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This week was filming day, we said that we would meet at college at 9am to get any equipment the we may need.

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This week was the week we had to present our idea to our tutors, we had time. Before our slot we had time to prepare to go through the  presentation, to make sure we hadn’t forgot anything,  we also split the presentations up so that not one person was talking for the whole presentation

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This week we began creating out pitch and treatment which we would present to our tutors the following week. We chose the headings we were going to use and as a group we all created the presentation, what ever  information  we used, we then put into our treatment as this is a document that you would give to the company you are pitching to, that would explain everything that you will be doing in the film without you being there physically Giving the presentation.

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we created a padlet page to brainstorm ideas so that every meember of the group could add to it

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this we began to think about what sort of music video we wanted to do, what style of dance it would be, once we had chosen the song we then could choose what we wanted it to look like as we had to match the song with the music video.

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What we needed to think about before filming 

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What we needed to think about before filming 

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risk assessment
public space

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Jessie J. - Nobody's Perfect jazz choreography dance Anna Julia Dębowska - Dji ronin Blackmagic 4k

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Kanye West - Runaway (Video Version) ft. Pusha T

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As the media students didn't understand the different styles of dance so me and sharleigh would explain to then the different styles and also give them and example on YouTube

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We look at the style of any performance, including dance, this adds to the representation as well as giving us information about the target audience. Certain styles of dance, lyrics, and expressions, will create different representations. These representations are used to help define the music video’s target audience. You wouldn’t expect to see certain types of dance in a rap video.

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Representation i the way that people, ideas, and events are
presented to us.
What appears on screens, in print etc., does not appear by
accident, but through a process of decision making from within the media industries.

The construction of a music video, in terms of the representations it constructs, is extremely powerful and important.
Artists associating themselves with certain representations can say as much about them as their music does.

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- Lyric videos are a type of abstract music video as they contain no performance or narrative

- previously produced by fans as a way to get music online avoiding copyright

- usually released before the artist music video

- now often produced by  major  labels and artists as they are cheap to make and only costing time to make.

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Major Lazer – Light it Up (feat. Nyla & Fuse ODG) (Remix) [Official 4K Music Video]

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a music video that doesn't contain either performance or narrative

- often artists or representative pieces
- not reliant on performer or narrative
- very suitable for shows and clubs
- allows creativity and experimentation

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- high school bully
- humiliated by the band
- punk/emo
- leader/ easily recognisable -orange hair

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Paramore: Misery Business [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

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a music video that combines both elements and performance and narrative

- most common types of music video today, especially pop/rock
- attempts to both inform and engage them through a narrative
- performers aren't necessary for narrative sections
- often treated as to separate shoots
- require more time and larger budget

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Chase & Status, Sub Focus - Flashing Lights ft. Takura

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John's First Session

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a music video without performance but still tells a story through the imagery on screen

- more popular, contemporary style music video
- suitable for artists without strong performance presents
- limited availability to inform audience especially if actors are used
- will hold attention, due to narrative structure
-shot similarity to short film

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rock style
look the part
simplistic
animation

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Jet - Are You Gonna Be My Girl (Official Music Video)

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a music video that only includes the song being performed either by the artist or actor

- clearly use to inform the audience: band/artist
- consistant style throughout
- often single shot video

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- reach a wider audience
- relate to artist
- To entertain
- To promote
- To inform
- To educate

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Youtube
TV
live  performances
phones
projection in bars and clubs
computers
festivals

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space theme
different instruments are shown
retro
this music video was the first to launch  on mtv music channel

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we began looking at this music video and picking out different points about the video and the movement within the video.

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The Buggles - Video Killed The Radio Star (Official Music Video)

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Split Screen  Beyonce  Countdown  vs Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker

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Beyonce / Keersmaeker (montage E. Verlinden)

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The final countdown! Beyonce flashes a growing baby bump in her 1960s style new music video

She announced her pregnancy to a worldwide audience at the recent MTV Video Music awards.

So it's no surprise that Beyonce is incorporating her growing baby bump into her stylish new music video.

In a 30 second new teaser video for the song, appropriately named Countdown, the star at one point turns to the side in a clinging black dress and shows off her blossoming tummy.

She sings: 'I'm tryin' to make us 3 from that 2' in the song, before three images of her displaying her bump are shown.

The star also shows off her new sidewards belly rubbing dance move which wowed the audience at MTV.

The full length video version of the song will premiere tomorrow and shows the singer getting into a striking 1960s style groove.

There's also a striking shot of the star standing against a black and white striped background, moving her arms in a clock style.

And clearly Countdown wouldn't be a Beyonce video without some flesh exposed.

The star also sports an unusual cut out dress in which she dances remarkably energetically sporting a short black wig.

The video ends with Beyonce, or rather several images of Beyonce, dancing in a series of multi coloured body suits.

The baby, rumoured to be a girl due next spring, is the singer and her husband Jay-Z's first.

''I'm excited! I think that is pretty easy,' the 41-year-old rapper told E! recently.

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The final countdown! Beyonce flashes a growing baby bump in her 1960s style new music video

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She announced her pregnancy to a worldwide audience at the recent MTV Video Music awards. So it's no surprise that Beyonce is incorporating her growing baby bump into her stylish new music video. In a 30 second new teaser video for the song, appropriately named Countdown, the star at one point turns to the side in a clinging black dress and shows off her blossoming tummy.

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Directed by Beyoncé, Adria Petty. With Beyoncé.

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Directed by Beyoncé, Adria Petty. With Beyoncé.

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Beyoncé has an affinity for recalling the past in her videos - from the "Mexican Breakfast" Bob Fosse/Gwen Verdon routine that inspired the "Single Ladies" video to her tortured '50s homemaker character in "Why Don't You Love Me" - and her latest clip for the horn-heavy "Countdown" jam is no exception.

The video is a feast for the eyes, with Beyoncé taking on a variety of iconic looks. Her makeup when the video opens recalls the mod styling of Twiggy, but soon enough, she segues into full-on Audrey Hepburn mode, taking both her look and dance cues from the 1957 film "Funny Face."

From there, we see the pop star in a variety of bold, brightly colored bathing suits and a black-and-white hat, set against a constantly changing background of vivid colors. It's an iconic image that brings to mind the classic Vogue photo shoots of yesteryear.
Breaking Down "Countdown," Look By Look
The pregnant diva's baby bump is less visible in the bathing suit scenes but is featured prominently earlier in the clip and is rubbed lovingly later in a scene that features 10 different incarnations of Beyoncé in a loft space. The visibility of Beyoncé's pregnancy varies throughout the video, indicating she likely shot a great deal of the footage for "Countdown" earlier in her pregnancy and more recently re-shot or re-conceptualized the clip to reflect her growing belly.

Viewers also see that even pregnancy can't stop Beyoncé from dancing. The clip cuts quickly from the bathing suit sequence to shots of the star in an audition space straight out of the film "Fame." The sequence features the kind of seamlessly choreographed moves that Beyoncé is famous for - moves that would be at home in an early-'80s dance film or onstage in 2011.

It's a perfect mix of classic and modern, which seems to be what Beyoncé is aiming for in this era of her career. It's a feeling reflected in the smooth, '90s vibe and reliance on live instruments that sets her album 4 apart from her previous work as well as other artists on the charts right now.
Find out what the "Countdown" director had to say about B's video shoot!
The "Countdown" clip is loaded with other references as well, including a wink to "West Side Story" as dancers snap in unison and a nod to Bridget Bardot when the video cuts to and from shots of Beyoncé in a men's dress shirt with her hair styled up with a scarf.
Check out what we spotted, and let us know what we missed!
She also briefly references her film "Dreamgirls" - or, more likely, that film's inspiration: Diana Ross - during a few brief scenes in which she rocks a short, sparkly dress and bob hairstyle.

