Nearly 17 years after his passing, the late Michael Jackson has made music-history by becoming the first artist ever to land a Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in six different decades.
The milestone is anchored by the re-entry of his iconic single “Thriller,” originally released in 1982, which recently climbed from No. 32 to No. 10 on the Hot 100.
Billboard confirms that Jackson’s run of Top 10 placements now spans the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and the 2020s.
What This Means for Michael Jackson
“This is a record that speaks to decades of influence,” said a music-industry analyst. “To appear in the Top 10 across six separate decades is almost unthinkable.”
Jackson first broke into the Top 10 in the early 1970s as a solo artist with “Got to Be There,” and his catalog continued to generate major hits throughout his career.
The new feat edges out the previous benchmark set by Andy Williams, whose Top 10 appearances spanned five decades.
The revival of “Thriller” coincided with Halloween programming and streaming surges. According to the report, the track’s streams rose 57% week-over-week, while radio airplay jumped 124%.
Despite being recorded more than four decades ago, Jackson’s catalogue continues to resonate. As one observer put it: “He’s still entering the chart as if nothing changed in pop music.”
Jackson accumulated approximately 30 Top 10 hits during his lifetime, with 12 reaching No. 1. His most recent Top 10 placement prior to the current moment came in 2018, when he was featured posthumously on Drake’s “Don’t Matter to Me.”
While Jackson passed away in 2009, his estate continues to release material and his music keeps surfacing in new contexts. The freshly garnered Top 10 notch adds to a legacy of both artistic and commercial success.
Music-industry insiders say this event may open the door for legacy artists to re-emerge on the charts. “We may see more catalog songs breaking through,” one executive predicted.