"Billie Jean"
Single by Michael Jackson from the album Thriller
B-side	"It's the Falling in Love" "Can't Get Outta the Rain"
Released	January 1983
Format	7" single
Recorded	1982
Genre	R&B
Length	4:53
Label	Epic Records
Writer	Michael Jackson
Producer	Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson
Certification	Double Platinum
Michael Jackson singles chronology
"The Girl Is Mine" (1982) "Billie Jean" (1983) "Beat It" (1983)
Michael Jackson's Visionary chronology
"Rock with You" (2006) "Billie Jean" (2006) "Beat It" (2006)
Thriller track listing
"Beat It" (5) "Billie Jean" (6) "Human Nature" (7)
HIStory track listing
"Billie Jean" (1) "The Way You Make Me Feel" (2)

"Billie Jean" is a 1983 hit single from Michael Jackson's Thriller album. A number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, the song was also the number-one R&B single for nine weeks in the United States and is widely acknowledged as one of Jackson's most critically acclaimed songs. It was voted best single of the year in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics' poll, and received two Grammy Awards in 1984 in the categories Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and Best New Rhythm & Blues Song. It was nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year, along with "Beat It", at the Grammy Awards of 1984. In 2005, Blender magazine recognized "Billie Jean" as the greatest song since 1980.^[1] The Legend of Billie Jean is a 1985 drama film, directed by Matthew Robbins. ... Image File history File links Billie-jean. ... A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ... Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958), commonly known as MJ as well as the King of Pop, is an American musician, entertainer, and pop icon whose successful career and controversial personal life have been a part of pop culture for the last three decades. ... Alternate cover Special Edition release cover. ... “B-Sides” redirects here. ... For other uses, see January (disambiguation). ... Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar). ... A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ... See also: 1982 in music (UK) Musical groups established in 1982 Record labels established in 1982 list of years in music // January 15 - K.C. and the Sunshine Bands Harry Wayne Casey is seriously injured in an automobile accident in Miami, Florida. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Rhythm and blues (or R & B) is a musical marketing term introduced in the United States in the late 1940s by Billboard magazine. ... In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... Epic Records is an American record label, owned and operated by Sony BMG. // Epic was launched originally as a jazz and classical music label in 1953 by CBS. Its bright-yellow, black and blue logo became a familiar trademark for many jazz and classical releases. ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... This article is about the producer and songwriter. ... “Golden record” redirects here. ... The RIAA Logo. ... Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958), commonly known as MJ as well as the King of Pop, is an American musician, entertainer, and pop icon whose successful career and controversial personal life have been a part of pop culture for the last three decades. ... The Girl Is Mine was a hit duet for singers Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney in 1982. ... Michael Jacksons Visionary chronology Thriller track listing Thriller (4) Beat It (5) Billie Jean (6) HIStory track listing Thriller (9) Thriller (10) The Girl Is Mine (11) Audio sample Beat It is a Grammy winning 1982 hit single from Michael Jacksons multi-platinum selling album Thriller. ... Michael Jacksons Visionary chronology Dont Stop Til You Get Enough (2006) Rock With You (2006) Billie Jean (2006) Off the Wall track listing Dont Stop Til You Get Enough (1) Rock with You (2) Working Day and Night (3) HIStory track listing Black or White (3) Rock... Michael Jacksons Visionary chronology Thriller track listing Thriller (4) Beat It (5) Billie Jean (6) HIStory track listing Thriller (9) Thriller (10) The Girl Is Mine (11) Audio sample Beat It is a Grammy winning 1982 hit single from Michael Jacksons multi-platinum selling album Thriller. ... Alternate cover Special Edition release cover. ... Michael Jacksons Visionary chronology Thriller track listing Thriller (4) Beat It (5) Billie Jean (6) HIStory track listing Thriller (9) Thriller (10) The Girl Is Mine (11) Audio sample Beat It is a Grammy winning 1982 hit single from Michael Jacksons multi-platinum selling album Thriller. ... Thriller track listing Billie Jean (6) Human Nature (7) P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) (8) Human Nature is a single released by Michael Jackson from his 1982 hit album, Thriller. ... This article is about the study of the past in human terms. ... Michael Jacksons Visionary chronology Bad (2006) The Way You Make Me Feel (2006) Dirty Diana (2006) Bad track listing Bad (1) The Way You Make Me Feel (2) Speed Demon (3) HIStory track listing Billie Jean (1) The Way You Make Me Feel (2) Black or White (3) The... See also: 1983 in music (UK) Musical groups established in 1983 Record labels established in 1983 // Michael Jacksons Thriller, the most successful album not only of 1983, but of all time, was released in 1982 and began its epic domination of the music charts the following year, 1983. ... A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ... Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958), commonly known as MJ as well as the King of Pop, is an American musician, entertainer, and pop icon whose successful career and controversial personal life have been a part of pop culture for the last three decades. ... Alternate cover Special Edition release cover. ... It has been suggested that Billboard be merged into this article or section. ... “Hot 100” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Rhythm and blues (disambiguation). ... This article is about a New York newspaper. ... The Pazz & Jop critics poll is a highly influential poll of music critics run by The Village Voice newspaper. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The jejejeje Record of the Year is one of the four most prestigious Grammy Awards presented annually. ... The Song of the Year is one of the two most prestigious awards in the Grammies, if not in all of the American music industry. ... The 26th Grammy Awards were held in 1984, and were broadcast live on American television. ... Blender is an American magazine that bills itself as the ultimate guide to music and more. ... See also: Musical groups established in 1980 Record labels established in 1980 list of years in music // January 1 - The year starts off with a strong disco backlash, which causes the majority of musicians to abandon the use of real instruments in an attempt to distant themselves from anything associated...

