Treacherous, cunnin', declinin'

11. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' | 8.561 Highest Scores: 11: (vibe, gavindeejay), 10: (Chapman, ready for it, dandy, Jester), Lowest Scores: 4: (Monzo)


Just outside the top 10 at #11 is Wanna Be Startin' Somethin', released in May 1983 as the 4th single from his 6th studio album Thriller & was written, composed and co-produced by Michael Jackson, and produced by Quincy Jones. It was originally written for his sister La Toya Jackson about her troubled relationship with her sisters-in-law but Michael ended up recording the song himself. Unlike the album's previous singles this did not have a music video to accompany it, but was performed on most of his solo world tours & as part of the Jacksons tours. Upon release the song had a good chart performance worldwide by topping the charts in Canada & Netherlands, as well as attaining top 10 peaks in Belgium, Ireland, USA & UK, along with top 20/40 peaks everywhere else. It was also nominated for a Grammy in 1984 for best R&B song, but lost to his other smash hit "Billie Jean".

This song was the perfect opener to the 'Thriller' album with it's flawless funk grooves & catchy beats that yet has a somewhat foreboding feel that's simmering with anger that's complimented by a variety of synthesizers, horns & percussions beautifully. Even the guitars & complex rhythms works well with the lyrics with a tone that varies from astonishment to righteous frustration. This definitely stands as one of the best moments from the album it comes from, just a great song through & through.

Here's a re-cap of the results 11-20:

11. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' - 8.561
12. Earth Song - 8.454
13. Dirty Diana - 8.434
14. They Don't Care About Us - 8.181
15. Remember The Time - 8.159
16. Human Nature - 8.136
17. Rock With You - 8.022
18. I Just Can't Stop Loving You - 8.0
19. You Are Not Alone - 8.0
20. Stranger In Moscow - 7.795

Edited July 13, 20214 yr by Nina West

Here's what's to feature in the top 10 (in chronological order):

Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
Billie Jean
Beat It
Thriller
Bad
The Way You Make Me Feel
Man In The Mirror
Smooth Criminal
Black Or White
Scream (ft Janet Jackson)


Thoughts? Predictions? feel free to share....

Iconique :wub:

 

That's a solid top 10 actually!

I love WBSS simply for the fact when you are at a Madonna gig when this song is played into the auditorium you know she is coming on next.

 

So your excitement is incredible when this record is played.

 

 

That is quite some songs for the Top 10.

 

I would imagine the No.1 will surely be between these three...?

 

Billie Jean

Beat It

Thriller

Heartbreak enemy despise

10. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough | 8.636 Highest Scores; 11: (bluemonday), 10: (Nina West, Qween, Chapman, popchartfreak, dandy, Jester, Dexton, Adelita), Lowest Scores: 5: (Monzo, CJK)


Let's kick start the top 10 in almighty style with this classic MJ track, in at #10 is Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough, released in August 1979 as the lead single from his 5th studio album Off The Wall. It was the first solo recording over which Michael had creative control over, as well as being his first single under new label Epic Records, his previous stuff was with Motown Records. After the filming of his role in 'The Wiz', Michael approached the film's musical director, Quincy Jones, to ask if he knew of any producers to help with Jackson's future solo endeavors. After listening to hundreds of demos, the two decided upon the ones to record. These included this track, "Workin' Day And Night" & "Get On The Floor", all of which ended up on the album & the rest was history. Upon release the song was considered to be the first song to showcase Jackson's talent as a solo artist, both as a singer and songwriter. It became a massive success by becoming his 2nd solo chart topper in the USA & would earn him his first Grammy & American Music Award. The song was also a massive success worldwide by topping the charts in Australia, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway & South Africa, as well as top 5 peaks in Belgium, Netherlands, UK, Canada, Switzerland & Spain.

Often citied as the one that jump started his massive solo career into the almighty big leagues & still to this day it remains as one of his many, many signature classics & it's not hard to see why with that iconic opening string arrangements & how it amplifies into the groovy guitar lines with instruments that seem to dancing with each other, the rolling and pulsing bass, the euphoric bursts of horn, the diving strings, the layers upon layers of percussion. All of which compliments Michael's breathless falsetto vocals superbly, hell even all the multilayered backing vocals are his & even at this early stage of his career & still at the young age of 21, he was showing how creative he was. This was a milestone in his career, creating 6 minutes of joyous pop funk that still sounds wonderful to this day.

Dirty Diana should still be in but hey ho!

Wonderful to see Scream so high!

What a classic.

 

I'd be interested to see how many times that track has been sampled or interpolated.

You try to cope with every lie they scrutinize

9. Scream (ft Janet Jackson) | 8.818 Highest Scores: 11: (gog lad84, Jester, Monzo, CJK), 10: (Nina West, Qween, Feel The Fever, Mullo, Adelita), Lowest Scores: 4.5: (bluemonday)


At #9 is the almighty Scream, a duet with his younger sister Janet Jackson & released in May 1995 as the lead single from his 9th studio album HIStory, and was also released as a double a-side with a solo Michael track 'Childhood'. It was written, composed and produced by Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, Michael and Janet & was an aggressive, retaliatory song directed at the tabloid media and their coverage of the allegations against Michael in 1993. The music video cost $7 Million, it was listed in the Guinness World Records as the most expensive music video ever made & would go onto win 3 MTV Music Video Awards, as well as a Grammy for Best Music Video. Upon release the song made Billboard history by debuting & peaking at #5 on the US charts. Elsewhere it topped the charts in Italy, New Zealand, and Spain while reaching the top five in Australia, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Two weeks before its official release the song leaked to Radio stations early, where Michael happened to hear it until they were served with a cease and desist order from Epic Records.

