"Billie Jean" is a song by the American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on January 2, 1983, as the second single from Jackson's sixth studio album, Thriller (1982). It was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. "Billie Jean" blends post-disco, R&B, funk and dance-pop. The lyrics describe a young woman, Billie Jean, who claims that the narrator is the father of her newborn son, which he denies. Jackson said that the lyrics were based on groupies' claims about Jackson's older brothers when Jackson toured with them as members of the Jackson 5.
"Billie Jean" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, topped the Billboard Hot Black Singles chart within three weeks, and became Jackson's fastest-rising number one single since his time as a member of the Jackson 5. It reached number one in the UK, Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, Switzerland and Belgium, and the top ten of the music charts in many other countries. "Billie Jean" was one of the best-selling singles of 1983, helping Thriller become the best-selling album of all time, and became Jackson's best-selling solo single. "Billie Jean" is certified diamond in the US and with 18 million copies worldwide, is one of the highest-selling singles of all time. In 2026, following the release of the biopic Michael, "Billie Jean" surged on streaming platforms globally and became Jackson's first number-one single on the Billboard Global 200 chart.
Jackson's performance of "Billie Jean" on the TV special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever was nominated for an Emmy Award. It introduced a number of Jackson's signatures, including the moonwalk, rhinestone glove, black sequined jacket, and high-water pants, and was widely imitated. The "Billie Jean" music video, which was directed by Steve Barron, was the first performance by a black artist to be aired in heavy rotation on MTV. Along with the other videos produced for Thriller, it helped establish MTV and make videos an integral part of popular music marketing. The spare, bass-driven arrangement helped pioneer what one critic called "sleek, post-soul pop music".
"Billie Jean" received honors including two Grammy Awards and an American Music Award. Billboard ranked it as the No. 2 song for 1983. A list compiled by Rolling Stone and MTV in 2000 ranked "Billie Jean" the sixth-greatest pop song since 1963. Rolling Stone placed it at number 58 on its list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004, and at number 44 in its updated 2021 list. The song was also included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
Background
Jackson said that "Billie Jean" was based on groupies he and his brothers encountered while they performed as the Jackson 5. "They would hang around backstage doors, and any band that would come to town they would have a relationship with, and I think I wrote this out of experience with my brothers when I was little. There were a lot of Billie Jeans out there. Every girl claimed that their son was related to one of my brothers."
According to Jackson's biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli, "Billie Jean" was inspired by letters Jackson received in 1981 from a woman claiming he was the father of one of her twins. Jackson, who regularly received letters of this kind, had never met the woman and ignored those claims. However, she continued to send letters stating that she loved him and wanted to be with him, asking how he could ignore "his own flesh and blood". The letters disturbed him so much that he began to suffer nightmares.
Eventually, Jackson received a parcel containing a photograph of the fan, a gun, and a letter instructing him to die at a particular time. The fan would do the same once she had killed "their" baby, so they could be together in the "next life". The Jacksons later discovered that the fan had been sent to a psychiatric hospital.
Production Jackson said he felt "Billie Jean" would be a success as he was writing it: "A musician knows hit material. Everything has to feel in place. It fulfills you and it makes you feel good. That's how I felt about 'Billie Jean'." He said that, hearing it in his head while in his car, he was so absorbed that he did not realize his car had caught fire until a passing motorcyclist informed him.
Jackson disagreed with the producer, Quincy Jones, about the song. According to some reports, Jones felt it was too weak to be included on Thriller, but Jones denied this. Jones disliked the demo and did not care for the bassline, and wanted to cut Jackson's 29-second introduction. Jackson, however, insisted that it be kept. According to Jones, he conceded when Jackson said it made him want to dance: "And when Michael Jackson tells you, 'That's what makes me want to dance', well, the rest of us just have to shut up."
Jones also wanted to change the title to "Not My Lover", as he believed that people would think the song referred to the tennis player Billie Jean King. Jackson refused to change the title and asked Jones to give him co-producing credits for the track, as he felt that the finished product sounded close to his demo. In addition, Jackson wanted extra royalties. Jones granted him neither and the two fell out for several days.
The American composer Michael Boddicker said that Jackson played the synthesizer part in one take on the Yamaha CS-80 in seven minutes. However, the synthesizer player Bill Wolfer disputed this, saying he played the CS-80 chords on both the demo and the album version, and that Boddicker was misremembering the session: "Everyone who worked with Michael Jackson knows that he didn't play keys but a tiny bit, and never played them on a record!" According to Wolfer, the part was his sound design: he programmed it to form a hybrid of brass and string sounds, which had a vocal-like quality. Jackson heard Wolfer experimenting with the sound on the CS-80 during the Triumph Tour with the Jacksons, which he liked and called Wolfer in for.
