Billie Jean

Filmed at Raleigh and Red Studios, and shot on 16mm film, this is Michael Jackson's music video and short film for "Billie Jean" from his album Thriller. In it, Jackson dances and fools a paparazzo. While "Billie Jean" is the second single from Thriller after "The Girl Is Mine", it's the first music video accompanying the album. It's also his second effort at making a music video also become a narrative short film, which Jackson first accomplished with The Triumph two years earlier, writing the short film for his group, The Jacksons. Billie Jean is considered the video that brought MTV to mainstream attention. The network's executives originally felt black music was not "rock" enough but Jackson's unique and pioneering approach to the music video was so effective that Billie Jean became the first video by a black artist to air on heavy rotation on MTV. It's one of many instances where Jackson broke a racial barrier. The song "Billie Jean" became his fourth U.S. Hot 100 Number 1 hit.