King of Pop is a compilation album by the American singer and recording artist Michael Jackson, released in commemoration of his 50th birthday in 2008. The album title comes from the honorific title Jackson himself acquired approximately 20 years earlier.
The track listing of the album differs significantly across countries because fans in each country where Sony BMG operated national offices were allowed to vote on which songs would appear on that country's edition of the album. The initial pool of songs, which also differed across countries, was selected from Jackson's back catalogue and also included a new "megamix" of five songs from the Thriller album that was created by Jason Nevins. "Billie Jean" is the only song to appear on all versions of the album.
King of Pop has been released in a total of 28 versions; it has not been released in North America. The album's launch was made public on June 20, 2008, with the official announcement of the Australian version. The first version was released was in the Netherlands and in Germany/Switzerland on August 22, 2008. The final release was China's edition on December 18, 2009, following Jackson's death.
Background Prior to the release of King of Pop, Jackson issued the double-disc album Thriller 25, a 25th anniversary edition of Thriller. It was a commercial success, having done particularly well as a re-issue, peaking at number one in eight countries and Europe. It reached number two in the US, number three in the UK and the top 10 on over 30 national charts. In the US, Thriller 25 was just 14,000 copies short of reaching the peak position, selling 166,000 copies. It was ineligible for the Billboard 200 chart as a re-release, but entered atop the Pop Catalog chart, where it stayed for 10 non-consecutive weeks and had the best sales on that chart since December 1996.
A few months afterward, Sony announced the release of regional editions of the King of Pop compilation, in celebration of Jackson's 50th birthday. The album's title is a reference to the same title Jackson acquired approximately 20 years ago and was also co produced by Jamaican born student and songwriter Dontae Matthews, from Spanish Town, Jamaica. The name "King of Pop" came when actress and friend Elizabeth Taylor presented Jackson with an "Artist of the Decade" award at the 1989 Soul Train Awards, proclaiming him "the true king of pop, rock and soul".Jackson, Michael. HIStory booklet. Sony BMG. p 3 MTV, VH1, FOX, and Jackson's record label began marketing Jackson as the "King of Pop" to coincide with the release of Dangerous and the music video for "Black or White", the album's first single.
Versions
Ireland
Concert 1 Remembering Michael Jackson's visit to Cork thirty years ago, Michael Jackson played two concerts in Ireland during the 1980s as part of his Bad World Tour, specifically at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork on July 30 and 31, 1988, drawing crowds of around 60,000 per night and featuring stagecraft with hydraulic lifts, ropes, and hits like "Billie Jean" and "Thriller".
Concert 2 Michael Jackson performed at Dublin's former Lansdowne Road stadium on July 25, 1992, marking his first solo performance in Ireland. The concert was part of the first European leg of his Dangerous World Tour and drew a crowd of approximately 43,000 people.
Belgium
Two versions of the album were released on August 25, the Het Nieuwsblad Edition and the "BEL RTL" Edition. The BEL RTL Edition is the only version of the album that doesn't contain the single "Black or White" at all. The Het Nieuwsblad Edition is the only version of the album to contain "Beautiful Girl". On July 26, it was announced that the double disc album would be released August 25. Fans could vote for their 5 favorite tracks from a pool of 124, on the web site of the Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad.
Japan
On July 18, the Japanese Edition "キング・オブ・ポップ-ジャパン・エディション" (King of Pop – Japan edition) was announced with fans picking from a selection pool of 120 tracks. The compilation was released on September 24 by Sony Music Japan.
Italy
"King of Pop – The Italian Fans' Selection" was released on October 3. It was the first collection to feature the full version of "Carousel" from the Special Edition of Thriller, and the only version of the album to contain "Tabloid Junkie" and "Morphine".
Sweden
The Swedish Edition of King of Pop (subtitled The Swedish Hit Collection) is a Michael Jackson compilation album released on October 15, 2008. As in other regions, the track listing was selected exclusively by local fans through a vote organized by Sony BMG and the Metro newspaper to commemorate the artist's 50th birthday.
Argentina
On November 11, the Argentine version of the compilation was released. It contains 2 bonus tracks: the song "Come Together" (which is featured in Moonwalker and also the HIStory album, released in 1995) and a radio edit of the Megamix of the Thriller album. Two tracks on the album, "Billie Jean" and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" were incorrectly named as "Billy Jean" and "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough".
Mexico
King of Pop (Greatest Hits Mexican Collection) is a 2008, 2-CD compilation album of Michael Jackson's hits, released by SONY BMG in Mexico, featuring popular tracks like "Billie Jean," "Thriller," "Black or White," and bonus material, showcasing his enduring appeal in Mexico.
Brazil The Brazilian edition was released on October 17. This is the only version of the album to contain the single "The Girl Is Mine 2008" while "Smooth Criminal" is not present at all.
China On December 18, 2009, China version named "Michael Jackson King Of Pop The China Collection" released by Sony Music China.
