Thriller (album): History and Key Facts

Thriller is the sixth studio album by the American singer and songwriter Michael Jackson. It was released on November 29, 1982, through Epic Records. It was produced by Quincy Jones, who produced Jackson's previous album, Off the Wall (1979). Recording took place from April to November 1982 at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California, with a budget of $750,000 (equivalent to $2,502,155 in 2025). With an ongoing backlash against disco, Jackson transitioned his sound, with Thriller primarily featuring post-disco and synth-pop among various influences ranging from funk to rock, while its themes include paranoia, romance, and social consciousness. Paul McCartney appears as the first credited featured artist on a Jackson album.

Thriller was Jackson's first number-one album on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart and was at number one for a record 37 non-consecutive weeks. The singles "Billie Jean" and "Beat It" topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart, while "The Girl Is Mine", "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'", "Human Nature", "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)", and "Thriller" were Top 10 hits, setting a record for the most Top 10 hits from one album. Sales of Thriller surged after Jackson debuted his signature moonwalk dance in Motown 25 and the "Thriller" music video premiered on MTV, and by early 1984 it had become the best-selling album of all time, with sales of over 30 million copies.

Thriller was praised by critics and soon attracted greater acclaim. It won a record-breaking eight Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year for "Beat It", and earned Jackson a record-breaking eight American Music Awards. It was the best-selling album of 1983 worldwide, and in 1984 it became the first album to be the best-selling in the United States for two years. It had an enormous impact on the music industry; in particular, the several music videos from the album are credited with transforming music videos into a serious art form.

Thriller remains the best-selling album of all time, having sold an estimated 70 million copies worldwide, and is certified 34× platinum in the US, making it the second best-selling album in the US. It is often recognized as a landmark in American culture; the success gave Jackson an unprecedented level of cultural significance for a black American, breaking racial barriers in popular music and causing an intense fan frenzy dubbed "Michaelmania". It is frequently recognized as one of the greatest and most influential albums. In 2008, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and added to the National Recording Registry of "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant recordings" by the Library of Congress.

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