Michael Jackson's "Thriller": The Rankdown (COMPLETE)

[Soulsista]

We'll get there eventually.

[Soulsista]

SUBMISSIONS DUE TODAY!

Participants:
1. Soulsista
2. HamedM1 💔
3. 312999
4. bat1990
5. Mayman
6. emerald
7. chanman
8. God
9. mamooshka
10. willapted33
11. RoseColoredGirl
12. wyckyd
13. Mirago
14. M5AGTS
15. .indulgecountry
16. khan
17. zippy
18. singingrulebritannia
19. theyaintready
20. 🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲
21. jenglisbe
22. jtd Thee Stallion
23. gonecountry
24. trilogy
25. beyoncelover
26. Ivy Leegue™
27. ccarter1023
28. rowellfarm490
29. alexcuse
30. samo🦕
31. divasummer
32. Kelly's 10th Fan
33. Gonza'90
34. CagedJuggalo The Third Tanker
35. fearlessarrow
36. B-Boy
37. Doc Indie Party Rock
38. @crapkuki23
39. Glove Slap
40. SHOOTER

SPOILER: Click to show

{Tags}312999 aerodynamite annoymous1 anthony11554 bat1990 BB🌕 beyoncelover Linnethia Monique Private Dancer ccarter1023 chanman CF15 Verisimilitude craziaskowboi Unhinged divasummer DJDaveMick69 Glove Slap Doc Indie Party Rock Enyasurvivor 🅳🅸🆂🅲🅾 Troublemaker singingrulebritannia God gonecountry Gonza'90 newpower Sambalada ilikemilk .indulgecountry Jay D83 jenglisbe Juanca jtd Thee Stallion peacebone Ky legend1982 🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 mamooshka #LisaRinna Sir Benji Mayman SHOOTER Kelly's 10th Fan razorshark Red rowellfarm490 samo🦕 sergejdordij stallie Ivy Leegue™ toomuchboy Mirago Ty Mic Technique B-Boy wavey. wyckyd HamedM1 💔 emerald willapted33 RoseColoredGirl M5AGTS khan zippy trilogy alexcuse fearlessarrow @crapkuki23

[Soulsista]

And here's another song that was intended for Thriller, but didn't make the final cut. It was later included on Thriller 40.

She's Trouble


The group Musical Youth recorded their own version and took it to #25 on the soul chart in 1984.

[bat1990]

@ SHOOTER being an eleventh hour submission.

[CagedJuggalo The Third Tanker]

Dec 16, 2022 12:34:33 GMT -5 bat1990 said:

@ SHOOTER being an eleventh hour submission.

An icon is never late, nor are they early. They arrive precisely when they mean to

[Soulsista]

LAST CALL!

Participants:
1. Soulsista
2. HamedM1 💔
3. 312999
4. bat1990
5. Mayman
6. emerald
7. chanman
8. God
9. mamooshka
10. willapted33
11. RoseColoredGirl
12. wyckyd
13. Mirago
14. M5AGTS
15. .indulgecountry
16. khan
17. zippy
18. singingrulebritannia
19. theyaintready
20. 🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲
21. jenglisbe
22. jtd Thee Stallion
23. gonecountry
24. trilogy
25. beyoncelover
26. Ivy Leegue™
27. ccarter1023
28. rowellfarm490
29. alexcuse
30. samo🦕
31. divasummer
32. Kelly's 10th Fan
33. Gonza'90
34. CagedJuggalo The Third Tanker
35. fearlessarrow
36. B-Boy
37. Doc Indie Party Rock
38. @crapkuki23
39. Glove Slap
40. SHOOTER
41. #LisaRinna
42. annoymous1


SUBMISSIONS WILL CLOSE AT NOON EASTERN TIME TOMORROW!

