Michael Jackson’s Annual Chart Comeback Has Already Begun

Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” is one of multiple tracks that become popular in America every year around the same time. Many tunes that manage to do so are connected to a holiday, with Christmas being the biggest winner, although several cuts connected to the Fourth of July and especially Halloween also manage impressive comebacks annually. “Thriller” is counted among those yearly winners, as it may be the quintessential Halloween cut. Weeks before the spookiest day of the year arrives, “Thriller” is revived and becomes a bestseller once more as its expected ascent has already begun.

“Thriller” Becomes a Bestseller in American Again

“Thriller” reappears on two Billboard charts in America this week. The track returns highest — and inside the top 10 — on the R&B Digital Song Sales ranking, where it lands at No. 6. The beloved cut also soars back onto the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales ranking, where it nearly becomes a top 10 success again, starting off this year at No. 13.

A Decades-Long Life on the Charts for “Thriller”

Throughout its lifetime, “Thriller” has racked up more than a year total on both of those rosters, which is a relatively uncommon feat for tracks on sales-specific tallies. The dozens of frames it has spent on both the R&B Digital Song Sales and R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales charts have been accumulated throughout many seasons, and it adds to its total every year. Jackson’s classic has previously reached No. 1 and could very well do so again by the time November rolls around and late-October activity is reflected on the rankings.

Thriller Album Rises Across Multiple Charts

As interest in the song “Thriller” grows, the album of the same name is also on the move. Thriller lives on five Billboard charts in America at the moment, climbing on four of them. The set only falls on the Vinyl Albums tally, and only by a few spaces, but that’s likely due to a busy week with lots of competition. Thriller nears the top 10 on the Top R&B Albums chart, settling at No. 11. It also lives inside the top 40 on both the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top Album Sales rosters, improving to Nos. 27 and 38, respectively.

Thriller Rockets Up Billboard 200

On the Billboard 200, Thriller enjoys its greatest gain, where it leaps more than 20 spots and returns to the highest half of the ranking of the most consumed albums in the country. Total consumption of Thriller grew by 7% from one frame to the next, which equates to a gain of more than 700 equivalent units. Luminate reports that Thriller shifted just under 11,900 copies in America last week, and that figure is bound to grow as the weather turns colder.

How Long Has Thriller Lived on the Billboard 200

This season will be a special one for Thriller on the Billboard 200, as Jackson’s blockbuster is headed for an impressive milestone, one which only a handful of titles in history have reached. As of this week, Thriller has lived on the Billboard 200 for 698 frames. By the time Halloween arrives, it will make it to 700, which stands as one of the most impressive landmarks any title has hit.

Thriller Remains One of the Greatest Albums Ever

Jackson released Thriller in November 1982, and the world hasn’t been the same since. His sixth full-length under his own name helped turn the singer — who was already hugely successful and famous by that point — into perhaps the most popular artist of all time. The project went right to No. 1 and is regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time, as well as one of the bestselling. In the United States alone, it has been certified 34 times platinum — more than three times diamond — for shifting 34 million equivalent units.

What Singles Were Promoted from Thriller?

While Thriller shares a name with one of its seven singles, the six that preceded it (“Thriller” was the final promotional cut) also stand among some of the most popular R&B, pop, rock, and dance tracks of all time. Before Jackson got around to pushing “Thriller” as a single, he introduced the set with “The Girl Is Mine” and followed it up with tunes that are still popular to this day, like “Billie Jean,” “Beat It,” and “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing).”

Jackson won multiple Grammys for Thriller alongside producer Quincy Jones, including Album of the Year, and the title is still regarded as both a high watermark in terms of commercial viability and artistic ambition, even four decades later.