This article is about the album. You may have been looking for the movie.
Thriller 40 is the 40th anniversary edition reissue of American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson's sixth studio album Thriller, the best-selling album of all time. It was released through Epic Records on November 18, 2022, and is the first album in five years under the artist's name since the release of 2017's Scream compilation.
Background[]
Celebration of the 40th anniversary of Thriller first began on May 15, 2022, with Maxwell singing "The Lady In My Life" during the 2022 Billboard Music Awards. The album was announced a day later. On September 8 of the same year, the official @michaeljackson account on Instagram started teasing the previously unreleased songs that would end up on Thriller 40, starting with "Behind the Mask" and finishing with "Who Do You Know".
Artwork[]
Original Thriller 40 artwork
The initially revealed cover art for Thriller 40 featured the standard Thriller cover (2016 remaster), this time with a new logo, featuring Jackson's and the album's names covering the number of the anniversary. The artwork and especially the logo were criticized by fans around the world over the product's quality, stating it looks "cheap". In response, the Michael Jackson Estate completely changed the album's artwork, now debuting a gray and sparkly cover, while also bringing back the classic Thriller logo.
The vinyl releases however, include a completely different artwork, including Michael from the Dick Zimmerman photoshoot outtakes on a black background. This cover also includes the original logo.
Release[]
The album was released on November 18, 2022. The record received CD, vinyl and streaming releases. The latter doesn't include any of the previously unreleased songs and only features the original nine tracks, unlike the CD, which has both. The streaming edition exclusively features bonus tracks, such as the "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" demo, "Beat It" demo or the 2008 remixes originating from Thriller 25. On the same day, a streaming exclusive version of Thriller with Dolby Atmos released on Apple Music and Amazon Music. For the anniversary, music videos for "Beat It" and "Thriller" were also remastered in 4K on YouTube.[1][2]
Track list[]
| Disc 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" | 6:03 |
| 2. | "Baby Be Mine" | 4:20 |
| 3. | "The Girl Is Mine" (featuring Paul McCartney) | 3:42 |
| 4. | "Thriller" | 5:57 |
| 5. | "Beat It" | 4:18 |
| 6. | "Billie Jean" | 4:54 |
| 7. | "Human Nature" | 4:06 |
| 8. | "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" | 3:59 |
| 9. | "The Lady in My Life" | 5:00 |
| Total length: | 42:16 | |
| Disc 2 | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 10. | "Starlight" | 5:03 |
| 11. | "Got the Hots" | 4:25 |
| 12. | "Who Do You Know" | 5:22 |
| 13. | "Carousel" | 3:39 |
| 14. | "Behind the Mask (Mike's Mix [Demo])" | 5:00 |
| 15. | "Can't Get Outta the Rain" | 4:06 |
| 16. | "The Toy" | 3:04 |
| 17. | "Sunset Driver" | 4:02 |
| 18. | "What a Lovely Way to Go" | 3:55 |
| 19. | "She's Trouble" | 4:12 |
| Total length: | 1:13:21 | |
Cut songs[]
Documentary[]
Thriller 40 Official Trailer - SHOWTIME
Along with the album's release, a documentary on making of Thriller was made, directed by Nelson George. The film had a one-time-only screening in cinemas around the world on November 30, 2022 and featured a lot of previously unseen footage from behind the scenes, including making of the music videos, HD footage of the Victory Tour etc. The movie was released on Showtime, Paramount+ streaming services and aired on television around the world on December 2, 2023.
- Main article: Thriller 40 (film)
Reception[]
Initial reactions from fans were mixed, with a lot criticizing the album's artwork, logo, merch and the estate giving too little info on the release. After announcing all previously unreleased songs for disc 2, fans weren't happy with the fact, that a lot of the songs were already heard by them over the years through previous official releases or online leaks.
Trivia[]
- Thriller 40 marks the third reissue of the original record, following the 2001 special edition and Thriller 25.