King of Pop by Michael Jackson
King of Pop is a compilation album by American recording artist Michael Jackson released in commemoration of Michael Jackson's 50th birthday. The album differs significantly in each country it was released because fan voting was employed to determine the songs for each country's version. The album's title comes from the title Jackson acquired approximately 20 years earlier. The album's launch was made public on June 20, 2008 with the official announcement of the Australian version. The first release came with the German edition (which is identical to the Swiss edition) on August 22, 2008. Fans in countries where Sony BMG operates national offices were given the opportunity to vote for songs from a list of Jackson's back catalogue to be included in their country's version of the album. Aside from the tracks selected by fans, a megamix of five songs from the Thriller album by Jason Nevins was also included in the pool. The album has been released in a total of 26 countries. Each pool list and release date differed slightly by country. "Billie Jean" is the only song to appear on all versions of the album. There has been no announcement of a release in North America.
Although his 1979 multi-platinum breakthrough, <i>Off the Wall</i>, was already Michael Jackson’s fifth solo album—after his bro-band run with the Jackson 5 and then The Jacksons—it didn’t achieve the pop-crossover goals that the singer desperately wanted. So, in true all-conquering fashion, the future King of Pop set out to beat himself when <i>Thriller</i> was released on 30 November 1982. And with his trusted producer Quincy Jones back behind the boards, Jackson—just 24 years old—delivered his crowning achievement, one that even he would fail to top. <i>Thriller</i> held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Album charts for 37 nonconsecutive weeks, and spawned seven singles—all of them smashes, including the chart-toppers “Billie Jean” and “Beat It”. <i>Thriller</i> would then sweep the Grammys, and eventually become one of the best-selling albums of all time. Most crucially, it defined the modern pop blockbuster, creating a blueprint for everyone from Usher and Justin Timberlake to Beyoncé, and, yes, his own baby sis, Janet Jackson. From the Paul McCartney-blessed pop of the hit first single “The Girl is Mine” to the Eddie Van Halen-revved head-banging of “Beat It”, Jackson’s crossover moves opened up the eyes and ears of the industry—and audiences around the world—to what music could sound, look and feel like if we blurred those old colour lines. “Billie Jean” is a gripping psycho-study of the paranoia and persecution that the superstar was already feeling—yet it still maintains the mysterious allure of an artist who we never really got to know. Meanwhile, the album’s opening throwdown, “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” is Jackson at his fiercest and funkiest, picking up right where <i>Off the Wall</i> left off—and shoring up his R&B bona fides. Then there’s the title track, a spooky spectacular that’s impossible to separate from its iconic video—and that still thrills us every single Halloween.
