All Topics  
Billie Jean

 
Billie Jean

   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link






 

Billie Jean



 
 
"Billie Jean" is a song by American recording artist Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson is an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene at the age of 11 as a member of The Jackson 5 and began a solo career in 1971 while still a member of the group....
. The track was written by Jackson, and produced by Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones

Quincy Delight Jones, Jr. , is an United States music Conductor , record producer, musical arranger, film composer and trumpeter. During five decades in the entertainment industry, Jones has earned a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend Award in 1991....
 for the singer's sixth solo album, Thriller
Thriller (album)

Thriller is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. The album was released on November 30, 1982 by Epic Records as the follow-up to Jackson's critically and commercially successful 1979 album Off the Wall ....
 (1982). Originally disliked by Jones, the track was almost removed from the album after he and Jackson fell out. The song's lyrics refer to a real life experience, in which a female fan claimed Jackson fathered one of her twins. The song rose to prominence through the distinctive bass line and Jackson's vocal hiccups.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Billie Jean'
Start a new discussion about 'Billie Jean'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


"Billie Jean" is a song by American recording artist Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson is an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene at the age of 11 as a member of The Jackson 5 and began a solo career in 1971 while still a member of the group....
. The track was written by Jackson, and produced by Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones

Quincy Delight Jones, Jr. , is an United States music Conductor , record producer, musical arranger, film composer and trumpeter. During five decades in the entertainment industry, Jones has earned a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend Award in 1991....
 for the singer's sixth solo album, Thriller
Thriller (album)

Thriller is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. The album was released on November 30, 1982 by Epic Records as the follow-up to Jackson's critically and commercially successful 1979 album Off the Wall ....
 (1982). Originally disliked by Jones, the track was almost removed from the album after he and Jackson fell out. The song's lyrics refer to a real life experience, in which a female fan claimed Jackson fathered one of her twins. The song rose to prominence through the distinctive bass line and Jackson's vocal hiccups. The dance-pop
Dance-pop

Dance-pop is a style of electronic dance music and a subgenre of pop music that evolved from disco, circa 1981, that combines dance beats with a pop music/contemporary R&B song structure....
 R&B song was mixed 91 times by Bruce Swedien
Bruce Swedien

Bruce Swedien is an audio engineer and music producer of Scandinavia descent born in Minneapolis in 1934. He is in particular known for his work with Quincy Jones....
 before the final product was decided upon, and showcased Jackson's vocal range
Vocal range

Vocal range is the measure of the breadth of pitch that a human voice can phonate. Although the study of vocal range has little practical application in terms of speech, it is a topic of study within linguistics, phonetics, and speech pathology; particularly in relation to the study of tonal languages and certain types of vocal disorders....
.

Following the successful chart performances of Thriller and "The Girl Is Mine
The Girl Is Mine

"The Girl Is Mine" is a 1982 in music hit duet by Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney. Composed by Michael Jackson and released as the first single from the world's biggest selling album, Thriller , the song was about two men fighting over the love of one woman, each claiming that he can love the woman better than the other....
", "Billie Jean" was released on January 3, 1983, as the album's second single. "Billie Jean" was a worldwide commercial and critical success; becoming one of the best-selling singles of 1983, and dominating the the US and UK charts simultaneously. Considered one of the most revolutionary songs in history, "Billie Jean" was certified platinum in 1989.

Honoured numerous times—including two Grammy Awards, one American Music Award and an induction into the Music Video Producers Hall of Fame—the song and music video propelled the sales of Thriller, becoming the best-selling album
List of best-selling albums worldwide

This is a list of the world's best-selling albums. The criteria are that the figure must have been published by a reliable source and the album must have sold at least 20 million copies worldwide....
 of all time. The song was promoted with a groundbreaking video that broke down MTV
MTV

MTV is an United States cable television network based in Media of New York City. Launched on August 1, 1981, the original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJ ....
's racial barrier, and an iconic performance on Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever
Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever

Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever was a 1983 in television television special produced by Suzanne de Passe for Motown Records, to commemorate Motown's twenty-fifth year of existence....
, in which Jackson premiered the moonwalk
Moonwalk (dance)

The moonwalk or backslide is a dance technique that presents the illusion that the dancer is stepping forward whilst actually moving backward....
. The song was also promoted through Jackson's Pepsi
Pepsi

Pepsi is a Carbonation that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo. It is sold in retail stores, restaurants, cinemas and from vending machines....
 commercials; during the filming of one commercial, Jackson suffered severe burns to the scalp. Covered and sampled by modern artists, including a 2008 remix by Kanye West
Kanye West

Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, record producer and singer. He released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, his second album Late Registration in 2005, his third album Graduation in 2007, and his fourth album 808s & Heartbreak in 2008....
, "Billie Jean" sealed Jackson's status as an international pop icon
Pop icon

A pop icon is a celebrity whose fame in popular culture constitutes a defining characteristic of a given society or era. Although there is no single definitive test for establishing "pop icon" status, such status is usually associated with elements such as longevity, ubiquity, and distinction....
.

Background

According to Jackson's biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli
J. Randy Taraborrelli

John Randall Taraborrelli is an American journalist and biographer.Taraborrelli is an author known for biographies of contemporary entertainers and political figures....
, "Billie Jean" was derived from a real life experience the singer faced in 1981. The Magic & The Madness documents how a young woman wrote a letter to Jackson, informing the singer that he was the father of one of her twins. Jackson, who regularly received letters of this kind, had never met the woman and ignored it. The woman sent more letters to Jackson, claiming that she loved him and wanted to be with him. She wrote of how happy they would be, bringing up the child together. She pondered how Jackson could ignore his own flesh and blood. Due to the stress, the singer suffered from nightmares.

Following the letters, Jackson received a parcel containing a photograph of the fan, as well as a letter and a gun
GUN

Gun is a Revisionist Western-themed video game developed by Neversoft. It was published by Activision for the Xbox, Xbox 360, Nintendo GameCube, Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 2....
. Jackson was horrified—the letter asked that the pop star kill himself on a certain day and at a specific time. The fan would do the same once she had killed their baby. She wrote that if they could not be together in this life, then they would be in the next. To his mother's dismay, Jackson had the photograph framed and hung above the dining room table. Afterward, the Jacksons discovered that the female fan had been sent to a mental asylum.

Jackson stated in his autobiography, Moon Walk, that the song was based on the groupies he and his brothers encountered whilst part of The Jackson 5
The Jackson 5

The Jackson 5 was a two-time Grammy Award-nominated American popular music Jackson family Musical ensemble from Gary, Indiana. Founding group members Jackie Jackson, Tito Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, Marlon Jackson and Michael Jackson formed the group after performing in an early incarnation called The Jackson Brothers, which originally co...
. "There never was a real Billie Jean. The girl in the song is a composite of people my brothers have been plagued with over the years. I could never understand how these girls could say they were carrying someone's child when it wasn't true."

Recording

With his female fan in mind, Jackson wrote "Billie Jean", and Jackson later stated that when writing the song, he knew it would be a hit. "A musician knows hit material. Everything has to feel in place. It fulfills you and it makes you feel good. That’s how I felt about 'Billie Jean'. I knew it was going to be big when I was writing it". The singer explained that he was so absorbed by the song that, during one instance, he didn't notice that his car had caught fire as he drove down a freeway
Freeway

A freeway is a type of road designed for Road safety#Motorway high-speed operation of motor vehicles through the elimination of at-grade intersections....
 with a friend until a passing motorcyclist informed him. Jackson noted, "The kid probably saved our lives".

