Billie Jean
| Billie Jean | |
|---|---|
| Michael Jackson | |
| publication | 2nd January 1983 |
| length | 4:54 (Album / Single Version) 6:22 (Original 12 "Version) 2:20 (Home Demo Version) |
| Genre (s) | Funk / R&B |
| Author (s) | Michael Jackson |
| album | thriller |
Billie Jean is a song by Michael Jackson from the 1982 album Thriller . The piece was the second release from Thriller after The Girl Is Mine and was released in January 1983.
Emergence
The song, composed by Michael Jackson, is about a woman who claims that Jackson is the father of her child. According to Moonwalk , Jackson's autobiography, the lyrics are not based on a true story; rather, Jackson was inspired by several women who molested him and his brothers in this way.
Jackson's biographer, J. Randy Taraborrelli , suggested that Billie Jean was inspired by a real-life event in 1981. The Magic & The Madness documents how a young woman wrote a letter to Jackson telling him he was the father of her twins . Jackson, who received such letters from time to time, had never met this woman and ignored it. The woman continued to send letters declaring that she loved him and wanted to be with him. She wrote to Jackson how happy they would be together if they could raise the children together, and wondered why he could ignore his own flesh and blood. These letters disturbed Jackson so much that nightmares struck him. After the letters, Michael Jackson received a package with a picture of the woman, a letter and a gun . Jackson was shocked because the woman told him to in the letter, at a certain time on a certain day suicide to commit. She would do the same after killing the twins. The woman explained that if she couldn't be with him in this life, then in the next. Jackson's family later learned that the woman was being admitted to a mental hospital .
Billie Jean should first be called Not My Lover , because producer Quincy Jones wanted to avoid confusion with the American tennis player Billie Jean King . Michael Jackson also mentions Billie Jean in Wanna Be Startin 'Somethin' .
The song was produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson at Westlake Studios in Los Angeles . The recording is based on a rhythm that Jackson designed on a drum machine. Jackson was working on the song in his home studio in Encino and it took him about three weeks to compose the bass line alone. He recorded his vocals in just one take .
reception
Over a million singles were sold in the United States , for which Jackson was awarded a platinum record in 1989. Over 12 million copies were sold worldwide, making Billie Jean Jackson's most successful single. In 2005 Jackson received a gold record for over 500,000 digital sales of the song , in March 2009 (before Jackson's death) the number of download sales was 864,000, and more than 1,700,000 downloads have now been sold. The song was number 58 on a Rolling Stone list of the 500 best singles of all time . At the 1984 Grammy Awards , Billie Jean was awarded two Grammys for Best R&B Song and Best Male Vocal Performance - R&B .
Michael Jackson first performed the moonwalk , which became his trademark, during his performance by Billie Jean on the Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever special to mark the 25th anniversary of his former record label Motown on March 25, 1983 . With a slightly more developed choreography , the song was later an integral part of the setlist of Jackson's Victory Tour and every solo tour .
Pepsi advertising
In 1984, sponsored Pepsi the victory tour of Jackson . In return, Michael and his brothers starred in two commercials for Pepsi. Michael Jackson revised the song "Billie Jean" and renamed it the Pepsi Generation . With him alone, two more commercials for Pepsi were later produced. With $ 12 million in earnings, Michael Jackson is still the highest paid celebrity for commercials.
The song was used as the official jingle for the campaign and released as a 7 "single . The" Choice-of-a-New-Generation "campaign kicked off in February 1984. 1600 people attended this premiere. Everyone received a program and a 7 "single. During the recording of the second commercial there was a fireworks accident in which Michael Jackson's hair caught fire. He suffered severe burns, which resulted in several operations. The commercials premiered at the Grammy Awards . Jackson had to wear a toupee to hide the burns. That evening he received eight Grammy Awards, which is a record to this day.
Music video
Steve Barron directed the video clip . It was the first video clip by a black artist that was regularly played on the MTV music channel . The video was shot in Los Angeles in 1983 and is considered innovative for the time. In this video Michael Jackson moves elegantly through an empty city scene while he is followed by a detective . The detective tries to get closer to Jackson, but every time he tries to photograph his target, Jackson disappears without a trace. All things Jackson touches, like the floor tiles, a garbage can and the old lettering of a hotel, light up. In the end, Jackson goes to an unknown person's hotel room. The detective is finally caught by the police and taken away while trying to photograph Jackson through the window.