The clip then sequences from "Fame" to "Flashdance," with Beyoncé and her dancers in another open warehouse-like space sporting the iconic off-the-shoulder look from the 1983 drama starring Jennifer Beals.

The video ends with the superstar in a chair, grooving to her uptempo track. Throughout the clip, which bubbles with excitement, she is all smiles, perhaps reflecting her joy at beginning a new phase in her life.
Share your thoughts on the "Countdown" video in the comments below!

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Beyonce Flaunts Baby Bump In 'Countdown' Video

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Beyoncé has an affinity for recalling the past in her videos - from the "Mexican Breakfast" Bob Fosse/Gwen Verdon routine that inspired the "Single Ladies" video to her tortured '50s homemaker character in "Why Don't You Love Me" - and her latest clip for the horn-heavy "Countdown" jam is no exception.

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In under a week, Beyonce's "Countdown" has amassed over 1.6 million streams on the 'net, but one of those viewers is calling Bey' out on charges of plagiarism. Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker claims that Beyoncé has crossed the line, from referencing to copying.

"This is plagiarism ... This is stealing," De Keersmaeker says in a statement translated from Dutch to English. "What's rude about it is that they don't even bother about hiding it. They seem to think they could do it because it's a famous work."

A video displaying the similarities hit YouTube the same day as "Countdown" and has over 255,000 views and growing.

Despite the charges, De Keersmaeker isn't all mad about the video. "Beyonce is not the worst copycat, she sings and dances very well, and she has good taste!"

Queen B has borrowed from the past. She drew inspiration from Italian pop singer Lorella Cuccarini for her performance of "Run the World (Girls)" at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards.
Beyonce's BBMA Performance: 'I Never Worked So Hard in My Life'
"My makeup artist showed me the performance of Lorella Cuccarini a year ago, and it inspired me so much," Beyonce told AOL. "I then met with the talented people who worked on it. The technology and concept were so genius. Thank God for YouTube or I would have never been exposed to something so inspiring. I never worked so hard on anything in my life as that performance for the Billboard Awards."

Most recently, Bey' pays tribute to New Edition's "If It Isn't Love" in the video snippet for "Love on Top." One of Bey's Hot 100 No. 1s, "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)," is even said to be influenced by a Bob Fosse performance called "Mexican Breakfast."

Bey' claims to have been inspired by these ideas, and certainly never admits to stealing. What do you think: inspiration or theft?

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Beyonce 'Countdown' Video Brings Charges Of Plagiarism

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In under a week, Beyonce's "Countdown" has amassed over 1.6 million streams on the 'net, but one of those viewers is calling Bey' out on charges of plagiarism. Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker claims that Beyoncé has crossed the line, from referencing to copying. "This is plagiarism ...

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Despite his global success and massive earning power, Jackson was adamant about not getting complacent with his career. For that reason, the singer said he refused to display his numerous awards (13 Grammy Awards, for example) in his home. He didn't want to sap his work ethic.

"I try not to think about it too hard," Jackson told Geraldo Rivera about his success in a 2005 interview. "I don't want my subconscious mind to think that I've done it all: 'You're done now.' No. That's why I don't put awards or trophies in my house. You won't find a gold record anywhere in my house, because it makes you feel you've accomplished [everything]. But, I always wanna feel, 'No, I haven't done it yet."

With the ongoing rise of music streaming resulting in fewer album sales in today's music industry, "Thriller" and other classic albums are likely safe, for now, in their spots atop the all-time rankings for album sales. In 2017, US album sales dipped nearly 18 percent, to roughly 169 million copies sold, according to Nielsen. And, mega-stars like Taylor Swift (whose "Reputation" led all album sales last year, with 1.9 million sold) tend to be the only musicians who sell a significant number of albums anymore, whether that be in physical or digital sales.

Here are the 10 best-selling albums ever in the US, based on certified album sales, according to RIAA:

1. Eagles, "Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975", released 1976. (38 million units sold)

2. Michael Jackson, "Thriller", released 1982. (33 million)

3. Eagles, "Hotel California", released 1976. (26 million)

4. Billy Joel, "Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II", released 1985. (23 million)

5. Led Zeppelin, "Led Zeppelin IV", released 1971. (23 million)

6. Pink Floyd, "The Wall", released 1979. (23 million)

7. AC/DC, "Back In Black", released 1980. (22 million)

8. Garth Brooks, "Double Live", released 1998. (21 million)

9. Hootie & The Blowfish, "Cracked Rear View", released 1994. (21 million)

10. Fleetwood Mac, "Rumours", released 1977. (20 million)
How 'Solo' star Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino) went from YouTube comic to 'Star Wars' Chic's Nile Rodgers says many musicians often don't understand the value of their songs

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Michael Jackson's iconic 'Thriller' is 36 today - and it's still the world's best-selling album

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Despite his global success and massive earning power, Jackson was adamant about not getting complacent with his career. For that reason, the singer said he refused to display his numerous awards (13 Grammy Awards, for example) in his home. He didn't want to sap his work ethic.

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SBS News. (2019). Secret behind Michael Jackson's Thriller. [online] Available at: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/secret-behind-michael-jackson-s-thriller [Accessed 28 Feb. 2019].

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SBS News. (2019). Secret behind Michael Jackson's Thriller. [online] Available at: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/secret-behind-michael-jackson-s-thriller [Accessed 28 Feb. 2019].

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The music video Thriller wasn't the product of a brilliant idea but was made because Michael Jackson wanted to be a monster, director John Landis has revealed.

Landis was at the Venice film festival to present the 3D version of the video, which was made 35 years after the original. It was screened as a special event in the out-of-competition section.

"(Thriller) was nobody's good idea, it was no brilliant business plan," John Landis told journalists.

"It was a vanity video because Michael wanted to be a monster. And everything that came, evolved from that, was spectacularly successful and I was totally surprised."

Landis said Jackson first approached him about making the video because he liked his work on An American Werewolf in London and the two, along with make-up artist Rick Baker, met to look at photographs from old monster movies.

"Turns out he hasn't seen many horror films, they were too scary. I found him great," Landis said, laughing. "He wanted zombies, but the big thing for Mike was turning into a monster."

Landis, an American film director, screenwriter, actor and producer, jumped at the idea of converting Thriller into 3D, because "I really wanted you to experience it the way Michael wanted you to experience it".

"We went through the whole movie frame by frame, and it was not intended to be in 3D, so we are not throwing anything at you or anything like that, but it does enhance certain parts of it tremendously ... the dance is much improved," he said.

"My only disappointment is that Michael is not here to see it and hear it because I think he would love that," he said.

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Secret behind Michael Jackson's Thriller

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The music video Thriller wasn't the product of a brilliant idea but was made because Michael Jackson wanted to be a monster, director John Landis has revealed. Landis was at the Venice film festival to present the 3D version of the video, which was made 35 years after the original.

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Biography. (2019). How Michael Jackson Changed Dance History. [online] Available at: https://www.biography.com/news/how-michael-jackson-changed-dance-history [Accessed 28 Feb. 2019].

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Wax, J. (2019). Thriller Dance Background and History - Bella Ballroom. [online] Bella Ballroom. Available at: http://bellaballroom.com/thriller-dance-background-history/ [Accessed 28 Feb. 2019].

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THRILLER DANCE!

Halloween may have just passed, but Michael Jackson's 1983 hit "Thriller" can always be heard blaring in dance studios worldwide. The horror themed pop song was used to produce one of the most influential music videos of all time. Filled with zombies and crazed ghouls, the video made an international impact and is still widely celebrated for it's iconic dance scene. In celebration of "Thriller", let's dig up some of its lesser-known details and shine some light on its dark and chilling dance.

