.[24] The album charted at number 16 in its second week of the release, selling 18,000 (down 35%).[25]

Track listing[edit]

Disc 1: Thriller
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"Michael Jackson
6:02
2."Baby Be Mine"Rod TempertonJones4:20
3."The Girl Is Mine" (with Paul McCartney)Jackson
  • Jones
  • Jackson[a]
3:42
4."Thriller"TempertonJones5:57
5."Beat It"Jackson
  • Jones
  • Jackson[a]
4:18
6."Billie Jean"Jackson
  • Jones
  • Jackson[a]
4:54
7."Human Nature"
Jones4:06
8."P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)"
Jones3:59
9."The Lady in My Life"TempertonJones4:59
Total length:42:16
Disc 2: Bonus material
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Starlight"TempertonJones5:04
2."Got the Hots" (Demo)TempertonJones4:25
3."Who Do You Know" (Demo)JacksonJackson5:23
4."Carousel"
Jones3:39
5."Behind the Mask" (Mike's Mix, Demo)
Jackson5:01
6."Can't Get Outta the Rain"
  • Jackson
  • Jones
  • Jackson
  • Jones
4:06
7."The Toy" (Demo)JacksonJackson3:04
8."Sunset Driver" (Demo)JacksonJackson4:03
9."What a Lovely Way to Go" (Demo)JacksonJackson3:55
10."She's Trouble" (Demo)
Jones4:13
Total length:42:53
Deluxe edition bonus tracks (digital only)
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
20."Billie Jean" (Home Demo from 1981)JacksonJackson2:20
21."Billie Jean" (Long Version)Jackson
  • Jones
  • Jackson[a]
6:20
22."Billie Jean 2008" (Kanye West mix)Jackson
4:35
23."Beat It" (Demo)JacksonJackson2:03
24."Beat It 2008" (with Fergie)Jackson
4:11
25."Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" (Demo)JacksonJackson5:43
26."Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" (Tommy D's Main Mix)Jackson
  • Jackson
  • Jones
  • Tommy D
7:40
27."Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008" (with Akon)
  • Jackson
  • Akon
  • Tuinfort
4:14
28."Human Nature" (7" Remix)
  • Porcaro
  • Bettis
Jones3:45
29."P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" (Demo Version)
Jackson3:46
30."P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) 2008" (with will.i.am)
  • Jackson
  • will.i.am
4:21
31."The Girl Is Mine 2008" (with will.i.am)
  • Jackson
  • Adams
  • Harris
  • Jackson
  • will.i.am
3:10
32."Thriller" (7" Special Edit)TempertonJones4:37
33."Thriller" (Def Thriller Mix)Temperton
7:22
34."Thriller Megamix"
  • Jackson
  • Temperton
  • Jones
  • Ingram
9:14
Total length:73:21

Total duration: 158:30

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies a co-producer

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for Thriller 40
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Italian Albums (FIMI)[26] 7
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[27] 6
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[28] 22
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[29] 10
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[30] 38

Release history[edit]

List of release dates, showing country, record label, and format
Country Date Label Format
Various November 18, 2022

