the king of pop music and the master of
the music video
oh good dance welcome to watchmojo.com
and today we’ll be counting down our
picks for the top 10 Michael Jackson
music videos for this list we’re
focusing strictly on the official
videography of Michael Jackson which set
a new artistic standard for musicians
and shaped pop culture across the globe
number ten scream featuring Janet
Jackson when it comes to awe-inspiring
music videos the King of Pop was always
ahead of his time but when MJ teamed up
with director Mark Romanek and his own
sister the trio created a timeless
interstellar production with a little
attitude
by utilizing a black and white tone the
futuristic concept of scream further
highlighted the lyrics of social
alienation and frustration and with
passing references to Japanese anime MJ
established a dreamlike effect thus
creating a symbolic distance between the
siblings and the general public leading
up to the songs killer breakdown
number nine Earth’s song what about
sunrise what about rain years before
words like hashtag and trending inspired
people to conveniently align themselves
with particular issues Michael Jackson
was already thinking ahead by
highlighting global problems while
imagining a distant past
just as the concept of Earth’s song was
a lofty vision the visuals from English
director Nick Brandt were equally
ambitious through a variety of shooting
locations ranging from Tanzania Croatia
the Amazon rainforest and Southwest New
York
in fact Earth’s song led bran to embark
on a photography career strictly in
Africa and he was just one of many that
began to see the world in a different
light thanks to Michael Jackson and this
remarkable music video
number eight Billie Jean as technology
continues to rapidly change the world in
which we live it’s easy to look back at
the dawn of music videos and snicker but
the back story of Billie Jean is no
laughing matter in a time when rockstars
and their party happy productions were
deemed perfectly appropriate for MTV
Michael Jackson could hardly get
executives to listen well at least the
powerful ones simply because of his skin
color
fortunately artistry reigned supreme as
both the fashion and dance moves of
Billie Jean became ingrained in pop
culture making Jackson the unrivaled
king of pop music
number seven black or white
revolutionary technology a black panther
and macaulay culkin one of these three
did not make the final approved cut as
we see it today
when black-or-white originally premiered
on television it was the 90s version of
something going viral everybody knew who
the Home Alone kit was and the worldly
visuals offered plenty of charm but it
was the groundbreaking morphing sequence
that not only introduced Tyra Banks to
the world but proved where technology
was heading the extended version had MJ
performing sexually suggestive dance
moves while vandalizing property and
somehow it all came together under the
direction of John Landis
number six leave me alone
it’s the job of entertainers to well
entertain us but for a megastar like
Michael Jackson in the 80s the
collective amusement often came from
rumors about his personal life and
obviously continued until the end
for the leave-me-alone music video MJ
acknowledge the haters and with some
brilliant stop-motion aesthetics he
navigated viewers through a perceived
personal playground
oddly enough the visuals and message of
leave me alone only increased the
public’s interest in the man who
continued to evolve in a variety of ways
number five remember the time
MJ enlisted the help of comedian Eddie
Murphy and a recently retired Magic
Johnson for an epic nine minute video
that received critical acclaim and by
injecting a little humor into the
contained Egyptian setting Michael
Jackson delivered perhaps the most
entertaining music video of the 90s
early on a wizard hopes to avoid
imminent death by capturing the
attention of a queen played by the
Somali American model Eman and MJ
proceeds to steal the show while
confusing the curious King
the defining moment of the John
Singleton directed video came during the
iconic breakdown and by the end Jackson
left everyone speechless
have a bad time
number four bad to fully understand this
18 minutes short film and the shortened
four-minute music video one must
understand the influence of its director
Martin Scorsese watch while dancing
tough guys in a Brooklyn subway may seem
random to some that is actually based on
the 1961 musical West Side Story and
featured Michael Jackson as a character
named Darryl
early on a young Wesley Snipes calls his
badness into question and naturally a
dance-off is in order to prove who’s
really bad even if MJ’s nemesis wasn’t
exactly impressed
of course MJ and the supporting cast
