Thriller and Purple Rain made MJ and Prince huge superstars beyond imagination. The success of Thriller was due to the mini movie music video of Thriller whereas the success of Purple Rain had a lot to do with the movie.

Question #1 : Would these two albums had been as successful without the video (Thriller) or movie (Purple Rain)?

Question # 2 : How would Prince and MJ career been different without Thriller or Purple Rain and would they still have become huge superstars?

The only opinion I have about this [because I ABHOR these MJ/Prince threads] is that I disagree that Purple Rain [the movie] contributed to the success of "Purple Rain." I actually think that the album would've been a HUGE success with or without the movie. In fact, I'm more inclined to believe that the video for "WDC" was great and sparked interest in Prince. The other videos were mini-versions of the movie itself, so I don't think that one actually needed the movie to understand the gist of what the songs were about. And although the movie was positively received, it was very well acted or an overall good production; it was just fair. If anything, the MUSIC made the movie, not the other way around.

As for Thriller, I always thought that MJ, being a performer rather than a musician, was more of a video icon. MJ is known primarily for his videos because they showcase him as a consummate performer. As you notice, once the performance-based videos began to die down, the career deteriorated as well.

Just MHO...

charly01 said:

Question #1 : In all honesty, I think that Prince would have been just as successful without Purple Rain, the movie. SOOOO many people that have interest in his music but are not huge fans have never even seen the movie. I just don't think that the movie was the attraction--it was the music, much like Parade, GB, etc. MJ, on the other hand, is continually rated as having the #1 video of all time with Thriller. It got so much airtime that I am sure that the album would not have been as successful without the short film associated with it. If you think of Thriller, you think of that video; if you think of Purple Rain, you think of the music.

Question #2 : On the other hand, and as contradictory as it may be, I don't think that Prince would have had the mainstream career he has had without Purple Rain, but I think MJ would have been alright without Thriller. MJ was already a long-time celebrity by that time; Prince was just breaking into mainstream. Purple Rain made Prince a household name, where MJ already had aname for himself through the J5...

What do you think charly01???

The album Purple rain was a hit before the movie, so without it, it still would have worked i think..
Also for Thriller, it is just a great album so at the end it would have done his job by itself.....

Fact is that Michael Jackson has not renewed his style as Prince did.... Michael Jackosn is still in the news, bad sadly enought in a negative way, while Prince is still "hot"..

Both great albums.....man, long time ago...

First Thriller was not successful because of the video Thriller.Thriller became a smash because of the song Billie Jean and the MJ performance on Motown 25 that aired on NBC in the Spring of 1983.MJ had long advocated the use of video in promoting his music and he used it to enhance an great career.

Many young people do not realize that MJ was a superstar long before Thriller and Off the Wall .Thriller just put him into rarified air.

Prince being the artist that he was was destined for superstar status and would have reached those hights without PR the movie.PR the album has already been mentioned as one of the top 3 albums of the 80's and in many top 25 albums of all time so on the strength of the music alone would have been enough to place him among the immortals of music.

muleFunk said:

Agreed.

alhiyh said:

I agree with this. Prince would have kept making music and would have been popular...but Purple Rain added to that popularity. He'd still be around today.

The video for Thriller helped sell that album and pushed it beyond what it should have been. Though without it there would have been no dent in his already established career.