Decades after it was pushed as a single, Michael Jackson’s “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)” climbs into the top 10 on Billboard’s Dance Digital Song Sales chart. AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND – NOVEMBER 10: Michael Jackson performs on stage during is “HIStory” world tour concert at Ericsson Stadium November 10, 1996 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
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Michael Jackson is typically referred to as the King of Pop, but he recorded music during his decades as a superstar that can be classified under a number of genres. In fact, at the moment, he doesn’t appear on any of Billboard‘s three pop tallies, though that is due to the fact that the trio are focused entirely on airplay. Unlike many other styles, there are no lists published by the chart company centered around pop that focus entirely on streams or sales, since most music that is not classified as any other genre is thought of as pop.
Jackson does appear on R&B, hip-hop and dance tallies, and it is on one of the latter rosters where he manages to climb and score a posthumous top 10 smash.
Michael Jackson Scores a New Top 10 With “P.Y.T.”
Less than a month into its time on the Dance Digital Song Sales chart, Jackson’s “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)” becomes a top 10 win. The tune advances from No. 12 to No. 10 on the list of the bestselling dance cuts in the United States, with only purchases on platforms like iTunes being counted in its methodology.
Michael Jackson Earns His Third Career Top 10
Jackson earns his third top 10 win on the Dance Digital Song Sales chart as “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)” advances. All of those top 10s debuted on the ranking earlier this month after his catalog exploded in consumption around the release of the singer’s biopic Michael.
“Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough,” “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin'” and “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)” are now counted as his highest-ranking wins. Those singles have topped out at Nos. 4, 8 and 10, respectively. The first two launched in what has turned out to be their all-time highs.
Three Current Dance Hits
All three of Jackson’s top 10s on the Dance Digital Song Sales chart are present once again this week. “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” holds at No. 4 in its fourth week, and “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin'” is steady at No. 11, only a few spaces beneath its recently-set peak.
Michael Jackson Finally Hit the Top 10 After a Decade of Trying
Before this latest surge, Jackson had already landed on the Dance Digital Song Sales tally three times, and though he had come close to the top 10, he never made it into that region until the arrival of Michael in cinemas. Jackson first appeared on the tally in 2012 alongside Pitbull when the DJ Buddha edit of “Bad,” which was retitled “Bad 2012,” hit No. 45. That position no longer exists, as the list features just 15 spaces these days.
Jackson returned in October 2017, when the Steve Aoki Midnight Hour remix of “Thriller” spent one frame at No. 12. Electronic dance producer Kygo reworked Jackson and Paul McCartney’s “Say Say Say,” turning it into a banger and a bestseller in the spring of 2023. All three artists topped out at No. 12 for one period that year.
Michael Jackson Claims a Trio of Streaming Top 10s
Jackson’s three tunes that appear on the Dance Digital Song Sales chart can also be found on the related Dance Streaming Songs rundown, and the trio all live within the top 10. “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” and “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)” hold at Nos. 3 and 6, respectively – as high as they have ever climbed. Meanwhile, “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin'” dips from No. 8, its peak, to No. 10.