Two Michael Jackson projects — Bad and Off the Wall — rise to new peak positions on Billboard’s Vinyl Albums chart, decades after their release. American singer Michael Jackson (1958 – 2009) performing on stage, circa 1987. (Photo by Dave Hogan/Getty Images)
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Following the release of Michael, the biopic that tells the story of Michael Jackson’s meteoric rise to musical stardom, streams of the King of Pop’s catalog jumped dramatically. People around the planet rushed to listen to the songs and albums he left behind, in addition to flocking to cinemas and turning Michael into a box office smash.
Sales also exploded, and Jackson’s name returned to many of Billboard‘s rankings that focus entirely on purchases. While consumption of much of the superstar’s discography has started to fall – as is the case whenever a musician experiences such a boom – he continues to perform exceptionally well when it comes to vinyl. Jackson is the most successful name on Billboard‘s Vinyl Albums chart this week with more bestsellers than anyone else, and two of his decades-old classics establish new peak positions simultaneously.
Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall and Bad Rise to New Peaks
Both Off the Wall and Bad sit higher than ever before on the latest edition of the Vinyl Albums chart, which Billboard compiles weekly to detail the 25 top-selling releases on the format. Off the Wall ascends from No. 7 to No. 5, coincidentally in its fifth frame on the rundown. Bad, meanwhile, experiences an even more impressive leap, as that set rockets from No. 17 to No. 8.
Michael Jackson Scores Another Top 10
Before this week, Off the Wall was already counted among Jackson’s top 10s on the Vinyl Albums chart, but the same cannot be said for Bad. The singer posthumously earns a new placement inside the highest tier on the tally as Bad ascends to its newly-set high. The project reaches the top 10 for the first time more than 13 years after debuting, and it becomes Jackson’s seventh top 10 win out of eight total appearances. Of all the singer’s titles that have reached the roster, only Michael: Songs From the Motion Picture (Soundtrack) missed out on breaking into the space, as it topped out at No. 12, where it debuted in early May.
Here are all of Jackson’s top 10s on Billboard‘s Vinyl Albums chart.
- Bad
- Dangerous
- Number Ones
- Off the Wall
- Scream
- Thriller
- Xscape
Thriller Slips From No. 1
While both Off the Wall and Bad soar to new peaks on the Vinyl Albums chart, they are currently Jackson’s lowest-ranking titles on this week’s roster. Thriller backtracks from No. 1 and settles in second place as rising talent Freya Skye’s new EP Stardust launches at No. 1. Thriller first hit the Vinyl Albums tally in April 2011, but it wasn’t until the final chart week in 2018 that it made its way to the throne. It remains Jackson’s only leader, and has collected just three stays at No. 1.
His Number Ones compilation is not far behind one of the bestselling releases of all time. Number Ones holds at No. 4, and that’s as high as it has ever climbed in its 15 weeks as a bestseller.
Bad Hits a New High
All four of Jackson’s projects that find space on the Vinyl Albums chart can also be located on the Top Album Sales tally, which is not centered around just one format. Off the Wall dips from its peak of No. 11 to No. 14, while Bad pushes from No. 28 to No. 20, establishing a never-before-seen high. Shortly before it celebrates its first year on the roster, Jackson claims five spaces, as the Michael soundtrack holds on even as it slides to No. 33.