Michael Jackson Shares What It Was Like In May 1983, The Rise of “Thriller Mania”
May 16, 2025
By mid-May 1983 “Thriller Mania” was reaching new heights, and on this date Michael’s “Billie Jean” performance on the Motown 25th anniversary special was broadcast to almost 50 million people, driving even more of a frenzy. Michael’s remarks about that period: “We released ‘Beat It’ as a single while ‘Billie Jean’ was still at number one. CBS screamed, “You’re crazy. This will kill ‘Billie Jean’” But Frank [DiLeo] told them not to worry, that both songs would be number one and both would be in the Top 10 at the same time. They were. By the spring of 1983, it was clear the album was going to go crazy. Over the top. Every time they released another single, sales of the album would go even higher.”