On March 6, 2006, "Billie Jean" was re-released as a single as part of Visionary - The Video Singles box set. It went on to become the highest charting UK Visionary single, reaching #11 on the UK Top 40. is the 65th day of the year (66th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Visionary - The Video Singles is a box set by Michael Jackson which was first released on 20 February 2006. ... A box set (sometimes referred to as a boxed set) is one or more musical recordings, films, television programs, or other collection of related things that are contained in a box. ...

Largely because of the impact of the video, and the live performance in which Jackson dons a black fedora, a sparkly black jacket and a single white sequin glove while performing his most famous dance step the moonwalk, and the overall haunting nature of the song itself, "Billie Jean" is regarded by some as his signature song. A street dancer doing the moonwalk in Madrid. ...

History

Jackson undertook the composition of "Billie Jean" quite personally, drawing upon actual circumstances. In about 1981, during a Jacksons tour, a woman known later to be a stalker had accused Jackson of not claiming the paternity of one of her fraternal twins. She went so far as to call herself "Billie Jean Jackson", and to claim she was married to the singer. The woman was later sent to a mental hospital.^{[citation needed]} Later, in a 1996 interview, Jackson said that he had known a lot of figurative "Billie Jeans" who had been Jackson 5 groupies. "Every girl claimed that their child was related to one of my brothers," the singer said.^{[citation needed]} See also: Musical groups established in 1981 Record labels established in 1981 list of years in music // January 10 - Revival of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Pirates of Penzance opens at Broadways Uris Theatre, starring Linda Ronstadt and Rex Smith February 14 - Billy Idol leaves the band Generation... The Jackson 5 (also spelled The Jackson Five or The Jackson 5ive, abbreviated as J5, and later known as The Jacksons) was an American popular music quintet (and briefly a sextet and quartet) from Gary, Indiana. ... A psychiatric hospital (also called a mental hospital or asylum) is a hospital specializing in the treatment of persons with mental illness. ...

