Billie Jean

Michael Jackson wrote "Billie Jean" out of experiences from his childhood on tour with the Jackson 5, when groupies gathered at backstage doors and, in his words, every girl claimed her son was related to one of his brothers. His biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli added a darker source: letters Jackson received in 1981 from a woman insisting he was the father of one of her twins. He ignored them, but she kept writing, and the correspondence disturbed him enough to cause nightmares. The story ended when a parcel arrived containing her photograph, a gun, and a letter instructing him to die at a set time so they could be together in the next life. The fan was later found to have been sent to a psychiatric hospital.

Jackson felt certain of the song while writing it, saying a musician knows hit material when everything feels in place. He was so absorbed hearing it in his head while driving that he failed to notice his car had caught fire until a passing motorcyclist told him. Producer Quincy Jones disliked the demo and wanted the 29-second introduction cut, but Jackson insisted it stay, saying it made him want to dance. Jones also pushed to rename the track "Not My Lover", fearing listeners would think of the tennis player Billie Jean King. Jackson refused, and when he asked for co-producing credit and extra royalties, Jones granted him neither.

Released by Epic Records on January 2, 1983, as the second single from Thriller, the song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped charts in the UK, Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, Switzerland and Belgium. Engineer Bruce Swedien mixed it 91 times, and the second mix became the final version.