The "Thriller" dance choreography was a result of a collaboration between Michael Jackson and Brooklyn born choreographer Michael Peters. Peters was a modern dance performer who won several prestigious awards for his choreography and directing work before his death in 1994. Peters worked with Michael Jackson to choreograph the music videos for "Beat It" and "Thriller", and performed in both of them. Michael Jackson shares a little about their dance collaboration:

"Usually, you know, it's an interpretation of the music. It was a delicate thing to work on because I remember my original approach was, 'How do you make zombies and monsters dance without it being comical?' So I said, 'We have to do just the right kind of movement so it doesn't become something that you laugh at.' But it just has to take it to another level. So I got in a room with Michael Peters, and he and I together kind of imagined how these zombies move by making faces in the mirror. I used to come to rehearsal sometimes with monster makeup on, and I loved doing that. So he and I collaborated and we both choreographed the piece and I thought it should start like that kind of thing and go into this jazzy kind of step, you know. Kind of gruesome things like that, not too much ballet or whatever." -Michael Jackson

In addition to an amazing collaboration with Peters, the success of "Thriller" wouldn't have been as great without Michael Jackson's dance talent and execution. Michael was a self-trained dancer who never had any formal dance training. He believed, "the greatest education in the world is watching the masters at work." He learned by watching legendary entertainers such as Jackie Wilson, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Bob Fosse, Sammy Davis Jr., Marcel Marceau and Charlie Chaplin. Michael's greatest inspiration came from watching who he called "the master" and "genius." The Godfather of Soul Mr. James Brown "mesmerized" Michael Jackson. Michael shared, "I had never seen a performer like James Brown, and right then and there I knew that was exactly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life because of James Brown." Michael had a strong work ethnic and practiced endlessly until he could pop, lock, and moonwalk at a level unseen by the world.

Today people all over the world continue to celebrate "Thriller." Thrill The World, an annual worldwide simultaneous dance of Michael Jackson's "Thriller", was created for charity. This year, on October 25 th, Thrill the World plans to be listed as a world record. Dancers all over the globe prepared to simultaneously dance the choreography at 10pm GMT. (www.thriltheworld.com)

Michael Jackson and Michael Peters' collaboration combined with dancing zombies, a dramatic horror story line and a world music video premiere on MTV brewed the perfect spell to craft a spooky success. While the music video may be filled with ghoulish characters portraying the dead, "Thriller" is very much alive!
Always wanted to learn the iconic and spooky dance? Learn "Thriller" with Ziva and the team at Bella Ballroom!

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Thriller Dance Background and History - Bella Ballroom

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THRILLER DANCE! Halloween may have just passed, but Michael Jackson's 1983 hit "Thriller" can always be heard blaring in dance studios worldwide. The horror themed pop song was used to produce one of the most influential music videos of all time.

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Anon, (2019). [online] Available at: https://www.quora.com/Which-instruments-were-used-in-Michael-Jacksons-album-Thriller [Accessed 28 Feb. 2019].

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Which instruments were used in Michael Jackson's album Thriller?

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Answer (1 of 2): The Wikipedia said that the instrumentation consists of: Syntheizer, Guitar, Trumpet, Saxophone, Flute, and Trombone. Hope that helps.

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Jones, L. (2019). The Incredible Way Michael Jackson Wrote Music - NME. [online] NME. Available at: https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/the-incredible-way-michael-jackson-wrote-music-16799 [Accessed 28 Feb. 2019].

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If you've ever heard the below early demo of 'Beat It', you'll know Michael Jackson's extraordinary process of writing songs - by building each element of a track with his voice. Every note of every chord, harmony, melody, bass and even the rhythm through beat-boxing. The full harmonies will blow your mind:

Jackson couldn't read or write music at all. Contrary to received wisdom, he could play instruments a bit - he's credited as playing keyboard, synthesizer, guitar, drums and percussion on 'HIStory' - but none proficiently. He didn't have any formal composition training, though one could say he was trained harder than any other performer by his father.

But just as Mozart could hear whole symphonies in his head, Jackson fully realised his songs before they were put down on paper. "The lyrics, the strings, the chords, everything comes at the moment like a gift that is put right into your head and that's how I hear it," said Jackson during the 'Dangerous' court case of 1994.

A top team of engineers and producers would work on the tracks that he brought into the studio but even they were wowed by his genius. Rob Hoffman, sound engineer, describes the process (h/t Rhythm Of The Tide):

"One morning MJ came in with a new song he had written overnight. We called in a guitar player, and Michael sang every note of every chord to him. "'Here's the first chord, first note, second note, third note. Here's the second chord first note, second note, third note', etc etc. We then witnessed him giving the most heartfelt and profound vocal performance, live in the control room through an SM57," says Hoffman.

"He would sing us an entire string arrangement, every part. Steve Porcaro once told me he witnessed MJ doing that with the string section in the room. Had it all in his head, harmony and everything. Not just little eight bar loop ideas. He would actually sing the entire arrangement into a micro-cassette recorder complete with stops and fills."

One of the most interesting and revealing interviews about the way Jackson crafted his work is the audio from the 'Dangerous' court case. Songwriter Crystal Cartier took him to court for plagiarism and during the trial Jackson was asked to describe his song-writing process. "I'll just sing the bass part into the tape recorder," he said between snips of sung melody, totally pitch perfect. "I'll take that bass lick and put the chords of the melody over the bass lick and that's what inspires the melody," he explained, before beat-boxing in court.

On Billie Jean he says: "Listen, you're hearing four basses on there, doing four different personalities, and that's what gives it character, but it takes a lot of work." At this point he had written a couple of hundred songs and said he'd usually be working on five songs at any one time. It's well worth listening to the 10 minutes of the trial in the video above if you want to know more.

Here's another example of Jackson's ability to beatbox to show how he created 'Tabloid Junkie'. It's from an interview with Diane Sawyer in 1995 ( h/t MJ World) and you won't believe the sound's made by man not machine:

Of course, you don't need to be formally trained in music to be a successful artist. Paul McCartney has sold over 100 million records without learning how to notate. There are loads of ways musicians have found inventive methods to write songs without being able to actually pen down the chords - or if they just fancied going off the traditional path. You've got John Lennon assembling 10 people with pencils used to loop different sonic elements for 'Revolution 9'. Then there's Radiohead 'Idioteque' with a backbone made from a snippet of a recording Jonny Greenwood gave Thom Yorke (Greenwood's the only trained musician in the group). "There was this section of about 40 seconds long in the middle of it that was absolute genius, and I just cut that up and that was it," explained Yorke. Other examples include OMD who created their own notation system early on and Jason Pierce, Spiritualized's lead singer, who wrote all the orchestral parts for 'Let It Come Down' by singing them into a portable tape recorder. Ian McCulloch wrote 'The Killing Moon' by inverting the chords to David Bowie 'Space Oddity' and Goldie basically draws his tracks, using weird diagrams and squares and squiggles to write - watch this episode of Producers House, it's amazing.

Jackson created some of the greatest pop anthems of all time. As anyone who's tried to write a song will know, it's pretty damn hard, even if you have some grasp of chords. That he managed so amazingly without only adds to the sense that what MJ had was a special, special gift.

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The Incredible Way Michael Jackson Wrote Music - NME

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If you've ever heard the below early demo of 'Beat It', you'll know Michael Jackson's extraordinary process of writing songs - by building each element of a track with his voice. Every note of every chord, harmony, melody, bass and even the rhythm through beat-boxing.

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Gallagher, D. (2019). 10 Things You Didn't Know About Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'. [online] TheFW. Available at: https://thefw.com/things-you-didnt-know-about-thriller/ [Accessed 28 Feb. 2019].

