Two Michael Jackson projects — Number Ones and Off the Wall — climb to new peaks on the Top Album Sales chart, with the latter finally hitting the top 10. Elevated view of American R&B & Pop musician Michael Jackson (1958 – 2009) as he stands, arms outstretched, in the short film ‘Captain EO’ (directed by Francis Ford Coppola), Culver City, California, 1985. (Photo by Steve Slocomb/Getty Images)
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Streams and sales of Michael Jackson’s music rose dramatically around the release of his self-titled biopic, Michael. The film immediately became a box office smash, and many of the late superstar’s most famous songs and albums jumped up the Billboard charts, or in some cases debuted on lists they had never reached before.
Streaming activity was largely to thank for Jackson’s success on the weekly tallies, but purchases also rose by, in some instances, 100% or more. Such gains were expected, and typically, in these kinds of situations, purchases trail off faster than streams. After a few weeks, when it comes to most acts and a special spike, things return to normal. That is not turning out to be the case with Jackson.
Well over a month after Michael arrived in cinemas, he remains one of the most successful artists on the Billboard charts. He sits in lofty positions and appears across a variety of tallies with multiple collections and quite a few hits. Amazingly, sales are still shockingly strong, and this week, two favorites among Jackson fans rise to never-before-seen highs on the busiest purchase-focused albums ranking.
Michael Jackson’s Number Ones and Off the Wall Surge
On this week’s Top Album Sales chart, which details the bestselling collections in the United States, with digital downloads and purchases on CD, cassette and vinyl all included in its methodology, four of Jackson’s releases take up space. Amazingly, half of them establish new peak positions. Jackson’s Number Ones compilation ascends from No. 9 to No. 6. Just two spaces further down, Off the Wall dances from No. 14 to No. 8.
Michael Jackson Scores a New Top 10 With Off the Wall
Off the Wall breaks into the top 10 on the Top Album Sales chart for the first time, 34 weeks into its run on the tally. It is now tied with Michael: Songs From the Motion Picture (Soundtrack), which arrived just under a month ago, as both topped out at No. 8.
Jackson has now racked up 10 top 10s on the Top Album Sales roster, a sum which includes a quartet of No. 1s. Dangerous, Invincible, HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I and Michael Jackson’s This Is It (Soundtrack) have all led the charge.
Here are all of Michael Jackson’s top 10s on the Top Album Sales chart.
- Dangerous
- HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I
- Invincible
- Michael
- Michael Jackson’s This Is It (Soundtrack)
- Michael: Songs from the Motion Picture (Soundtrack)
- Number Ones
- Off the Wall
- Thriller
- Xscape
Michael Jackson Blocked from No. 1 by a K-Pop Favorite
Jackson is denied a new No. 1 this week, and he almost sees three of his four charting efforts rise to new peak positions. Thriller steps up from No. 6 – making way for Number Ones – to No. 2 on the Top Album Sales chart. Only Pure Flow by K-pop girl group Le Sserafim blocks the bestselling traditional studio album in American history from finally conquering the Top Album Sales rundown. Instead of hitting No. 1, Thriller returns to its previously set No. 2 peak.
Only Bad falls from No. 20 – the highest it’s ever reached – to No. 21. While Bad does not push to a new peak, it does reach a milestone that’s fairly uncommon when it comes to the Top Album Sales chart. As of this period, it has now spent 52 weeks, exactly a year, as one of the bestselling releases in the nation.