He started writing the first demo of the song in his home in Wilson, North Carolina in the fall of 1981. When he presented the song to his co-producer Quincy Jones, Jones had problems with the title and wanted to call the song "Not My Lover". He thought when audiences heard it they would assume Jackson was referring to tennis superstar Billie Jean King.^[2] He also had complaints about the length of the song's intro, believing it was too long; Jackson replied that the long intro made him want to dance. Jackson won both arguments: he got to keep the title of the song and the intro.^[3] Wilson is a city in Wilson County, North Carolina, United States. ... Billie Jean Moffitt King (born November 22, 1943 in Long Beach, California) is a retired tennis player from the United States. ...

The introduction of the character Billie Jean is foreshadowed by a two-line reference from the album's first track "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'", another Jackson-penned song. It's evident she doesn't have the singer's best interests at heart, "tellin' lies and rubbin' shoulders," but her dismissal is casual: "So they called her mouth a motor." However, coupled with her appearance on the second side of the album, the listener is made privy to the earliest of Jackson's lyrics to deal with the subject of celebrity suspicion of those in their periphery (media, groupies, etc.). This marked a subtle but important occasional shift in the entertainer's material toward somewhat more adult themes. Thriller track listing Wanna Be Startin Somethin (1) Baby Be Mine (2) HIStory track listing Dont Stop Til You Get Enough (13) Wanna Be Startin Somethin (14) Heal the World (15) Wanna Be Startin Somethin is a 1983 single released from Michael Jacksons multi-platinum selling 1982 album...

Jackson is said to have recorded his lead vocal performance on the first take. But it was Jackson's arrangements and orchestration in "Billie Jean" that helped make the song unique. Jackson had wanted to write "the perfect bass line" and has said he worked on it for a couple of weeks until he succeeded with what became the basis of the final product. He had also arranged the drum and synthesizer lines into perfect order, and with help from co-collaborator Jerry Hey on the strings and horns and Jackson's mastery at multi-tracking his voice for background vocals, completed the final production on "Billie Jean" only weeks before Epic's scheduled release of the Thriller album on December 1, 1982. "Billie Jean" officially became the second single from Thriller when it was released in January 1983. The Tascam 85 16B analogue tape recorder can record 16 tracks of audio on 1 inch (2. ... is the 335th day of the year (336th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ... For other uses, see January (disambiguation). ... Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar). ...

Impact of song and music video

Upon its release, critics who had given mixed reviews to the album's lead-off single, "The Girl Is Mine", were praising "Billie Jean". The song soon dominated the top of both the Pop Singles Chart for seven weeks and the Black Singles Chart for nine weeks, both consecutively and respectively. But the hit song's impact wasn't limited to its chart success, and it would play a crucial role in defining Jackson's burgeoning crossover influence on pop culture. “Hot 100” redirects here. ... Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, formerly known by various names including Hot Soul Singles, Hot Black Singles, and Hot R&B Singles (before the hip-hop term was added in the late 1990s), is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States. ...

Jackson and Epic had planned to present the music video for the song to the executives of newly-formed cable network MTV, which was at the time not playing videos by black performers or even dance artists. Since its inception, the network's playlist was predominantly white and mainly featured videos by the top rock artists of the day such as Duran Duran, Peter Gabriel, The Clash, Blondie, Journey, Pat Benatar, Genesis, and Billy Idol. In 1983, Jackson and CBS Records President Walter Yetnikoff informed MTV's President that if the cable channel didn't play Jackson's video, CBS would not allow them to play any of their white artists who were getting exposure on the network (most notably Ozzy Osbourne and Billy Joel), and would denounce them publicly as racists. With that ultimatum, MTV finally bowed to pressure and premiered Jackson's "Billie Jean" video on March 10, 1983.^[3] A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music, most commonly a song. ... This article is about the original U.S. music television channel. ... Duran Duran are an English pop group notable for a long series of popular singles and vivid music videos. ... Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950, in Chobham,[1] Surrey, England) is an English musician. ... This article is about the English rock band. ... Blondie is the name of an American rock band that first gained fame in the late 1970s, and which has sold over 40 million records. ... Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco, California. ... Pat Benatar (born Patricia Mae Andrzejewski on January 10, 1953) is an influential four-time Grammy Award-winning American rock singer with many million and multi-million selling records worldwide. ... Genesis is an English rock band formed in 1967. ... Billy Idol (born William Michael Albert Broad) is an British musician and singer. ... Ozzy redirects here. ... William Martin Billy Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist, songwriter, composer and musician. ... March 10 is the 69th day of the year (70th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar). ...

