News: Fever For The King Of Pop
Lady Motown
February Fever for The King Of Pop
Created: Friday, 11 March 2005
Number OnesFor chart watchers and music lovers, the month of February is
generally anticipated for two reasons; The first being the annual Grammy
Awards telecast which showcases both established and breaking artists on
a national stage for one night. The second being the pre-Valentine's
week sales surge which finds a number of consumers flocking to the
record stores in pursuit of gifts for their romantic loved ones.
For Michael Jackson, it was the latter which largely contributed to the
artist's notable increase in domestic February sales as his platinum*
Number Ones album shot back up the Billboard 200 during the
pre-Valentine's weeks while other titles in his catalog similarily
experienced a sales boost.
In other news, the United Kingdom yielded even more accolades for the
King Of Pop as three of his music videos landed at #1, #7, and #12
respectively on Channel 4's nationwide vote to find the 100 Greatest Pop
Videos of all time. Likewise, in a separate poll conducted by BBC Radio
1, Michael Jackson landed a Top 3 placing in the search to name the
Greatest No.1 singles ever in the UK. The month ended on an even higher
note as, according to figures released by Channel 4, Michael Jackson was
named the 6th Best Selling UK Singles Artist ever.
Elsewhere around the world, the Number Ones project lengthened it's
durable chart run in Australia as the CD and DVD each amassed their 66th
and 62nd week on the charts respectively.
USA
With cumulative February sales of over 75,000 units**, Michael Jackson's
catalog of Epic material scored a 25% increase over the previous month.
Thanks to a renewed interest in the artist's Number Ones album, Jackson
re-entered the album charts on January 20th and posted four consecutive
weeks of increased sales climbing evenutally to #122 and #66 on the
Billboard 200 and Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart respectively. With
combined CD/DVD sales of approximately 40,000 units for the month,
Number Ones' healthy resurgence gave the artist and his multi-platinum
endeavour another reason to smile.
Elsewhere on the charts, Thriller remained locked inside the Top 20 of
the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Catalog Chart selling over 17,000 copies for
the month. It's worth noting that the biggest selling album of all time
has now amassed over 320 weeks on the R&B chart.
Honorable mentions must also go to both Jackson's Bad and Dangerous
which, thanks to BET's Michael Jackson: Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
eight hour marathon on February 20th, posted a 39% and 25% sales
increase respectively the following week. Combined, the albums shifted
approximately 3,000 units for the month.
UK
On February 7th, the King of Pop received even more good news as
twenty-two years after it's groundbreaking release on television screens
worldwide, Thriller was once again voted the greatest music video of all
time according to a nationwide vote conducted by Channel 4 ranking the
Top 100 Greatest Pop Videos ever. With three films eligible to compete,
Jackson not only topped the chart but also placed two other videos in
the Top 20 with Billie Jean at #7 and Scream (Jackson's legendary duet
with sister Janet Jackson) at #12.
Likewise, after the 1000th #1 single was notched up in the UK, a
separate poll conducted in January by BBC Radio 1 to find the Greatest
#1 singles ever resulted in a #3 placing for Michael Jackson's classic
"Billie Jean" (only to be outdone by Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" and
Iron Maiden's "Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter".) Of the 25,000
votes counted, Jackson was the most voted for male artist.
Wrapping up the month, Michael Jackson was also named Britain's 6th Best
Selling Singles Artist ever based on another Channel 4 ranking which
counted down the definitive list of the 50 biggest-selling artists of
all time, drawing on UK singles sales from the past 50 years. It's worth
noting that Jackson's cumulative single sales total of 11,310,958 units
excluded his work with the Jackson 5/Jacksons leaving one to wonder
exactly how much higher Jackson would have placed had his entire career
of single sales been considered.
Australia
Knotching it's 66th week on the ARIA Urban Album Chart, Michael
Jackson's triple platinum* Number Ones continued it's Top 20 trajectory
charting as follows: 17-18-18-17. Likewise, the 8X platinum* Number Ones
DVD exercised it's endurance on the ARIA Top Music DVD Chart ringing up
it's 62nd week on the chart and performing as follows: 19-24-31-15.
Summary
From the 40,000 Number Ones surge in the United States to the numerous
UK polls/listings in which Jackson placed ever so prominently to the
uninterrupted 60+ week Australian Number Ones chart run, February was
indeed a feverish month for the King Of Pop. Looking ahead, March has
already begun with two Jackson albums entrenched in the UK Top 200 Album
Chart along with the Number Ones DVD holding firmly in the Top 20 in
both the USA and Australia.
And the record continues to spin.
Source: MJJSource
By: Amit Khanna
USA Soundscan information courtesy of Jim Radenhausen.
* Certification figure based on shipment information compiled in each
respective country/territory.
** This tally does not include sales for The Ultimate Collection (4 CD/1
DVD), single sales, certain music DVD titles (eg. The One, Dangerous:
The Short Films, Moonwalker, The Making Of Thriller, etc.), material
recorded with The Jacksons, and Motown era Jackson 5/solo recordings.
http://mjjsource.com/main/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=455&Itemid=32