SPOILER: Click to show

{Tags}312999 aerodynamite annoymous1 anthony11554 bat1990 BB🌕 beyoncelover Linnethia Monique Private Dancer ccarter1023 chanman CF15 Verisimilitude craziaskowboi Unhinged divasummer DJDaveMick69 Glove Slap Doc Indie Party Rock Enyasurvivor 🅳🅸🆂🅲🅾 Troublemaker singingrulebritannia God gonecountry Gonza'90 newpower Sambalada ilikemilk .indulgecountry Jay D83 jenglisbe Juanca jtd Thee Stallion peacebone Ky legend1982 🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 mamooshka #LisaRinna Sir Benji Mayman SHOOTER Kelly's 10th Fan razorshark Red rowellfarm490 samo🦕 sergejdordij stallie Ivy Leegue™ toomuchboy Mirago Ty Mic Technique B-Boy wavey. wyckyd HamedM1 💔 emerald willapted33 RoseColoredGirl M5AGTS khan zippy trilogy alexcuse fearlessarrow @crapkuki23

[Deleted]

Will try to get my list in tonight

[Soulsista]

SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW CLOSED!

Final List Of Participants:
1. Soulsista
2. HamedM1 💔
3. 312999
4. bat1990
5. Mayman
6. emerald
7. chanman
8. God
9. mamooshka
10. willapted33
11. RoseColoredGirl
12. wyckyd
13. Mirago
14. M5AGTS
15. .indulgecountry
16. khan
17. zippy
18. singingrulebritannia
19. theyaintready
20. 🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲
21. jenglisbe
22. jtd Thee Stallion
23. gonecountry
24. trilogy
25. beyoncelover
26. Ivy Leegue™
27. ccarter1023
28. rowellfarm490
29. alexcuse
30. samo🦕
31. divasummer
32. Kelly's 10th Fan
33. Gonza'90
34. CagedJuggalo The Third Tanker
35. fearlessarrow
36. B-Boy
37. Doc Indie Party Rock
38. @crapkuki23
39. Glove Slap
40. SHOOTER
41. #LisaRinna
42. annoymous1
43. @imhappy259


REVEALS WILL BEGIN TOMORROW!

[divasummer]

For such a small group of songs this was extremely difficult to rank.
Well my bottom 2 was easy…

[Soulsista]

Welcome to Michael Jackson's "Thriller": The Rankdown!

First of all...WOW! You guys really turned out for such an iconic album. I know this wasn't easy to rank, so thanks to everyone who sent in a list.

Now as a reminder, here are the nine songs you were asked to rank:

Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
Baby Be Mine
The Girl Is Mine
Thriller
Beat It
Billie Jean
Human Nature
P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)
The Lady In My Life


We kick off this rankdown with the song that has the lowest SD. It's the only song that no one ranked in their Top 5.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Pretty Young Things}HamedM1 💔 312999 bat1990 Mayman emerald chanman God mamooshka willapted33 RoseColoredGirl wyckyd Mirago M5AGTS .indulgecountry khan zippy singingrulebritannia theyaintready 🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 jenglisbe jtd Thee Stallion gonecountry trilogy beyoncelover Ivy Leegue™ ccarter1023 rowellfarm490 alexcuse samo🦕 divasummer Kelly's 10th Fan Gonza'90 CagedJuggalo The Third Tanker fearlessarrow B-Boy Doc Indie Party Rock @crapkuki23 Glove Slap SHOOTER #LisaRinna annoymous1 @imhappy259

[annoymous1]

Please be The Girl Is Mine .

[singingrulebritannia]

Dec 19, 2022 11:53:46 GMT -5 annoymous1 said:

Please be The Girl Is Mine .

unfortunately I get the feeling at least one poor soul put that top 5 just because it was one of the big singles.

I'm leaning more toward "The Lady In My Life" going out first.

[wyckyd]

Dec 19, 2022 11:56:53 GMT -5 singingrulebritannia said:

Dec 19, 2022 11:53:46 GMT -5 annoymous1 said:

Please be The Girl Is Mine .

unfortunately I get the feeling at least one poor soul put that top 5 just because it was one of the big singles.

I'm leaning more toward "The Lady In My Life" going out first.

it’s not “The Lady In My Life”, I can tell you that rn. I can definitely see it being “The Girl Is Mine” (or maybe “Human Nature”?)