Directed by Steve Barron (who would go on to feature films including the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film), the imaginative and cryptic video loosely followed the song's narrative. It featured Jackson as a lonely, elusive figure walking the streets while the ground glowed wherever he stepped, suggesting Jackson's stardom and fame ^[4]. A trenchcoated "stalker", possibly a journalist, pursues Jackson, supposedly to get the scoop on the titular love-interest, missing his opportunity when Jackson seemingly vanishes beneath glowing bedsheets with his never-seen mystery lover. Jackson himself has said the following about the "Billie Jean" video: "It's kind of surreal and it's different. I didn't come up with that concept. It was — I think a British fellow — Steve Barron — and I thought he had wonderful ideas but I let him go with it. The only part I wrote in the piece was — I said: "I just want a section." I said: "Give me a section here I could dance on." 'Cause he said no dancing in the whole piece — so the whole section where you see this long street and this billboard of these two girls, one of them Billie Jean and I'm dancing — that's the only part I contributed."^[5] For the 2007 film, see TMNT (film). ...

The video, with its production values and dance performance by the star, was something completely new for MTV and quickly set an industry standard which even Jackson would emulate (and even more quickly re-define with the follow-up "Beat It").

Soon enough, MTV was airing the video in heavy rotation, thus making Jackson the first black performer to find stardom on the network. Producer Jones has said of the early relationship between Jackson and MTV: "...[they] rode each other to glory". Other black artists to soon after have videos on MTV included Prince, The Pointer Sisters, Rick James, Lionel Richie and Run-DMC. Jackson was the first — and by most accounts, is still the greatest — pop megastar to emerge from the network, each benefitting by cross-interest from the other's respective audience. This paved the way for a multitude of artists like Prince, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, and within a few years his own younger sister Janet Jackson, to also have their careers blossom in the new video arena. By the end of the year, numerous other competing outlets were also showcasing the medium, solidifying music videos as a specific form of entertainment and record promotion.^{[citation needed]} Due to technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ... The Pointer Sisters was an American vocal group and recording act that achieved great success during the 1970s and 1980s. ... Rick James (born James Ambrose Johnson, Jr) (February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004) was one of the most popular artists on the Motown label during the late 1970s and early 1980s. ... Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr. ... Run-DMC is a famous hip hop crew founded by Jason Mizell (Jam Master Jay) and includes Joseph Run Simmons and Darryl DMC McDaniels, all from Hollis, Queens. ... This article is about the American entertainer. ... Cynthia Ann Stephanie Cyndi Lauper (born June 22, 1953) is an American Grammy Award- winning singer, MTV VMA-winning video and Emmy Award-winning film, television and theatre actress. ... Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, record producer, dancer, activist, pop icon, and younger sister of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. ...

Motown 25 performance

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Jackson at Motown 25.

