 " Billie Jean " was recorded by American rock musician Chris Cornell for his Carry On album in 2007 . Cornell said of his cover , " I didn 't plan on it . It just sort of happened organically . I changed the music quite a bit , I didn 't touch the lyrics . " He added , " And it 's not a joke . I took a completely different approach to it , musically . " Cornell had previously performed the song live in Europe , including an acoustic set in Stockholm , Sweden in September 2006 . He later said , " I was getting ready to do some acoustic shows on a promotional tour for Revelations and I just wanted to have fun with it . " The cover received favorable reviews from critics . MTV noted the " bluesier , more pained and impassioned feel " which stripped away " any pop elements of the original " . Los Angeles Times described the track as " a grim , spooky take " on Jackson 's " Billie Jean " , and added that it was " amusing enough , even if it sounds a lot more like Metallica 's ' Nothing Else Matters ' " . The newspaper concluded that " Jacko 's mega hit [ survived ] the stunt translation " . In 2008 , Cornell 's version was performed live by David Cook on the seventh season of American Idol , and this version charted on Billboard 's Hot 100 at No. 47 . In May of the same year , dance act Signature used " <unk> Onda Nei " on Britain 's Got Talent in their audition and again in their final performance . In 2011 , Patrick Stump covered the song in an a cappella mash @-@ up tribute to Jackson along with several other songs over pre @-@ recorded backing vocals . 
