Thriller

"Thriller" is a song recorded by American recording artist Michael Jackson, composed by Rod Temperton, and produced by Quincy Jones. It is the seventh and final single from his sixth studio album Thriller. It was released on January 23, 1984 by Epic Records. The song has appeared on multiple greatest hits compilation albums from Jackson, including HIStory: Past, Present, and Future, Book I (1995), Number Ones (2003), The Essential Michael Jackson (2005), and Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009). The song, which has a voice-over from actor Vincent Price, had originally been titled "Starlight." The song's instruments include a bassline and synthesizer. In the song, sound effects such as a creaking door, thunder, feet walking on wooden planks, winds and howling dogs can be heard, and the lyrics contain frightening themes and elements. "Thriller" received positive reviews from critics, though the song was outshone by its music video. "Thriller" became Jackson's seventh top-ten single on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart from the album, while reaching the top of the charts in France and Belgium and the top ten in other countries. "Thriller" was adapted into a highly successful music video, known independently as Michael Jackson's Thriller. At fourteen minutes the video is substantially longer than the song, which ties together a narrative featuring Jackson and actress Ola Ray in a setting heavily inspired by horror films of the 1950s. In the video's most iconic scene, Jackson leads other actors costumed as zombies in a choreographed dance routine. Though it garnered some criticism for its occult theme and violent imagery, the video was immediately popular and received high critical acclaim, being nominated for six MTV Video Music Awards in 1984 and winning three. In 2009 it was added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, the first music video ever selected. "Thriller" has been covered by multiple recording artists since its release in 1984, including Henry Mancini (with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra), Ian Brown, Ten Masked Men, and Imogen Heap.

[Verse 1: Michael Jackson] It's close to midnight Something evil's lurking in the dark Under the moonlight You see a sight that almost stops your heart You try to scream But terror takes the sound before you make it You start to freeze As horror looks you right between your eyes You're paralyzed [Chorus 1: Michael Jackson] 'Cause this is thriller Thriller night And no one's gonna save you From the beast about to strike You know it's thriller Thriller night You're fighting for your life Inside a killer Thriller tonight, yeah, ooh [Verse 2: Michael Jackson] You hear the door slam And realize there's nowhere left to run You feel the cold hand And wonder if you'll ever see the sun You close your eyes And hope that this is just imagination Girl, but all the while You hear a creature creeping up behind You're out of time [Chorus 2: Michael Jackson] 'Cause this is thriller, thriller night There ain't no second chance Against the thing with 40 eyes, girl (Ooh, ooh) Thriller, thriller night You're fighting for your life Inside a killer, thriller tonight [Bridge: Michael Jackson] Night creatures call And the dead start to walk in their masquerade There's no escaping the jaws of the alien this time They're open wide This is the end of your life, ooh [Verse 3: Michael Jackson] They're out to get you There's demons closing in on every side, ooh They will possess you Unless you change that number on your dial Now is the time For you and I to cuddle close together, yeah All through the night I'll save you from the terror on the screen I'll make you see [Chorus 3: Michael Jackson] That this is thriller, thriller night 'Cause I can thrill you more Than any ghoul would ever dare try Thriller, thriller night So let me hold you tight And share a killer, thriller, chiller Thriller here tonight 'Cause this is thriller, thriller night Girl, I can thrill you more Than any ghoul would ever dare try (Ooh, ooh) Thriller, thriller night So let me hold you tight And share a killer, thriller I'm gonna thrill you tonight [Outro: Vincent Price & Michael Jackson] Darkness falls across the land The midnight hour is close at hand Creatures crawl in search of blood To terrorize y'all's neighborhood I'm gonna thrill you tonight And whosoever shall be found Without the soul for getting down Must stand and face the hounds of hell And rot inside a corpse's shell I'm gonna thrill you tonight (Thriller, ooh, thriller) I'm gonna thrill you tonight (Thriller night, thriller) I'm gonna thrill you tonight Ooh, babe, I'm gonna thrill you tonight Thriller night, babe The foulest stench is in the air The funk of 40 thousand years (Thriller night, thriller) And grisly ghouls from every tomb Are closing in to seal your doom And though you fight to stay alive Your body starts to shiver (I'm gonna thrill you tonight) For no mere mortal can resist The evil of the thriller! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!