The video viewership for the song on both the new MTV and the African-American focused cable network BET helped make the song a bigger hit. On March 25, 1983, "Billie Jean" and Jackson reached an even larger audience when he debuted the song before a live audience during taping of the tribute special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever. Having reunited with the Jackson 5 for a medley of their hits, he remained onstage for a bravura solo performance. Dressed in a glittery black jacket, sparkling silver shirt, tight black pants cuffed high to showcase white spangled socks and black penny loafers, and a single sequined glove (which the entertainer had begun wearing onstage during Jackson's concerts as early as 1979) Jackson signalled the start of his routine with a soon-to-be trademark crouch and snapping a black fedora to his head. Jackson lip-synced his song and the audience rose to their feet. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Shortcut: WP:WIN Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia and, as a means to that end, also an online community. ... Shortcut: WP:CU Marking articles for cleanup This page is undergoing a transition to an easier-to-maintain format. ... This Manual of Style has the simple purpose of making things easy to read by following a consistent format — it is a style guide. ... Image File history File links Screenshot from the tribute special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today & Forever in 1983, featuring Michael Jackson performing his hit song Billie Jean. ... Image File history File links Screenshot from the tribute special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today & Forever in 1983, featuring Michael Jackson performing his hit song Billie Jean. ... Black Entertainment Television is an American cable network based in Washington, D.C. targeted toward African-American and urban audiences in the United States. ... is the 84th day of the year (85th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

It was during this crowd-pleasing performance that Jackson also debuted a dance move he had discovered from black inner-city youths and tweaked to distinction. Credited to former Solid Gold dancer Cooley Jackson, "The Back Slide" was given a new name by the media following Jackson's interpretation: The "Moonwalk". The step has since gone on to become Jackson's trademark dance move, and is virtually synonymous with the song. Ironically, the move is not featured at any point during the music video. A street dancer doing the moonwalk in Madrid. ...

Upon its broadcast on May 16, over forty-seven million viewers witnessed Jackson's performance, and the immediate result was unprecedented sales of his Thriller album, which as of November 2006 has sold over 104 million copies^[6]. The "Billie Jean" single has since sold over 5 million copies worldwide and became Jackson's top-selling single. is the 136th day of the year (137th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see November (disambiguation). ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Reception

Critical reaction to the song was overwhelmingly positive.

With the passage of time, the song has gained legendary status and is often featured on "best of" lists. "Billie Jean" was ranked #58 in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (making it number four among songs of the 1980s). In 2005, Blender magazine declared that "Billie Jean" was the greatest song released after 1980. This article is about the magazine. ... ...

Choreography

Despite the fact that Jackson usually does not close his shows with the song, "Billie Jean" is generally regarded as the pinnacle of most Jackson performances and stage shows. The song has been the key feature of every concert, from the Victory tour through to the 30th Anniversary Performance at Madison Square Garden in 2001.

The structure of the live "Billie Jean" routine has remained consistent; fans have even named moves that are regularly performed. These include the "Sidewalk" (where Jackson appears to "moonwalk" sideways along the stage, by slightly raising and crossing his feet whilst sliding them sideways), the "Cobrasteen" (where Jackson pivots on his heels, followed by a slide of one foot from front to back, whilst keeping the upper body stiff), and spot spins. The most famous move that Jackson performs is his "moonwalk", which occurs always at the bridge in the song. This move is generally never performed in any other song, although slight "moonwalk" variations are also found in "Stranger in Moscow" and "Smooth Criminal". Jackson also usually displays his tapping ability during a "Billie Jean" set.^{[citation needed]} A street dancer doing the moonwalk in Madrid. ... Stranger in Moscow is a single by singer/songwriter Michael Jackson released in November 1996. ... Michael Jacksons Visionary chronology Dirty Diana (2006) Smooth Criminal (2006) Leave Me Alone (2006) Bad track listing Audio sample Info (help· info) Smooth Criminal is the seventh single from Michael Jacksons Bad album (1987). ...

In concert, "Billie Jean" is almost always extended for an extra two to three minutes with just the beat and bass line, whilst Jackson improvises an array of dance steps. After this, Jackson throws his fedora to the crowd while saying "Billie Jean is not my lover." Most fans consider this to be why "Billie Jean" rates as a favorite above other song routines, as Jackson "freestyles" the moves to an extent. Videos of "Billie Jean" performances are readily available on the internet, and on some released VHS/DVDs. Bottom view of VHS cassette with magnetic tape exposed Top view of VHS cassette with front casing removed The Video Home System, better known by its abbreviation VHS, is a recording and playing standard. ... DVD (also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is a popular optical disc storage media format. ...