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The shadow cast by Michael Jackson's bizarre personal life and legal troubles may have eclipsed most of his career but it still could not blot out the shining triumph of his song and music video 'Thriller.'

The surprise blockbuster single, video and album not only drove album sales to record heights but the music video, directed by John Landis, paved a new path for the recording industry. Lavish music videos became a must for every single that wanted to earn a spot on the top of the charts or a place in pop culture's pantheon. The success of the album and video even created new opportunities for African-American musicians, getting their videos played on MTV and opening doors that were still closed off due to misguided bigotry that permeated the recording industry. As the iconic album reaches its 30th anniversary, let's take a look back at the scary good song that transformed pop music overnight the way a full moon transforms an ordinary man into a snarling werewolf.

1. The song wasn't always called 'Thriller'

Michael Jackson's most famous chart topper and music video can produce an eerie chill and goosebumps just by saying its name. An early draft of the song, however, didn't evoke such imagery.

Songwriter and drummer Rod Templeton was behind such huge Michael Jackson hits as 'Rock with You' and 'Off the Wall.' When legendary producer Quincy Jones brought Templeton on board to write songs for Jackson's sixth album, he turned in a song called 'Starlight.' Jones liked the song but thought it needed a new hook and sent the songwriter back to the drawing board. Templeton said he wrote "two or three hundreds titles" but the best was 'Thriller' because, "You could visualize it on the top of the Billboard charts." Jones liked it so much that he titled the album 'Thriller' as well.

2. Background vocals were recorded in a shower stall

Jones' kicked off the recording of Jackson's 'Thriller' album in a Santa Monica studio by announcing, "OK guys, we're here to save the recording industry." The crew then spent long hours undertaking this massive responsibility with great care and ingenuity.

The crew used every inch of space they could to record and mix the album. Bruce Swedien, an audio engineer who worked with Jones on the album in 1982, said the album's distinctive sound came from some creative use of acoustics. Some of the background singers actually recorded their parts in a bathroom shower stall to take advantage of its unique acoustics. He also had Jackson record and then re-record his vocalizations over each other to give Michael's voice "a unique character."

3. Jackson wanted Landis to direct the 'Thriller' video after seeing 'An American Werewolf in London'

Jackson was a devout Jehovah's Witness at the time the video for 'Thriller' was made, so he felt it was important to include a personal disclaimer that famously read, "Due to my strong personal convictions, I wish to stress that this film in no way endorses a belief in the occult." Of course, that doesn't mean he didn't have a deep interest in it.

Jackson was a huge fan of Landis' 'An American Werewolf in London,' the dark comedy-horror starring David Naughton, Jenny Agutter and Griffin Dunne. Jackson said in the 'Making of 'Thriller'' feature that the werewolf movie convinced him that Landis was the man to direct the short film he wanted to do for the 'Thriller' single. He also brought the movie's legendary makeup artist, Rick Baker, on board to create the look of the film's monsters. Jackson would reteam with Landis in 1991 for his song 'Black or White.'

4. Jennifer Beals was originally offered the role of Jackson's girlfriend

Actress and Playboy model Ola Ray scored the role of a lifetime as Michael Jackson's girlfriend in the 'Thriller' video. However, she wasn't the first actress that casting had in mind.

Jennifer Beals, the star of the hit romantic film 'Flashdance,' got the initial offer to play Jackson's girlfriend but for some reason, she declined it. The part went to Ray instead. Ray said following Jackson's death that she was grateful for the role and the two remained close friends long after the video shoot ended. He even flew her to Germany so she could accept and keep a film award for the video.

5. Michael's famous red outfit came from John Landis' wife

The dark and creepy sound and look of 'Thriller' may have made the song and video an iconic part of entertainment history, but the distinctive look of Jackson's outfit helped cement its place as a classic.

The famous red costume actually came from Landis' wife Deborah. She said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that she wanted to make an outfit for Jackson that would make him "absolutely pop off the screen," especially during the famous dance scene with the dark and dreary zombies. Mrs. Landis also thought the wide shoulders from the "V" design of the jacket "would make Michael more virile." Deborah only made two of the memorable red V-style jackets. One of them was sold last year at an auction for $1.8 million. She also came up with the iconic look and style for two legendary movie characters -- 'Animal House' lush Bluto Blutarsky and Indiana Jones.

6. The 'Making Of 'Thriller'' documentary raised the money to make the actual video

Jackson and Landis had some big ideas for their "short film." Those ideas, however, would require an unprecedented budget to bring them to life.

The project would not only require extensive makeup and special effects to create the scary look of the monsters, but Landis also insisted that the dancing monsters spend at least 10 days rehearsing their moves. Altogether, Jackson and Landis needed nearly $500,000. CBS/Columbia Records president Walter Yetnikoff was a staunch supporter of Jackson's music and even got MTV to retire its racist "no black acts" policy by threatening to pull his other videos unless they played Jackson's now iconic 'Billie Jean' video. However, he was livid when he learned how much money the project would cost.

Landis said his producer George Folsey Jr. came up with the brilliant idea of producing a behind the scenes documentary about their video that they could sell to the networks to pay for the project. MTV and Showtime both bought the rights to air the documentary for $250,000, each giving the 'Thriller' production team the money they needed to shoot the actual video.

7. Quincy Jones' wife helped the 'Thriller' team score Vincent Price

One of the most memorable moments of both the song and video was horror movie icon Vincent Price's creepy narration and trademark laughter echoing across the tune's booming baselines.

Price came on board through Jones' then-wife, the actress Peggy Lipton ('Mod Squad,' 'Twin Peaks') since the two were close friends. Price didn't spend much time in the studio since Jones said he managed to get a perfect take out of the actor with only two recordings. They also didn't have to spend much money to get Price into the recording studio -- the famed horror movie actor only earned anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000 for his work on the song and the subsequent video, even turning down a chance to earn a portion of its millions in profits. Landis said he talked to Price a year after the video's massive release and learned he was very upset with the deal he took and that Jackson would not return any of his phone calls.

8. The star-studded audience called for an encore at the video's premiere

Jackson and Landis never saw their video as just a music video. They envisioned it as a short film and just like a major motion picture, they wanted to give it a lavish, Hollywood-style premiere.

Landis said the theater was filled with Jackson's celebrity friends such as Diana Ross, Warren Beatty and Prince and naturally, the video received wild applause and a standing ovation. Then the crowd started chanting "encore" and Landis said he didn't know how to respond to the request. That's when Eddie Murphy stood up and screamed,"Show the [expletive] thing again!" So they screened the film a second time to even wilder applause.

9. The 'Thriller' video helped to create the video rental business

These days, the home video rental industry may be standing on fewer steady legs than one of the rotting corpses in Jackson's video. Still, the once burgeoning industry has 'Thriller' to thank for the success they had.

The video went into regular rotation on television and MTV showed the clip repeatedly, sometimes at least twice every hour at the height of its popularity. Fans wanted to watch the video in their home, but VHS tapes were expensive to own. So video rental chains started popping up to lend copies of the tape and eventually other movies for a much smaller price. Then, Landis said, a video retailer wanted to sell the video on VHS. Landis didn't think the deal would be a moneymaker but he gave the plan his blessing. The VHS version sold over a million copies in the US alone.

10. It's the only music video in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry

Jackson and Landis' video received numerous honors and broke many records since its release, but they probably paled in comparison when the Library of Congress chose to preserve it in its archives for future generations.

In 2009, The Library's National Film Registry officially selected the 'Thriller' video as one of its inductees along with 'The Muppet Movie,' 'The Incredible Shrinking Man,' 'Dog Day Afternoon' and 'The Mark of Zorro.' Its inclusion makes it the first music video to be enshrined in the Registry's archives as a film, the way Jackson and Landis have always considered it to be.

