More than 16 years after his passing, Michael Jackson is still breaking Billboard records.
According to Billboard, the King of Pop’s 1982 classic “Thriller” got a major boost this Halloween, jumping from No. 31 to No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Originally peaking at No. 4 in 1984, the track’s return to the top ten officially makes Jackson the first artist ever to chart in the Hot 100’s top ten across six different decades, beginning in the 1970s.
During the Oct. 31–Nov. 6 tracking week, “Thriller” pulled in 14 million streams, reached 9.3 million in radio airplay audience, and sold 3,000 pure copies. The song now stands as Jackson’s longest-charting Hot 100 entry with 26 total weeks, surpassing “Billie Jean” and “Beat It,” which each held for 25 weeks.
Before this milestone, Jackson had tied Andy Williams, who reached the top ten in five decades—the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, ’10s, and ’20s—with his holiday staple “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” which hit No. 5 in 2020. Jackson’s last top ten entry came in 2018 through his posthumous feature on Drake’s “Don’t Matter to Me.”
This isn’t the only record MJ shattered this month. The teaser trailer for his upcoming biopic Michael has become the most-viewed trailer for any music biopic ever, amassing a staggering 116.2 million views within its first 24 hours. The film, directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson, is set to premiere on April 24, 2026, via Lionsgate.