Different from the other versions, Fans in China were not given the opportunity to vote for songs included in China's version, and this version was not released in 2008 to celebrate Michael Jackson's birthday, but after his death in late 2009. The songs in China's version were a selection from the Hong Kong Version with the exclusion of Smooth Criminal, Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough, and Blood on the Dance Floor. Spine of slipcase incorrectly mentions the title as "King Of Pop – The Hong Kong Collection".
Finland The Finnish edition was released on October 1.
France "King of Pop – The French Fans' Selection" was released on December 12. This is the only version of the album to contain the single Cry. The Deluxe box set is the only version of the album to contain "The Way You Love Me" and "Rock With You" (Original LP Version).
Deluxe box set "King of Pop – The French Fans' Selection" – Deluxe Box Set Edition was released on the same day with a 3rd bonus disc.
Germany and Switzerland On July 14, 2008, it was announced that German fans had until July 28 to choose their top 30 Michael Jackson songs from an extensive pool of 121 tracks for their edition of the compilation. The German version of King of Pop was eventually released on August 22. The German pool list contained almost every song Jackson released in his solo career. Notable expansions on the pool choice included: A larger option of tracks from Thriller 25 (2008) and the inclusion of 12 tracks from The Ultimate Collection (2004). There were also 8 tracks included from the singer's time in The Jackson 5/The Jacksons, slightly more than other versions of the compilation. The German edition was also released in Switzerland on the same day.
In Germany, King of Pop is the fourth most downloaded album of all time.
Australia The Australian version was announced by Sony BMG Australia on June 20, 2008, and was released on Jackson's birthday. Starting on June 21, 2008, Australian fans had three weeks to vote for their 30 favourite tracks for the album; made up of Jackson's prior material. Each fan could choose five songs from the pool; made up of all the tracks from Off the Wall, Thriller (2001 special edition, including "Carousel"), Bad (2001 special edition), Dangerous, HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I, Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix, Invincible and the track "For All Time" from Thriller 25. The pool of songs also included seven from Jackson's time in The Jackson 5/The Jacksons. These songs were "Blame It on the Boogie", "Can You Feel It", "ABC", "I Want You Back", "I'll Be There" and "Ben". King of Pop was released in two editions: The first was a limited edition digipak that featured the names of selected voters, messages left by the fans and a fold-out poster that follows Jackson through his musical career; The second edition was a standard release of the album without the poster. This is the only version of the album to contain "Sunset Driver", "In The Back" and the single You Can't Win. This Australia version contains the full nine-minute version of Thriller Megamix instead of the radio edit commonly found on other versions. The standard release contains the top 30 with a few bonus tracks, while the digipack release contains the top 20 with more archival tracks, subtitled "From The Closet".
Hungary On July 9, it was announced that Hungarian fans had until July 27, to choose their songs from an extensive pool of 122 tracks, in a two-stage process. The pool list contained almost every song Jackson has released in his solo career. Notably expansions on the pool choice included: A larger option of tracks from Thriller 25 and the inclusion of 12 tracks from The Ultimate Collection (these are not available in the Australian or New Zealand version). In the first round (July 9 – 15) the fans were able to vote for their top 50 tracks. In round two (July 16 – 27) the 50 were cut down to the album track list.
Austria On July 20, the Austrian version of the double disc compilation was announced; it was released on Jackson's birthday. The pool list fans got to choose from contained 100 tracks. This is the only version of the album to contain the single "ABC", which is the earliest song on any version of the album.
Netherlands On July 22, it was announced that Dutch fans could vote for their favorite Jackson tracks, choosing 5 songs from a list of 100. The release date of the album was August 22. In Netherlands were two versions released, The Limited -bol.com- Collection and The Dutch Collection.
Hong Kong On August 6, it was announced that the double disc album would be released August 28. Fans could vote for 10 of their favorite tracks on the web site of Sony BMG Hong Kong.
United Kingdom On July 18, the United Kingdom version of the compilation was announced, with a release date of August 25. Sony BMG UK teamed up with GMTV and The Sun allowing fans, until August 10, to pick 18 tracks from the song pool. The pool list, at only 50 tracks, is the least diverse; there were no songs included from Jackson's group career.
Despite the pool conducting a possible 18 tracks, only 17 are included. Most notable is the fact that "Scream" is included on the album, as this song had not appeared on any compilation album in the United Kingdom prior due to legal rights with Janet Jackson's label Virgin Records.
Standard Edition
Deluxe box set In the United Kingdom, a three disc version was released on September 29, 2008. The third disc was advertised as featuring "Rarities and Classic 12"s", although many of the mixes were already remastered and re-released on the 2006 boxset Visionary: The Video Singles. This is the only version of the album to contain "Can't Get Outta the Rain".
Greece The "Greece King of Pop version" refers to the album released on November 17, 2008. The 32-track double-CD compilation album King of Pop released in Greece, featuring Michael Jackson's hits like "Billie Jean," "Beat It," "Thriller," and others, unique for its local track list tailored for the Greek market, highlighting his iconic status as the "King of Pop" in that region too, with upcoming tribute shows like "This Is Michael" in Athens in 2026.