[Soulsista]

Every night she walks right in my dreams
Since I met her from the start
I'm so proud I am the only one
Who is special in her heart



9. The Girl Is Mine

A song about two men arguing over a woman, Michael wrote "The Girl Is Mine" while watching cartoons with Paul McCartney. He would later say that it was one of his favorite songs to record.

When it was released as the lead single from Thriller in the fall of 1982, reception was mixed at best, with many feeling that MJ was catering to a white audience and that Thriller would be a disappointment as a result. Despite that, it managed to peak at #2 on the Hot 100 and spend 3 weeks at the top of the soul chart. It also hit the Top 10 in nine other countries.

Fun fact: although it was released a year after "The Girl Is Mine", MJ and Paul's other hit duet, "Say Say Say", was actually recorded a year before the former.


Points: 71
Average: 8.35
Standard Deviation: 0.948 (Lowest)

RoseColoredGirl - 6
.indulgecountry - 6
alexcuse - 6
Doc Indie Party Rock - 6

chanman - 7
Mirago - 7

312999 - 8
bat1990 - 8
Mayman - 8
M5AGTS - 8
theyaintready - 8
jtd Thee Stallion - 8
divasummer - 8
CagedJuggalo The Third Tanker - 8
@crapkuki23 - 8
#LisaRinna - 8
@imhappy259 - 8
beyoncelover - 8

Soulsista - 9
HamedM1 💔 - 9
emerald - 9
God - 9
mamooshka - 9
willapted33 - 9
wyckyd - 9
khan - 9
zippy - 9
singingrulebritannia - 9
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 9
jenglisbe - 9
gonecountry - 9
trilogy - 9
Ivy Leegue™ - 9
ccarter1023 - 9
rowellfarm490 - 9
samo🦕 - 9
Kelly's 10th Fan - 9
Gonza'90 - 9
fearlessarrow - 9
B-Boy - 9
Glove Slap - 9
SHOOTER - 9
annoymous1 - 9


We'll be losing our first #1 with the next reveal. Four other will lose a Top 5.

[spiritboy]

Oh i didn't know this was happening.

The Girl Is Mine is actually a cute song, much better than the atrocious PYT

[M5AGTS]

Happy with this going out. Hopefully Pyt is next.

[annoymous1]

Dec 19, 2022 11:56:53 GMT -5 singingrulebritannia said:

Dec 19, 2022 11:53:46 GMT -5 annoymous1 said:

Please be The Girl Is Mine .

unfortunately I get the feeling at least one poor soul put that top 5 just because it was one of the big singles.

I'm leaning more toward "The Lady In My Life" going out first.

Interesting if it's The lady in my life because I don't think it's that bad of a song to be at #9 and to not have any top 5s would be something.

[312999]

Dec 19, 2022 12:11:36 GMT -5 spiritboy said:

Oh i didn't know this was happening.

The Girl Is Mine is actually a cute song, much better than the atrocious PYT

I would respectfully disagree about PYT being atrocious.

[annoymous1]

Oh it was the girl is mine. Perfect.

[Soulsista]

So listen to my heart
Lay your body close to mine
Let me fill you with my dreams
I can make you feel alright



8. The Lady In My Life

Written by Rod Temperton, "The Lady In My Life" closed out the Thriller album. Despite being one of just two songs to not be released as singles from the album, it's one of MJ's most popular album tracks, in part due to sampling. LL Cool J sampled it in his 1995 hit "Hey Lover".

Apologies to God...