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Representatives for Sony and Jackson's estate say that Thriller has sold 105 million copies globally.[2] Although sales estimates for Thriller have been as high as 110 million copies,[3] these sales figures are unreliable according to various music specialists.[4][5][6]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Gail Mitchell (May 16, 2022). "Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' Celebrates 40th Anniversary With Double-CD Set". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 22, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  2. ^ Caulfield, Keith (February 16, 2017). "Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' Extends Reign as Highest Certified Album in U.S. History". Billboard. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
  3. ^ Durchholz, Daniel (November 30, 2012). "Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' At 30: Classic Track-By-Track Review". Billboard. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  4. ^ Wyman, Bill (January 4, 2013). "Did "Thriller" Really Sell a Hundred Million Copies?". The New Yorker. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  5. ^ Bialik, Carl (July 14, 2009). "How Many Albums Did Michael Jackson Sell?". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  6. ^ Lara, David (May 12, 2012). "Michael Jackson's 'Bad' Gets a Revamp and More Inflated Sales!". Impre. ImpreMedia. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  7. ^ "Best-selling album". Guinness World Records. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  8. ^ "Adele's 21 overtakes sales of Thriller in UK album list". BBC. May 4, 2012. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  9. ^ Asian News International (ANI) (September 26, 2020). "MJ nearly scrapped 'Thriller' release". Zee News. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  10. ^ Adams, Anne-Taylor (April 11, 2008). "'XM THRILLER: The Music of Michael Jackson' to Launch March 1 on XM". PRNewswire. Reuters. Archived from the original on May 14, 2008. Retrieved April 14, 2008.
  11. ^ "Watch Maxwell Cover Michael Jackson's "The Lady in My Life" at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards". Pitchfork. May 16, 2022.
  12. ^ Juneau, Jen; Irvin, Jack (May 15, 2022). "Maxwell Performs Anniversary Tribute to Michael Jackson's Thriller at 2022 Billboard Music Awards". PEOPLE.
  13. ^ Aswad, Jem (May 16, 2022). "Michael Jackson's 'Thriller 40' Anniversary Edition Due in the Fall: Unreleased Tracks, Other 'Surprises'". Variety.
  14. ^ Carey, Matthew (October 4, 2022). "Documentary On Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' In The Works, From Jackson Estate And Sony Music Entertainment". Deadline.
  15. ^ "Upcoming Thriller 40 Events". Michael Jackson Official Site. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  16. ^ "'Beat It' 4K Added To YouTube". November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  17. ^ "Michael Jackson on Instagram: "After hearing the original instrumental recording of this song by the group Yellow Magic Orchestra, Michael reached out to them to ask if he could create a version of the song with lyrics. They readily agreed and Michael wrote the lyrics and recorded the demo which he played at a listening session at his home studio attended by Quincy Jones, Rod Temperton and Greg Phillinganes at which Michael also played the demos for "Billie Jean", "Beat It" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'". Unfortunately, "Behind the Mask" didn't make the cut for the Thriller album and, although Michael worked on the track over the years, a finished version wasn't released until the Michael album. But this original demo by Michael has never been released. Link in story."". Instagram. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  18. ^ Brown, Preezy (May 16, 2022). "Michael Jackson 'Thriller' 40th Anniversary Album To Include Unreleased Music".
  19. ^ Osbourne, Aussie. "TO BE RELEASED: THRILLER 40 – A DOUBLE CD SET OF MICHAEL'S ORIGINAL MASTERPIECE THRILLER & BONUS DISC". Aussie Osbourne. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  20. ^ Geoff Edgers (August 5, 2022). "How a Phoenix record store owner set the audiophile world on fire". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.
  21. ^ "Thriller 40 – A Double CD Set Of Michael Jackson's Original Masterpiece Thriller & Bonus Disc Out Now". Legacy Recordings. November 18, 2022. Retrieved November 19, 2022. Immersive audio mixes of Thriller are now available at various DSPs, including 360 Reality Audio on Amazon, Spatial Audio on Apple Music, mixed by Şerban Ghenea from the original masters for immersive audio, with the immersive mixes by John Hanes.
  22. ^ a b Atkinson, Katie (October 27, 2023). "Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' Hailed by Usher, Mary J. Blige, Mark Ronson & More in 40th-Anniversary Doc: Trailer Premiere 40". Billboard. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  23. ^ "Michael Jackson: Thriller 40". BBFC. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  24. ^ "Taylor Swift's 'Midnights' Remains at No. 1 on Billboard 200 for Fourth Nonconsecutive Week". Complex Networks.
  25. ^ "Tom Petty's 'Live at the Fillmore' Lights up Billboard Charts, Debuts in Top 10 on Album Sales". Billboard.
  26. ^ "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 47 (dal 18.11.2022 al 24.11.2022)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  27. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2022-11-28" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  28. ^ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. November 28, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  29. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Michael Jackson – Thriller %5B202240th Anniversary Edition%5D". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  30. ^ "Veckolista Album, vecka 47". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
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