The pop star faced numerous disagreements with the song's producer. Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones

Quincy Delight Jones, Jr. , is an United States music Conductor , record producer, musical arranger, film composer and trumpeter. During five decades in the entertainment industry, Jones has earned a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend Award in 1991....
 did not want "Billie Jean" to appear on Thriller
Thriller (album)

Thriller is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. The album was released on November 30, 1982 by Epic Records as the follow-up to Jackson's critically and commercially successful 1979 album Off the Wall ....
; he felt that the song was too weak to be part of the collection. The producer disliked the demo and didn't care for the song's bass. Jones wanted to cut Jackson's 29 second introduction, which Jackson insisted be kept. "I said, 'Michael we’ve got to cut that intro'" Jones later recalled. "He said, 'But that’s the jelly!'...'That’s what makes me want to dance'. And when Michael Jackson tells you, 'That’s what makes me want to dance', well, the rest of us just have to shut up". Jones also wanted to change the track's title to "Not My Lover", believing that people would think the song referred to the tennis player Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King

Billie Jean King is a retired tennis player from the United States. She won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, 16 Grand Slam women's doubles titles, and 11 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles....
. Jackson refused to change the title and asked Jones to give him co-producing credits for the track; he felt that the demo tape sounded exactly like the finished product. In addition, Jackson wanted extra royalties. Jones granted neither and the two fell out for a period of time.

Having sorted their differences, Jones had Jackson sing his vocal overdubs through a six-foot-long cardboard tube. Jackson's entire lead vocal was performed in one take; he had received vocal training every morning throughout the production. Jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
 saxophonist Tom Scott
Tom Scott (musician)

Tom Scott is an American saxophonist, composer, arranger, Conducting and bandleader of the west coast jazz/jazz fusion ensemble L.A. Express....
 play the lyricon
Lyricon

The Lyricon is an electronic instrument wind instrument, the first Wind controller to be constructed.Invented by Bill Bernardi , it was manufactured by a company called Computone Inc in Massachusetts....
, a rare wind-controlled synthesizer. Bass guitarist
Bass guitar

The electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum.The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with a larger body, a longer neck and Scale length, and usually four strings tuned to the same pitches as those of the double bass, whic...
 Louis Johnson
Louis Johnson (bassist)

Louis Johnson is an American musician regarded as one of the best bass guitarists of the 20th century. Best known for his group The Brothers Johnson and his session musician on several hit albums of the 1970s and '80s including the "best selling album of all time" Thriller ....
 was then brought in. Johnson played his part on every guitar he owned, Jackson finally settling for a Yamaha bass. Greg Phillinganes
Greg Phillinganes

Greg Phillinganes is an active session keyboardist in Los Angeles, California. He is a graduate of Cass Tech.Phillinganes was discovered by Stevie Wonder who heard a cassette of instrumental renditions of his own songs done by Phillinganes....
 was also drafted in to play the keyboard
Musical keyboard

A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the interval of an octave....
. He later said of the song, ""Billie Jean" is hot on every level. It’s hot rhythmically. It’s hot sonically, because the instrumentation is so minimal, you can really hear everything. It’s hot melodically. It’s hot lyrically. It’s hot vocally. It affects you physically, emotionally, even spiritually".

The song was mixed by Bruce Swedien
Bruce Swedien

Bruce Swedien is an audio engineer and music producer of Scandinavia descent born in Minneapolis in 1934. He is in particular known for his work with Quincy Jones....
 ninety-one times; unusual for Swedien, who usually mixed a song once. Jones had told Swedien to create a drum sound that no one had ever heard before. The mixer was also told to add a different element, "sonic personality". "What I ended up doing was building a drum platform and designing some special little things, like a bass drum cover and a flat piece of wood that goes between the snare and the hi-hat", Swedien later wrote. "The bottom line is that there aren't many pieces of music where you can hear the first three or four notes of the drums, and immediately tell what the piece of music is". He concludes, "But I think that is the case with 'Billie Jean'—and that I attribute to sonic personality".

Composition


"Billie Jean" is considered a dance-pop
Dance-pop

Dance-pop is a style of electronic dance music and a subgenre of pop music that evolved from disco, circa 1981, that combines dance beats with a pop music/contemporary R&B song structure....
 R&B song. It opens with a drum beat; kick, snare
Snare drum

The snare drum is a drum with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or catgut cords stretched across the a drumhead, typically the bottom....
 and hi-hat
Hi-hat

A hi-hat, or hihat, is a type of cymbal and stand used as a typical part of a drum kit by percussionists in Rhythm and blues, Hip-hop music, disco, jazz, rock and roll, House music, and other forms of contemporary popular music....
, containing hardly any reverberation
Reverberation

Reverberation is the persistence of sound in a particular space after the original sound is removed. A reverberation, or reverb, is created when a sound is produced in an enclosed space causing a large number of Echo to build up and then slowly decay as the sound is absorbed by the walls and air....
. The pattern continues unchanged throughout the entire song. After four bars
Bar (music)

In musical notation, a bar is a segment of time defined as a given number of beat of a given duration. The word measure is heard more frequently in the United States, while bar is used in other English-speaking countries, although musicians generally understand both usages....
, a repetitive
Repetition (music)

Repetition is important in music, where sounds or sequences are often repeated. One often stated idea is that repetition should be in balance with the initial statements and variations in a piece....
 bass line enters. It never rests for more than an eighth note
Note

In music, the term note has two primary meanings: 1) a sign used in musical notation to represent the relative duration and pitch of a sound; and 2) a pitched sound itself....
 and centers on a seventh. Each time it passes through the tonic
Tonic (music)

The tonic is the first note of a scale in the tonality method of musical composition. The chord #The Triad formed on the tonic note, the tonic chord, is thus the most significant chord ....
 the note is doubled by a distorted synth bass, played in unison with a shaker
Shaker (percussion)

The word shaker describes a large number of percussive musical instruments used for creating rhythm in music.They are so called because the method of creating sound involves shaking them?moving them back and forth rather than striking them....
. This is followed by a repetitive three-note synth, played staccato
Staccato

In musical notation, the Italian language word staccato indicates that note are separated in a detached and distinctly separate manner or short and separated, with silence making up the latter part of the time allocated to each note....
 with a deep reverb. The defining 1m-2m-flat-3-2m chord progression
Chord progression

A chord progression is series of chord s played in order. Chord progressions are central to most modern music and the principal study of harmony....
 is then established. Jackson's quiet vocals enter, accompanied by a finger-snap, which comes and goes during the verses, as the rhythm and chord progression repeats.

According to Inside the Hits, the lyrics refer to the commotion created by Billie Jean on a dance floor. She entices the crowd with a seductive come-on before luring Jackson to her bedroom, through the fragrance of her perfume
Perfume

Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces a pleasant smell....
. Jackson's vocal range
Vocal range

Vocal range is the measure of the breadth of pitch that a human voice can phonate. Although the study of vocal range has little practical application in terms of speech, it is a topic of study within linguistics, phonetics, and speech pathology; particularly in relation to the study of tonal languages and certain types of vocal disorders....
 spans from a high baritone
Baritone

Baritone is a type of European classical music male voice type that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice....
 to a falsetto
Falsetto

The term falsetto refers to the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice and overlapping with it by approximately one octave....
 and he usually writes melodies
Melody

In music, a melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity....
 to show this range. In the verses of "Billie Jean", the singer's vocals range from a tenor
Tenor

The tenor is a type of male voice type and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between the C one octave below middle C to the A above in choral music, and up to high C in solo work....
 to a low falsetto. The chorus is tied to a four note falsetto and only in the last line does Jackson peak at a full octave
Octave

In music, an octave The octave is occasionally referred to as a diapason.The octave above an indicated note is sometimes abbreviated 8va, and the octave below 8vb....
.

Following the two sharp repeats of "do think twice", at the end of the third verse, a cello
Cello

The violoncello is a bowed string instrument. A person who plays a cello is called a cellist. The cello is used as a solo instrument, in chamber music, and as a member of the string section of an orchestra....
-like synth cuts the chords of the fourth verse. Upon hearing that the baby's eyes resembles Jackson's, a voice laments, "oh no". This is met with Jackson's signature falsetto "hee hee". The bridge
Bridge (music)

In music, especially occidental popular music, a bridge is a contrasting section which also prepares for the return of the original material section....
 debuts the strings, holding a pedal tone
Pedal tone

Pedal tones are special notes in the harmonic series of cylindrical-bore brass instruments. A pedal tone has the pitch of its harmonic series' fundamental tone....
 with the exception of two lines and a chord leading into the chorus. Violins are then played, followed by a four-note minor
Minor chord

In music theory, a minor chord is a chord having a Root , a minor third, and a perfect fifth.When a chord has these three notes alone, it is called a minor Triad ....
 guitar solo. During the solo, vocal shouts, screams and laughs are added. Throughout this, the chord progression remains unaltered and is laced with Jackson's vocal hiccups. All the musical and vocal elements are brought together in the final chorus. In the fade
Fade (audio engineering)

In audio engineering, a fade is a gradual increase or decrease in the level of an audio signal. The term can also be used for lighting in theatre, in much the same way....
, Jackson repeats the denial of fathering Billie Jean's child.

Release and reception

December 1, 1982, saw the commercially successful release of Thriller, in time for Christmas
Christmas

Christmas , also referred to as Christmas Day, is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that commemorates the birth of Jesus. The day marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts Twelve Days of Christmas....
 shoppers. A month later, on January 3, 1983, "Billie Jean" was released as the album's second single, following Jackson's successful duet with Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney

Sir James Paul McCartney Member of the Order of the British Empire is a multiple Grammy Award-winning England singer-songwriter, poet, composer, multi-instrumentalist, entrepreneur, record producer, film producer, Painting, and Animal rights....
 on "The Girl is Mine
The Girl Is Mine

"The Girl Is Mine" is a 1982 in music hit duet by Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney. Composed by Michael Jackson and released as the first single from the world's biggest selling album, Thriller , the song was about two men fighting over the love of one woman, each claiming that he can love the woman better than the other....
". The song topped the Billboards Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard Single popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on airplay and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the airplay tracking-week runs from Wednesday to Tuesday....
 chart, where it remained for seven weeks. Topping the R&B chart within three weeks, "Billie Jean" was Jackson's fastest rising number one single since "ABC", "The Love You Save" and "I'll Be There
I'll Be There

"I'll Be There" is a soul music song written by Berry Gordy, Jr., Bob West, Hal Davis, and Willie Hutch, which resulted in two United States number-one hit singles: the original 1970 recording by American vocal quintet The Jackson 5 and a 1992 live version by American pop music singer Mariah Carey and American contemporary R&B singer Trey Lor...
" in 1970. Remaining at number one for nine weeks, the single was eventually toppled by The Gap Band's "Outstanding
Outstanding

"Outstanding" is a song originally performed by The Gap Band and written by member Raymond Calhoun. The song originally appeared on the group's RIAA certification-selling 1982 album "Gap Band IV"....
". The song peaked at number nine on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks

The Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary music and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States....
 chart. Reaching number one in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The chart week runs from Sunday to Saturday, with the chart being printed in Music Week magazine , ChartsPlus , and published online on various sites ....
, "Billie Jean" and
Thriller topped both the singles and album charts in the same week. This occurred on both sides of the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
 simultaneously; a feat very few acts have ever achieved. The song was the third best selling single of 1983 in the US, and ninth in the UK. The song also reached number one in Spain and Switzerland, the top ten in Austria, Italy, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden, and number 45 in France.

In a
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J....
review, Christopher Connelly describes "Billie Jean" as a "lean, insistent funk number whose message couldn't be more blunt: 'She says I am the one/But the kid is not my son'". He adds that the track is a "sad, almost mournful song, but a thumping resolve underlies his [Jackson's] feelings". Blender
Blender (magazine)

Blender is an United States music magazine that bills itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It is also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of female celebrities....
states that the song is "one of the most sonically eccentric, psychologically fraught, downright bizarre things ever to land on Top 40 radio". Adding that it was "frighteningly stark, with a pulsing, cat-on-the-prowl bass figure, whip-crack downbeat and eerie multi-tracked vocals ricocheting in the vast spaces between keyboards and strings". Overall, the magazine described the track as "a five-minute-long nervous breakdown, set to a beat". Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine

Stylus Magazine was an online music and film magazine launched in 2002. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, a number of different podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog....
 said of the song, "It’s one of the best representations of film noir in pop music, ending with no resolution except a single mother and selfish, careless scumball". In a review of
Thriller 25
Thriller 25

Thriller 25 is a 25th Anniversary special edition reissue of the Michael Jackson album Thriller , the world's best selling album. The prospect of a "second chapter" to Thriller was first publicly discussed on Access Hollywood in late 2006....
, Allmusic observes that "Billie Jean" is "startling" in it's "futuristic funk". The track also won praise from Jackson biographers. Nelson George
Nelson George

Nelson George is an African American author, music and culture critic, journalist, and filmmaker. He has been nominated twice for the National Book Critics Circle Award....
 stated that Jerry Hey
Jerry Hey

Jerry Hey is an United States trumpeter, flugelhornist, Horn section arranger, String section arranger, orchestrator and session musician.He is known as the Seawind trumpeter and arranger who plays with Kim Hutchcroft, Larry Williams and Bill Reichenbach....
's string arrangement added danger to "Billie Jean", with J. Randy Taraborrelli adding that it was "dark and sparse" by Quincy Jones' production standards.

