Need to watch this song performed at the Motown 25th Anniversary special. It was the performance that shot his popularity into legendary status. None of us had ever seen anything like it, literally was talked about everywhere the next day and weeks.
I remember in 1983 cable TV just had started. Someone came to my house to sign us up. We even got a TV guide every week. MTV was the big thing on cable. Michael Jackson came on with the song Billie Jean. My husband and I looked at each other and both of us said, "Oh my! He's going to be megastar." Boy where we right!❤
This music video shattered barriers, as MTV had never previously featured Black artists on their channel. No other artist has accomplished what Michael Jackson has.
You've got it twisted. MTV was still relatively new, and not all acts let MTV run their songs. Grace Jones appeared on MTV years before Michael. Compensation was probably a major issue before MTV got major traction. That said, when MJ did finally appear on MTV, he helped to make it the phenomenon it became. His willingness to be very involved with the videos and raise the bar on quality was a big deal.
@@40EastTrill Oh, stop. As MTV said, “The worst thing was that ‘racism’ bullshit… there were hardly any videos being made by black artists. Record companies weren’t funding them. [But] they never got charged with racism.” You sound like a young person whose idea of history was malformed by the false things you've read.
@@40EastTrillYOU EXACTLY CORRECT. MTV felt black music didn't fit until their early rock format. CBS president threatened to pull ALL their videos. At the time of early videos, this was huge. Imo disguised racism.
Its was on The Motown 25th Anniversary TV Special, during the performance, of “Billie Jean”; where Michael introduced the world to his famous “Moon Walk”. There had never been anything like it before; it blew us all away
I was 6 when I heard this song and thought Michael Jackson was the coolest guy ever... I had no idea what he was singing about and nobody would tell me back then 🤣 Back in 1983/ '84... 'Thriller' was breaking everywhere across the world. That album was playing in countries where no one could speak English!
MJ's "DON'T STOP 'TIL YOU GET ENOUGH" (video), a track from "OFF THE WALL", a young MJ's first solo album, produced by the late, great Quincy Jones is an absolute must!
This song is about something that happen to one of his older brothers. The brother slept a girl while on tour with Jackson 5 and the girl claimed that she was pregnant with Michael's bother's child.
I think it’s about time you reacted to a song from michael’s first album “off the wall”. Either don’t stop til you get enough or rock with you would be a great introduction to Michael Jackson’s early solo career
When I was a kid I always used to mimic MJ dancing to this song during the 80s. Always loved that every step he took the ground glows. One of my favorite songs growing up in the 80s.
You're not hurting our hearts...we're just shaking our heads and saying "bless your heart " 😂 But I'm glad you're learning Billie Jean is an incredible song 42 years later 😂 Better late than never! You definitely have to do the Smooth Criminal video and the full length Bad video if you haven't yet done that one.
He took the rift from Hall and Oats "I can't go for that". He heard it at their concert and went backstage and told them he was going to steal it. Then he did and they loved it. Great times!
Oh WOW!!! I have watched numerous clips of this couple, but this is the first time that she has let herself REALLY get into the music, I have to say right off, that she is one of my "Must Watch" people on this site, and today she got right into the music, and this lady can really move,,,,even though we did not get to see her "Moves" fully.
I cannot recommend enough, a song Michael did with his brothers (The Jackson 5) in the mid-80s, a little reunion where they just modified their group name to The Jacksons, and the big hit single from that album (Victory), called TORTURE. Vocals shared by Michael and one of his brothers (not sure which one), but it has such slick vibe. The riff, the chorus, even the pre-chorus is fire.
You do need to watch the Motown 25. First time he broke out the Moon Walk. And, NOBODY KNEW he was going to debut a new move. Not even his closest inner circle. Absolutely kept it under wraps until the perfect time to own the Stage, & the Audience! Do you know how many people tried to do the Moon Walk?? Literally, 1,000’s! All were very jealous of the few that could do it!!
