In honor of Michael Jackson, relive his legacy with these iconic music videos
Nine years since his death, the legacy of Michael Jackson still lives on. A true artist and an all-around performer, Jackson greatly changed the landscape of pop music through his long and impressive list of life’s works. It’s safe to say that to this day, his impact on pop music remains unmatched. We remember him for his songs, iconic dance moves, and revolutionary fashion, among others.
Everything he does, he gives his 100 percent. His live performances are epic, but his music videos are a league of their own, too. Making them into genuine works of art, his videos are more like short films, and are remembered just as much as the songs they accompany. In honor of the one and only King of Pop’s 60th birthday, we relive his legacy by listing down some of his most iconic music videos.
“Billie Jean”
Th music video that changed the game, “Billie Jean” is historic for several reasons. It was the first music video from a Black artist that MTV featured repetitively on their channel, which led to the inclusion of several other African American artists to be featured on the music platform. In 1992, “Billie Jean” was inducted into the Music Video Producers Hall of Fame.
“Bad”
Directed by none other than Martin Scorsese, “Bad” tackled serious issues on race in the tumultuous ’80s. Jackson starred alongside a young Wesley Snipes in this production that featured a tense confrontation between the two and, of course, an elaborate dance number by Jackson. Behind the scenes, Scorsese shared on Rolling Stone: “We went over schedule; it was two and a half weeks of the dance sequence alone. I was mesmerized by it. The video monitor made us all dancers.”
“Smooth Criminal”
Taking inspiration from classic noir movies, the video’s narrative centers on a crime story. His famous gravity-defying forward lean dance move, which he later patented, made its first appearance here. While it was originally executed with the help of wires and affixing his heels on the ground, it was such a favorite that he began performing it live.
“Beat It”
This award-winning music video, which Jackson himself produced, featured his iconic red leather jacket and his trademark movie-musical type of choreography. Both the track and music video was one of his first works that ultimately catapulted his name to global superstardom, effectively cementing his status as a pop icon.
“Thriller”
He has a long list of music video masterpieces, but many will agree this was his best. A cult favorite, “Thriller” was responsible for giving kids nightmares, and giving your parents the Thriller fever aka dancing the choreographed zombie moves whenever the song plays (It was the OG viral dance, really). Sure, there’s a lot going on, but everything about this Grammy-winning video is literally perfect. Fight me.
Originally published on Preen on Aug. 30, 2018
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