| First posted 1/22/2013; updated 1/26/2020. |
 | Billie JeanMichael Jackson |
Writer(s): Michael Jackson (see lyrics here) Released: January 2, 1983 First Charted: January 22, 1983 Peak: 17 US, 16 CB, 12 RR, 9 AC, 19 RB, 11 UK, 12 CN, 15 AU (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 6.5 US, 1.44 UK, 9.5 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 651.0 video, 535.0 streaming |
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Review: With its “insanely catchy melody atop an insistent beat,” BB100 “this fabulously funky slice of disco-pop” BBC is “the single that made Jackson the biggest star since Elvis.” RS500 The Thriller album, from which this was the second single, became the best-selling album of all-time with a record-breaking seven top ten pop singles. Michael sings of a supposedly real life situation in which a woman claimed that he was the father of one of her twin sons. In his Moonwalker autobiography, though, Michael described the situation more as the “kind of thing has happened to some of my brothers.” KL On the surface, the song may have been about a paternity suit, but it hinted at something more – the struggle of a major musical star being a target for the public. Regardless of its inspiration, the song’s game-changing quality is in what it inspired. The video for “Billie Jean” was revolutionary for breaking the dominance on MTV of videos by predominantly white artists. The head of CBS, Jackson’s label, threatened that there would be no more CBS acts on MTV if they refused to show the video. TB MTV caved. Not only did “Billie Jean” show how important visual presentation had become in the early ‘80s via its video, but with Michael’s eye-popping live performance of the song on the U.S. TV special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today and Forever. He debuted his iconic moonwalk dance for an audience in excess of 47 million; TB it launched him as the King of Pop.
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