“Billie Jean” ~ Is the perfect most accessible song ever made. It is based on generating tensions that are gradually released as new instruments enter. The storytelling of the song is also incredible. Michael Jackson bursts into repentant cry for something he (according to him) did not do, ignoring the warnings of those around him. Lyrics and music come together to create a sonic fantasy, where beyond just listening to music, you are transported to a fantasy world focused on the story he is telling. In addition, he applied this same principle to the short film: you see Michael Jackson walking down the street, but it generates too much intrigue, he does not start dancing until the song is well cemented. The presentation at Motown 25 with the glitter glove, jacket and fedora was the one that ended up throwing him to being The King Of Music. When he made that Moonwalk he created a before and after effect in the history of humanity. This was "Thee" short film/music video that revolutionized music videos as a whole, if this didn't aired music videos would've been dead by now. This short film/music video really marked an important fundamental change in music history it shifted culture in general. Also MTV was new and only played rock (aka white artists) Michael’s label CEO of CBS Records Walter Yetnikoff called MTV out for being racist and basically said if they didn’t play MJ’s Billie Jean short film that he would pull all of his artists from his record label off MTV so they were eventually forced to play it and it made MTV blow up like never before making MJ the first black artist to premiere on MTV and it opened the doors for other black artists like Whitney Houston etc. MJ MADE MTV RELEVANT!👑🖤🌟💯(Please React to Michael Jackson “Motown 25 Full Performance 4K 60fps It was MJ’s first time doing the Moonwalk.)
His live performances of this song are better than the music video. 1983 Motown 25 is when he moonwalks for the first time. Munich 1997 and 2001 30th Anniversary are my favorite renditions of Billie Jean. Fun fact, a woman was sentenced to over 300 days in jail after harassing Michael, claiming she was “The Billie Jean” that MJ was singing about.
Still my favorite MJ tune. I was the same age as Michael and grew up on The Jackson 5. This was a revelation in that his music changed from bubble gum to meat.
MTV extremely huge in 80s and until release of *Billie Jean* there was zero diversify in its programming. Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" video was very first black artist shown on MTV (24/7 Music Television)
One of my boys (10) had a red plastic-looking jacket (?) that he'd dance to this song with. He'd shrug the jacket back off his shoulders and forward again, then whip those sleeves up to the elbow and back down, twist and turn, etc. Lots of jerky moves. It was fun to watch him try to be cool like Michael Jackson. Lots of young kids were into that stuff. Nostalgic to watch this now. Thanks for letting us watch with you, and God bless you!
It is almost an afterthought as to what a dark song this is. Michael was writing about a disturbed girl accusing him of being BABY DADDY. Dealing with stalkers, and obsessed fanatics is a downside of being super famous. The drum bass on this is the greatest of all time, and is the spine of the song.
How about playing the anniversary edition at Madison Square Garden where Michael walks on stage and absolutely steals the show with Billie Jean. He brings a suitcase on the stage and puts on his hat and glove. It is worth another look at this treasure of a song.
The irony of the video ending of him getting into bed and disappearing and he died sort of the same way getting into bed for the last time. So much about this long others will provide insight but its based on a True Story of his life. RIP a real legend.
You guys have to watch the Motown 25th Anniversary special. First time he did the moonwalk to this song. Everyone in the arena & everyone sitting at home watching came out of their seat. It launch him to superstar status.
Michael Jackson was the first Black Artist to be shown on MTV & Billie Jean was the video. I didn't know the story behind this until his death. MTV didn't want to show his video. CBS records President threatened to pull all of his label artist from MTV if they didn't show Billie Jean. MTV started off as a punk rock, rock & roll video show. Well they showed it & that's when Michael blew up & solidified himself as the King of Pop! Also MTV became even more popular as they started to then diversify their video content. I was a wide-eyed 14 yr old who watched this man become the superstar he is today. That was in 1983. Fast forward to when he died in 2009. Michael died on a Thursday. MTV played nothing but Michael Jackson videos the following weekend. Talk about coming full circle. He was & still is my favorite entertainer.
Michael wrote the song referencing groupies who would be after his older brother when they toured as the Jackson 5. The iconic performance of this was the Motown 25 performance when for one of the first times in public he performed the moonwalk
Hey don't know what you guys did to this video, but this is the best quality of sound I've heard from this video... You could hear things that you can't hear from the real video..... Awesome job guys...
@@for-house-starkyes it was global before him. It became globally popular because BBoys aka breakers. You may not have known, but it was a street dance move that captured Mike’s attention because it was already popular. He didn’t introduce anything. People were just shocked because pop stars & r&b stars didn’t do “street” moves. Latoya, Janet & Reebie all spoke on how he studied breakers and poppers.
