On December 2, 1983, the planet was shocked, amazed and frightened to discover “Thriller,” Michael Jackson’s most iconic music video. Directed by John Landis, the filmmaker behind “The Blues Brothers,” this 14-minute short film revolutionized the music video genre forever, to the point that MTV named its honorary award, presented this year to Katy Perry, the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. The King of Pop is both the producer, co-writer and lead actor alongside actress Ola Ray. The story is that of a mise en abyme. Michael Jackson plays a lovelorn suitor who asks a pretty young woman to become his boyfriend, while warning her that he is “not the one” not like other boys “. He then turns into a werewolf and savagely attacks her in the middle of the street! Except that the scene is actually just a movie session that the singer is attending with his beloved… At least, until Michael Jackson turns into a bloodthirsty zombie and starts dancing with his horde, ready to devour his beauty.
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TO READ – Michael Jackson: discover the unreleased demo of “Thriller”, 40 years later!
And four!
Michael Jackson’s red jacket, the incredible makeup of the monsters, the twists and turns worthy of a Hollywood movie… Everything in this music video, considered the greatest clip of all time by MTV, VH1 and Rolling Stone magazine, is now part of the collective memory. And it took until the 15th anniversary of the King of Pop’s death for it to reach the symbolic milestone of one billion views on YouTube, in September 2024. As strange as it may seem, this is the fourth video of Michael Jackson to sign this feat. On the official channel of the legendary artist, opened in June 2005, it is “Billie Jean” which is in the lead with 1.6 billion clicks ahead of “They Don’t Care About Us” and “Beat It”, which exceeded the billion mark in November 2023. And Michael Jackson will soon add a fifth hit to this exclusive club: the video for “Smooth Criminal”, with its famous dance move that defies the laws of gravity, has been viewed 990 million times to date.
This news about the songs of Michael Jackson comes at a time of great sorrow for the Jackson clan. The famous musical family mourns the death of Tito Jackson, the King of Pop’s older brother, who died at the age of 70, apparently the victim of a heart attack. The Jackson Five guitarist was the father of Taj Jackson, Taryll and TJ, who formed the group 3T in the 1990s. Our father was an incredible man who cared about everyone and their well-being. (…) He will be greatly missed. Please remember to do what our father always preached: “Love one another”. We love you, Dad ” reacted the three artists, grieving over this personal tragedy.
