| Thriller 40 | ||||
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| Studio album (reissue) by | ||||
| Released | November 18, 2022 (2022-11-18) | |||
| Recorded | 1979–1982 | |||
| Studio | Westlake (Los Angeles) | |||
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| Michael Jackson chronology | ||||
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Thriller 40 is the 40th-anniversary edition reissueofThriller (1982), the sixth album by the American singer Michael Jackson. It was released on November 18, 2022, by Epic, Legacy Recordings and MJJ Productions. Thriller 40 is the third reissue of Thriller, following the 2001 special edition and Thriller 25 (2008).[1]
Jackson released his sixth studio album, Thriller, on November 30, 1982. With sales estimated to be over 70 million copies worldwide,[nb 1][7][8][9] Thriller became the world's best-selling album of all time; the album was the first in history to yield seven top-ten singles. The success of Thriller put Jackson into the dominating position of pop music, becoming an international pop-cultural icon.[10]
The American singer Maxwell performed "The Lady in My Life" at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards.[11] He said, "I'm feeling honored to be here, honored to be able to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Thriller. I've been up since six in the morning trying to get everything together and, you know, just want to do right — it's Michael Jackson. There's nobody better, nobody greater, so I just want to do it well."[12]
Several other activities were planned before the release of Thriller 40.[13] On October 4, music journalist and filmmaker Nelson George announced he was directing a documentary on the making of Thriller, which will include never-before-seen footage.[14]
On November 1, the Michael Jackson Estate and Sony Music launched a worldwide campaign to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the album Thriller, featuring Fan Event Parties, Immersive Experience to be held in two countries: Düsseldorf, Germany on November 10–13 and New York on November 18–20 and there will be an event filming that will be part of Thriller 40 documentary on November 30.[15]
On November 14, Sony Music released the 4K version of Jackson's "Beat It" music video on YouTube.[16] A 4K remaster of the "Thriller" short film also appeared on iTunes and Tidal, though it was removed shortly after. On November 17, the 4K remastered "Thriller" short film was released on YouTube.
Thriller 40 includes the original demo for Jackson's song "Behind the Mask" (which was previously reworked for the 2010 posthumous album Michael),[17] the original demo for "Thriller" ("Starlight"); a demo of "Best of Joy" (released on the Michael album) titled "The Toy" (intended for the 1982 Richard Pryor film of the same name); the previously unreleased songs "She's Trouble", "What a Lovely Way to Go" and "Who Do You Know", and the tracks "Got the Hots" (first released as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of Thriller 25 and several editions of King of Pop), "Carousel" (a shorter version was included on the 2001 special edition), "Can't Get Outta the Rain" (released in 2008 as part of the 3-CD edition of The Essential Michael Jackson) and "Sunset Driver" (released in 2004 on The Ultimate Collection).[citation needed]
Announced on May 16, 2022, by the Estate of Michael Jackson, Thriller 40 is the twelfth release by Sony and/or Motown since the death of Jackson in 2009. The company also announced additional releases of the original album by audiophile reissue label Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab on both stereo Super Audio CD and LP, limited to 40,000 numbered copies.[18][19] The latter portion of the announcement was later credited by The Washington Post journalist Geoff Edgers with fueling public skepticism towards Mobile Fidelity that culminated in a subsequent controversy over them using Direct Stream Digital files in vinyl releases that were marketed as coming directly from analog master tapes.[20] The company also surprise released 360 Reality Audio and Dolby Atmos versions of the original album on Amazon Music and Apple Music respectively on the same day as Thriller 40.[21]
A 90-minute documentary film titled Thriller 40 directed by Nelson George celebrating the 40th anniversary of Thriller was released in the United States on December 2, 2023, airing on Showtime and later appeared on Paramount+ only for Showtime subscribers. Internationally it debuted the same day in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Latin America and South Korea.[22][23] On October 27, 2023, the Michael Jackson estate released a trailer for the Thriller 40 documentary film.[22]
In the United States, as per Billboard's rule, Thriller 40 is regarded as the same album as Thriller and re-entered the Billboard 200 albums chart at number seven. The album sold a combined total of about 37,000 copies in the first week in the US.[24] The album charted at number 16 in its second week of the release, selling 18,000 (down 35%).[25]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" | Michael Jackson |
| 6:02 |
| 2. | "Baby Be Mine" | Rod Temperton | Jones | 4:20 |
| 3. | "The Girl Is Mine" (with Paul McCartney) | Jackson |
| 3:42 |
| 4. | "Thriller" | Temperton | Jones | 5:57 |
| 5. | "Beat It" | Jackson |
| 4:18 |
| 6. | "Billie Jean" | Jackson |
| 4:54 |
| 7. | "Human Nature" |
| Jones | 4:06 |
| 8. | "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" |
| Jones | 3:59 |
| 9. | "The Lady in My Life" | Temperton | Jones | 4:59 |
| Total length: | 42:16 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Starlight" | Temperton | Jones | 5:04 |
| 2. | "Got the Hots" (Demo) | Temperton | Jones | 4:25 |
| 3. | "Who Do You Know" (Demo) | Jackson | Jackson | 5:23 |
| 4. | "Carousel" (Full Version) |
| Jones | 3:39 |
| 5. | "Behind the Mask" (Mike's Mix, Demo) |
| Jackson | 5:01 |
| 6. | "Can't Get Outta the Rain" |
|
| 4:06 |
| 7. | "The Toy" (Demo) | Jackson | Jackson | 3:04 |
| 8. | "Sunset Driver" (Demo) | Jackson | Jackson | 4:03 |
| 9. | "What a Lovely Way to Go" (Demo) | Jackson | Jackson | 3:55 |
| 10. | "She's Trouble" (Demo) |
| Jones | 4:13 |
| Total length: | 42:53 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20. | "Billie Jean" (Home Demo from 1981) | Jackson | Jackson | 2:20 |
| 21. | "Billie Jean" (Long Version) | Jackson |
| 6:20 |
| 22. | "Billie Jean 2008" (Kanye West mix) | Jackson |
| 4:35 |
| 23. | "Beat It" (Demo) | Jackson | Jackson | 2:03 |
| 24. | "Beat It 2008" (with Fergie) | Jackson |
| 4:11 |
| 25. | "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" (Demo) | Jackson | Jackson | 5:43 |
| 26. | "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" (Tommy D's Main Mix) | Jackson |
| 7:40 |
| 27. | "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008" (with Akon) |
|
| 4:14 |
| 28. | "Human Nature" (7" Remix) |
| Jones | 3:45 |
| 29. | "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" (Demo Version) |
| Jackson | 3:46 |
| 30. | "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) 2008" (with will.i.am) |
|
| 4:21 |
| 31. | "The Girl Is Mine 2008" (with will.i.am) |
|
| 3:10 |
| 32. | "Thriller" (7" Special Edit) | Temperton | Jones | 4:37 |
| 33. | "Thriller" (Def Thriller Mix) | Temperton |
| 7:22 |
| 34. | "Thriller Megamix" |
|
| 9:14 |
| Total length: | 73:21 | |||
Total duration: 158:30
Notes
| Chart (2022) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Italian Albums (FIMI)[26] | 7 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[27] | 6 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[28] | 22 |
| Portuguese Albums (AFP)[29] | 10 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[30] | 38 |
| Country | Date | Label | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Various | November 18, 2022 |
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Immersive audio mixes of Thriller are now available at various DSPs, including 360 Reality Audio on Amazon, Spatial Audio on Apple Music, mixed by Şerban Ghenea from the original masters for immersive audio, with the immersive mixes by John Hanes.
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