@djmack1ny this is false. That dance move was not global before MJ. You seem to forget that Michael Jackson became the FIRST BLACK GLOBAL MUSIC MEGASTAR WHO HAD THE SAME POPULARITY LEVEL AS THE BEATLES AND ELVIS PRESLEY. Before Michael Jackson, there was no single black music entertainer who was as massively popular as the Beatles. This is why the dance move became global when MJ did it. & what do you mean pop/r&b stars didn't do street moves? MJ had been doing street moves since the 1970s. Have you forgotten dancing machine? Go back and watch the Jackson's variety TV shows that aired from the mid to late 1970s and see the phenomenal dance moves the Jackson's were performing
Smooth Criminal will be a treat for you guys.....so many of his songs and their videos are great; Remember the Time and Liberian Girl are my favorites.
About a decade ago, there was a trend of people creating "literal video versions" of songs. They basically replace the original lyrics with descriptions of what's happening in the video. Some of them were really funny. Billie Jean was one of the better ones. (Imo, "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" were the best.) I think youtube took them down for copyright reasons, but if you google them, you can find them on other sites. I'd recommend giving some a try. 😁 Edit: Total Eclipse of the Heart is on youtube. In fact, someone put up a remastered version, and it's excellent!
When this video was done, the director said they could only light up a few of the sidewalk tiles due to the budget so if you watch him walk & dance in the video it's very deliberate b/c of that. Also, as MTV at the time was brand new & in need of content & Thriller was a rocket ship on the charts, the head of the record company told them either you start playing MJ's videos or I'm pulling all of my artists rosters videos from MTV . The rest is history.
I just thought about this now at 52. Thriller came out in 82. MJ was still getting awards for it in 84... from what I know about now, that doesn't happen.. does it?
Other videos ? What about "BAD", "Scream" the most expansive video of all time with his sister Janet Jackson, also "Speed Demon" so much fun ! "Another Part Of Me" and "Give Into Me" which are basically live videos. So many... As for more genius audios, you have "Tell Me I'm Not Dreamin" a duet with his brother Jermaine Jackson, "State Of Shock" duet with Mick Jagger, boy... so many ! ❤❤
This was actually the 1st video from the Thriller album, which is part of why it’s mainly just Michael. Beat It was more of a production that involved choreography with real dancers, the actual choreographer, late Michael Peters, & actual real life gang members in the background. It’s also the breakthrough of black videos played on MTV, along with Rick James who brought the issue to their attention & that certainly gave a lift to all to the need for variety of artists & music. The video popularity became a huge boost element to the music industry in general, so the videos helped people pay attention to the lyrics as well.
So it's very apparent from the comments that I see that a lot of the people that are making speculations or they heard rumors about some crazy story about Michael Jackson's brother or whatever this song is about a woman named Billie Jean that actually stocked Michael Jackson took him to court claiming that her child was he was the father I remember when this all went down cuz it was in the it was in the news I was only 8 years old
No actual Billie Jean but a psycho woman well after he recorded the song who stalked him similar to the song story. He wrote it about his brothers lives when he was younger in the Jackson five
There were at least four women who accused MJ of reype and fathering their children. But for some reason the media never gave those allegations much coverage. Turns out none of these women ever met MJ. One other women came forward in his death and also claimed she gave birth to children for him.
Definitely do Smooth Criminal. The video is amazing. Fun fact about this video. The reason only portions of the floor light up is that they didn’t have enough money in the budget to light the whole thing up. So they strategically picked a few spots where he stops and dances.
Now that you've seen Michael the king of pop, look at the princess of jazz music and what she did to this song and she's none other than Angelina Jordan in the jazz shredding of the song "Billie Jean" 🦶🦶👑🎷
I recommend u listen to Michael Jackson’s smooth criminal. When he leans forward in his dance is freaking amazing. I can’t believe how strong he is in his ankles. It wasn’t fake, he’s done it on stage too.
Michael often sang about real things going on in and around his personal life, his Rock song D.S. was about Tom Sneddon the CA district attorney in charge of the case against him. In the written lyrics accompanying the CD the name “Dom Sheldon” was used for legal purposes but he was singing “Tom Sneddon” kind of slyly in the song. That song had guitar solos by the infamous guitarist Slash.
