On the latest Billboard 200 albums chart, dated May 16, Michael Jackson’s compilation album, Number Ones, has surged seven spots to claim the No. 6 position. This marks a significant achievement for the King of Pop, as it becomes his 11th album to reach the top 10 and his first new top 10 entry in the 2020s. This accomplishment places Jackson in an elite group as only the fifth act to secure at least one new top 10 album in every decade from the 1970s onwards. He now stands alongside legendary artists such as Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, and James Taylor, all of whom have achieved new top 10 albums in the 1970s, ’80s, ’90s, 2000s, ’10s, and ’20s.

The renewed success of Number Ones, originally released in 2003, is largely attributed to the sustained excitement surrounding the Michael Jackson biopic, 'Michael.' The film premiered in United States movie theaters on April 24 and has since garnered significant box office success, grossing over $240 million in the U.S. and Canada through May 10. This impressive financial performance has established 'Michael' as the top-grossing music biopic of all time, surpassing the previous record holder, 'Bohemian Rhapsody,' without adjusting for inflation. Adding to Jackson’s chart dominance, his iconic album Thriller also experienced a notable ascent on the latest Billboard 200, climbing from No. 7 to No. 5. This marks Thriller's first time in the top five since May 1984. The album famously spent an unparalleled 37 weeks at No. 1 in 1983-84, holding the record for the most weeks at the top spot for an album by a singular artist.

Michael Jackson's illustrious career is punctuated by a remarkable run of 11 top 10 albums across five decades. In the 1970s, he achieved two top 10s: Ben, which peaked at No. 5 in 1972, and Off the Wall, which entered the top 10 in September 1979 and reached its peak at No. 3 in February 1980. The 1980s saw two more chart-toppers with Thriller, No. 1 for 37 weeks (1983-84), and Bad, which held the No. 1 position for six weeks in 1987. The 1990s continued this trend with Dangerous, No. 1 for four weeks (1991-92), and HIStory: Past, Present and Future Book 1, which spent two weeks at No. 1 in 1995. Into the 2000s, Jackson secured two more top 10s: Invincible, No. 1 for one week in 2001, and his first posthumous top 10, the soundtrack to Michael Jackson’s This Is It, which was No. 1 for one week in 2009. The 2010s featured two additional top entries with Michael, No. 3 in 2011, and Xscape, No. 2 in 2014. Now, in the 2020s, Number Ones adds to this incredible legacy.

The Billboard 200 chart serves as the definitive ranking of the most popular albums in the U.S. each week. Its methodology is based on multi-metric consumption, measured in equivalent album units and compiled by Luminate. These units encompass traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA), and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Specifically, one equivalent album unit is tallied for each album sale, or for every 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or for 2,500 ad-supported official audio and video streams, or 1,000 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album.

The full May 16-dated chart is made available on Billboard’s official website on May 12. For comprehensive chart news and updates, followers can engage with @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram.