“I met Michael on the first day of rehearsal, and I was stunned - even though, obviously, I knew his image very well - at how incredibly sweet and how modest and how innocent he was. And fragile too. In person you felt he was almost breakable. But then this thing happened when he would start to work: your heart would beat faster, and the hair on your arms and the back of your neck would stick up as he literally took your breath away. I think he was the most electrifying performer I’ve ever seen.” 

— Anjelica Huston, speaking about her first meeting with Michael on the
set of ‘Captain Eo’

Thriller changed the course of pop music and catapulted Michael into global superstardom. It sold more than 50 million copies and spent 37 weeks at number one in the American charts, where it remained for more than two years. All but two of its nine tracks were hit singles.