The world broadcast premiere of This Is It, the 2009 documentary film that followed Michael Jackson during his rehearsals for what would have been one of the most spectacular tours in music history, will take place on VH1 this Monday, November 7 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Sadly, we lost MJ before he had a chance to go on the road with this elaborate stage show, but thankfully, his musical legacy will always live on.
To that end, we’ve teamed up with our friends who produce The Greatest to put together this official VH1 list of The 40 Greatest Michael Jackson Songs. It covers the entire range of his career, from his early beginnings as the pint-sized lead singer of the The Jackson 5 through his reign as the King Of Pop. You can take it all in, listen to The 40 Greatest Michael Jackson songs on Spotify, and be sure to let us know in the comments what you think of our rankings; you can also debate this on Twitter by using the hashtag #MJThisIsIt and hitting us @VH1.
THE 40 GREATEST MICHAEL JACKSON SONGS
1. “Billie Jean” (Thriller, 1982)
2. “Rock With You” (Off The Wall, 1979)
3. “Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough” (Off The Wall, 1979)
4. “The Way You Make Me Feel” (Bad, 1987)
5. “Beat It” (Thriller, 1982)
6. “I’ll Be There” (Third Album, 1970)
7. “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)” (Thriller, 1982)
8. “Human Nature” (Thriller, 1982)
9. “Dirty Diana” (Bad, 1987)
10. “Thriller” (Thriller, 1982)
11. “I Want You Back” (Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5, 1969)
12. “ABC” (ABC, 1970)
13. “Smooth Criminal” (Bad, 1987)
14. “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” (Thriller, 1982)
15. “Black Or White” (Dangerous, 1991)
16. “The Girl Is Mine (featuring Paul McCartney)” (Thriller, 1982)
17. “Bad” (Bad, 1987)
18. “The Love You Save” (ABC, 1970)
19. “Scream (featuring Janet Jackson)” (HIStory: Past, Present And Future, 1995)
20. “Man In The Mirror” (Bad, 1987)
21. “She’s Out of My Life” (Off The Wall, 1979)
22. “You Rock My World” (Invincible, 2001)
23. “They Don’t Care About Us” (HIStory: Past, Present And Future, 1995)
24. “Get On The Floor” (Off The Wall, 1979)
25. “Dancing Machine” (Dancing Machine, 1974)
26. “Remember The Time” (Dangerous, 1991)
27. “It’s Great to Be Here” (Maybe Tomorrow, 1971)
28. “Say Say Say (with Paul McCartney)” (Pipes Of Peace, 1983)
29. “Leave Me Alone” (Bad, 1987)
30. “Heal The World” (Dangerous, 1991)
31. “Childhood (Theme From Free Willy 2)” (HIStory)
32. “You Are Not Alone” (HIStory: Past, Present And Future, 1995)
33. “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” (Bad, 1987)
34. “Rockin’ Robin” (Got To Be There, 1972)
35. “Another Part Of Me” (Bad, 1987)
36. “In The Closet” (Dangerous, 1991)
37. “Jam” (Dangerous, 1991)
38. “Ben” (Ben, 1972)
39. “Will You Be There” (Dangerous, 1991)
40. “Torture (with The Jackson 5″ (Victory, 1984)
Remember, the world broadcast premiere of Michael Jackson’s This Is It will debut on Monday, November 7 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, only on VH1. (And here’s that Spotify link to The 40 Greatest Michael Jackson songs on Spotify again, too!)
[Photo: Sony]