Points: 111
Average: 7.42
Standard Deviation: 1.789 (5th highest & lowest)

God - 1

#LisaRinna - 2

zippy - 3

wyckyd - 5
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 5

emerald - 7
RoseColoredGirl - 7
M5AGTS - 7
.indulgecountry - 7
gonecountry - 7
beyoncelover - 7
alexcuse - 7
CagedJuggalo The Third Tanker - 7
B-Boy - 7
Glove Slap - 7
SHOOTER - 7

Soulsista - 8
HamedM1 💔 - 8
mamooshka - 8
willapted33 - 8
Mirago - 8
khan - 8
singingrulebritannia - 8
jenglisbe - 8
trilogy - 8
Ivy Leegue™ - 8
ccarter1023 - 8
rowellfarm490 - 8
samo🦕 - 8
Kelly's 10th Fan - 8
Gonza'90 - 8
fearlessarrow - 8
annoymous1 - 8

312999 - 9
bat1990 - 9
Mayman - 9
chanman - 9
theyaintready - 9
jtd Thee Stallion - 9
divasummer - 9
Doc Indie Party Rock - 9
@crapkuki23 - 9
@imhappy259 - 9


The next reveal will see ten people losing a Top 5.

[#LisaRinna]

Dec 19, 2022 12:25:15 GMT -5 Soulsista said:

So listen to my heart
Lay your body close to mine
Let me fill you with my dreams
I can make you feel alright



8. The Lady In My Life

This is some bullshit. Y'all don't appreciate a Quiet Storm classic you soulless bitches!

[fearlessarrow]

"The Girl Is Mine" isn't that bad but in an album full of good to stellar songs, something had to come in last place.

[gonecountry]

Dec 19, 2022 12:05:49 GMT -5 Soulsista said:

Every night she walks right in my dreams
Since I met her from the start
I'm so proud I am the only one
Who is special in her heart



9. The Girl Is Mine

The rare time that single bias doesn't exist. #justified

[Soulsista]

I don't need no dreams when I'm by your side
Every moment takes me to paradise



7. Baby Be Mine

Another song written by Rod Temperton, "Baby Be Mine" was the other song from Thriller to not be released as a single. Producer Quincy Jones said the song was in part inspired by John Coltrane.

"Take a close look at 'Baby Be Mine,' the Rod Temperton song. Rod is a genius. It goes 'Deedle, dee-do- dee-dee- dee…' That's Coltrane, man. It's got pop lyrics and a beat, but it's Coltrane. It all came from the same place."

Points: 155
Average: 6.40
Standard Deviation: 1.761 (4th lowest)


willapted33 - 2
theyaintready - 2

SHOOTER - 3

wyckyd - 4
singingrulebritannia - 4
jenglisbe - 4
B-Boy - 4

.indulgecountry - 5
CagedJuggalo The Third Tanker - 5
Glove Slap - 5

312999 - 6
Mayman - 6
M5AGTS - 6
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 6
samo🦕 - 6
Kelly's 10th Fan - 6
Gonza'90 - 6
@imhappy259 - 6

Soulsista - 7
HamedM1 💔 - 7
bat1990 - 7
God - 7
mamooshka - 7
khan - 7
jtd Thee Stallion - 7
Ivy Leegue™ - 7
ccarter1023 - 7
rowellfarm490 - 7
trilogy - 7
divasummer - 7
fearlessarrow - 7
Doc Indie Party Rock - 7
@crapkuki23 - 7
annoymous1 - 7

emerald - 8
chanman - 8
zippy - 8
gonecountry - 8

RoseColoredGirl - 9
Mirago - 9
beyoncelover - 9
alexcuse - 9
#LisaRinna - 9


So, which single misses the Top 5? It's got two #1s and 25 other Top 5s. It also has the 3rd highest SD.

[bat1990]

I bet PYT misses the top 5. Flawless bottom 3 btw, I never liked "The Girl is Mine" that much.

[annoymous1]

My guess is it'll be PYT or Human Nature. Gonna Say PYT.

[Soulsista]

Don't you know now is the perfect time
We can make it right, hit the city lights
Then tonight ease the lovin' pain
Let me take you to the max



6. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)

The inspiration for the title came when Quincy's then-wife Peggy Lipton bought some lingerie with the words "pretty young thing" on it. From there he requested a song written around the title. MJ and Greg Phillinganes wrote a demo and submitted it to Quincy, who rejected he felt it because it wasn't fast enough and didn't fit the overall mood of the album. James Ingram then sent in his demo, which Quincy loved. He told James to finish writing it and suggested extending the bridge and adding in a chant section, which led to Quincy receiving songwriting credit.