Would you be interested to react to audio gems which don't have any video but are like genius work ? In that case, I could advise compositions like "Morphine" from his 1997 "Blood On The Dance Floor" album which is about his battle against himself and drugs that were ultimately used against him to kill him. Such a fascinating hard-rock piece with a classical bridge. Other audio is "Someone Put Your Hand Out" used to promote his "Dangerous World Tour". As for other videos, I can advise you "You Rock My World" from his 2001 "Invincible" album. "Say Say Say" with Paul Mc Cartney. Did you know there will be a biopic titled "Michael" released on October 3rd 2025. I hope a new generation of music lovers will embrace & understand his life and career. ❤❤
Because the Thriller vid was such a massive production, it's eclipsed Billie Jean somewhat, but trust and believe that this video made people lose their minds back in '83. It broke the unofficial color barrier on MTV because MJ was just undeniable. IMO the video still holds up in terms of style and storytelling. As for the song, well, it's obviously perfect - it should've won Record of the Year at the Grammys but it lost out to "Beat It" (Michael was unstoppable, except by himself). RIP Quincy Jones!
Billie Jean , imo , is THE song that single handedly created the hot 🔥 as fire 80’s MTV era , music videos which had an effect on every aspect of pop culture and entertainment for the rest of the decade. Why? Because MTV started out as a rock only music video outlet, one that they were adamant not to ever change. But Micheal Jackson released the Thriller album ( after he started in ‘79 with the hot “ Off The Wall “ album ) which came in so hot , they didn’t have any choice to air the video, and when they did the ratings were so high, that eventually they had to start adding more pop and new wave , and even some funk acts. This was in 1982, and another hot video that made MTV change their “tune “ was Prince ‘s “1999” music video.. and after all of that , then came Tina Turner and Madonna, and MTV was changed forever, and America and the world was then changed forever…
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Need to watch this song performed at the Motown 25th Anniversary special. It was the performance that shot his popularity into legendary status. None of us had ever seen anything like it, literally was talked about everywhere the next day and weeks.
yup
That was when he first did the moon walk on stage.
He won an Emmy for that.
YES!!!!!😊😊
Fred Astaire called Michael and told him he was passing the dancing crown to him after the 25th Aniversary show
The greatest pop song of the past 40-50 years
This is the perfect pop song and turned Michael Jackson into the King Of Pop. His music will live on forever.
I remember in 1983 cable TV just had started. Someone came to my house to sign us up. We even got a TV guide every week. MTV was the big thing on cable. Michael Jackson came on with the song Billie Jean. My husband and I looked at each other and both of us said, "Oh my! He's going to be megastar." Boy where we right!❤
I never get used to how much of a banger this song is, it allways gets me by surprise!
This music video shattered barriers, as MTV had never previously featured Black artists on their channel.
No other artist has accomplished what Michael Jackson has.
You've got it twisted. MTV was still relatively new, and not all acts let MTV run their songs. Grace Jones appeared on MTV years before Michael. Compensation was probably a major issue before MTV got major traction.
That said, when MJ did finally appear on MTV, he helped to make it the phenomenon it became. His willingness to be very involved with the videos and raise the bar on quality was a big deal.
MTV didn't want to play it at first. Michael's record label threatened to pull all of their artists from MTV if they didn't.
@@40EastTrill Oh, stop. As MTV said, “The worst thing was that ‘racism’ bullshit… there were hardly any videos being made by black artists. Record companies weren’t funding them. [But] they never got charged with racism.”
You sound like a young person whose idea of history was malformed by the false things you've read.
@@40EastTrillYOU EXACTLY CORRECT. MTV felt black music didn't fit until their early rock format. CBS president threatened to pull ALL their videos. At the time of early videos, this was huge. Imo disguised racism.
Facts 💯
Its was on The Motown 25th Anniversary TV Special, during the performance, of “Billie Jean”; where Michael introduced the world to his famous “Moon Walk”. There had never been anything like it before; it blew us all away
I actually moon walked across the stage at my high school graduation and I had a huge crowd cheering
I was a DJ. In the 80’s when this came out. Dance floor always packed. Great memories 😊
Michael Jackson legend
I was 6 when I heard this song and thought Michael Jackson was the coolest guy ever... I had no idea what he was singing about and nobody would tell me back then 🤣 Back in 1983/ '84... 'Thriller' was breaking everywhere across the world. That album was playing in countries where no one could speak English!
Lol when he was saying they play this at weddings, I was thinking to myself "I don't know about weddings, more like divorce court or something" 😂
Me, too.
I saw this video about every 75 minutes for like 2 years whenever I watched MTV in 1983-4, which was like every evening from 6 to 10 pm as a kid.
MJ's "DON'T STOP 'TIL YOU GET ENOUGH" (video), a track from
"OFF THE WALL", a young MJ's first solo album, produced by the late, great Quincy Jones is an absolute must!