"Billie Jean" has been recognised with numerous awards. At the 1984 Grammy Awards
Grammy Awards of 1984

The 26th Grammy Awards were held on February 28 1984, and were broadcast live on American television. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1983....
 the song earned Jackson two of a record eight awards; Best R&B Song and Best R&B Male Vocal Performance. Winning the Billboard Music Award
Billboard Music Award

The Billboard Music Awards, sponsored by Billboard magazine magazine was one of several annual United States music awards shows . It had been held annually in December until they went dormant in 2007....
 for favourite dance/disco 12" LP, their 1980's poll named "Billie Jean" as the "Black Single of the Decade". The American Music Awards recognised the track as the Favourite Pop/Rock Single.
Cash Box honoured the song with the awards for Top Pop Single and Top Black Single. The track was recognised with the Top International Single award by the Canadian Black Music Awards, and rewarded with the Black Gold Award for Single of the Year. "Billie Jean" has also been awarded for it's sales, winning the National Association of Recording Merchandisers
National Association of Recording Merchandisers

For the famous quote "N'arm", see Six Feet Under .NARM is a not-for-profit trade association that serves the music content delivery community in a variety of areas including networking, advocacy, information, education and promotion....
 Gift of Music award for best selling single in 1984. By 1989, the standard format single was certified
Music recording sales certification

Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music Sound recording has shipped a certain number of copies.Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories, which are named after the precious materials gold, platinum and diamond ....
 platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America

The Recording Industry Association of America is the trade group that represents the recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of a large number of private corporate entities such as record labels and distributors, which the RIAA claims "create, manufacture and/or distribute approximately 90% of all legitimate sound recor...
, for shipments of at least one million units. The digital sales of "Billie Jean" were certified gold in 2005, for shipments of at least 500,000 units.

Promotion


Music video

The short film
Music video

A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music, most commonly a pop music or rock music song with lyrics. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings....
 for Jackson's "Billie Jean" is considered the video that brought MTV
MTV

MTV is an United States cable television network based in Media of New York City. Launched on August 1, 1981, the original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJ ....
, a relatively unknown music channel, to mainstream attention. It was the first video by a black artist to be aired by the channel, as they felt black music
Black music

Black music is a term encompassing music produced or inspired by black people. In modern circles, this has come to usually refer to the great many music genres that have developed as a result of African American music....
 wasn't "rock
Rock music

Rock music is a loosely defined genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the mid 1950's. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rhythm and blues, country music and other influences....
" enough. Directed by Steve Barron
Steve Barron

Steve Barron is a Film director and Film producer, best known for directing the films Coneheads , Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the innovative music video for a-ha's "Take on Me"....
, the video shows a paparazzo following Jackson. The paparazzo never catches the singer, and when photographed Jackson fails to materialise on the developed picture. Dancing his way to Billie Jean's hotel room, Jackson walks along a sidewalk, each tile lighting up at his touch. Performing a quick spin, Jackson jumps and lands, freeze framed, on his toes. Upon arriving at the hotel, Jackson climbs the staircase to Billie Jean's room. Each step lights up as he touches it and a burnt out "Hotel" sign illuminates as he passes. Arriving at the scene, the paparazzo watches as Jackson disappears under the covers of Billie Jean's bed. Trailed by the police, the paparazzo is then arrested for spying on the couple. Jackson had sported a new look for the video; Jheri curled
Jheri curl

The Jheri curl is a hairstyle that was common and popular in the African American community in the late 1970s and throughout the 80s. It was invented by Willie Morrow and named after Jheri Redding, the man who made it popular....
 hair and a surgically sculpted nose. Wearing a black leather suit with pink shirt and bow tie, Jackson's look was copied by children around the country. The imitation was so severe that Bound Brook High School
Bound Brook High School

Bound Brook High School is a comprehensive community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Bound Brook, New Jersey, in Somerset County, New Jersey, New Jersey, United States, as part of the Bound Brook School District....
 banned pupils from wearing single white gloves; this was met with pupil protests.

Walter Yetnikoff
Walter Yetnikoff

Walter Yetnikoff is a former Sony Music Entertainment executive.Yetnikoff left his job in 1990 and has since gone on to write his memoirs, "Howling at the Moon" ....
, the president of Jackson's record label, CBS
CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American radio network and television network. The name is derived from the initials of Columbia Broadcasting System, its former legal name....
, approached MTV to play the "Billie Jean" video. MTV initially refused to play "Billie Jean" as they felt black music wasn't "rock" enough. Yetnikoff became enraged with the refusal, and threatened to go public with MTV's stance on black musicians. "I said to MTV, ‘I’m pulling everything we have off the air, all our product. I’m not going to give you any more videos. And I’m going to go public and fucking tell them about the fact you don’t want to play music by a black guy.’" MTV relented and played the "Billie Jean" video in heavy rotation
Heavy Rotation

Heavy Rotation may refer to:*Heavy Rotation , by Deceptikonz in 2006*Heavy Rotation in 2008*"Heavy Rotation", a song by Soul Asylum from their 1988 album Hang Time ...
. With the airing of the video,
Thriller went on to sell an additional 10 million copies. The short film earned Jackson the Billboard Video Award for Best Overall Video and was inducted into the Music Video Producers Hall of Fame in 1992. In a 2005 poll, the music video was ranked as the fifth greatest music video ever. The poll was of 31 pop stars, video directors, agents and journalists, including Natasha Bedingfield
Natasha Bedingfield

Natasha Anne Bedingfield is a British people pop music and songwriter.Based in Book St., London, Bedingfield debuted in the 1990s as a member of the Christian dance music/electronic music group The DNA Algorithm with her siblings Daniel Bedingfield and Nikola Rachelle....
, Björk
Björk

Bj?rk Gu?mundsd?ttir is an Icelandic singer-songwriter, composer, actor and record producer, whose work includes seven solo albums and two film soundtracks....
, Fatboy Slim
Fatboy Slim

Norman Quentin Cook , better known by his stage name Fatboy Slim is a British disk jockey, big beat musician and Record producer. Cook has achieved considerable success in UK single and album charts, first as a member of the Housemartins and then most notably as Beats International, Freak Power, Fatboy Slim and The BPA....
, Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne

Avril Lavigne Whibley , better known by her birth name Avril Lavigne , is a Canadian pop-punk singer-songwriter, fashion designer, and actress....
 and Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse

Amy Jade Winehouse is an England singer and songwriter, known for her eclectic mix of various musical genres including soul music, jazz, rock & roll, ska and rhythm and blues....
.
Thriller ranked at number two, behind Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash was a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter and one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Primarily a country music artist, his songs and sound spanned many other genres including rockabilly and rock and roll , as well as blues, folk music and Gospel music....
's "Hurt". The video was also ranked as the 35th greatest music video in a list compiled by MTV and
TV Guide at the millennium.

Motown 25

March 25, 1983, saw Jackson perform "Billie Jean" to critical and popular acclaim. Staged at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium,
Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever
Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever

Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever was a 1983 in television television special produced by Suzanne de Passe for Motown Records, to commemorate Motown's twenty-fifth year of existence....
was a celebration of Motown Records
Motown Records

Motown Records is a record label originally based in Detroit, Michigan, USA. Founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. on January 12, 1959 as Tamla Records, the company was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960....
' twenty-fifth anniversary. Organised by Suzanne De Passe
Suzanne de Passe

Suzanne de Passe is an United States entertainment executive; the CEO of television production company de Passe Entertainment; and the first and only African-American woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for screen writing....
, the event was to feature all the previous Motown employees. The Motown stars were to reunite for one evening, paying tribute to Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy

Berry Gordy, Jr. is an United States record producer, and the founder of the Motown record label and its many subsidiaries....
 and acknowledging his effect on their lives. Jackson initially refused the invitation, stating that he wouldn't want to perform live. The musician didn't want to reunite with his brothers either. Jackson reconsidered after a personal visit from Gordy, whom the singer had a great respect for. Jackson would perform on the condition that he have a solo spot. Gordy agreed and it was decided that the singer would perform "Billie Jean".

