Throwback Thursday: Michael Jackson – “Ghosts”
Yesterday was Halloween, so I had to do a spooky one for this week’s TBT post. “Thriller” would’ve been too obvious, so I thought I’d go with “Ghosts,” one of favorite Michael Jackson’s most underrated songs/videos.
“Ghosts” was supposed to be part of the soundtrack for Addams Family Values, but when negotiations fell through, MJ decided to make a short film out of it — it was featured at the Cannes Film Festival n all dat. The storyline was co-written by MJ, Mick Garris and Stephen King, who included the film with selected releases of his 1996 move, Thinner. In a 2017 interview, Garris claimed that the project cost $15 million, all of which came out of Michael’s pocket. Technically, that makes it the most expensive music video of all time, but some would argue that it was a theatrical release rather than a music video.
The song, written and produced by MJ and Teddy Riley, never charted in the US because of the weird chart rules back in the day — songs needed to have retail releases to be eligible. However, it was a major hit all around the world, peaking at No. 5 in the UK. Watch an abridged version of this classic below.
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