Michael Jackson’s Intense Focus During the Creation of “Billie Jean”
January 02, 2025
“Billie Jean” was released on this date in 1983, the second single from the “Thriller” album. Michael says he knew it was going to be a hit but that he was maybe a little too focused on making the song: “One day during a break in a recording session I was riding down the Ventura Freeway with Nelson Hayes, who was working with me at the time. ‘Billie Jean’ was going around in my head and that’s all I was thinking about. We were getting off the freeway when a kid on a motorcycle pulls up to us and says, ‘Your car’s on fire’. But I was so absorbed by this tune floating in my head that I didn’t even focus on the awful possibilities until later.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi_XLOBDo_Y