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10 Things You Didn't Know About Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'

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The shadow cast by Michael Jackson's bizarre personal life and legal troubles may have eclipsed most of his career but it still could not blot out the shining triumph of his song and music video 'Thriller.'

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1stdanceentertainment.com. (2019). 12 Thrilling Facts About Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ Video | 1st Dance Entertainment - Phoenix DJ. [online] Available at: http://1stdanceentertainment.com/12-thrilling-facts-about-michael-jacksons-thriller-video/ [Accessed 28 Feb. 2019].

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12 Thrilling Facts About Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' Video | 1st Dance Entertainment - Phoenix DJ

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"In adolescence, youngsters begin to grow hair in unexpected places and parts of their anatomy swell and grow," director John Landis explained, regading the role of the werewolf metaphor in cinematic history. "Everyone experiences these physical transformations in their bodies and new, unfamiliar, sexual thoughts in their minds.

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Mentalfloss.com. (2019). 21 Thrilling Facts About Michael Jackson's <em>Thriller</em>. [online] Available at: http://mentalfloss.com/article/71786/21-thrilling-facts-about-michael-jacksons-thriller [Accessed 28 Feb. 2019].

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Michael Jackson's 1982 album Thriller needs no introduction, but here we are. It's the all-time best-selling album worldwide. It was also critically acclaimed, bestowed with a record-breaking eight Grammy Awards. It launched Michael Jackson into superstardom, and the artist-and the music industry-were never the same again. Here are some facts about the album, in case you want to be startin' somethin'.

1. JACKSON WAS INSPIRED BY THE NUTCRACKER SUITE.

While he already had the popular solo album Off the Wall to his credit (also produced by Quincy Jones), Michael Jackson had a dream of making the biggest-selling album ever. He wanted Thriller to resemble Tchaikovsky's suite, where "every song is a killer."

2. HE TOLD HIS MUSICIANS TO THINK LIKE MICHELANGELO.

Keyboardist David Paich of Toto was one of the musicians hired for Thriller. He remembered Jackson telling the instrumentalists in the Westlake Recording studio in Los Angeles, California to think of "Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel-do whatever you need to do here. Sky's the limit."

3. THE ALBUM'S TITLE WAS ALMOST MIDNIGHT MAN.

Quincy Jones asked arranger/songwriter Rod Temperton to come up with an album title. He wrote down 200 to 300 possible titles in his hotel room before deciding on Midnight Man. The next morning he woke up and the word "Thriller" popped into his head. "Something in my head just said, this is the title," Temperton said. "You could visualize it on the top of the Billboard charts. You could see the merchandising for this one word, how it jumped off the page as 'Thriller.'"

4. THE SONG "THRILLER" WAS ORIGINALLY TITLED "STARLIGHT."

Temperton wrote the music and lyrics, with the chorus: "We got to make it while we can / You need the starlight / Some starlight sun / I need you by my side/ you give me starlight / Starlight / tonight." Jones liked the melody, but asked Temperton to come back with something more like Edgar Allan Poe. The album title Thriller was already on the table, so matching it to the song was relatively easy.

5. VINCENT PRICE MADE LESS THAN $1000 FOR HIS WORK ON THE TITLE TRACK.

Jones' then-wife Peggy Lipton knew Price. The horror movie legend managed to record his part in two takes. Once the album got big, Price expressed frustration over his meager paycheck and said that Jackson had stopped taking his calls.

6. JACKSON WAS SUED FOR "WANNA BE STARTIN' SOMETHIN'."

Cameroon musician Manu Dibango recorded "Soul Makossa" in 1972. The song, sung in the Cameroonian language of Duala, elongated the phrase "mamako mamasa" as "ma ma ko/ma ma sa/ma ko ma ko sa." Jackson changed it to "ma ma se/ma ma sa/ma ma ku sa," but the similarity was obvious. A compensation arrangement was hammered out in an out-of-court settlement.

7. "BILLIE JEAN" WAS ABOUT ONE SPECIFIC GIRL.

Quincy Jones claimed that Jackson told him "Billie Jean" was based on a girl who climbed over his wall one morning and accused him of being the father of one of her twins. Jones wanted the singer to change the title to "Not My Lover" to avoid possible confusion with the song being about tennis player Billie Jean King.

8. "BILLIE JEAN" ALMOST KILLED MICHAEL.

In his autobiography, Jackson wrote about the time he was driving his Rolls-Royce down the Ventura Freeway during a recording session break. He was thinking about the song so much that he didn't notice the bottom of his car was on fire. A kid on a motorcycle warned him in time.

9. JACKSON ADMITTED TO DARYL HALL THAT HE RIPPED OFF HALL & OATES.

As Hall remembers it, Jackson approached him during the "We Are the World" recording and admitted to cribbing the bass line from "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" for "Billie Jean."

10. "BILLIE JEAN" WAS MIXED 91 TIMES.

Quincy Jones then requested, "'Let's go back and listen to mix number two,'" recording engineer Bruce Swedien said. "And we did, and it blew us all away! I had overmixed that song right into the pooper, so the mix that went onto the record was mix number two."

11. "THE GIRL IS MINE" CAME FROM A REQUEST FROM QUINCY JONES.

Jackson revealed during testimony that successfully fought a plagiarism allegation that the producer directed him to write a song about two men fighting over a girl. He later woke up in the middle of the night and sang the song into a tape recorder. Jones also later requested he add the rap verse.

12. "BEAT IT" WAS INSPIRED BY "MY SHARONA."

Jones told The Telegraph he wanted a "black version" of The Knack song.

13. EDDIE VAN HALEN PLAYED THE GUITAR SOLO ON "BEAT IT."

He did it while the rest of his band, Van Halen, was out of town, not thinking anybody in the group would ever know.

14. "HUMAN NATURE" WAS DISCOVERED BECAUSE TOTO DIDN'T GO CASSETTE SHOPPING.

David Paich worked on demos for Jones to potentially use for Thriller, sending him cassettes virtually every day with songs. One day, his then-roommate and Toto bandmate Steve Porcaro was tasked with recording Paich's demos onto a cassette. Porcaro reused one of his own tapes because they were out of blank cassettes. Jones didn't like the two songs of Paich's when he heard them, but he loved the next song that came on-Porcaro's early version of "Human Nature."

15. THE TITLE "P.Y.T. (PRETTY YOUNG THING)" CAME FROM PEGGY LIPTON'S LINGERIE.

Jones noticed his wife's lingerie said "pretty young things" on them, and tasked his songwriters to come up with lyrics for the title, "Pretty Young Thing: Tender Loving Care." Singer/songwriter James Ingram came up with the winning version.

16. THERE WERE SOME STRANGE RECORDING TECHNIQUES.

Bruce Swedien recalled recording some background vocals in the Westlake shower stall. The "Don't think twice!" lines in the second verse of "Billie Jean" was Jackson singing through a five-foot-long cardboard tube.

17. CBS RECORDS AND MTV CLASHED OVER THE "BILLIE JEAN" VIDEO.

In March 1983, Billboard Magazine noticed a sizeable delay between the video's delivery to the fledgling cable network and its first airing. MTV claimed they only played rock artists, but were accused by some-including publicly by Rick James -of being racist. CBS Records president Walter Yetnikoff threatened to pull all videos made by the label's artists off the network if they didn't play "Billie Jean." At first, the video ran two to three times a day for one month, before being put into heavy rotation for the next three months.

18. BLOODS AND CRIPS MADE CAMEOS IN THE "BEAT IT" VIDEO.

The video cost $150,000 to produce, and was directed by Bob Giraldi, even though "Billie Jean" director Steve Barron was initially set to direct it. Jackson and Barron intended to set the video on a slave ship, with Jackson as the slave master.

19. THE "THRILLER" MUSIC VIDEO COST $500,000.

The Showtime cable network footed $300,000 of the budget for the rights to first air the music video and the "making of" feature, with MTV paying the rest to broadcast it after Showtime. Jackson asked John Landis to direct the video after seeing his work on the movie An American Werewolf in London. "I want to turn into a monster," Jackson told Landis. "Can I do that?" Landis wrote the disclaimer that appears in the beginning of the video because Jehovah's Witnesses (a group which Jackson belonged to at the time) told the artist that "Thriller" endorsed Satanism.

20. THE "THRILLER" VIDEO PLAYED IN A MOVIE THEATER SO THAT IT COULD QUALIFY FOR AN OSCAR.

For one week in a movie theater in Westwood, California, Thriller served as the opening feature before showings of Fantasia (which didn't sit well with a lot of parents).

21. MANY FANS THOUGHT THE UPC BARCODE ON "THRILLER" WAS MICHAEL JACKSON'S HOME PHONE NUMBER.

The rumor spread so much that a hair studio in Bellevue, Washington received up to 50 phone calls per day. A woman in Youngstown, Ohio who also had the phone number said that while the kids that called were nice, some of the adults were "pretty rude and ignorant."

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21 Thrilling Facts About Michael Jackson's Thriller

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Michael Jackson's 1982 album Thriller needs no introduction, but here we are. It's the all-time best-selling album worldwide. It was also critically acclaimed, bestowed with a record-breaking eight Grammy Awards. It launched Michael Jackson into superstardom, and the artist-and the music industry-were never the same again.

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Martens, P. (2019). 25 'Thriller' facts. [online] latimes.com. Available at: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-web-thrillertrivia12feb12-story.html [Accessed 28 Feb. 2019].

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1. "Thriller," the biggest-selling album ever, wasn't the only Michael Jackson work released in November 1982. A few weeks before it was set to hit stores, MCA Records released an album of Jackson reading the story of "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial" and performing the original song "Someone in the Dark." The album promotion, which featured posters of Jackson and E.T. looking very friendly, angered CBS Records, which felt it was stealing the thunder from "Thriller." Lawsuits ensued. Both albums ended up winning Grammys the following year.

2. "Thriller's" phenomenal success led to a breaking down of traditional racial barriers on FM radio at the time. New York's WPLJ, a "white" station, played Jackson's "Beat It" because of Eddie Van Halen's appearance on it. The song caused a wave of protests from some listeners who didn't want "black" music on their station. MTV also had a reputation for favoring white performers at the time, and its heavy rotation of Jackson videos helped alleviate the criticism.

3. The music video of "Thriller" played in a Westwood theater for one week in 1983 to qualify for an Oscar nomination. It opened for Disney's "Fantasia," much to the dismay of unsuspecting parents.

4. After the success of the "Thriller" video, a Hollywood production company began serious work on turning "Billie Jean" into a feature film. (In 1985, Helen Slater starred in the teenage drama "The Legend of Billie Jean," although there is no connection.)

5. In 1984, the National Coalition on Television Violence classified more than half of 200 MTV videos surveyed as too violent, including the videos for Jackson's "Thriller" and "Say, Say, Say." Dr. Thomas Radecki, chairman of the coalition, was quoted as saying, "It's not hard to imagine young viewers after seeing 'Thriller' saying, 'Gee, if Michael Jackson can terrorize his girlfriend, why can't I do it too?' "

6. Brooke Shields was Jackson's date to the 1984 Grammys, when he won eight awards.

7. "Thriller" video makeup artist Rick Baker already had an Oscar on his resume. He won the award for best makeup in 1981 -- the first time the award was handed out -- for his work on "An American Werewolf in London."

8. Baker actually appears in the video: He's the zombie seen stumbling out of the mausoleum.

9. Dance choreographer Michael Peters also had a role as a zombie in "Thriller," and shared a Tony Award with Michael Bennett for his choreography work on Broadway's "Dreamgirls." Before his death in 1994, he was an advocate of adding a choreography category to the Academy Awards.

10. Jackson's girlfriend in the video, Ola Ray, was Playboy magazine's Miss June in 1980, telling the publication that her favorite entertainers were "Michael Jackson, Donna Summer, Ben Vereen, Emry Thomas." She also listed her turn-ons as "music, men, dancing and romancing, health and nature" and turnoffs as "waiting for something that never comes."

11. Just as Van Halen's guitar solo begins in "Beat It," there's a noise that sounds like someone knocking on a door. According to rock 'n' roll myth, the knock is someone walking into Van Halen's studio. Another story claims it's simply the sound of Van Halen knocking on his own guitar.

12. "Thriller's" opening cut, "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'," is also the longest track on the album, clocking in at over six minutes. The radio version, however, is about two minutes shorter.

13. The movie theater seen in the beginning of the video was also seen in director John Landis' "The Kentucky Fried Movie." The posters seen in the theater are for the movie "Schlock," also directed by Landis.

14. Jackson's disclaimer at the beginning of the video, in which he discounts any belief in the occult, was prompted by his status as a Jehovah's Witness at the time.

15. The 1988 movie "Return of the Living Dead Part II" features a zombie dressed as Michael Jackson.

16. Forrest J. Ackerman, creator of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, can be seen sitting behind Jackson in the theater at the beginning of the video.

17. The video that popularized Jackson's "Moonwalk," 1983's "Billie Jean," was directed by Steve Barron, but it may not be the clip he's best known for. That would be the live-action comic book treatment he gave to A-ha's "Take on Me."

18. The song "Thriller" was originally titled "Starlight."

19. Producer Quincy Jones wanted "Billie Jean" to be titled "Not My Lover," so people wouldn't think the song was about Billie Jean King.

20. During the "Thriller" era, Jackson's plastic surgery became noticeable. His face changed from the time the photo was taken for the album cover to the filming of the "Thriller" video.

21. Real gang members were brought it to be extras in the "Beat It" video.

22. Although "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' " was one of the biggest singles off "Thriller," no video was ever made for the song.

23. The man who wrote the song "Thriller," Rod Temperton, also wrote songs for Boyz II Men, Herbie Hancock, Karen Carpenter and Michael McDonald.

24. The "Thriller" album has sold more than 104 million copies.

25. At the height of the song's popularity, MTV would run the 14-minute "Thriller" video twice an hour.

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1. "Thriller," the biggest-selling album ever, wasn't the only Michael Jackson work released in November 1982. A few weeks before it was set to hit stores, MCA Records released an album of Jackson reading the story of "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial" and performing the original song "Someone in the Dark."

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Todd Leopold, C. (2019). Behind the scenes of Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'. [online] CNN. Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/2015/11/26/entertainment/gallery/tbt-behind-the-scenes-michael-jackson-thriller/index.html [Accessed 28 Feb. 2019].

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behind the scenes of michael jackson's 'thriller'

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Behind the scenes of Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'

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When Michael Jackson made the music video for "Thriller," he was the biggest star in the world. A book chronicles the making of the groundbreaking film.

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IMDb. (2019). The Making of 'Thriller' (Video 1983). [online] Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0242682/ [Accessed 28 Feb. 2019].

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Directed by Jerry Kramer. With Michael Jackson, John Landis, Rick Baker, Kelly Kimball. From Michael Jackson we take a look behind the "Thrills" of Thriller

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Wyman, B., Chotiner, I., Cassidy, J., Coll, S., Davidson, A., Knight, S., Chotiner, I. and Cassidy, J. (2019). Did “Thriller” Really Sell a Hundred Million Copies?. [online] The New Yorker. Available at: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/did-thriller-really-sell-a-hundred-million-copies [Accessed 28 Feb. 2019].

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In Michael Jackson's New York Times obituary, the singer is credited with selling a hundred million copies of his most popular album, "Thriller"-and with selling an "estimated" seven hundred and fifty million records worldwide over his career. In a new book on Jackson, "Untouchable," the writer Randall Sullivan repeats the hundred-million figure for "Thriller." And earlier this year, fan sites were a buzzing with the news that the Michael Jackson estate had "confirmed" that Jackson had sold a total of a billion records.

Music-industry sales figures are a complex subject, but this doesn't excuse the fact that they are often exaggerated for public consumption. The numbers surrounding Jackson have always been particularly outlandish. I was amused, for example, while reading a memoir by Jackson's record producer, Quincy Jones, "Q on Producing," to see that "Thriller" had sold a hundred million copies-and then, a few pages later, that it had sold a hundred and twenty million. I was sure by the end up of the book it would have risen to a hundred and fifty million. As for that billion figure, that came from a press release for Jackson's estate a couple of years ago, which asserted, in passing and with no documentation, that the singer had sold an "estimated" billion records.

Let's look at facts, starting with "Thriller." When you hear the words "platinum" and "gold" in relation to record sales, they are based on certifications from the Record Industry Association of America, known as the R.I.A.A. The group audits shipments of CDs (and, in the past, albums and cassettes), and gives those awards based on what's boxed up and trucked out of the pressing plants. Gold represents five hundred thousand units shipped, and platinum a million. Again, that's shipped, not actually sold. "Thriller" has been certified platinum in the United States twenty-nine times as of 2009. (At the numbers Jackson has sold over the past nearly thirty years, the difference between units sold and shipped wouldn't be that large. But in the pre-digital era, it was pretty common for an album that had sold, say, eight hundred thousand to get certified platinum-and then have the extra two hundred thousand returned unsold to the label and end up in the cutout bins.)

In the nineteen-seventies and eighties, the famous Billboard charts were compiled by phone surveys of record-store employees, who were just asked "what was selling." (I was one of them!) Since 1991, album sales in the U.S. have been counted by a company called SoundScan, which records the actual purchases of CDs in sales in actual stores. SoundScan showed that the traditional charts had been based on many misconceptions. We saw that overlooked genres like country and gospel were ringing up massive sales. We also learned that we didn't have an accurate picture of buying patterns. Before SoundScan, it was extremely rare for an album to début at No. 1 on the charts. After we had the real figures, we saw that it was, in fact, routine. To this day, anticipated releases by major stars open at No. 1 and typically have their highest sales that first week.

For "Thriller," we have R.I.A.A. data as of 2009, representing at least twenty-nine million albums. How about since Jackson died? Billboard, citing SoundScan figures, reported two years after Jackson's death that "Thriller" had sold about two million more. It's still selling, so at this point it's safe to say it's sold in the neighborhood of thirty-two million or so in the United States. But what about overseas? Could Jackson have sold another seventy million albums in other countries? It's doubtful. I occasionally consult with a French music fan, Guillaume Vieira, who, in his off hours as a web developer, obsessively collects sales news from labels and official industry statements all over the globe. He charts the figures carefully, culls more data from a network of sources in the industry in various countries, and analyzes national sales patterns to fill in the blanks. I have no way of checking all of his figures, of course, but his methodology strikes me as more persuasive than the self-serving assertions of record labels.

Vieira totals up fifteen million copies of "Thriller" sold in Europe, three million in Asia, and so forth-and finds that Jackson might have sold an additional thirty-five million or so around the globe. (Here are some of his 2009 data points-before Jackson's death-in an exhaustive post written under the nom de data MJ Dangerous. Vieira's research is now being collected at a site called Fan of Music.) For "Thriller" to have sold anything close to a hundred million copies, there would have to be another thirty-five to forty million in sales out there that somehow have eluded official notice. That amount in itself would be as much as one of the biggest-selling albums of all time. The hundred-million figure is in all likelihood a lot of hooey.

So how many records-albums, singles, and downloads-did Jackson sell in total? A tougher question. Classic-era Motown refused to have its sales audited by the industry, so there are no official gold and platinum figures from this era. Vieira says that the Jackson 5 sold a bit less than fifty million singles and fifty million albums for the label. Jackson had a solo career at Motown (with hits like "Ben" and "Got To Be There") and then further success with his brothers on Epic records, recording as the Jacksons. Then came his momentous adult solo career, beginning with the albums "Off the Wall" and "Thriller."

Did Jackson sell a billion records, or even seven hundred and fifty million? Sure, "Thriller" sold a lot of copies, but Jackson recorded infrequently, and his later albums sold nowhere near what "Thriller" did. We know from SoundScan figures that Jackson was selling, on average, roughly a million albums a year in the nineteen-nineties and the aughts in the U.S.-and that includes greatest-hits albums, like the four-million-selling "Number Ones." That's not nothing, but it's not the sort of thing that adds up to a billion records over time.

Vieira's data collection encompasses sales of albums, singles, videos, ringtones, and digital downloads, all the way back to Jackson's time with the Jackson 5. He found that, around the time Jackson died, Jackson had sold about four hundred million records, give or take. Since Jackson's death, he's moved some forty million albums and fifty million song downloads, plus a lot of DVDs and ringtones for a total, more or less, of roughly five hundred and fifteen million sold. That's about the same as the five hundred million-plus credited to the Beatles but less than any of the cumulative totals of the individual Beatles, Ringo included. (Paul McCartney, Vieira says, has total sales of some six hundred and seventy million.)

I am always happy to exchange e-mails with Vieira, so I asked him what, based on his research, the other best-selling albums worldwide were. Here's his list:

1. Michael Jackson, "Thriller": 66,200,000

2. Soundtrack, "Grease": 44,700,000

3. Pink Floyd, "The Dark Side of the Moon": 44,200,000

4. Whitney Houston et al., "The Bodyguard": 38,600,000

5. The Bee Gees at al., "Saturday Night Fever": 37,200,000

6. The Eagles, "Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975": 36,900,000

7. Bob Marley, "Legend": 36,800,000

8. Led Zeppelin, "IV": 35,700,000

9. AC/DC, "Back in Black": 35,700,000

10. Shania Twain, "Come on Over": 35,400,000

11. Michael Jackson, "Bad": 34,700,000

12. Soundtrack, "Dirty Dancing": 33,300,000

13. Dire Straits, "Brothers in Arms": 33,200,000

14. Alanis Morissette, "Jagged Little Pill": 33,200,000

15. Fleetwood Mac, "Rumours": 33,000,000

16. The Beatles, "1": 32,400,000

17. Pink Floyd, "The Wall": 31,900,000

18. ABBA, "Gold": 31,400,000

19. Guns N' Roses, "Appetite for Destruction": 30,800,000

20. Simon & Garfunkel, "Greatest Hits": 30,700,000

21. Queen, "Greatest Hits": 30,600,000

22. Celine Dion, "Let's Talk About Love": 30,300,000

23. Michael Jackson, "Dangerous": 30,200,000

24. Celine Dion, "Falling into You": 30,200,000

25. The Eagles, "Hotel California": 30,000,000

26. Bruce Springsteen, "Born in the U.S.A.": 29,100,000

27. Metallica, "Metallica": 28,900,000

28. Meat Loaf, "Bat Out of Hell": 28,700,000

29. Soundtrack, "Titanic": 28,500,000

30. The Beatles, "Abbey Road": 28,300,000

The "Grease" soundtrack is a perennial seller. Along with the ever-popular "The Dark Side of the Moon," those two albums seem safe at the No. 2 and 3 slots. Will they, and "Thriller," be there forever? The digital era has also brought back the availability of the single; music fans no longer have to shell out for the whole album when they just want a song or two. It's hard to see how numbers like those can be matched. Vieira takes a different view:

Although I would be contradicted by many on that point, yes, it is still easily possible to sell as many records as "Thriller," "D.S.O.T.M.," or "Grease." Those albums are blockbusters-albums that reach groundbreaking sales, e.g. uncommon sales given the market. If we look at the years 1975 to 2005, the worst year for album sales worldwide was 1982-the year "Thriller" was released. On the other side, if you look at best-selling albums released on each of those years, the weakest is 2001's top seller (Shakira's "Laundry Service," with less than twelve million), despite the biggest year for album sales of all time being... 2001.

