Overview
- Michael Jackson ranks No. 1 on Kworb’s May 2026 Global Digital Artist Ranking with 11,157 points, leading Justin Bieber by nearly 5,000 as he tops Apple Music, iTunes, YouTube, Shazam and Deezer while narrowly trailing on Spotify.
- For April 24–30, Luminate counted 137.5 million official on-demand streams in the U.S. for Jackson’s solo catalog, a career best that rose 146 percent from the prior peak.
- Thriller re-enters the Billboard 200 at No. 7 with about 45,000 equivalent album units, and Billie Jean returns to the Hot 100 at No. 38 as catalog listening accelerates.
- In the U.K., the Michael soundtrack debuts at No. 1 on the Official Soundtrack Albums chart, while Michael (No. 4), Number Ones (No. 5) and Thriller (No. 8) give Jackson three top-10 placements on the Official Albums chart.
- The film Michael opened with $97 million in the U.S. and Canada and $218.8 million worldwide, and outlets like Rolling Stone say the early run has observers projecting a possible billion-dollar finish.