the top spot in Spain and the Netherlands, reached No. 3 in the UK and the top 20 in Austria, Norway, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland. In a Rolling Stone review, Christopher Connelly describes "Beat It" as the best song on Thriller, adding that it "ain't no disco AOR track". He notes of the "nifty dance song", "Jackson's voice soars all over the melody, Eddie Van Halen checks in with a blistering guitar solo, you could build a convention center on the backbeat". AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine states that the song is both "tough" and "scared". Robert Christgau claimed that the song has Eddie Van Halen "wielding his might in the service of antimacho". Slant Magazine observed that the song was an "uncharacteristic dalliance with the rock idiom". The track also won praise from Jackson biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli, who stated that the song was "rambunctious". "Beat It" has been recognized with several awards. At the 1984 Grammy Awards, the song earned Jackson two of record-eight awards: Record of the Year and Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. The track won the Billboard Music Award for favorite dance/disco 12" LP in 1983. The single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), a few months after its release, for shipments of at least one million units. In 1989, the standard format single was re-certified platinum by the RIAA, based on the revised sales level of one million units for platinum singles. The total number of digital sales in the US, as of August 2022, stands at 8,000,000. Music video The music video for "Beat It" helped establish Jackson as an international pop icon. The video was Jackson's first treatment of black youth and the streets. Both "Beat It" and "Thriller" are notable for their "mass choreography" of synchronized dancers, a Jackson trademark. The video, which cost Jackson $150,000 to create after CBS refused to finance it, was filmed on Los Angeles' Skid Row—mainly on locations on East 5th Street—around March 9, 1983. To add authenticity to the production but also to foster peace between them, Jackson had the idea to cast members of rival Los Angeles street gangs Crips and Bloods. In addition to around 80 genuine gang members, the video, which is noted for opening up many job opportunities for dancers in the US, also featured 18 professional dancers and four breakdancers. Besides Jackson, Michael Peters, and Vincent