Billie Jean Introduction

In a Nutshell

Try to convince us that you've never heard this song before. Go on, try.

Yep, we didn't think so. "Billie Jean" is just one of those songs that everybody knows, even if they don't know they know it. 

Released as a single in 1983, "Billie Jean" was the second single off of Thriller, Jackson's blockbuster 1982 album. Thriller's first single, the unambitious Paul McCartney duet "The Girl Is Mine," was commercially successful but didn't thrill critics, who saw it as a cynical attempt to sell records by appealing to an older, whiter audience still pining for long-lost Beatlemania.

But "Billie Jean" countered it with its lean funk disco sound and became a signature hit for the soon-to-be King of Pop. MJ even dropped his first moonwalk to "Billie Jean."

Michael Jackson had already had plenty of hits, of course, dating back to his days as the baby-faced lead singer of the Jackson 5 boy band. What made "Billie Jean" different, what made it turn Jackson into the international super-duper-star, were the effects of the path-breaking music video, directed by Steve Barron.

The video features Jackson walking through a desolate city as everything he touches literally turns to gold, and the freeze frame of Jackson en pointe is now an iconic image.

Yep, this video was on point. Not only did Jackson pave the way for artistic music video production, but he redefined MTV's focus. A channel once focused on "white" rock music opened its doors to African-American musicians.

And we want our MTV. But it's gotta include MJ.

About the Song

Music Video

Shmoop Connections

If you had any doubts about Michael Jackson's popularity—which, why?—the publicity following his death in 2009 should have gotten rid of those. 

A world without Michael Jackson? That's like a world without sliced bread, or without Facebook.

But it wasn't always so simple while Michael was rising to fame. The video for "Billie Jean" was, amazingly enough, the first video featuring "Black music" that MTV ever showed. Black musicians had played so-called "white" music on the channel before, but music that fell into traditionally "Black" genres—blues, soul, funk, and hip-hop—had been completely ignored.

Could we think about "Billie Jean," then, as one small coda to the Civil Rights Movement?

On the Charts

"Billie Jean" was topped the Billboard U.S. singles chart for seven weeks straight.

"Billie Jean" was the third best-selling single of 1983.

"Billie Jean" won Michael Jackson the Grammy for Best R&B song and Best R&B Male Vocal Performance.

The physical single for "Billie Jean" was certified as platinum in 1989, and the digital download eclipsed that milestone as well in 2013.