Following performances by Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye

Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr., better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye was an United States singer-songwriter and instrumentalist with a three-octave vocal range....
, Smokey Robinson
Smokey Robinson

William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an USA R&B and soul music singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is noted for being one of the primary figures associated with Motown Records, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy....
 and Mary Wells
Mary Wells

Mary Esther Wells was an United States singer who defined the early sound of Motown Records in the early sixties. Along with Smokey Robinson, The Temptations, The Supremes, and The Four Tops, Wells was said to have been part of the charge in black music onto radio stations and record shelves of mainstream America "bridging the color lines in...
, The Jackson's took to the stage. It was the first time that the Jackson brothers had performed together in eight years. Singing a medley of their old hits, The Jackson's finished with "I'll Be There
I'll Be There

"I'll Be There" is a soul music song written by Berry Gordy, Jr., Bob West, Hal Davis, and Willie Hutch, which resulted in two United States number-one hit singles: the original 1970 recording by American vocal quintet The Jackson 5 and a 1992 live version by American pop music singer Mariah Carey and American contemporary R&B singer Trey Lor...
" and left Michael alone on stage. After addressing the audience, Jackson went into his routine. Wearing black pants, leather penny loafers
Penny Loafers

The Penny Loafers were founded in 1986 as a coeducational a cappella group from the University of Pennsylvania focusing on pop music and rock music....
 and a single white rhinestone glove, Jackson snapped a fedora to his head and struck a pose—his right hand on his hat and his left leg bent. Throwing the hat aside, Jackson lip synced to "Billie Jean". Then, during a musical interlude, the singer executed a move which many claim to have sealed his status as a pop icon
Pop icon

A pop icon is a celebrity whose fame in popular culture constitutes a defining characteristic of a given society or era. Although there is no single definitive test for establishing "pop icon" status, such status is usually associated with elements such as longevity, ubiquity, and distinction....
. Gliding backwards, Jackson performed the moonwalk
Moonwalk (dance)

The moonwalk or backslide is a dance technique that presents the illusion that the dancer is stepping forward whilst actually moving backward....
, before spinning on his heels and landing en pointe
En pointe

Dancing on pointe, or en pointe , is the act of standing on the tips of the toes while performing Glossary of ballet terms from ballet. Also known as pointe work, it is performed using hard–toed and stiff-shanked pointe shoes....
. It was the first time Jackson had performed the moonwalk in public, having practiced it in his kitchen prior to the show.

The performance was watched by 50 million people and earned Jackson an Emmy
Emmy Award

The Emmy Award, also known as the 'Emmy', is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards....
 nomination. With the performance Jackson reached a new audience and increased the sales of
Thriller, eventually becoming the biggest selling album in the world. The day after the performance, Jackson was called by his childhood idol Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire

Fred Astaire was an United States Academy Award-winning film and Broadway theatre dance, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of seventy-six years, during which he made thirty-one musical films....
 who commended the singer. Another childhood idol, Sammy Davis Jr., later received Jackson's black sequined jacket, having admired it during the performance.

Jackson stated that he was disappointed in his performance; he'd wanted to remain on his toes longer than he had. Jackson also revealed that "Billie Jean" is one of his favourite songs to perform live, but only when he doesn't have to do it the same way. "The audience wants a certain thing - I have to do the moonwalk in that spot", he later said. "I'd like to do a different version".

In a Top 100 list, compiled by VH1
VH1

VH1 is an United States cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in television, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slighter older demographic than its sister channel, focusing on the lighter, softer side of popular music....
 and
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly

Entertainment Weekly is a magazine published by Time Inc. in the United States which covers movies, television, music, Broadway stage productions, books, and popular culture....
in 2000, Jackson's performance was ranked as the sixth greatest rock 'n' roll TV moment. Five years later, Entertainment Weekly named Jackson's Motown 25 performance as one the most important pop culture moments in history. "It was a moment that crossed over in a way that no live musical performance ever had. There was a messianic quality to it", Entertainment Weekly editor Steve Daly commented.

Pepsi commercials

In 1984, Pepsi
Pepsi

Pepsi is a Carbonation that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo. It is sold in retail stores, restaurants, cinemas and from vending machines....
 sponsored The Jacksons' Victory Tour
Victory Tour

The Jacksons' Victory Tour was the group's final concert tour of the United States and Canada in 1984. The tour commenced on 6 July in Kansas City and concluded on 9 December in Los Angeles....
. In return, Michael and his brothers were to star in two commercials for the company. Jackson had reworked "Billie Jean" for the commercial and entitled it "Pepsi Generation". The song was used as the official jingle
Jingle

A jingle is a memorable slogan, set to an engaging melody, mainly Broadcasting on radio and sometimes on television commercials.History ...
 for the commercials and released as a 7" promo single. "The Choice of a New Generation" campaign was launched in February 1984 and was attended by 1,600 people. They were issued with the a programme as well as the 7" single. The filming of the second commercial gained noteriety after Jackson's hair caught fire—a firework had exploded, leaving the singer needing reconstructive surgery
Reconstructive surgery

Reconstructive surgery is in its broadest sense the use of surgery to restore the form and function of the body.Although plastic surgery and plastic surgeons are involved in many aspects of reconstructive surgery, there are other branches of surgery that also perform reconstructive procedures....
. The commercials were later premiered at the Grammy Awards, where Jackson wore a hairpiece—to cover the burns—upon collecting a record eight awards.

Charts

ChartPeak
position
Austrian Singles Chart2
French Singles Chart
Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique

The Syndicat national de l'?dition phonographique is the inter-professional organisation which protects the interests of the France record industry....
45
German Singles Chart2
Italian Singles Chart7
Netherlands Singles Chart4
Norwegian Singles Chart6
Spanish Singles Chart1
Swedish Singles Chart2
Swiss Singles Chart1
UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The chart week runs from Sunday to Saturday, with the chart being printed in Music Week magazine , ChartsPlus , and published online on various sites ....
1
US Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard Single popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on airplay and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the airplay tracking-week runs from Wednesday to Tuesday....
1
US R&B Singles Chart1

Chart procession and succession



Billie Jean 2008

Jackson's original version of "Billie Jean" was remixed by rapper Kanye West
Kanye West

Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, record producer and singer. He released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, his second album Late Registration in 2005, his third album Graduation in 2007, and his fourth album 808s & Heartbreak in 2008....
 for
Thriller 25
Thriller 25

Thriller 25 is a 25th Anniversary special edition reissue of the Michael Jackson album Thriller , the world's best selling album. The prospect of a "second chapter" to Thriller was first publicly discussed on Access Hollywood in late 2006....
, a 25th anniversary reissue of Jackson's Thriller. Entitled "Billie Jean 2008", the remix garnered a mixed reception, most critics feeling that it was impossible to improve upon the original. Bill Lamb, of About.com
About.com

