“Billie Jean” was written, composed, and co-produced by Jackson, and produced by Quincy Jones from the Michael Jackson’s second solo album, Thriller (1982). Originally disliked by Jones, the track was almost removed from the album after he and Jackson had disagreements regarding it. The song is well known for its distinctive bass line and Jackson’s vocal hiccups. The song was mixed 91 times by audio engineer Bruce Swedien before he finalized the song with the second mix.
There are contradictory claims as to what the song’s lyrics refer. Some believe that they are derived from a real-life experience in which a mentally ill female fan claimed that Jackson had fathered one of her twins. Others, pointing to the fact that Jackson was an avid tennis fan, believed that the song was about tennis great Billie Jean King; however, King’s sexual orientation since 1968 render implausible any contention that the song’s narrator, who claims to have had both a romantic encounter with Jackson and a child resulting from that encounter, was modeled on King. Jackson himself, however, stated several times that “Billie Jean” was based on the groupies he and his brothers encountered while part of The Jackson 5.
In 2007, Chris Cornell recorded the song for his album Carry On.”
Coldplay also performed a cover version of the song:
In 1986, Brazilian composer Caetano Veloso performed the first cover of the song
On March 25, 1983, Jackson performed “Billie Jean” to critical and popular acclaim. Here is the video of that performance: