Michael Jackson performs during the halftime show of Super Bowl XXVII at the Rose Bowl on Jan. 31, 1993 in Pasadena, California. Photo: TNS
The “King of Pop” is still scaring his way up the charts all these years later.
Michael Jackson’s Thriller returned to the Billboard charts – 40 years after it was officially released as a single.
Each October, the Quincy Jones-produced, Rod Temperton-penned funk/R&B song – featuring lyrics made for its enduring movie-like music video – becomes an annual sensation during the Halloween season.
On the latest Billboard Hot 100 chart, Thriller reached the No. 21 spot. It got 14.5 million US streams, 10.9 million radio airplay audience impressions and 5,000 downloads for the week ending Nov 2.
According to Billboard, this year marks the sixth straight year in which Thriller has reentered the Hot 100.
The track peaked at No. 4 during its initial chart run in 1984.
Its 1983 music video, directed by John Landis, has been deemed the most influential of its time because it mixed filmmaking and music.
With a reported US$500,000 production – more than 10 times the cost of the average video at the time – Thriller was the first music video to be inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library Of Congress in 2009.
The nearly 14-minute clip, which also starred model Ola Ray, was among recognised works that are “culturally, historically or esthetically” significant.
Other Halloween-sparked tracks that popped on this week’s Hot 100 chart include Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers’ Monster Mash at No. 38 and Ray Parker Jr.’s Ghostbusters theme song at No. 45.
This Is Halloween, featured on the soundtrack of Tim Burton’s classic 1993 stop-motion animated film, The Nightmare Before Christmas, came in at No. 41.
The ranking marks the first song from the soundtrack to reach the Hot 100. – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service