Written by Michael himself 😊
Written by Michael himself 😊
This song is about something that happen to one of his older brothers. The brother slept a girl while on tour with Jackson 5 and the girl claimed that she was pregnant with Michael's bother's child.
Yeah he said his brothers had someone who claimed the child was theirs in an interview lol
Well, of course it would never happen to Michael.
I think it’s about time you reacted to a song from michael’s first album “off the wall”. Either don’t stop til you get enough or rock with you would be a great introduction to Michael Jackson’s early solo career
When I was a kid I always used to mimic MJ dancing to this song during the 80s. Always loved that every step he took the ground glows. One of my favorite songs growing up in the 80s.
This song is an absolute CLASSIC! It's a crime to not know this song. 😎
His brothers had _Many_ Billie Jeans over the years. That was the inspiration for the song.
You're not hurting our hearts...we're just shaking our heads and saying "bless your heart " 😂 But I'm glad you're learning Billie Jean is an incredible song 42 years later 😂 Better late than never! You definitely have to do the Smooth Criminal video and the full length Bad video if you haven't yet done that one.
He took the rift from Hall and Oats "I can't go for that". He heard it at their concert and went backstage and told them he was going to steal it. Then he did and they loved it. Great times!
The King of Music and Entertainment!
Oh WOW!!! I have watched numerous clips of this couple, but this is the first time that she has let herself REALLY get into the music, I have to say right off, that she is one of my "Must Watch" people on this site, and today she got right into the music, and this lady can really move,,,,even though we did not get to see her "Moves" fully.
Everything that Michael touched in the video turned to gold. Pretty much a metaphor for his life.
❤ 👍 It's a favorite song for sure! Yes, the performance of this song on Motowns's anniversary special was indeed special❣️
Need a Michael Jackson marathon its so many gems out there to react to..one every couple months is not enough 😅
Great reaction 😊 Michael is the king of pop. Never does a bad song or video. Thank you.
One of the best 80s jams and one of the songs I can easily sing acapella.
Michael said as a young child ‘I don’t sing it if I don’t mean it’.
Greatest artist ever, and a humanitarian foremost. Thank u guys, enjoyed this. 🙏
I cannot recommend enough, a song Michael did with his brothers (The Jackson 5) in the mid-80s, a little reunion where they just modified their group name to The Jacksons, and the big hit single from that album (Victory), called TORTURE. Vocals shared by Michael and one of his brothers (not sure which one), but it has such slick vibe. The riff, the chorus, even the pre-chorus is fire.
You do need to watch the Motown 25. First time he broke out the Moon Walk. And, NOBODY KNEW he was going to debut a new move. Not even his closest inner circle. Absolutely kept it under wraps until the perfect time to own the Stage, & the Audience! Do you know how many people tried to do the Moon Walk?? Literally, 1,000’s! All were very jealous of the few that could do it!!
I remember watching the premiere of the this video with my mom and sister 41 years ago.
“Billie Jean” ~ Is the perfect most accessible song ever made. It is based on generating tensions that are gradually released as new instruments enter. The storytelling of the song is also incredible. Michael Jackson bursts into repentant cry for something he (according to him) did not do, ignoring the warnings of those around him. Lyrics and music come together to create a sonic fantasy, where beyond just listening to music, you are transported to a fantasy world focused on the story he is telling. In addition, he applied this same principle to the short film: you see Michael Jackson walking down the street, but it generates too much intrigue, he does not start dancing until the song is well cemented. The presentation at Motown 25 with the glitter glove, jacket and fedora was the one that ended up throwing him to being The King Of Music. When he made that Moonwalk he created a before and after effect in the history of humanity. This was "Thee" short film/music video that revolutionized music videos as a whole, if this didn't aired music videos would've been dead by now. This short film/music video really marked an important fundamental change in music history it shifted culture in general. Also MTV was new and only played rock (aka white artists) Michael’s label CEO of CBS Records Walter Yetnikoff called MTV out for being racist and basically said if they didn’t play MJ’s Billie Jean short film that he would pull all of his artists from his record label off MTV so they were eventually forced to play it and it made MTV blow up like never before making MJ the first black artist to premiere on MTV and it opened the doors for other black artists like Whitney Houston etc. MJ MADE MTV RELEVANT!👑🖤🌟💯(Please React to Michael Jackson “Motown 25 Full Performance 4K 60fps It was MJ’s first time doing the Moonwalk.)
