Thriller (song)

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Genre:

Funk, disco

Artist:

Michael Jackson

Released:

January 23, 1984

Album:

Thriller

Length:

5:58 5:12 4:37 4:09

More facts...

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Anat Penini: what an awesome video, i think this is what started it all.

Lily Rose: Just amazing especially the video

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Thriller (song), Billie Jean, Smooth Criminal

in Dance Songs

Ranked by 1,196 people

Rebecca Weiss: This song inspires people to line dance. Zombies really made a whole new element to the dance.

Top ranked in this topic:

Billie Jean, Thriller (song), Bad Romance

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Ranked by 46 people

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Thriller (song), Party Rock Anthem, Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)

in Halloween Songs

Ranked by 14 people

Rebecca Weiss: Perfect song and video for a Halloween party

Isabelle Martin: one of the greatest michael jackson songs

Top ranked in this topic:

Thriller (song), I Put a Spell on You, This Is Halloween

2,656

Times Ranked

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About
Thriller"  is a novelty song recorded by American recording artist Michael Jackson and composed by Rod Temperton. It is the seventh and final s... (more)

Thriller"  is a novelty song recorded by American recording artist Michael Jackson and composed by Rod Temperton. It is the seventh and final single from his sixth studio album Thriller. It was released on January 23, 1984 by Epic Records. The song has appeared on multiple greatest hits compilation albums from Jackson, including HIStory (1995), Number Ones (2003), The Essential Michael Jackson (2005), and Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009). It was written by Rod Temperton and produced by Quincy Jones. The song, which has a voice-over from actor Vincent Price, had originally been titled "Starlight".

The song's instruments include a bassline and synthesizer. In the song, sound effects such as a creaking door, thunder, feet walking on wooden planks, winds and howling dogs can be heard, and the lyrics contain  frightening themes and elements. "Thriller" received positive reviews from critics, though the song was outshone by its music video. "Thriller" became Jackson's seventh top-ten single on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart from the album, while reaching the top of the charts in France and Belgium and the top ten in other countries.

"Thriller" was adapted into a highly successful music video, known independently as "Michael Jackson's Thriller". At fourteen minutes the video is substantially longer than the song, which ties together a narrative featuring Jackson and actress Ola Ray in a setting heavily inspired by horror films of the 1950s. In the video's most iconic scene, Jackson leads other actors costumed as zombies in a choreographed dance routine. Though it garnered some criticism for its occult theme and violent imagery, the video was immediately popular and received high critical acclaim, being nominated for six MTV Video Music Awards in 1984 and winning three. In 2009 it was added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, the first music video ever selected.

"Thriller" has been covered by multiple recording artists since its release in 1984, including Henry Mancini (with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra), Ian Brown,  Ten Masked Men and Imogen Heap.  (less)

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