1984:The Year of The Thriller
Madonna,Prince and Lionel Richie were among a plethora of artists at the top of the charts in 1984 but none of them topped the King of Pop. Two years after the release of his best selling album “Thriller” Michael Jackson was without a doubt the biggest star in the world. In ’84 alone MJ captured eight Grammys and eight American Music Awards, (that’s more than most artists receive in their entire career) but those are only a few awards that Michael received that year, let’s take a look at the complete list.
The Sun (UK Newspaper) Best Video,Thriller
The Sun (UK Newspaper) Best Male Singer
Presidential Special Achievement Award
People’s Choice Awards:Favorite Video,Thriller
People’s Choice Awards:Best All Around Entertainer
NARM(National Association of Recording Merchandisers) Best Home Video,”The Making of Thriller”
NARM:Best Selling Single,Billie Jean
NARM:Best Selling Album,Thriller
NARM:Gift of Music Award
NAACP Image Awards:H Claude Hudson Medal of Freedom
MTV Music Video Awards:Best Choreography,Thriller
MTV Music Video Awards:Viewers Choice Award,Thriller
MTV Music Awards:Best Overall Video,Thriller
Grammy Awards:Best Recording for Children, “ET The Extra Terrestrial album”
Grammy Awards:Best New R&B Song,Billie Jean
Grammy Awards:Best Male R&B Vocal Performance,Billie Jean
Grammy Awards:Best Male Rock Vocal Performance,Beat It
Grammy Awards:Producer of The Year (with Quincy Jones)
Grammy Awards:Best Male Pop Performance,Thriller
Grammy Awards:Record of The Year,Beat It
Grammy Awards:Album of The Year,Thriller
Ebony Magazine Award:Fashion Foundation of America (FFA) America’s Best Dressed Man Award
Crystal Globe Awards:Exceeding Record Sales over 5 million outside the U.S.
Canadian Black Music Awards:Top International Single,Billie Jean
Canadian Black Music Awards:Top International Album,Thriller
Canadian Black Music Awards:Entertainer of The Year
Canadian Black Music Awards:Top Male Vocalist
The Annual Black Gold Awards:Best Album of The Year,Thriller
The Annual Black Gold Awards:Best Single Record of The Year,Billie Jean
The Annual Black Gold Awards:Best Video Performance, Beat It
The Annual Black Gold Awards:Top Male Vocalist
Billboard Magazine’s Year End Awards:Number 6 Top Black Artist
Billboard Magazine’s Year End Awards:Number 3 Top Single ‘Say Say Say’
Billboard Magazine’s Year End Awards:Number 2 Top Pop Artist
Billboard Magazine’s Year End Awards:Number 2 Black Album
Billboard Magazine’s Year End Awards:Number 1 Pop Album
American Music Awards:Favorite Video – Soul/R&B,Beat It
American Music Awards:Favorite Video – Pop/Rock,Beat It
American Music Awards:Favorite Single – Pop/Rock,Billie Jean
American Music Awards:Favorite Male Vocalist,Pop/Rock
American Music Awards:Favorite Male Vocalist,Soul/R&B
American Music Awards:Favorite Album – Soul/R&B,Thriller
American Music Awards:Favorite Album – Pop/Rock,Thriller
American Music Awards:American Music Awards:Special Award of Merit
Incase you lost count that’s forty-four awards and on Feb 7,1984 Thriller was inducted into The Guinness Book of World Records as the best selling album of all time.
Impressive to say the least but the awards were only apart of Michael mania. During the summer of his year MJ reunited with his brothers to embark on the most anticipated concert tour of the 80s, the Victory tour. The spectacle kicked off in Kansas City on July 6th and ended in Los Angeles on December 9th. It reportedly grossed approximately $75 million and set a new record for the highest-grossing tour. Michael being a real humanitarian donated all of his earnings to charity.
In 1984 at the age of only twenty-five Michael Jackson had the world in the palm of his hand or should I say glove?