brought their a-game but it was
Scorsese’s direction that ensured a
heightened sense of artistry
number three beat it you might not
realize it but this MJ classic is
closely connected to the origins of hip
hop and it’s also the production that
truly heightened the possibilities of
music video campaign filmed in the Skid
Row section of downtown Los Angeles
beat it brought dozens of actual gang
members together for a group
choreography sequence that has become a
fixture of modern music videos just 15
years after the death of Martin Luther
King jr. Michael Jackson transcended
racial barriers while building on the
recent trend of rival street fashions
coming together for the music
the same concept that led the formation
of hip-hop music
you
number two smooth criminal’ like many of
the individuals he worked with Jackson
was a history buff a smooth criminal in
the aesthetic sense not only did he
channel tropes of 40s era film noir but
he also touched on classic Hollywood
elegance with Fred Astaire moves of
course nobody in the Golden Age of
tinsel town ever saw dance moves like
this as MJ introduced the antigravity
lean which was surely gangster in itself
smooth criminal’ solidified Michael
Jackson as the boss of the 80’s music
industry and the music video was leaps
and bounds above anything you’ll see
today both in style and substance
before we unveil our top pick here are a
few honorable mentions
number one thriller excuse me was
working and the dog just one word alone
speaks volumes across the world it
transcended the concept of the music
video upon release along with the very
idea of what it means to be a musical
icon
when Michael Jackson dropped thriller in
1983 the world recognized MJ as
something more than a musician he was a
true artist in the classical sense his
artistic vision was unparalleled in the
early 80s and by creating a short film
music video in collaboration with John
Landis he influenced a new generation of
horror film makers as thriller was
nothing short of creepy while the
previous entries on our list all shapes
how artists produced music videos today
nothing will ever compare to this iconic
production that forever changed pop
culture
so do you agree with our selections what
is your favorite Michael Jackson music
video for more mind-blowing top 10s
published daily be sure to subscribe to
watchmojo.com
Oh
the music video
oh good dance welcome to watchmojo.com
and today we’ll be counting down our
picks for the top 10 Michael Jackson
music videos for this list we’re
focusing strictly on the official
videography of Michael Jackson which set
a new artistic standard for musicians
and shaped pop culture across the globe
number ten scream featuring Janet
Jackson when it comes to awe-inspiring
music videos the King of Pop was always
ahead of his time but when MJ teamed up
with director Mark Romanek and his own
sister the trio created a timeless
interstellar production with a little
attitude
by utilizing a black and white tone the
futuristic concept of scream further
highlighted the lyrics of social
alienation and frustration and with
passing references to Japanese anime MJ
established a dreamlike effect thus
creating a symbolic distance between the
siblings and the general public leading
up to the songs killer breakdown
number nine Earth’s song what about
sunrise what about rain years before
words like hashtag and trending inspired
people to conveniently align themselves
with particular issues Michael Jackson
was already thinking ahead by
highlighting global problems while
imagining a distant past
just as the concept of Earth’s song was
a lofty vision the visuals from English
director Nick Brandt were equally
ambitious through a variety of shooting
locations ranging from Tanzania Croatia
the Amazon rainforest and Southwest New
York
in fact Earth’s song led bran to embark
on a photography career strictly in
Africa and he was just one of many that
began to see the world in a different
light thanks to Michael Jackson and this
remarkable music video
number eight Billie Jean as technology
continues to rapidly change the world in
which we live it’s easy to look back at
the dawn of music videos and snicker but
the back story of Billie Jean is no
laughing matter in a time when rockstars
and their party happy productions were
deemed perfectly appropriate for MTV
Michael Jackson could hardly get
executives to listen well at least the
powerful ones simply because of his skin
color
fortunately artistry reigned supreme as
both the fashion and dance moves of
Billie Jean became ingrained in pop
culture making Jackson the unrivaled
king of pop music
number seven black or white
revolutionary technology a black panther
and macaulay culkin one of these three
