00:00Did you know that the song Thriller was originally called Starlight?
00:06The most iconic song on the album was completely different.
00:10But that wasn't an accident, it was the result of an obsession.
00:13It all began in the early 1980s.
00:16After the Grammys, Michael Jackson felt disappointed.
00:18Although Off The Wall had been a huge success,
00:21He only received one Grammy for his single Don't Stop It Get Enough.
00:24That night he vowed that his next album would be so big that no one could ignore it.
00:28In 1982, Michael entered the studio determined to make his new album.
00:33Alongside producer Quincy Jones and sound engineer Bruce Whedon,
00:36He turned that idea into an obsession.
00:38Each song would have to be a hit.
00:40To achieve this, they listened to nearly 800 demos.
00:43Quincy was clear that they needed something that would break the pop mold,
00:46a song with rock energy.
00:48Quincy thought of someone very specific, Eddie Van Halen.
00:54Quincy called Eddie, but Eddie thought it was a joke.
00:57And when she hung up on the third call, she understood that it was all real.
01:01The next day he showed up at Westlake Studios in Hollywood,
01:04And without charging a single dollar, he recorded one of the most epic solos in history.
01:12But there was something more behind that sound.
01:15Almost the entire Totó band was involved in the album.
01:17Even Steve Porcaro composed this gem.
01:24Another key moment was the participation of Paul McCartney,
01:27who, along with Michael, recorded The Girl Is Mine.
01:37The title track of the album, Thriller,
01:40composed by Rob Temperton,
01:41It featured the voice of actor Vincent Price.
01:50Just as the album was taking shape,
01:52Michael and Quincy stopped dead in their tracks.
01:54The songs didn't sound good, so they did the unthinkable.
01:58They remixed each song from scratch.
02:00Weeks spent obsessing over every detail,
02:02until the mixture was perfect.
02:05Thriller was released on November 30, 1982,
02:07And nothing was ever the same again.
02:09It sold over 70 million copies,
02:11and forced MTV to tear down its racial barriers forever.
02:15In 1984, Michael returned to the Grammys.
02:18That night, he broke the record,
02:20and took home 8 awards.
02:21He proved that when you turn obsession into fuel,
02:24You can change history.
02:26Do you think that in this era of streaming,
02:27Will any artist be able to break this record?
02:30Or will Michael Jackson be king forever?