I saw in concert in his Bad tour 1988. Pure magig.
(And Kim Wlide was the warm up act, so it was win/win!)
Were you in Gothenburg? Me too. Life changing experience.
His live performances of this song are better than the music video. 1983 Motown 25 is when he moonwalks for the first time. Munich 1997 and 2001 30th Anniversary are my favorite renditions of Billie Jean. Fun fact, a woman was sentenced to over 300 days in jail after harassing Michael, claiming she was “The Billie Jean” that MJ was singing about.
Oh I thought you guys were doing the live version where he did it in front of an audience. You should do that one too. It’s incredible.
Agreed. That was the performance where Michael Jackson became MJ
The one song of his that you don't hear enough is I just can't stop loving you !!
Still my favorite MJ tune. I was the same age as Michael and grew up on The Jackson 5. This was a revelation in that his music changed from bubble gum to meat.
If that back beat doesn't get you moving you must be dead? My most favorite song ever by my most favorite artist ever, thanks guys for doing this.
Another ground breaking song with a wicked bass from the thriller album the "most sold album to date"
Such a great classic song and video!!❤❤
NEED TO SEE HIS VIDEO CALLED GHOST. THIS IS A SEQUEL OR CLOSE TO HIS VIDEO THRILLER. IS LONG YET WORTH WATCHING. THE DANCING IS INCREDIBLE !!
MTV extremely huge in 80s and until release of *Billie Jean* there was zero diversify in its programming.
Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" video was very first black artist shown on MTV (24/7 Music Television)
You definitely should react to Bad & the smooth criminal videos, we are dying for more MJ reactions!
Frr😭😭
Michael Jackson said he got the idea for this song because of all the groupies that used to chase after him and his brothers.
I did know MJ and his brothers were rack stars. LOL.
One of my boys (10) had a red plastic-looking jacket (?) that he'd dance to this song with. He'd shrug the jacket back off his shoulders and forward again, then whip those sleeves up to the elbow and back down, twist and turn, etc. Lots of jerky moves. It was fun to watch him try to be cool like Michael Jackson. Lots of young kids were into that stuff. Nostalgic to watch this now. Thanks for letting us watch with you, and God bless you!
It is almost an afterthought as to what a dark song this is.
Michael was writing about a disturbed girl accusing him of being BABY DADDY.
Dealing with stalkers, and obsessed fanatics is a downside of being super famous.
The drum bass on this is the greatest of all time, and is the spine of the song.
It would fill the dance floor at the clubs when it first dropped.
Billie Jean is a true story..
She still lives today 😮
I was in High School when this song came out. The 1980s rocked for music!!!
that was a true story and situation michael jackson went through.
How about playing the anniversary edition at Madison Square Garden where Michael walks on stage and absolutely steals the show with Billie Jean. He brings a suitcase on the stage and puts on his hat and glove. It is worth another look at this treasure of a song.
The irony of the video ending of him getting into bed and disappearing and he died sort of the same way getting into bed for the last time. So much about this long others will provide insight but its based on a True Story of his life. RIP a real legend.
You guys have to watch the Motown 25th Anniversary special. First time he did the moonwalk to this song. Everyone in the arena & everyone sitting at home watching came out of their seat. It launch him to superstar status.
Michael the King of Pop. Trying to teach my Grandchildren the best Music and they are catching on 👍
Michael Jackson was the first Black Artist to be shown on MTV & Billie Jean was the video. I didn't know the story behind this until his death. MTV didn't want to show his video. CBS records President threatened to pull all of his label artist from MTV if they didn't show Billie Jean. MTV started off as a punk rock, rock & roll video show. Well they showed it & that's when Michael blew up & solidified himself as the King of Pop! Also MTV became even more popular as they started to then diversify their video content. I was a wide-eyed 14 yr old who watched this man become the superstar he is today. That was in 1983. Fast forward to when he died in 2009. Michael died on a Thursday. MTV played nothing but Michael Jackson videos the following weekend. Talk about coming full circle. He was & still is my favorite entertainer.
Michael wrote the song referencing groupies who would be after his older brother when they toured as the Jackson 5. The iconic performance of this was the Motown 25 performance when for one of the first times in public he performed the moonwalk
I've never heard this
song being played at
weddings.😮
I knew mjs song since I was so young my mom said I would sing the song word for word and I still love him and I was born in 2008😭😂
He revolutionized the video industry.
Love the MJ reactions !