Engineer Bruce Swedien had Jackson sing his vocal overdubs through a six-foot cardboard tube. Jackson's lead vocal was performed in one take; he had received vocal training every morning throughout the production of the song. Jazz saxophonist Tom Scott played the lyricon, an electronic wind instrument. Bassist Louis Johnson played his part on every bass guitar he owned, before Jackson settled for a Yamaha bass.
Instructed by Jones to create a drum sound with "sonic personality" that no one had heard before, Swedien constructed a platform for the drum kit with special elements including a flat piece of wood between the snare and hi-hat. He said: "There aren't many pieces of music where you can hear the first three or four notes of the drums, and immediately tell what the piece of music is. But I think that is the case with 'Billie Jean'—and that I attribute to sonic personality."
Swedien mixed the song 91 times—unusual for him, since he usually mixed a song just once. The mixes grew progressively worse, and Jones asked Swedien to listen again to the second mix, which was much better. The second mix was the final version.
Composition
"Billie Jean" blends post-disco, rhythm and blues, funk, and dance-pop. The song opens with a standard drum beat along with a standard hi-hat, and joined two bars later with a cabasa accompanied by a repetitive bassline. Each time it passes through the tonic, the note is doubled by a distorted synth bass. This accompaniment is followed by a repetitive three-note synth, played staccato with a deep reverb. The defining chord progression is then established. Jackson's quiet vocals enter, accompanied by a finger-snap, which comes and goes during the verses, as the rhythm and chord progression repeats. Greg Phillinganes, who played keys, said of the song: Billie Jean' is hot on every level. It's hot rhythmically. It's hot sonically, because the instrumentation is so minimal, you can really hear everything. It's hot melodically ... lyrically [and] vocally. It affects you physically, emotionally, even spiritually."
According to Jones, Jackson "stole" notes from the Jon and Vangelis song "State of Independence"; Jones had produced Donna Summer's cover of the song, and Jackson had sung backing vocals. According to Jon Anderson, "They took the riff and made it funky for 'Billie Jean' ... So that's kinda cool, that cross-pollination in music." According to Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates, Jackson told him he had taken the "Billie Jean" groove from their 1981 track "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)". Hall told him "Oh Michael, what do I care? You did it very differently."
According to Inside the Hits, the lyrics refer to the commotion created by Billie Jean on a dance floor. She entices the crowd with a seductive come-on before luring the narrator to her bedroom, through the fragrance of her perfume. Jackson's vocal range spanned from a high baritone to a falsetto and he usually wrote melodies to show this range. However, in the verses of "Billie Jean", his vocals range from a tenor to a low falsetto. A four-note falsetto is showcased in the chorus and, during the last line, Jackson peaks at a full octave. The song is in the key of F minor with a tempo of 117 beats per minute, while the verses are in the key of F Dorian. Following the first chorus, a cello-like synth eases in at the beginnings of both the third, and later, the fourth, verses. Upon the announcement that the baby's eyes resemble the narrator's, a voice laments, "oh no". This is met with Jackson's signature falsetto "hee hee". The bridge debuts the strings, and holds a pedal tone tonic with the exception of two lines and a chord leading into the chorus. Violins are then played, followed by a four-note minor guitar part. During the guitar part, vocal shouts, screams and laughs are added. Throughout this, the chord progression remains unaltered and is laced with Jackson's vocal hiccups. All the musical and vocal elements are then brought together in the final chorus. In the fade, the narrator repeats his denial of fathering Billie Jean's child.
Reception On November 30, 1982, Thriller was released to critical and commercial success. On January 2, 1983, "Billie Jean" was released as the second single, after "The Girl Is Mine". It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on March 5, 1983 and stayed there for seven weeks, becoming Jackson's biggest solo hit. Billboard ranked it as the number two song for 1983. "Billie Jean" topped the R&B chart within three weeks, and became Jackson's fastest-rising number one single since "ABC", "The Love You Save" and "I'll Be There" in 1970, which he recorded as a member of the Jackson 5. It remained at number one for nine weeks on the R&B chart, being preceded by the Gap Band's "Outstanding", before the single was eventually succeeded by George Clinton's "Atomic Dog". "Billie Jean" peaked at number nine on the Adult Contemporary chart. It was also number one in the UK singles chart. "Billie Jean" and Thriller topped both the singles and album charts in the same week on both sides of the Atlantic simultaneously, a feat few acts have achieved. The song was the third best-selling single of 1983 in the US and ninth in the UK. It also reached number one in Canada, Switzerland and Belgium, and the top ten in Austria, Italy, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden. In 2026, after the release of the biographical film Michael, the song re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 debuting at number 15 the week ending May 23, 2026, and also entered the Billboard Global 200 chart for the first time, debuting at number one the week ending May 23, 2026, marking a historic milestone for Michael Jackson as the first artist who died before the creation of the Global 200 chart to reach number one.