About.com is an online source for original information and advice,and was among the top 15 US Websites . It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans....
, described the remix as "lifeless", adding that it sounded like West had "entered the studio fully intimidated by the genius of the original". Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication devoted to music journalism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews....
's Tom Ewing explained that a guest verse "might have added dynamics to the mix's clumsy claustrophobia". Mike Joseph, reviewing
Thriller 25 for PopMatters
PopMatters

PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism. Its scope is broadly cast on all things pop culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater, visual arts, travel, and the Internet...
, described the track listing of the reissue as "pleasant" - West's "lazy" remix the only exception. He adds, "You’ve been given the opportunity to remix the most iconic single from one of the most iconic albums of all time, and all you can do is stick a drum machine on top of the song’s original arrangement?". Rob Sheffield, of
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J....
, disliked the removal of the original bass line, comparing it to "putting Bobby Orr
Bobby Orr

Robert Gordon "Bobby" Orr, Order of Canada is a retired Canadian ice hockey defenceman and is considered to be one of the greatest hockey players of all time....
 on the ice without a hockey stick". IGN
IGN

IGN is a multimedia news and reviews website that focuses heavily on video games. Its corporate parent is IGN Entertainment, which owns and controls separate sites such as GameSpy, GameStats, Rotten Tomatoes and AskMen....
's Todd Gilchrist praised West's reworking, stating that it was a "pretty great track". He added, "it almost overplays the track's originally understated drama, his additions enhance the song and demonstrate that in a contemporary context".

Cover and sample versions


"Billie Jean" has been covered
Cover version

In popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition of a previously recorded, commercially released song.In its current use, it can sometimes have a pejorative meaning — implying that the original recording should be regarded as the definitive version, usually in the sense of an "authentic" rendition, and all...
 and sampled
Sampling (music)

In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an musical instrument or a different sound recording of a song....
 on numerous occasions. One of the earliest samples of "Billie Jean" was in 1983, when Clubhouse
Clubhouse (group)

Clubhouse is a disco and house music recording studio band from Italy. They climbed to #75 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 in 1983 with a medley of Steely Dan's "Do It Again " and Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean"....
 mixed Steely Dan
Steely Dan

Steely Dan is an United States jazz-Rock music band centered on core members Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. The band reached a peak of popularity in the late 1970s, with the release of seven albums blending elements of jazz, rock and roll, funk, rhythm and blues, and Pop music....
's "Do It Again
Do It Again (Steely Dan song)

"Do It Again" is a song by American jazz-rock group Steely Dan, which was released as a single from their debut 1972 album Can't Buy A Thrill....
" with "Billie Jean". The subsequent track, "Do it Again/Billie Jean", charted at number 11 in the UK and number 75 on the Hot 100 in America. Detroit musicians Slingshot
Slingshot (band)

Slingshot is a disco/dance music band from Detroit, Michigan. Members include Jack Tann, Greg Sawton, David Van DePitte and John Lewis. Their one and only chart entry was a medley of Steely Dan's song "Do It Again " and Michael Jackson's #1 hit single "Billie Jean"....
 covered the remix, taking it to number 25 on the R&B singles charts.

LL Cool J
LL Cool J

James Todd Smith , better known as LL Cool J, is an American rapper and actor. LL Cool J stands for "Ladies love Cool James." He is known for romantic ballads such as "I Need Love" and "Hey Lover" as well as pioneering hip-hop such as "Headsprung", "I Can't Live Without My Radio", "I'm Bad", "The Boomin' System", "Mama Said Knock You O...
 sampled "Billie Jean" on "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf", which he contributed for
Simply Mad About the Mouse in 1991. R&B group BLACKstreet
BLACKstreet

BLACKstreet is an American R&B group founded in 1992 by Teddy Riley , the inventor of New Jack Swing known for his work as a member of Guy . The band members are: Teddy Riley , Chauncey Black , Mark Middleton, and Eric Williams....
 sampled "Billie Jean" on their remix of "No Diggity
No Diggity

"No Diggity" is a 1996 song by United States R&B group BLACKstreet featuring Dr. Dre. It reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #9 in the UK. It ranked at #91 on ....
" in 1996. The song reached number one on the Hot 100 & R&B singles charts in the US, remaining there for four weeks. It peaked at number nine in the UK. PopMatters described the song's inclusion on
The Very Best of BLACKstreet as a "horrible mistake"; "their rendition doesn’t fall under the umbrella of Very Best anything".

The Bar-Kays
Bar-Kays

The Bar-Kays are a popular soul , Rhythm and blues, and funk band which began performing in 1966 and continue to perform today, although with only one original member....
 parodied the song on "Dirty Dancers", featured on the 1996 album
The Best of the Bar-Kays, Volume 2. The Bates
The Bates

The Bates was a German Punk rock band, founded in Eschwege, federal state of Hesse, Germany in 1987. The name refers to the character Norman Bates from Alfred Hitchcock's film Psycho ....
 covered "Billie Jean" in 1996, peaking at number 67 on the UK Singles Chart. Linx
Linx (band)

Linx were a United Kingdom soul music/funk band consisting of David Grant , Bob Carter , Andy Duncan , Canute Edwards and Peter Martin . After their first hit in 1980, the band slimmed down to a duo of Grant and Martin....
 covered the song in 1997, retitling it "Billie Jean Got Soul". The song was sampled by Chanté Moore
Chanté Moore

Chant? Torrane Moore is an United States R&B and jazz singer....
, for her song "I Started Crying" from the 1999 album
This Moment Is Mine
This Moment Is Mine

This Moment Is Mine is the third album released by Rhythm & Blues singer, Chant? Moore. It was released in 1999, four and a half years after her previous album, A Love Supreme ....
.

Ian Brown
Ian Brown

Ian George Brown is an English musician and former lead singer of the alternative rock band The Stone Roses. He is widely considered by fans to be one of the pioneering members of the Madchester scene....
 took the song to number five on the UK charts in 2000, it appearing on the B-side of "Dolphins Were Monkeys
Dolphins Were Monkeys

"Dolphins Were Monkeys" is the second single from Ian Brown second solo album, Golden Greats. Released on February 7, 2000, it placed #5 on the UK Singles Chart....
". Brown later commented, "I love Jackson. I want to do a Jackson EP with 'Thriller', 'Beat It', 'Billie Jean' and 'Rockin' Robin
Rockin' Robin (song)

"Rockin' Robin" is a 1958 in music song by Bobby Day. The single was Day's only hit single, becoming a No. 2 Billboard Hot 100 hit. The song was covered by The Hollies on their first album in 1964 and would be revived as a single again in 1972 in music by the then-teenaged Michael Jackson as his second single release on Motown Records....
' or 'ABC' on it. Hopefully I'll get it done". The singer later covered "Thriller" on his second solo album,
Golden Greats
Golden Greats (Ian Brown Album)

Golden Greats is the second solo album released by Ian Brown, the ex-frontman of The Stone Roses. Despite the title, the album is not a compilation album, but rather, a studio album....
.

