And he deserved them all.
Today marks the 30th anniversary of that legendary evening, which was a far cry from the scene in the same building just one month before. On January 27, MJ suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns to his scalp while filming a Pepsi ad, which created a frenzied panic from his millions of fans. Now, just four weeks later, he was once again in his element. Jackson's ubiquitous and record setting album Thriller had spent the previous 15 months garnering every type of praise known to mankind. Already the #1 seller in history, the LP's popularity was heavily boosted by his iconic performance on Motown's 25th anniversary show in May 1983 as well as three groundbreaking short films which received heavy airplay on television for months.
Wearing a blue, marching band style jacket with sequins, gold epaulets and sash, along with his trademark single sparkly glove and dark Aviator shades, MJ looked like royalty. He made numerous trips to the podium, accepting award after award the same way he had done just six weeks prior on the American Music Awards.
Quincy Jones, the highly successful composer (who also produced Off the Wall and Thriller) shared the podium with MJ a few times himself. Both men grinned with pride and appreciation for what they had both accomplished. As a special treat, the infamous Pepsi ad that nearly killed Michael made its heavily anticipated debut during the telecast.
MJ's historic night remains one of the truly magical moments in all of entertainment, past or present. There was no wonder that Thriller won Album of the Year that night and the great Michael Jackson was fawned over relentlessly by not only fans and media, but even his own peers in the music industry.
Nobody did it better.