Hey don't know what you guys did to this video, but this is the best quality of sound I've heard from this video... You could hear things that you can't hear from the real video..... Awesome job guys...
Please, please, please do the video for Dirty Diana next. FANTASTIC delivery of the song - and the video is just the cherry on top.
This song introduced the moon walk.
Re-introduced! The moon walk was around for a long time before Michael Jackson.
@@christianm7220yes but it was not known globally. MJ made that dance move popular. So he indeed introduced the moonwalk
@@for-house-starkyes it was global before him. It became globally popular because BBoys aka breakers. You may not have known, but it was a street dance move that captured Mike’s attention because it was already popular. He didn’t introduce anything. People were just shocked because pop stars & r&b stars didn’t do “street” moves. Latoya, Janet & Reebie all spoke on how he studied breakers and poppers.
@djmack1ny this is false. That dance move was not global before MJ. You seem to forget that Michael Jackson became the FIRST BLACK GLOBAL MUSIC MEGASTAR WHO HAD THE SAME POPULARITY LEVEL AS THE BEATLES AND ELVIS PRESLEY. Before Michael Jackson, there was no single black music entertainer who was as massively popular as the Beatles. This is why the dance move became global when MJ did it. & what do you mean pop/r&b stars didn't do street moves? MJ had been doing street moves since the 1970s. Have you forgotten dancing machine? Go back and watch the Jackson's variety TV shows that aired from the mid to late 1970s and see the phenomenal dance moves the Jackson's were performing
The arrangement and the session studio musicians are excellent!
Smooth Criminal will be a treat for you guys.....so many of his songs and their videos are great; Remember the Time and Liberian Girl are my favorites.
I understand the lyric of "in the round," refers to a club named the round. Where he and Billie Jean were dancing.
MJ👑
42 years old this song is. 42. it still sounds relevant not 1982
Shoulda watched the live premiere of this from 1983
The song is based on a real life event about a girl who claimed she had/was having MJ's baby
About a decade ago, there was a trend of people creating "literal video versions" of songs. They basically replace the original lyrics with descriptions of what's happening in the video. Some of them were really funny. Billie Jean was one of the better ones. (Imo, "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" were the best.) I think youtube took them down for copyright reasons, but if you google them, you can find them on other sites. I'd recommend giving some a try. 😁
Edit: Total Eclipse of the Heart is on youtube. In fact, someone put up a remastered version, and it's excellent!
Eddie Van Halen played the guitar riff for this song, also for Beet It.
Eddie didn't play guitar on this song. It was David Williams who played in Billie Jean. Eddie Van Halen only played the bridge on Beat It
Love this song.❤
When this video was done, the director said they could only light up a few of the sidewalk tiles due to the budget so if you watch him walk & dance in the video it's very deliberate b/c of that. Also, as MTV at the time was brand new & in need of content & Thriller was a rocket ship on the charts, the head of the record company told them either you start playing MJ's videos or I'm pulling all of my artists rosters videos from MTV . The rest is history.
I just thought about this now at 52. Thriller came out in 82. MJ was still getting awards for it in 84... from what I know about now, that doesn't happen.. does it?
Other videos ?
What about "BAD", "Scream" the most expansive video of all time with his sister Janet Jackson, also "Speed Demon" so much fun !
"Another Part Of Me" and "Give Into Me" which are basically live videos. So many...
As for more genius audios, you have "Tell Me I'm Not Dreamin" a duet with his brother Jermaine Jackson, "State Of Shock" duet with Mick Jagger, boy... so many !
❤❤
This was actually the 1st video from the Thriller album, which is part of why it’s mainly just Michael. Beat It was more of a production that involved choreography with real dancers, the actual choreographer, late Michael Peters, & actual real life gang members in the background. It’s also the breakthrough of black videos played on MTV, along with Rick James who brought the issue to their attention & that certainly gave a lift to all to the need for variety of artists & music. The video popularity became a huge boost element to the music industry in general, so the videos helped people pay attention to the lyrics as well.
