HE WAS BLOCKED FROM HIS FIRST #1… 👀🔥 Michael Jackson is being reexamined in a surprising chart story revealing how one of his earliest solo hits was kept from the top spot by a major pop superstar. What looked like a simple chart race at the time is now being seen very differently by fans and historians — especially after one unexpected industry detail resurfaced about that release week… 👇
Michael Jackson Blocked From His First No. 1 On One Chart By A Pop Superstar
Following the release of the Michael Jackson biopic, titled simply Michael, the King of Pop’s music soars on charts globally. His name is typically present on albums rankings in countries like the United States and especially the United Kingdom, and this frame may be the biggest in quite some time for the superstar.
Half a dozen collections, both traditional albums and compilations, appear on the U.K.’s rosters, and most are either on the rise or find their way back to one list or another. A hugely popular set by Jackson steps up one spot, and as it reaches a new all-time high, so too does the late singer.
The Essential Reaches a New Streaming Chart Peak
On this week’s Official Albums Streaming chart, the U.K. is ranking of the most-played full-lengths and EPs in the nation via websites like Spotify, Apple Music, and others, Jackson dances higher than ever before. His The Essential compilation moves from No. 3 to No. 2, missing out on becoming his first champion. No. 2 now stands as the all-time peak for both The Essential and Jackson himself, and the project reaches that slot as it approaches four years as one of the most-streamed offerings in the U.K.
Michael Jackson’s The Essential Stands as His Only Top 10
Since first landing on the Official Albums Streaming chart in 2015, several years after his death, Jackson has racked up 14 appearances. The Essential remains his sole top 10, although another compilation, Number Ones, has come close, as it topped out at No. 12.
The Essential first settled onto the Official Albums Streaming ranking on the chart dated March 28, 2015. Earlier that month, both Bad and Number Ones arrived at the same time, earning him his first two hits simultaneously. Of Jackson’s 14 top streamers, all but two debuted on the list in 2015.
The Essential Climbs on Multiple Rankings in the U.K.
The Essential occupies a spot inside the top 10 on two of the three rosters on which it can be found in the U.K. In addition to the Official Albums Streaming chart, the hits-packed set improves from No. 9 to No. 5 on the Official Albums list, which details the most-consumed releases in the country. The compilation also finds its way back to the Official Album Downloads roster, though in a much lower rung, as it resettles at No. 68.
Michael Jackson’s Bad and Thriller Join the Streaming Surge
Jackson fills three spaces on the current edition of the Official Albums Streaming chart. As The Essential almost conquers the roster, it is blocked by Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving, which is steady in first place. Bad surges 20 spaces, moving from No. 72 to No. 52. At the same time, Thriller reenters the tally at No. 74, just two spaces beneath its all-time peak of No. 72.
Michael Jackson’s Catalog Dominates the U.K. Album Charts
Thanks largely to the Michael movie, Jackson is also one of the most successful artists on the Official Album Download chart. This time around, half a dozen of his releases appear on that ranking, and half of them bound back.
The Essential is his highest-rising return, and it’s followed by Bad at No. 82, and HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I, which breaks back in at No. 94.
Another three releases by the powerhouse also stand out as bestsellers on download storefronts. Number Ones vaults from No. 37 to No. 20, Thriller moonwalks from No. 72 to No. 31, and Off the Wall dips to No. 93, landing one space ahead of where HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I reappears.