Also, upon live renditions, some of the introductions upon the song have changed. On the Dangerous World Tour, the stage has two levels: an upper and lower level. On the set list, Michael usually performed Thriller before Billie Jean. For the Thriller performance, the lower lever was used. At the end of the performance, Michael is put into a glass coffin, which is then covered with a white sheet. The dancers lift the coffin and march with it until the end of the song, where the sheet is pulled off, revealing the disappearance of both the coffin and Michael. A few seconds after the end (where Vincent Price's voice fades out), the beginning noted of Billie Jean is heard, whereas spotlights reveal Michael to be on the upper level, as it lowers onto the main platform. The last and more recent incantation of the song (as shown on the 30th Anniversary Special) contains a sort-of reminiscing moment from Michael's standpoint: Michael is seen walking across a stage with a piece of luggage in hand, looking around as if he is conjuring up old memories of performing. He stops in the middle and places the luggage on top of stool, opening it to remove the contents. It is unclear what order the contents were removed in, as each performance differed (Michael also opened Billie Jean this way during his HIStory World Tour); however, the articles remained the same: the trademark glove, jacket, and fedora. Michael would then move aside the stool and briefcase, and then snap his fingers, to which a spotlight came on, shining on a microphone stand. This article is about the Thriller song. ... Vincent Leonard Price Jr. ...

It is important to note that the actual choreography of "Billie Jean" has not changed much since the Motown 25 performance, but has been enhanced through continual performance and improvement.

Track listing

Original release

U.S. single

1. "Billie Jean" – 4:57
2. "It's the Falling in Love" – 3:48

UK single

7" single

1. "Billie Jean" – 4:57
2. "It's the Falling in Love" – 3:48

12" single

1. "Billie Jean" (extended) – 6:20
2. "Billie Jean" (instrumental) – 6:20
3. "It's the Falling in Love" – 3:48

Visionary single

CD side

1. "Billie Jean" - 4:10
2. "Billie Jean" (12" version) - 6:23

DVD side

1. "Billie Jean" (Music video)

Mixes

1. Album version – 4:53
2. 12" version – 6:23
3. Instrumental – 6:20

Credits

• Written, arranged and composed by Michael Jackson
• Produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson
• Lead and background vocals by Michael Jackson
• Drums by Leon "Ndugu" Chancler
• Bass by Louis Johnson
• Guitar by David Williams
• Emulator by Michael Boddicker
• Rhodes & Synthesizer by Greg Phillinganes
• Synthesizer by Greg Smith
• Synthesizer & Synthesizer Programming by Bill Wolfer
• Vocal, Rhythm and Synthesizer Arrangement by Michael Jackson
• String Arrangement by Jerry Hey
• Strings Conducted by Jeremy Lubbock
• Mixed by Bruce Swedien

Covers and remixes

Music sample:

"Billie Jean" Image File history File links Billie_Jean_Chris_Cornell. ...

The unplugged sample of "Billie Jean" from the live album Chris Cornell: Unplugged in Sweden

Problems listening to the file? See media help.

