The late Michael Jackson has achieved a unique longevity feat on the charts, becoming the first-ever musical artist to have a single debut on Billboard’s Hot 100 in six separate decades.
It comes with the charting of his track Chicago, which landed in the number 30 spot on the industry list – marking his first appearance in the 2020s decade.
The track initially was put out on Xscape, Jackson’s posthumous record released in May of 2014.
It arrived on the chart for the week of June 6, buoyed by an estimated 10.7 million streams in the U.S. for the week of May 22-28, the musical outlet reported, citing stats from Luminate.
Previous tracks from the album that made the Billboard Hot 100 included Love Never Felt So Good, a collaboration with Justin Timberlake that reached the ninth spot on the chart.
Another single, Slave to the Rhythm, hit the 45th spot on the chart.
The late Michael Jackson achieved a unique longevity feat on the charts, becoming the first-ever musical artist to have a single appear on Billboard Hot 100 in six separate decades. Pictured in 1988
The 12-year-old track, which was produced by Timbaland and JRoc, was eligible for the chart since it had strong increases and produced enough to appear in the top 50 slots.
In all, Chicago has amassed a total of 388 million streams, with gradual gains attributable to the uptick in interest in Jackson’s catalogue following the release of musical biopic Michael, which details portions of the King of Pop’s career.
While the song was not a commercial hit upon its debut and is not featured in the movie, it comes amid renewed interest in Jackson’s catalog and frequent plays via the social media platform TikTok.
Jackson began his dominance of the charts with 11 singles to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 in the 1970s, followed by 20 tracks in the 1980s, which marked his career apex.
The 1990s delivered another 12 appearances on the Billboard Hot 100, while the 2000s marked four new songs to hit the charts.
Jackson, who died in June of 2009, reached the charts four more times from 2010-2019 amid a boom in nostalgia in the years following his passing.
It marks the musical artist’s 52nd overall career entry on the Hot 100, with his first coming more than 50 years ago with 1972’s Got to Be There.
Prior to Chicago, Jackson’s last chart entry came with the Drake track Don’t Matter to Me, which he was featured on. The song marked the 30th time the late singer had a track reach the top 10.
Jackson seen onstage at Super Bowl XXVII on January 31, 1993 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena California
The feat comes on the heels of the release of the musical biopic Michael, which details portions of the King of Pop’s career
Amid the boom in Jackson nostalgia, three other tracks from the vocalist arrived on the Hot 100: Billie Jean (19th place); Human Nature (31st); Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough (43rd).
Jackson’s tracks Beat It, Dirty Diana and Rock with You also appeared with the previous three tracks on the May 23 chart, marking the first time he had six tracks on the chart at the same time.
Jackson last autumn posthumously became the first performer to have top 10 hits on the chart in six distinct decades.
Thriller, which previously reached number four in 1984, arrived in the 10th spot on the chart in November, reflecting renewed popularity during Halloween festivities.
