All Michael Jackson and producer Quincy Jones were hoping for was that they’d be able to come up with something that would prove to be greater than or at least equal to the 8 million unit sales of Jackson's prior solo outing, ‘Off the Wall’.
However, what they ended up with eight months later became the biggest-selling album in history. And 30 years since, there has been almost nothing to match up to its achievements. In an interview in 1983, Michael Jackson had stated that "No matter what you do, you are competing against your previous product and everybody expects more”.
Musically, “Thriller” was quite the perfect album, a set of songs which brought everyone to the yard, a pop record which swings and sounds remarkably fresh even today. At the center of all the madness was a slick, entertaining, collection of pure pop music that produced seven No.1 hits including "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'," "The Girl Is Mine," "Thriller," "Beat It," "Billie Jean," "Human Nature" and "P.Y.T.” But it also gave Jackson the relevance that endures to this day. He was nominated for 12 awards at the 1984 Grammys, and won eight, including album of the year and record of the year for "Beat It." Aside from the awards, those nine songs recorded with Jones made Jackson the total package, and it showcased his power as a songwriter. However Thriller's legacy goes far beyond its own sales, awards and accomplishments. It also changed MTV forever, breaking down the cable network's racial barriers and raised the bar for video quality. Once the channel found success with Michael Jackson, videos by other black performers quickly appeared on the playlist. This was a huge development that reintroduced black music into its mix and recognised the talents of many other black artists who had been sidelined. In fact many historians appreciate Michael Jackson to be a remarkably progressive force in helping to reintegrate a fragmented popular culture and bring black music to forefront. Never has it been pushed back since then. In fact, the current era is all about black music, if you may please.
And let’s not forget the way it also set a new benchmark for blockbusters that changed how the music business promoted and marketed superstar releases. When we think of “Thriller,” what instantly comes to mind is the video which was released a bit earlier than the single itself. The long video that it turned out to be, became something no one could have ever predicted. The video presented a visual feast of magic and surprise. With dancing ghouls and ghosts mixed into a plot line involving MJ as a jock and his cute love interest, model Ola Ray, doubling as the “girl in distress,” Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video was a masterpiece.
At the end of it, Thriller reminds us of Michael Jackson in his heyday. We remember the advent of videos and when artistry was a mandate if an artist was to reach pop icon status. The album encapsulates all that was special about Michael Jackson and 30 years later, we are still in awe.