In 2001, Pras
Pras

Prakazrel Samuel Michel, known as Pras, is a Grammy Award-winning Haitian rapper, actor, film producer, and promoter for the hip hop trio The Fugees, considered one of the most influential groups of the 1990s for their album The Score ....
 sampled "Billie Jean" on his cover of "Avenue
Electric Avenue (song)

"Electric Avenue" is Eddy Grant's cross-Atlantic hit from 1983 and from the album Killer on the Rampage. It is often sampled in commercials and other media, such as the opening sequence of Pineapple Express and a montage on Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes ....
", featured on the
Ghetto Supastar album. Babyface also sampled the track on the "G-Clef Billie Jean Remix" of "There She Goes", a song from Face2Face
Face2Face

Face2Face is the tenth album from R&B singer, Babyface....
.

"Billie Jean" was covered by American rock musician Chris Cornell
Chris Cornell

Chris Cornell is an United States rock music musician best known as the lead singer and singer-songwriter for rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave , and for his numerous solo works and soundtrack contributions ....
 for his
Carry On
Carry On (Chris Cornell album)

Carry On, the second album by Chris Cornell, was released May 28, 2007 in the United Kingdom and June 5, 2007 in the United States. This album is Cornell's second after Euphoria Morning in 1999, and his first since leaving his former band Audioslave....
album in 2007. Cornell said of his cover, "I didn't plan on it. It just sort of happened organically. I changed the music quite a bit, I didn't touch the lyrics. And it's not a joke. I took a completely different approach to it, musically". Cornell had previously performed the song live in Europe, including an acoustic set in Stockholm, Sweden in September, 2006. He later added, "I was getting ready to do some acoustic shows on a promotional tour for Revelations and I just wanted to have fun with it". The cover received favourable reviews from critics, MTV noting the "bluesier, more pained and impassioned feel" which stripped away "any pop elements of the original". Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California and distributed throughout the Western United States. It is the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States and the fourth-most widely distributed newspaper in the United States....
described the track as "a grim, spooky take on Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean". They added that his cover is "amusing enough, even if it sounds a lot more like Metallica
Metallica

Metallica is an American heavy metal music band that formed in 1981 in Los Angeles. Founded when drummer Lars Ulrich posted an advertisement in a local newspaper, Metallica's line-up has primarily consisted of Ulrich, rhythm guitarist and vocalist James Hetfield, and lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, while going through a number of bassists....
's 'Nothing Else Matters
Nothing Else Matters

"Nothing Else Matters" is a song by heavy metal music band Metallica. It was first released in 1991 on the self-titled Metallica . The song reached #11 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks Charts in 1992....
'". They concluded that "Jacko's mega hit survives the stunt translation".

Cornell's version was performed live by David Cook
David Cook (singer)

David Roland Cook is an American rock music singer-songwriter, who rose to fame after winning the American Idol of the reality television show American Idol....
 on the seventh season
American Idol (season 7)

The seventh season of American Idol, the annual reality show and singing competition, began on January 15, 2008 and concluded on May 21, 2008....
 of
American Idol
American Idol

American Idol is an Television in the United States Singing airing on Fox network. It debuted on June 11, 2002, and has since become one of the most popular shows on American television....
. After covering Cornell's cover, the Idol judges praised him for his "originality". Whilst some news organisations criticized Cook for covering a cover version, others praised him for singing the song well. Cornell was surprised and flattered by the cover, but was also concerned that Idol viewers may have thought Cook created the interpretation. Cornell said of Cook's cover, "This is something where they know I came up with this arrangement and reinvented the song. I stuck my neck out being a guy that comes from the indie rock world doing a Michael Jackson song." He added, "Don't get me wrong. He sang it great. But it was literally a note-for-note take on what I came up with."

Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child

Destiny's Child was an contemporary R&B and pop music girl group comprising lead singer Beyonc? Knowles alongside Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams ....
 performed "Billie Jean" as part of a medley, which included their own hit song "Bootylicious
Bootylicious

"Bootylicious" is a song performed by the rhythm and blues girl group Destiny's Child. It appears on their third album Survivor and was released as the second single from the album; it became their fourth United States number-one single and reached the top-five in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom....
", on the
Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special
Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special

In late November 2001, the CBS television network aired a two-hour special in honor of Michael Jackson's thirtieth year as a solo entertainer . The show was edited from footage of two separate concerts Michael had orchestrated in New York City's Madison Square Garden on September 8 and September 10 of 2001....
. The event, a celebration of Jackson's 30th year as a solo entertainer, also featured Jackson performing the song with Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses

Guns N' Roses is an American Rock music band, formed in Los Angeles, California, California in 1985. The band, led by frontman and co-founder Axl Rose, has gone through numerous line-up changes and controversies since their formation....
' guitarist Slash
Slash (musician)

Saul Hudson , more widely known by his stage name Slash, is a guitarist best known as the former lead guitarist of Guns N' Roses and as the current lead guitarist of Velvet Revolver....
. "Billie Jean" was also performed live by Chris Brown at the MTV Video Music Awards
MTV Video Music Awards

The MTV Video Music Awards were established in the end of the summer of 1984 in television by MTV to celebrate the top music videos of the year....
 in 2007. Following Rihanna
Rihanna

Robyn Rihanna Fenty , known as Rihanna , is a Barbados singer, fashion model, and former beauty queen. She also serves as the cultural ambassador for Barbados....
's performance of "Umbrella
Umbrella (song)

"Umbrella" is a song by Barbados singer Rihanna, featuring a rapping verse by American hip hop artist Jay-Z. The-Dream, Christopher Stewart , and Thaddis "Kuk" Harrell wrote the song, and Stewart produced it for Rihanna's third album Good Girl Gone Bad....
", Brown payed homage to Jackson's
Motown 25 presentation, executing a hat toss and crotch grabs. The VIPs
Very Important Person

A Very Important Person, or VIP is a person who is accorded special privileges due to his or her status or importance.Examples include celebrities, heads of state/head of government, major employers, high rollers, politicians, high-level corporate officers, wealthy individuals, or any other WP:N person who receives special treatment f...
 acknowledged Brown's performance with a standing ovation.

Legacy

Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" is considered one of the most revolutionary songs in the history of pop music. Accompanying a single with a high-production music video was groundbreaking, and introduced white viewers to black music. Referenced by performers such as Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake

Justin Randall Timberlake is an United Statesn pop music singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer and actor. He has won six Grammy Awards as well as an Emmy Award....
, Chris Brown and Usher
Usher (entertainer)

Usher Raymond IV , known simply as Usher, is an American contemporary R&B-pop music singer-songwriter and actor. He rose to fame in the 1990s, releasing the multi-platinum album My Way and 8701 ....
, "Billie Jean" aided
Thriller in becoming the biggest selling album of all time. The Guardian
The Guardian

Sorry, no overview for this topic
reflected that more thought went into the production of this single than would go into the entire recording careers of Axl Rose
Axl Rose

W. Axl Rose is an United States musician, best known as the lead vocalist of hard rock rock band Guns N' Roses.Rose grew up in Indiana in a troubled family environment....
, Coldplay
Coldplay

Coldplay are a United Kingdom alternative rock Musical ensemble formed in London, England in 1998. The group comprises vocalist/pianist/guitarist Chris Martin, lead guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, and drummer/multi-instrumentalist Will Champion....
, Shania Twain
Shania Twain

Shania Twain Order of Canada is a Canadian singer and songwriter in the country music and popular music genres. Her third album Come on Over is the List of best-selling albums worldwide of all time by a female musician and the best-selling album in the history of country music....
 or Gwen Stefani
Gwen Stefani

Gwen Ren?e Stefani is an American recording artist and fashion designer. Stefani serves as lead vocalist for the rock music band No Doubt. Formed with influences ranging from punk rock to new wave music, their third wave ska oriented third studio album Tragic Kingdom propelled them to stardom, selling 16 million copies worldwide....
". The performances of the song overshadowed the track; many preferred watching Jackson perform the song rather than simply listening to it. The song and accompanying performances would solidify Jackson's status as a pop icon.

