 Motown 25 : Yesterday , Today , Forever was watched by 50 million people and Jackson 's routine earned him an Emmy nomination . With the performance , Jackson reached a new audience and increased the sales of Thriller , which eventually became the best @-@ selling album of all @-@ time . The day after the show aired , Jackson was called by his childhood idol Fred Astaire , who commended the singer . Another childhood idol , Sammy Davis , Jr . , had admired Jackson 's black sequined jacket during the performance and later received it as a gift . 
