Michael Jackson let loose the groundbreaking Thriller in 1982. Many fans of the King of Pop celebrated the album’s 40-year anniversary by revisiting the masterpiece over the last week.
Sony Music and the Estate of Michael Jackson presented a special Thriller 40 double-disc version of the project. The second disc includes never-released tracks Jackson worked on during the Thriller recording sessions.
Enough consumers still had enough interest in Michael Jackson and Thriller to push the album back into the Top 10 of this week’s Billboard 200 chart. Thriller rose from #115 to #7, its first run in the Top 10 region since 1984.
After its release in November 1982, Thriller remained at #1 on the Billboard 200 for 37 nonconsecutive weeks. That total is the second most weeks in the top spot of all time, only behind the 54 weeks for the West Side Story soundtrack in the 1960s.
Michael Jackson’s name was also in the news lately because of the controversy surrounding Chris Brown not being able to perform at the 2022 American Music Awards. Brown claimed the producers of the show canceled his planned tribute to one of his music idols.
Apparently, the AMAs tapped Chris Brown and fellow R&B singer Ciara to pay homage to Jackson as an anniversary celebration for Thriller. However, a spokesperson connected to Dick Clark Productions told Entertainment Tonight that the Brown/Ciara set was pulled as a “matter of creative direction.”
Michael Jackson’s Thriller is one of the most commercially successful albums of all time. The Recording Industry Association of America has certified the album as 34x-Platinum. “Billie Jean” and the title track have both reached RIAA Diamond status (10 million units).