Thriller (Michael Jackson album) and John Landis. Funded by MTV, the film sold over 350,000 copies in its first few months. In a market then driven by singles, "Thriller" raised the significance of albums, yet its multiple hit singles changed perceived notions as to the number of successful singles that could be taken from an individual album. The era saw the arrival of novelties like the Michael Jackson doll, that appeared in stores in May 1984 at a price of $12 (US$ in dollars). "Thriller" retains a position in American culture; biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli explains, "At some point, "Thriller" stopped selling like a
Thriller (Michael Jackson album) from Bollywood to prisons in the Philippines. For a black artist in the 1980s to that point, Jackson's success was unprecedented. According to "The Washington Post", "Thriller" paved the way for other African-American artists to achieve mainstream recognition, such as Prince. Christgau credited "The Girl Is Mine" for giving radio exposure to the idea of interracial love. "Time" wrote: "Jackson is the biggest thing since the Beatles. He is the hottest single phenomenon since Elvis Presley. He just may be the most popular black singer ever." "Thriller" has continued to receive positive reviews. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that