"P.Y.T." was released in September 1983 as the sixth single from Thriller. It peaked at #10 on the Hot 100, but couldn't get any higher than #46 on the soul chart. Monica sampled it in her 2002 song "All Eyez On Me", and Kanye West sampled it in his 2007 song "Good Life".

Fun fact: sisters Janet and La Toya provided background vocals.

The original demo by MJ and Greg Philliganes was included in The Ultimate Collection in 2004.



Apologies to gonecountry, I share your pain...


Points: 224
Average: 4.79
Standard Deviation: 1.897 (3rd highest)

Soulsista - 1
gonecountry - 1

HamedM1 💔 - 2
.indulgecountry - 2
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 2
jenglisbe - 2
B-Boy - 2

theyaintready - 3
ccarter1023 - 3
divasummer - 3

312999 - 4
Mayman - 4
RoseColoredGirl - 4
jtd Thee Stallion - 4
trilogy - 4
Kelly's 10th Fan - 4

emerald - 5
zippy - 5
beyoncelover - 5
samo🦕 - 5
Gonza'90 - 5
fearlessarrow - 5
Doc Indie Party Rock - 5
@crapkuki23 - 5
SHOOTER - 5
#LisaRinna - 5
@imhappy259 - 5

bat1990 - 6
chanman - 6
mamooshka - 6
willapted33 - 6
wyckyd - 6
Mirago - 6
khan - 6
Ivy Leegue™ - 6
rowellfarm490 - 6
CagedJuggalo The Third Tanker - 6
annoymous1 - 6

singingrulebritannia - 7

God - 8
alexcuse - 8
Glove Slap - 8

M5AGTS - 9

[M5AGTS]

My entire top 5 made the top 5 here!!!

[Soulsista]

The Top 5:

Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
Thriller
Beat It
Billie Jean
Human Nature


Which single will take home the crown? And where will the final two last place rankings end up? Find out tomorrow!

SPOILER: Click to show

{Pretty Young Things}HamedM1 💔 312999 bat1990 Mayman emerald chanman God mamooshka willapted33 RoseColoredGirl wyckyd Mirago M5AGTS .indulgecountry khan zippy singingrulebritannia theyaintready 🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 jenglisbe jtd Thee Stallion gonecountry trilogy beyoncelover Ivy Leegue™ ccarter1023 rowellfarm490 alexcuse samo🦕 divasummer Kelly's 10th Fan Gonza'90 CagedJuggalo The Third Tanker fearlessarrow B-Boy Doc Indie Party Rock @crapkuki23 Glove Slap SHOOTER #LisaRinna annoymous1 @imhappy259

[Kelly's 10th Fan]

Doesn't seem like any of us care much for The Girl Is Mine so I'm not sure if this is a super hot take or not, but IMO Will.i.am's 25th anniversary remix of TGIM is LIGHT YEARS superior to the original album version. I will grant that the remix did sound lo-fi, as it lacks the crispness that most post-2000 production has, but it's still enjoyable. I remember when Thriller's 25th anniversary set came out everyone hated on all of the 'modernized' remixes that were tacked on to it, but I always liked Will's take on TGIM. Will did a surprisingly good job of supporting Michael's vocals rather than burying them in the production (Will used Michael's demo take, so that might have been the main factor in me liking it more), and because his is a more club/percussion oriented arrangement it doesn't have that treacly elevator music vibe that made the original sound cornball and dated on arrival.

The Lady In My Life is how you know this album is truly the GOAT because that song would be top tier on any other album in the world but it just couldn't compete here. The bar is so INSANELY high.

I feel like Baby Be Mine is probably the most 'forgotten' song on Thriller. It's a total bop, but somewhat like TLIML it is doomed being on such an icon-heavy album. I never see anyone mention it, really, it's neither strongly loved nor overly hated.

PYT has always been kind of polarizing and I never quite understood why. It's so cute!