HOT 91.7 FM MICHAEL JACKSON: Makes History Again
Written by Ariel Newbold on November 11, 2025
Michael Jackson has made history again as he has become the first artist ever to rank in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 in six distinct decades — the 1970s, ‘80s, ‘90s, 2000s, ‘10s and now ‘20s.
It’s all thanks to his 1982 song “Thriller,” which jumped from number-32 to 10 following it being streamed 14-million times around Halloween, along with 9.3 million in radio airplay audience, and selling 3,000 units in the U.S., which allowed him to surpass Andy Williams who held the record with five decades in the Top 10 — ‘50s, ’60s, ’70s, ‘10s and ’20s.
“Thriller” is now Jackson’s longest-charting Hot 100 hit at 26 weeks, surpassing “Billie Jean” and “Beat It,” which have each spent 25 weeks on the chart beginning in 1983.
Jackson first cracked the Hot 100 as a soloist in November 1971 with his debut single, “Got To Be There.” He’s had 30 Top 10s, including 13 at number-one.
His first appearance in the Top 10 came in December 1969 with The Jackson 5‘s “I Want You Back.”