Frequently listed in greatest song polling lists, "Billie Jean" was named the greatest dance record of all time by BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2

BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio radio station and the List of most-listened-to radio programs in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult contemporary music or Album-orientated rock, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres....
 listeners. Revealing the winner, presenter Zoe Ball
Zoë Ball

Zo? Louise Ball is an England television and radio personality, most famous for becoming the first female host of the BBC Radio 1 breakfast show and for her earlier work presenting 1990s kids show Live & Kicking....
 said, "I'm delighted that "Billie Jean" has been voted the greatest dance record ever made. This is Jackson at his best. This track is way up there for me - Jacko's rendition of it at the Motown 25th anniversary show has got to be one of the great live performances of all time. The bass line is awesome, the production is killer. It's just perfect." In a list compiled by
Rolling Stone and MTV in 2000, the song was listed as the sixth greatest pop song since 1963. "I Want You Back
I Want You Back

"I Want You Back" is a 1969 number-one single recorded by The Jackson 5 for the Motown label. The song, backed with a cover of Smokey Robinson & the Miracles "Who's Lovin' You," was the only single from the first Jackson 5 album, Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5. It held the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for...
" and "Beat It
Beat It

"Beat It" is a hit Single from Michael Jackson's album Thriller , released in 1983 . It was the third single from the album, following "The Girl Is Mine" and "Billie Jean"....
" were placed at numbers nine and 22 respectively. The Beatles
The Beatles

The Beatles were a rock music and pop music band from Liverpool, England that formed in 1960. During their career, the group primarily consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr ....
' "Yesterday
Yesterday (song)

"Yesterday" is a pop music song originally recorded by The Beatles for their 1965 album Help! . According to the Guinness Book of Records, "Yesterday" has the most cover versions of any song ever written....
", which Jackson owns the rights to, was placed at number one.

In a 2005 poll conducted by Sony Ericsson
Sony Ericsson

Sony Ericsson is a joint venture established on October 3, 2001 by the Japanese consumer electronics company Sony Corporation and the Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson to make mobile phones....
, "Billie Jean" was ranked as the world's third favourite song. Over 700,000 people in 60 different countries cast their votes. Voters from the UK placed "Billie Jean" at number one, ahead of "Thriller
Thriller (song)

"Thriller" is an early 1982 hit Single recorded by Michael Jackson for the Epic Records label. It reached #4 in the U.S. singles chart and #10 in the UK singles chart....
", with a further five of the top ten being solo recordings by Jackson. The song was also placed at number seven in MTV Europe
MTV Europe

MTV Europe launched on MTV's 6th birthday 1 August, 1987 under a co-operative agreement by Viacom and British Telecom until 1991 when Viacom took over full ownership....
's All-Time Top Ten R&B Songs. In a survey of over 600,000 people, Channel 4
Channel 4

Channel 4 is a UK Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom television broadcaster which began transmissions on 2 November 1982. Although commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the #Channel Four Television...
 and HMV
HMV

His Master's Voice is a famous trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up phonograph....
 revealed "Billie Jean" as the 16th best song in the Music of the Millenium poll.

In an interview, R&B artist Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams

Pharrell Williams , commonly known as Pharrell, is an American record producer, singer-songwriter, and rapper. He, along with Chad Hugo are the duo of The Neptunes where they produce pop music, hip hop music and rhythm and blues music....
 stated that "Billie Jean" was one of his favourite songs. "It is hard to say if there is a greater song than "Billie Jean". I think there will never be a song like this one again, with this bass line, with this kind of effect, this eternalness, this perfection." The song has featured in the film
Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels (film)

Charlie's Angels is a 2000 in film American Action film–comedy film, co-produced by Columbia Pictures, Global Entertainment Productions, Tall Tree Productions and Drew Barrymore's Flower Films and directed by McG....
and the 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is a Nonlinear gameplay action-adventure game computer game and video game designed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games....
. When re-released, as part of the Visionary
Visionary: The Video Singles

Visionary: The Video Singles is a series of Single by Michael Jackson which was released in Europe between February 20, 2006 and June 26, 2006, and then released in the United States as a boxed set on November 14, 2006....
 campaign in 2006, "Billie Jean" charted at number 11 in the UK. Remaining in the top 200 for over 40 weeks, it was the most successful reissue by some distance. To this day, "Billie Jean" is still in heavy rotation; it is played on over 90% of the world's radios and receives more than 250,000 spins per week in clubs around the world.

Credits

  • Written, arranged and composed by Michael Jackson
  • Produced by Quincy Jones
  • Lead and background vocals by Michael Jackson
  • Drums by Leon "Ndugu" Chancler
  • Bass by Louis Johnson
    Louis Johnson (bassist)

    Louis Johnson is an American musician regarded as one of the best bass guitarists of the 20th century. Best known for his group The Brothers Johnson and his session musician on several hit albums of the 1970s and '80s including the "best selling album of all time" Thriller ....
  • Guitar by David Williams
  • Emulator
    E-mu Emulator

    The Emulator is the name given to a series of floppy disk digital Sampling keyboards manufactured by E-mu Systems from 1982 until 1990. Though not the first commercial sampler, the Emulator was among the first to find wide use among ordinary musicians, due to its relatively low price and its size, which allowed for its use in live performanc...
     by Michael Boddicker
    Michael Boddicker

    Michael Lehmann Boddicker is an United States film composer and session musician, specializing in electronic music. He graduated from Coe College in 1975 and received an honorary doctorate degree from Coe in 2004....
  • Rhodes & Synthesizer by Greg Phillinganes
    Greg Phillinganes

    Greg Phillinganes is an active session keyboardist in Los Angeles, California. He is a graduate of Cass Tech.Phillinganes was discovered by Stevie Wonder who heard a cassette of instrumental renditions of his own songs done by Phillinganes....
  • Synthesizer by Greg Smith
  • Synthesizer & Synthesizer Programming by Bill Wolfer
  • Vocal, Rhythm and Synthesizer Arrangement by Michael Jackson
  • String Arrangement by Jerry Hey
    Jerry Hey

    Jerry Hey is an United States trumpeter, flugelhornist, Horn section arranger, String section arranger, orchestrator and session musician.He is known as the Seawind trumpeter and arranger who plays with Kim Hutchcroft, Larry Williams and Bill Reichenbach....
  • Strings Conducted by Jeremy Lubbock
  • Mixed by Bruce Swedien
    Bruce Swedien

    Bruce Swedien is an audio engineer and music producer of Scandinavia descent born in Minneapolis in 1934. He is in particular known for his work with Quincy Jones....