Michael Jackson Makes History as First Artist With Hits In 6 Decades

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The King of Pop has earned another milestone. Michael Jackson has now become the first person to earn a top 10 hit in six decades. The superstar entered the charts again with Thriller making the top 10 after Halloween. The song was first released in 1982 as part of the album of the same title, which is the top-selling album of all time.

Luminate, which tracks streams and airplay, says the song generated 14 million streams and 9.3 million plays on the radio. In 1982, “Thriller” went to #4, but has since become a staple of Halloween celebrations, much like Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” dominates Christmastime. This achievement puts Jackson in his own lane in music history as the first artist to achieve top 10 hits in six different decades, from the ’70s to the ‘2020s. Crooner Andy Williams was the previous recordholder with top ten hits across five decades. He died in 2012.

This comes as Jackson has been anointed as the top-selling dead celebrity, earning $105M in 2025 alone. He passed away at the age of 50 in 2009. Since his death, Jackson’s estate has brought in over $3.5B, from his publishing and masters, the sale of his ATV catalogue, MJ: The Musical and his Cirque du Soleil show Michael Jackson ONE.

Those earnings will only increase as excitement grows for the upcoming Michael Jackson biopic. A new teaser trailer dropped this week with Michael’s nephew Jafaar Jackson in the lead role. (He’s Jermaine’s son.) After a delay to clear up with was reported as a legal snafu, Michael will drop on April 24, directed by Antoine Fuqua. Nia Long, Larenz Tate, Colman Domingo and Kendrick Sampson also star.

Michael Jackson Makes History as The First Artist With Hits In 6 Decades was originally published on cassiuslife.com