As a Michael Jackson standard, the song has been covered by several artists. German punk band The Bates released their cover of "Billie Jean" as a single in 1995, accompanied by a video based on Alfred Hitchcock's film, Psycho.^{[citation needed]} Ian Brown released the song as a single, as well as the song "Thriller".^{[citation needed]} Northern Irish singer-songwriter Foy Vance recorded a live version for his EP Live Sessions and the Birth of the Toilet Tour, and is known to perform the song at all of his shows. Boy band BLACKstreet have their own R&B version of the song. Chris Cornell debuted his version of "Billie Jean" during his Unplugged concert in Stockholm, Sweden as part of the promotional tour of the then-new Audioslave album Revelations. He significantly changed the arrangement, slowing the song down, using grittier vocals and applying an alternative-rock instrumentation. A studio version of the cover (featuring a full rock band) appears on Cornell's 2007 solo album, Carry On. It was also included on his Yahoo! internet-only album "Nissan Live Sets: Chris Cornell" with an accompanying video at Yahoo! Music. Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... Psycho is a 1960 suspense/horror film directed by auteur Alfred Hitchcock from the screenplay by Joseph Stefano about a psychotic killer. ... This article is about the former member of The Stone Roses . ... This article is about the Thriller song. ... Northern Ireland (Irish: , Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a constituent country of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ... Foy Vance is a Bangor born songsmith, now living in London. ... A boy band is a type of pop group featuring three or more young male singers. ... BLACKstreet are an American R&B group founded in 1992 by Teddy Riley, a New Jack Swing pioneer known for his work as a member of Guy. ... Chris Cornell (born Christopher John Boyle on July 20, 1964) is an American musician best known as the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of the rock bands Soundgarden (1984-1997) and Audioslave (2001-2007). ... Stockholm [, ] is the capital and the largest City of Sweden. ... For the bands self-titled album, see Audioslave (album). ... Revelations is the third and - with the departure of lead vocalist Chris Cornell in February 2007 - final studio album by American rock band Audioslave. ... Carry On, the latest album by Chris Cornell, was released May 28, 2007 in the United Kingdom and June 5, 2007 in the United States. ... Yahoo! Music, provided by the Yahoo! network, is a provider of a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming. ...

The song's instrumentals were remixed with Eminem's vocals by Paul B making the remix, "Without Billie Jean". It is popular on P2P and file-sharing networks. There is also a version with DMX vocals making the remix, "No Love for Billie Jean". P. Diddy also made a remix of the song featuring vocals from The Notorious B.I.G.. In 1983, Italian dance act Clubhouse released "Do It Again / Billie Jean", a precursor of the mashup genre mixing "Billie Jean" with Steely Dan's 1972 song "Do It Again". This was a hit record in Europe. Slingshot had a similar success in the U.S. The song was unofficially remixed by Bushwacka! in 2001, becoming a dance floor favorite after a rare CD copy was eventually pressed on bootleg white label vinyl. Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), better known as Eminem or Slim Shady, is a Grammy and Academy Award-winning American rapper, record producer and actor from the Detroit, Michigan area. ... Earl Simmons (born on December 18, 1970), better known by his stage name DMX, is an American rapper and actor who rose to popularity in the late-1990s. ... For other uses, see Singer (disambiguation). ... A remix is an alternative version of a song, different from the original version. ... P. Diddy Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969 aka P. Diddy, Puff Daddy, Sean Puffy Combs) is an African-American record producer, entrepreneur, and rapper. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Clubhouse is a disco and house music studio group from Italy. ... Do It Again is a song by American jazz-rock group Steely Dan, which was released as a single from their debut 1972 album Cant Buy A Thrill. ... The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... // January 17 - Highway 51 South in Memphis, Tennessee is renamed Elvis Presley Blvd January 20 - Pink Floyd debuts Dark Side of the Moon during a performance at The Dome, in Brighton, but due to technical difficulties, is halted during the song Money. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... Slingshot is a disco/dance music band from Detroit Michigan. ... Layo and Bushwacka! is the pseudonym of DJs Layo Paskin and Matthew Benjamin. ... CD redirects here. ... For other uses, see Bootleg. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Promotional recording. ...