It means that market size has little to do with best-sellers. Market size is mostly dependent on the number of regular buyers, which is massively low at the moment. But blockbusters find their limits on the number of potential buyers (not regular ones), which is at an all-time high at the moment. Adele ended up selling exactly the same as "Saturday Night Fever" did when it was released, slightly more than "Grease," and over three times more than what "D.S.O.T.M." sold during its first two years.

What about China or India, I asked-could a Jackson-size phenom emerge from either country, each with a population far bigger than that of the United States?

Definitely nothing crazy happening in China and India. Despite massive number of inhabitants their markets are pretty weak, similar to Australia or lower.

In the golden age of the nineties, some local acts reached sales of three or four million in China, like their "local Michael Jackson" Jacky Cheung, with "The Goodbye Kiss" (arguably the best-selling album ever in continental Asia), and around two million in India, but those are the best-selling albums ever there.

I can see Adele selling another thirty million albums over the next twenty years and coming up close to "Grease" or "D.S.O.T.M." But leaving aside some astonishing phenomenon that sweeps the world, Jackson's "Thriller" will forever remain in its position at No. 1-and it doesn't need for its sales to be exaggerated to stay there.
Bill Wyman, who recently wrote about Michael Jackson for the magazine, is the former arts editor of Salon.com and National Public Radio. Photograph by Terry Lott/Sony Music Archive/Getty.

Bill Wyman is the former arts editor of Salon and National Public Radio.
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Did "Thriller" Really Sell a Hundred Million Copies?

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In Michael Jackson's New York Times obituary, the singer is credited with selling a hundred million copies of his most popular album, "Thriller"-and with selling an "estimated" seven hundred and fifty million records worldwide over his career. In a new book on Jackson, "Untouchable," the writer Randall Sullivan repeats the hundred-million figure for "Thriller."

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the Guardian. (2019). John Landis on the making of Michael Jackson’s Thriller: ‘I was adamant he couldn’t look too hideous’. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/aug/31/john-landis-on-the-making-of-michael-jacksons-thriller-i-was-adamant-he-couldnt-look-too-hideous [Accessed 28 Feb. 2019].

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John Landis on the making of Michael Jackson's Thriller: 'I was adamant he couldn't look too hideous'

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Thriller had been out for a year when the king of pop asked the director of An American Werewolf in London to direct a video for its title track. The result helped turn an already huge record into the biggest ever

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Michael Jackson - Thriller (Official 4K Video)

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where filming took place for the music video

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where filming took place for the music video

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Wedding-spot.com. (2019). Millennium Biltmore Hotel Los Angeles Weddings | Get Prices for Wedding Venues in CA. [online] Available at: https://www.wedding-spot.com/venue/759/Millennium-Biltmore-Hotel-Los-Angeles/ [Accessed 20 Feb. 2019].

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information on the choreographers

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Hearthrob McHearthrobberson Ed Sheeran has been on a bit of a dance kick recently. A few weeks ago, the charming Brit featured Phillip Chbeeb in the video for his hit song "Don't," with Chbeeb popping and locking his way up the social ladder. Yesterday, Sheeran released another dance-y video, this time for his latest single, "Thinking Out Loud." Brace yourselves, ladies: Turns out he's got some pretty serious moves himself.

Choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon D'umo (naturally) and co-starring "So You Think You Can Dance" Season 10 alum Brittany Cherry, the vid is swoonily romantic: Sheeran and Cherry waltz and tango and swirl all over a beautiful candlelit ballroom. Things get a little steamy...

...and Sheeran has a few chances to show off his impressive partnering skills:

Eat your heart out, "Dancing with the Stars" celebs. And for any doubters out there, NappyTabs took to Twitter to confirm that this video is all Ed, all the time-no body doubles. Enjoy!

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Hearthrob McHearthrobberson Ed Sheeran has been on a bit of a dance kick recently. A few weeks ago, the charming Brit featured Phillip Chbeeb in the video for his hit song "Don't," with Chbeeb popping and locking his way up the social ladder. Yesterday, Sheeran released another dance-y video, this t...

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Sorry, Edlor fans, but I'm about to ruin all of your wildest fantasies. You might have gotten excited Tuesday morning when Taylor Swift tweeted a link to Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud" video, knowing as you do that it is one of the greatest love songs off his album, x, and hoping to read some sort of romantic intent out of it. Sadly, despite the fact that both as a single and as a music video, "Thinking Out Loud" is the most romantic thing ever, it shouldn't be used as evidence that Sheeran and Swift were meant to be. Why? Shreeran's "Thinking Out Loud" is about his girlfriend back home and it's not Swift.

According to numerous reports, he is dating a girl who inspired the song, a "girl from home". Popular speculation is that the woman dating Sheeran is named Athina Andrelos, who has pictures of him on her Instagram and whose Twitter bio lined up with his description of his mysterious lady love. "She was the tour manager for a girl that was my opening act, and now she doesn't work in music anymore, she works for a chef," Sheeran told Seventeen in June 2014. He is never short of praise when the conversation turns to the girlfriend that he still refuses to actually name, but if "Thinking Out Loud" is really inspired by her then there might be an engagement in our future.

Sheeran pointed to "Thinking Out Loud" as a "walking down the aisle song" and the music video is all kinds of romantic. He spent hours upon hours rehearsing the routine, which was shot all at once from start to finish, and the video is a reflection of that. Who knew he could dance, let alone complete the twirls and dips and occasional lifts of his dance partner that he shows off in the video? And, just in case you didn't get the romance from the intimate dance, Sheeran and his partner make sure to lie down in the glow of two spotlights angled to form a heart. It's the music video equivalent of six John Hughes movies, is my point. It's the music video equivalent of eight Nicholas Sparks movies. It's the music video equivalent of getting down on one knees and proposing to me - or, uh, I mean, whoever is watching.

He and possibly-Andrelos are rumored to have been dating for around a year by now, but does "Thinking Out Loud" and its accompanying music video mean that Sheeran is thinking marriage? Not necessarily. After all, he said that it was inspired by her, not completely about her. Planning their wedding via song after only a few months of dating would probably have been jumping the gun and Sheeran has been planning and training for his music video since about when the single came out. At this point, the only thing we know for sure is that Sheeran has at least wooed all of his fans into falling in love with him all over again. And with Swift's endorsement, there's an entire world of her own fans that this video is probably melting into a puddle of love-goo as we speak.

Check out the video below.
Image: YouTube

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Who Is "Thinking Out Loud" Really About?

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Sorry, Edlor fans, but I'm about to ruin all of your wildest fantasies. You might have gotten excited Tuesday morning when Taylor Swift tweeted a link to Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud" video, knowing as you do that it is one of the greatest love...

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behind the scenes

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Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud (Behind The Scenes)

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Thanks so much for all your love on my video for 'Thinking Out Loud', here's a look behind the scenes of the shoot. If you haven't caught the video yet then you can click here to watch it: http://youtu.be/lp-EO5I60KA Subscribe to my channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribeToEdSheeran Hear the rest of my new album, 'x': http://bit.ly/XOfficialPlaylist Follow me on...

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Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud (Official Music Video)

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