Michael Jackson Becomes the First and Only Artist to Have a New “Billboard” Hot 100 Hit in Six Different Decades
Michael Jackson Becomes the First and Only Artist to Have a New “Billboard” Hot 100 Hit in Six Different Decades
Lily BrownWed, June 3, 2026 at 11:15 PM UTC
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Michael JacksonCredit: Bob King/Redferns -
Michael Jackson's song "Chicago" debuted at No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking his 52nd solo chart entry
The song's resurgence was fueled by TikTok and increased streaming interest following the success of the Michael biopic
"Chicago" is Jackson's second-highest-charting song on the current Hot 100, behind "Billie Jean" at No. 19
Michael Jackson has officially become the first and only artist to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 in every decade since the 1970s.
With a new entry in the 2020s, Jackson has had new Hot 100 entries across six decades: 11 songs in the '70s, 20 in the '80s, 12 in the '90s, four in the 2000s, four in the 2010s, and now one in the 2020s.
His latest chart appearance comes with "Chicago," debuting at No. 30 on the June 6 chart. Originally released on the posthumous 2014 album Xscape, nearly five years after the King of Pop's death in 2009, the song joins fellow Xscape singles "Love Never Felt So Good" featuring Justin Timberlake, which peaked at No. 9, and "Slave to the Rhythm" at No. 45 as the Hot 100 entries from the project.
Michael Jackson performs during the 'Bad' tour in March 1988Credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage
Produced by Timbaland and JRoc and written by Cory Rooney, "Chicago" becomes Jackson's 52nd Hot 100 hit as a solo artist since it began with "Got to Be There" in 1972. This is the first chart entry since Drake's "Don't Matter to Me" featuring Jackson in 2018. That song became Jackson's 30th career top-10 hit, with 13 of those reaching No. 1.
The track generated 10.7 million official on-demand U.S. streams during the May 22-28 tracking week, a 30% increase from the previous week according to Luminate. Under Billboard's chart rules, older songs can enter the Hot 100 if they rank within the top 50 and show significant growth in consumption.
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Michael Jackson in Chicago in April 1988Credit: Paul Natkin/WireImage
"Chicago" entered the Hot 100 largely thanks to a surge in streaming, fueled by the renewed interest in Jackson's catalog as the Michael biopic dominated the box office. Notably, "Chicago" was never one of Jackson's biggest hits during its original release and is not featured in the film. Instead, the song has found new life through social media, especially on TikTok, where it has introduced the track to a new generation of listeners.
The song has now accumulated 388 million streams worldwide. According to Billboard, its recent surge has been steadily climbing from 3.8 million streams on the May 9 chart week to 5.4 million on May 16, 6.9 million on May 23 and 8.3 million on May 30. The song's May 9 total alone represented an 83% jump from the week before.
Michael Jackson performs at the 1993 Pasadena, California, Superbowl XXVII halftime showCredit: George Rose/Getty
On the latest Hot 100, "Chicago" stands as Jackson's second-highest-charting song currently on the chart, behind "Billie Jean" at No. 19. It also sits ahead of "Human Nature" at No. 31 and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" at No. 43.
Earlier, on the May 23-dated Hot 100, Jackson achieved another milestone when six of his songs charted simultaneously: "Billie Jean," "Human Nature," "Beat It," "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," "Dirty Diana" and "Rock with You." All six reached the top 10 during their original runs and five of them hit No. 1.
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