“Off the Wall” will never be off the charts!

CD review: Off the Wall by Michael Jackson

Dulce Bernal Ortiz, People editor|February 15, 2022

The “King of Pop” never stops with his amazing hits.

On August 10, 1979, Michael Jackson released his fifth studio album Off the Wall. It consisted of 10 songs, five of which were released as singles. Some of these songs counted with the contribution of some notable figures, like Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, David Foster, and even Michael Jackson himself. As of today, 20 million copies have been sold worldwide since its release in 1979, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. 

Off the Wall was considered the album that separated Jackson’s work from Motown and opened a new path of possibilities for him, as he expanded and experimented with new genres of music. Specifically in this album, elements of disco, pop, funk, R&B, and soft rock were utilized. 

Jackson’s goal with this album was to showcase his creative freedom and individualism, which I think he definitely achieved. Critics debate whether Off the Wall or Thriller is his best album, but I’ll leave it up to your opinion.

Thanks to this album and the release of She’s Out of My Life and Off the Wall as singles reaching the top 10, Michael Jackson became the first solo artist to have four singles from the same album reach the top 10 places of the Billboard Hot 100. 

In the 1980 Grammy Awards, Off the Wall was nominated for two Grammys, but Jackson ended up winning Best R&B Vocal Performance. 

In 2008, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Last year, on February 2, 2021, Off the Wall was officially certified 9X platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which is a great accomplishment. 

If you haven’t listened to this album, I highly recommend you do. You will not be disappointed, and since these songs are so catchy, they’ll be stuck in your mind. If you are curious to know which tracks form part of this album, here is a list. You might recognize some of these. 

  1. Don’t Stop ‘til You Get Enough
  2. Rock With You
  3. Workin’ Day and Night
  4. Get on the Floor 
  5. Off The Wall
  6. Girlfriend
  7. She’s Out of My Life
  8. I Can’t Help It
  9. It’s the Falling in Love
  10. Burn This Disco Out

On an additional note, you can listen to this album throughout different platforms like Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music, Pandora, or iHeart, and even on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8wtV2cXPmc.