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• The outfit worn by Jackson in the "Billie Jean" video was one of several available for the Michael Jackson action figure produced the following year.
• During a segment on the 1999 millennium-end retrospective special of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart walked on a staircase with steps that lit up. At the end of the segment the beat from "Billie Jean" played in the studio as Stewart parodied the memorable sidewalk of the video.
• The television talk show Late Night with David Letterman featured a running gag at the height of the song's popularity, which questioned what one of the lyrics was. As part of the refrain was played back, a single word was overdubbed by a deep, male voice (probably bandleader Paul Shaffer's voice) to create the new line, "...the CHAIR is not my son".
• In the The Simpsons episode "Stark Raving Dad", "Billie Jean"'s chorus is recited by Leon Kompowski, who is acted by Michael Jackson.
• In 1984, Jackson filmed commercials for Pepsi (with his brothers) with an altered version on the song. During one of the commercial shoots, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, Michael's hair caught on fire when the pyrotechnics malfunctioned. He suffered second degree burns on his scalp.
• The song is also featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
• In the World of Warcraft game, the Night elf dance is the billie jean.
• Eminem parodied the music video of "Billie Jean" in his music video "Just Lose It". He parodies Jackson and enters a bar while the ground glows beneath him at every step.
• Guild Wars uses some Michael Jackson dances on some of its character classes.
• The White Glove Tracking project endeavors to track Jackson's trademark white glove through every frame of his Motown performance, utilizing crowd-sourcing to capture the glove in every frame.
• The song features a David Williams guitar solo taken from the original demo recording session at Jackson's home studio. Subsequent attempts to recreate the performance were unsatisfactory.
• Pop singer Lydia Murdock made an answer song to Billie Jean known as Superstar.

Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Late Night with David Letterman was a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC hosted by David Letterman. ... The running gag is a popular hallmark of comic and serious forms of entertainment. ... Paul Allen Wood Shaffer (born November 28, 1949 in Fort William (now Thunder Bay), Ontario, Canada) is a Jewish-Canadian-American musician, actor, voice actor, author, comedian and composer currently seen as the bandleader on the Late Show with David Letterman. ... Simpsons redirects here. ... Stark Raving Dad is the first episode of The Simpsons third season. ... Pepsi Cola is a non-alcoholic carbonated beverage produced and manufactured by PepsiCo. ... An early postcard view of the Shrine The Shrine Auditorium is a landmark large-event venue in Los Angeles, California, USA. It is also the headquarters of the Al Malikah Temple, a division of the Shriners. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... A burn injury is an injury by burning, usually by fire. ... The scalp is the anatomical area bordered by the face anteriorly and the neck to the sides and posteriorly. ... Computer and video games redirects here. ... Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (released in October 2002) is the fourth video game in the hit Grand Theft Auto series. ... Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), better known as Eminem or Slim Shady, is a Grammy and Academy Award-winning American rapper, record producer and actor from the Detroit, Michigan area. ... Just Lose It is a song by American rapper Eminem, released in 2004. ... This article is for the Guild Wars series. ... Lydia Murdock is a pop singer known for the answer song for Michael Jacksons Billie Jean known as Superstar where she portrays Billie Jean saying that shes mad as hell in the song. ... Lydia Murdock is a pop singer known for the answer song for Michael Jacksons Billie Jean known as Superstar where she portrays Billie Jean saying that shes mad as hell in the song. ...

References

Songfacts is a website devoted to song information compiled by music enthusiasts, radio professionals and songwriters, who are often interviewed to determine the stories behind their songs. ... is the 116th day of the year (117th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... Blender is an American magazine that bills itself as the ultimate guide to music and more. ...

Sources

• Moonwalk — by Michael Jackson, Edited by Jackie Onassis (Doubleday 1988, ISBN 0-385-24712-5)
• The Michael Jackson Story — by Nelson George (Dell 1983, ISBN 0-440-15592-4)
• Trapped: Michael Jackson and the Crossover Dream — by Dave Marsh (Bantam 1985, ISBN 0-553-34241-X)
• Thriller – Special Edition (Epic Records, 2001 — Selected Interviews)
• Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection (Epic Records, 2004 — Liner Notes)
• Michael Jackson Visionary (http://www.mjvisionary.com/mjvisionary.html)
• UK singles chart (http://uk.launch.yahoo.com/c/uk/single_charts.html)
• Single Information (http://jacksonstreet.nl/site/content.php?page=33&search=billie+jean)

External links

• Michael Jackson "Billie Jean" Collection - Jacksonstreet