So it's very apparent from the comments that I see that a lot of the people that are making speculations or they heard rumors about some crazy story about Michael Jackson's brother or whatever this song is about a woman named Billie Jean that actually stocked Michael Jackson took him to court claiming that her child was he was the father I remember when this all went down cuz it was in the it was in the news I was only 8 years old
You should really check MJ when he was real young on the Ed Sullivan show doing the song Whose Loving You
They have that video up on their MJ playlist! It’s a great reaction 🔥
Man in the mirror is an all time favourite
How art imitates life. There was an actual "Billie Jean" who stalked MJ and was arrested multiple times
No actual Billie Jean but a psycho woman well after he recorded the song who stalked him similar to the song story. He wrote it about his brothers lives when he was younger in the Jackson five
There were at least four women who accused MJ of reype and fathering their children. But for some reason the media never gave those allegations much coverage. Turns out none of these women ever met MJ. One other women came forward in his death and also claimed she gave birth to children for him.
Definitely do Smooth Criminal. The video is amazing. Fun fact about this video. The reason only portions of the floor light up is that they didn’t have enough money in the budget to light the whole thing up. So they strategically picked a few spots where he stops and dances.
Having listened to Billy Jean for decades and JUST getting around to listening to the lyrics is WILD to me. WILD..
This video was the first black artist to get heavy rotation on MTV.
Now that you've seen Michael the king of pop, look at the princess of jazz music and what she did to this song and she's none other than Angelina Jordan in the jazz shredding of the song "Billie Jean" 🦶🦶👑🎷
I recommend u listen to Michael Jackson’s smooth criminal. When he leans forward in his dance is freaking amazing. I can’t believe how strong he is in his ankles. It wasn’t fake, he’s done it on stage too.
great MJ song and video
Motown 25th Anniversary ---- best performance of this live
It throws me off when he sings “The chair is not my son!”
The child is not my son 😂😂😂😂 that's what he meant
@@Caribbean_Kid He says "the kid is not my son."
In all fairness, the chair is not his son either.
I think you're gonna love the videos for Smooth Criminal and Black Or White.
The mowtown 25th anniversary celebration performance of this song is stellar. Seeing the moonwalks first appears. It’s bad ass
Motown
King of Pop ✌️
He was a celebrity to celebrities
Michael often sang about real things going on in and around his personal life, his Rock song D.S. was about Tom Sneddon the CA district attorney in charge of the case against him. In the written lyrics accompanying the CD the name “Dom Sheldon” was used for legal purposes but he was singing “Tom Sneddon” kind of slyly in the song.
That song had guitar solos by the infamous guitarist Slash.
I got number 7 on thumbs up today. One day I might get 1. Good evening, morning or whatever, from Yorkshire
Would you be interested to react to audio gems which don't have any video but are like genius work ?
In that case, I could advise compositions like "Morphine" from his 1997 "Blood On The Dance Floor" album which is about his battle against himself and drugs that were ultimately used against him to kill him.
Such a fascinating hard-rock piece with a classical bridge.
Other audio is "Someone Put Your Hand Out" used to promote his "Dangerous World Tour".
As for other videos, I can advise you "You Rock My World" from his 2001 "Invincible" album.
"Say Say Say" with Paul Mc Cartney.
Did you know there will be a biopic titled "Michael" released on October 3rd 2025.
I hope a new generation of music lovers will embrace & understand his life and career.
❤❤
Because the Thriller vid was such a massive production, it's eclipsed Billie Jean somewhat, but trust and believe that this video made people lose their minds back in '83. It broke the unofficial color barrier on MTV because MJ was just undeniable. IMO the video still holds up in terms of style and storytelling. As for the song, well, it's obviously perfect - it should've won Record of the Year at the Grammys but it lost out to "Beat It" (Michael was unstoppable, except by himself). RIP Quincy Jones!
It's funnny how in modern times Billie Jean eclipses Thriller in views and streams.
And Billie Jean is still better
@@phoenixxking4156because billie Jean was a much more bigger hit than thriller ever was
His eyes were like mine....
Bruno Mars
Billie Jean , imo , is THE song that single handedly created the hot 🔥 as fire 80’s MTV era , music videos which had an effect on every aspect of pop culture and entertainment for the rest of the decade. Why? Because MTV started out as a rock only music video outlet, one that they were adamant not to ever change. But Micheal Jackson released the Thriller album ( after he started in ‘79 with the hot “ Off The Wall “ album ) which came in so hot , they didn’t have any choice to air the video, and when they did the ratings were so high, that eventually they had to start adding more pop and new wave , and even some funk acts. This was in 1982, and another hot video that made MTV change their “tune “ was Prince ‘s “1999” music video.. and after all of that , then came Tina Turner and Madonna, and MTV was changed forever, and America and the world was then changed forever…
Reaxt to Man In The Mirror by Michael Jackson