Posted by Thriller 25 — the newly-expanded deluxe 25th anniversary edition of Michael Jackson’s Thriller, the world’s best-selling album of all-time — is America’s #2 Top-Selling Album this week, more than a quarter century after the album’s original release. Already shaping up as one of the hottest albums of 2008, Thriller 25 has rocketed into the Top 5 (or better) in a variety of territories across the planet following its worldwide release the week of February 11.
With first week’s sales in the United States totaling 165,805 units, {tag Thriller25} enters the Billboard Top Pop Catalog chart at #1. (During the past 52 week period, the average first week’s sales for an album hitting #1 on the Top Pop Catalog chart has been 16.6 thousand pieces; Thriller 25 entered the chart with 10x that number. Because of a technicality in the rules of Billboard charting, Thriller 25 is ineligible to chart on the Top 200. Based on first week’s sales, Thriller 25, if eligible, would have entered the Top 200 at #2, nestled between Jack Johnson at #1 and Amy Winehouse at #3.)
Michael Jackson’s iconic music film for "Thriller" is currently the #1 music video download on iTunes.
With more than one million copies of Thriller 25 shipped around the world, and re-orders already flooding in, the new edition of Michael Jackson’s classic collection has hit #1 in France; #1 in Belgium; #2 in Germany; #2 in Australia; #2 in the Netherlands; #2 in Norway (Thriller‘s highest position ever in that country); #2 in Sweden; #2 in Switzerland; #3 in the UK; #3 in Denmark; #3 in New Zealand; #4 in Spain; #5 in Austria; #5 in Ireland; #6 in the Czech Republic; and #6 in Italy.
Global response to the release of Thriller 25, the newly expanded deluxe 25th anniversary edition of Michael Jackson’s Thriller, the world’s top-selling album of all-time, reached a fever pitch across the planet with surprise hit singles, an ongoing 40-episode "ThrillerCast" podcast event, the premiere of the "Thrillicious" Sobe Life Water ad campaign at the Super Bowl, the presentation of a Lifetime Achievement Award to Michael Jackson at the NRJ Music Awards at Cannes and a host of upcoming events and surprises.
In one of the most innovative aspects of the Thriller 25 campaign, fans will soon be able to go online and star in Michael’s signature "Thriller" video. Using newly developed technology from innovative media company Big Stage, fans can create a photo-realistic 3-D avatars of themselves to be inserted into Michael’s role in the classic clip.
The Michael Jackson Thriller 25th anniversary celebration runs throughout 2008 with a multi-faceted global marketing campaign featuring high-profile television, radio and online events around the world and the major re-launch of Michael’s official website, www.michaeljackson.com
Originally released in the US on November 30, 1982 by Epic Records, Thriller, Michael Jackson’s sixth solo album and second with producer Quincy Jones, first entered the Billboard Top 200 album chart at #11 in December 1982. The original Thriller went on to spend an astounding 80 consecutive weeks in the American Top 10, 37 of those at #1, while making history as the first and only record to be America’s top-selling album two years running (1983 and 1984). Thriller has been certified 27x platinum by the RIAA, giving it Double Diamond Award status in the US. In 1985, the Guinness Book of Records named Thriller the Best Selling Album of All Time, an achievement which remains unsurpassed to this day.
Bob Hoch
Director, Digital Marketing
SonyBMG Commercial Music Group
550 Madison Ave. 16th floor
New York, NY 10022