It was such a shame that both artists didn't get to record more songs together, as this is an absolute banger, a great way to jump start a new era with its innovative grooves combined with forceful lyrics & fantastic vocals. Everything in this track is glorious with thumping bass drums, thundering guitar solos & of course the raspy, snarling, forceful, but most of all, ultra precise vocal deliveries that only Michael could pull off & the way he blends with Janet is superb. Overall this track is simply flawless & compelling piece of music & remains quite underrated in his back catalogue to the casual listeners.

Pretty iconic, I'm not sure I'd put it quite as high as 9th but I can't begrudge it.

 

Shame it couldn't give them a #1 (mainly so Janet could have one to her name)

I love Scream. I can't really think of anything wrong with it.

 

The lyrics are such an honest answer back, the groove is relentless and the video... that bit in the middle when they do the dance at the same time and it is literally on point extact same move at exact same time... iconic.

 

I can see why I gave this an 11.

I would have liked to see Dirty Diana and They Don't Care About Us in the top ten in place of Scream and Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough.

 

'Scream' was a bit of a disappointment for me, as superstar duets often turn out to be. It's not a bad song, I guess I was just expecting something more special. Wasn't the video the most expensive music video ever made at the time, or am I imagining that?

 

I'd put money on 'Billie Jean' finishing number one, although I'm probably wrong as these Buzzjack polls often throw up surprises!

Sounding heartbeats intimidations

8. Smooth Criminal | 8.84 Highest Scores: 11: (Dexton), 10: (Nina West, Chapman, dandy, Jester, Bjork, Adelita, Mango), Lowest Scores: 5: (gavindeejay)


At #8 is one of my personal all-time fave MJ bops - Smooth Criminal, released in November 1988 as the 7th single from his 7th studio album Bad. It was written & produced by Michael himself & Quincy Jones. The lyrics are about a woman who has been attacked in her apartment & the refrain "Annie are you OK?" was inspired by Resusci Anne, a dummy used in CPR training. The song itself was evolved from an earlier song 'Al Capone' The music video was the centerpiece of the 1988 movie "Moonwalker", in which he also starred in. The video's 1930's setting & his white suit and fedora pays tribute to the Fred Astaire musical comedy movie "The Band Wagon". Upon release the song peaked at #7 on the US Billboard charts, becoming the album's 6th top 10 hit & became a commercial success worldwide by topping the charts in Belgium, Iceland, Netherlands & Spain, as well as top 10 peaks in France, Ireland, Denmark, Switzerland, Italy, UK & Germany. Though the track wasn't one of the US #1's, it has been hailed as in retrospective reviews as not only one of the best tracks on the album, but one of the best songs of his entire career.

This is one of my all-time faves from MJ & one of the first songs I ever heard from him & after watching that dazzling music video - I was a fan for life. The unique blend of R&B grooves & Rock goes together brilliantly, along with combining a dark threatening themes with a catchy hook & pop sensibility, shows a testament to his artistic depth. I also love the energetic vibe of the song as the pulsating rhythms & infectious synth-beats carries the song to that killer chorus as he twists his vocals at a rapid pace. then its all perfectly glued to the bassline & drums. On the whole this is a firm MJ classic, one of his very best & I don't care if anyone disagrees.

Wasn't the video [for Scream] the most expensive music video ever made at the time, or am I imagining that?

 

 

I thought this too, so I had a look on the ever reliable Wikipedia and apparently it cost $7 million and was listed in the Guinness World Records as the most expensive music video ever made. At the same time, though, there were apparently a couple of other music videos from the same era which cost a lot more, so who knows??

Here's a little hint for the next MJ song to drop =

 

It will be a #1 hit, but which one?

Smooth Criminal :wub:

 

I still want to know if Annie was OK in the end.

I like the groove of your walk, your talk, your dress

7. The Way You Make Me Feel | 8.931 Highest Scores: 11: (vibe, Mullo), 10: (Chapman, Feel The Fever, Jester, Bjork, Tafty, HausofArgento), Lowest Scores: 6: (Monzo)


At #7 is the fantastic The Way You Make Me Feel, released in November 1987 as the 3rd single from his 7th studio album Bad. It was written, composed & co-produced by Michael himself, & co-production by Quincy Jones. Before the recording of the album, Michael had written over 60 songs for the project, with plans of releasing a 3-disc album, but Quincy convinced him to make 'Bad' a one disc LP. The song and subsequent music video was intended to show another aspect to public's perception of Michael Jackson in addition to his reputation as a lover the lead single, being streetwise with the title track & flirt or able to pick up girls with this track. Upon release it received positive reviews from contemporary critics & became the album's 3rd consecutive #1 in the USA. Elsewhere it also managed to top the charts in Ireland, as well as attain top 10 peaks in Belgium, New Zealand, Spain, UK, Australia, Netherlands, Canada & Switzerland. Since its release the song had been performed on all of Michael's world tours & he even performed it at the 30th Grammy Awards.

Yet another brilliant track by MJ with this upbeat & flirtacious song about young love (or lust maybe) with boisterous basslines and finger snaps that gives this a very confident yet playful sound at the same time. Also love the way his vocals darts in & out of those slick grooves & then of course there's those infectious hooks that builds towards that monster of a chorus which makes everything work beautifully. Even the production is richly orchestrated where everything arrives right on time with the opening of thunderous drum sounds, the tiptoeing keyboard riff, the electro-guitar siren whines, the bursts of simulated Southern-soul horns. Dare I say it yet again, but this song is yet another firm staple in Michael's discography where he was at his absolute peak of his career.

NEXT PGE PLZ