did not make the final approved cut as
we see it today
when black-or-white originally premiered
on television it was the 90s version of
something going viral everybody knew who
the Home Alone kit was and the worldly
visuals offered plenty of charm but it
was the groundbreaking morphing sequence
that not only introduced Tyra Banks to
the world but proved where technology
was heading the extended version had MJ
performing sexually suggestive dance
moves while vandalizing property and
somehow it all came together under the
direction of John Landis
number six leave me alone
it’s the job of entertainers to well
entertain us but for a megastar like
Michael Jackson in the 80s the
collective amusement often came from
rumors about his personal life and
obviously continued until the end
for the leave-me-alone music video MJ
acknowledge the haters and with some
brilliant stop-motion aesthetics he
navigated viewers through a perceived
personal playground
oddly enough the visuals and message of
leave me alone only increased the
public’s interest in the man who
continued to evolve in a variety of ways
number five remember the time
MJ enlisted the help of comedian Eddie
Murphy and a recently retired Magic
Johnson for an epic nine minute video
that received critical acclaim and by
injecting a little humor into the
contained Egyptian setting Michael
Jackson delivered perhaps the most
entertaining music video of the 90s
early on a wizard hopes to avoid
imminent death by capturing the
attention of a queen played by the
Somali American model Eman and MJ
proceeds to steal the show while
confusing the curious King
the defining moment of the John
Singleton directed video came during the
iconic breakdown and by the end Jackson
left everyone speechless
have a bad time
number four bad to fully understand this
18 minutes short film and the shortened
four-minute music video one must
understand the influence of its director
Martin Scorsese watch while dancing
tough guys in a Brooklyn subway may seem
random to some that is actually based on
the 1961 musical West Side Story and
featured Michael Jackson as a character
named Darryl
early on a young Wesley Snipes calls his
badness into question and naturally a
dance-off is in order to prove who’s
really bad even if MJ’s nemesis wasn’t
exactly impressed
of course MJ and the supporting cast
brought their a-game but it was
Scorsese’s direction that ensured a
heightened sense of artistry
number three beat it you might not
realize it but this MJ classic is
closely connected to the origins of hip
hop and it’s also the production that
truly heightened the possibilities of
music video campaign filmed in the Skid
Row section of downtown Los Angeles
beat it brought dozens of actual gang
members together for a group
choreography sequence that has become a
fixture of modern music videos just 15
years after the death of Martin Luther
King jr. Michael Jackson transcended
racial barriers while building on the
recent trend of rival street fashions
coming together for the music
the same concept that led the formation
of hip-hop music
you
number two smooth criminal’ like many of
the individuals he worked with Jackson
was a history buff a smooth criminal in
the aesthetic sense not only did he
channel tropes of 40s era film noir but
he also touched on classic Hollywood
elegance with Fred Astaire moves of
course nobody in the Golden Age of
tinsel town ever saw dance moves like
this as MJ introduced the antigravity
lean which was surely gangster in itself
smooth criminal’ solidified Michael
Jackson as the boss of the 80’s music
industry and the music video was leaps
and bounds above anything you’ll see
today both in style and substance
before we unveil our top pick here are a
few honorable mentions
number one thriller excuse me was
working and the dog just one word alone
speaks volumes across the world it
transcended the concept of the music
video upon release along with the very
idea of what it means to be a musical
icon
when Michael Jackson dropped thriller in
1983 the world recognized MJ as
something more than a musician he was a
true artist in the classical sense his
artistic vision was unparalleled in the
early 80s and by creating a short film
music video in collaboration with John
Landis he influenced a new generation of
horror film makers as thriller was
nothing short of creepy while the
previous entries on our list all shapes
how artists produced music videos today
nothing will ever compare to this iconic
production that forever changed pop
culture
so do you agree with our selections what
is your favorite Michael Jackson music
video for more mind-blowing top 10s
published daily be sure to subscribe to
watchmojo.com
Oh
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