Behind the Mask (Michael Jackson song) Behind the Mask (Michael Jackson song) "Behind the Mask" is a song written and originally recorded by Japanese electronic band Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1978 and 1979 in Japan. In 1982, a cover version was recorded by American singer Michael Jackson for his album "Thriller", but managerial disputes prevented its release. His version has been recorded by Greg Phillinganes (1985) and Eric Clapton (1986). On February 21, 2010, the song was released by Epic Records as the third single from the posthumous album "Michael". The singer Shanice provides background vocals on the song. Quincy Jones heard Yellow Magic Orchestra's version
Thriller (Michael Jackson album) one hundred and sixty six thousand copies, just fourteen thousand short of reaching the number one position. It was ineligible for the "Billboard" 200 chart as a re-release but entered the Pop Catalog Charts at number one (where it stayed for ten non-consecutive weeks), with the best sales on that chart since December 1996. With the arrival of Halloween that November, "Thriller 25" spent an eleventh non-consecutive week atop the US catalog chart. This brought US sales of the album to 688,000 copies, making it the best-selling catalog album of 2008. This was Jackson's best launch since "Invincible" in 2001,