Charts
| Charts | Top ranking | Weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Chart placements | ||
 Germany (GfK)
|
2 (40 weeks) | 40 |
 Austria (Ö3)
|
2 (26 weeks) | 26th |
 Switzerland (IFPI)
|
1 (34 weeks) | 34 |
 United Kingdom (OCC)
|
1 (28 weeks) | 28 |
 United States (Billboard)
|
1 (25 weeks) | 25th |
Awards for music sales
| Country / Region | Award | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales) |
||
 Australia (ARIA)
|
 platinum
|
70,000 |
 Denmark (IFPI)
|
platinum
|
8,000 |
 France (SNEP)
|
platinum
|
1,000,000 |
 Italy (FIMI)
|
platinum
|
50,000 |
 Japan (RIAJ)
|
 gold
|
100,000 |
 Canada (MC)
|
2 × platinum
|
200,000 |
 Mexico (AMPROFON)
|
platinum
|
60,000 |
 New Zealand (RMNZ)
|
gold
|
5,000 |
 Spain (Promusicae)
|
gold
|
20,000 |
|
United States (RIAA)
|
Gold (Ringtone) + Platinum (Physical)+  5 × Platinum (Digital)
|
6,500,000 |
|
United Kingdom (BPI)
|
platinum
|
600,000 |
| All in all |
4 × gold 14 × platinum |
8,613,000 |
Main article: Michael Jackson / Music Sales Awards
occupation
- Produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson
- Solo, background vocals, rhythms and synthesizer programming - Michael Jackson
- Composed by Michael Jackson
- Fender Rhodes & Synthesizer - Greg Phillinganes
- Synthesizer - Greg Smith
- Synthesizer & Synthesizer Programming - Bill Wolfer
- Guitar - David Williams
- Bass - Louis Johnson
- Drums - Leon Ndugu Chancler
- Emulator - Michael Boddicker
Cover versions / samples
Well-known cover versions of the song come from Chris Cornell , the German punk band The Bates , Ian Brown , BLACKstreet , Weezer and Marc Terenzi . On Thriller 25 the remix Billie Jean 2008 by Kanye West included.
The British pop group S Club 7 also released a single, Don´t Stop Movin´ , in 2001 , which contained samples from Billie Jean , without this being mentioned on the inside cover.
In 2010 the first officially released EDM / Dance cover was released on Andorfine Records produced by Crew 7 .
After Jackson's death, members of the viola section of the Munich Philharmonic ( bracc! ) Performed Billie Jean .
Individual evidence
- ↑ release date
- ↑ a b c Taraborrelli, pp. 223-224
- ^ Sports Murphy: Man in the moonwalk . New York Post . January 27, 2008. Retrieved February 15, 2009.
- ↑ a b c Billie Jean by Michael Jackson. In: songfacts.com. Accessed August 9, 2019 .
- ↑ Rolling Stone : Billie Jean (English)
- ↑ a b riaa.com: Gold And Platinum (English)
- ↑ a b mjjcharts.com: Michael - Worldwide Single Sales (English)
- ↑ Paul Grein: Chart Watch: Week Ending March 15, 2009: The Idol With The Most on music.yahoo.com (English)
- ↑ Rolling Stone: The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (English)
- ↑ grammy.com: winners database (English)
- ↑ Blender: The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born: Number 1 ( Memento of the original from March 27, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)
- ↑ a b Taraborrelli, pp. 279-289
- ↑ Halstead, p. 205
- ↑ Ailing . Time . February 6, 1984. Retrieved February 15, 2009.
- ↑ Singer Has Operation To Repair Burn Scar . The New York Times . April 19, 1984. Retrieved February 15, 2009.
- ^ Richard Zoglin : Too Much Risk on the Set? . Time . February 13, 1984. Retrieved February 15, 2009.
- ^ The 26th Annual Grammy Awards . Time . March 19, 1984. Retrieved February 15, 2009.
- ↑ Magazine: Michael Jackson: A Life in Film, 10-31-01
- ↑ a b c d e Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US1 US2
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0HCCLxkAlk
