Michael Jackson Number One Hits Album
Taneka Tarring
Number Ones is a greatest hits album by American singer Michael Jackson. It was released on November 18, 2003, by Epic Records.[5] Number Ones was Jackson's first proper compilation album with Epic Records, after the release of the first disc of HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I in 1995 (and after the re-release of that disc as a single album titled Greatest Hits: HIStory, Volume I in 2001). The album included Jackson's singles that reportedly reached number 1 in charts around the world, hence the album's name. Number Ones also features the last original single released during Jackson's lifetime, "One More Chance", released four days after the release of the album.
Number Ones was successful around the world, originally reaching number one in the United Kingdom, among other countries. The album eventually returned to the top spot in the UK after Jackson's sudden death in 2009, and became the number one selling album in the United States for six non-consecutive weeks and stayed at number one for twenty-seven weeks on the US Top Pop Catalog Albums chart that year. However, as a 'catalog' title, initially Number Ones was excluded from the Billboard 200, the main albums chart in the United States, denying Jackson a seventh solo number one album on the chart. The rules preventing titles older than 18 months to chart on the Billboard 200 were subsequently changed in the fall of 2009 due to the posthumous success of Jackson, as well as The Beatles re-mastered re-releases.
With Number Ones, Jackson was the first artist to sell more than one million music downloads in one week. The album was also the third best-selling album of 2009 in the United States according to Nielsen Soundscan and ninth best-selling worldwide according to IFPI.[6][7] By 2021, Number Ones was certified 5 Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). At the 2009 American Music Awards, it won two awards - Favorite Pop/Rock Album and Favorite Soul/R&B Album. One of the best-selling albums of the 21st century, the compilation managed to sell over 10 million copies worldwide.[8]
There were four covers for the Number Ones album: a pose from the "Bad" music video, a pose from a photo session for the "Off the Wall" album cover, a pose where he is suspended on his toes while performing "Billie Jean", and the final cover shows him holding his signature fedora, in the midst of a kick (from "Black or White").
In New Zealand, Number Ones re-entered the chart following Jackson's death at number 38, climbing to number 4 the following week. It then reached number 1 the next week; the album was also certified 4 Platinum, shipping over 60,000 copies.[19][20]
Aug. 29, 1958: Michael Joseph Jackson is born to Katherine and Joe Jackson in Gary, Ind. His older siblings are Rebbie, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, LaToya and Marlon. Later, brother Randy and sister Janet join the family. Katherine Jackson raises her children as Jehovah's Witnesses.
1962: Michael, Marlon, Jackie, Tito and Jermaine combine to form a band. At first, their father does not approve, but later changes his mind and manages the band. Jackson sings lead vocal on most of the songs.
1978: Jackson makes his film debut as the Scarecrow in The Wiz, an urban retelling of the classic film The Wizard Of Oz. Diana Ross co-stars as Dorothy. Jackson is said to wear his makeup long after production hours.
1982-1983: Jackson releases the album Thriller, and it tops the charts for 37 weeks. Seven singles dash into the top 10, including "Billie Jean," "Beat It," "Thriller" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'." The extended video sequence on "Thriller" has Jackson morph into a werewolf. Jackson unveils his signature dance move, the moonwalk.
1984: Questions arise about Jackson's changing appearance, and some wonder if the singer has had plastic surgery. He builds a home on 2,700 acres in Central California, complete with its own amusement park rides, and calls it Neverland.
1985: Jackson and Lionel Richie pen "We Are The World," with the proceeds from sales of the single slated for hunger relief in Africa. Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Cyndi Lauper and other prominent artists lend their voices to the song. It sells a record seven million copies.
1992: Jackson tells Oprah Winfrey he has vitiligo, a skin disorder that destroys melanin and, in severe cases, can leave a victim devoid of skin color. He also reveals that his father emotionally abused him as a child.
1993: Jackson is accused in civil court of molesting an 11-year-old boy. Police descend on Neverland and subject Jackson to a full body search. "It was the most humiliating ordeal of my life," he says in a televised statement in December.
1996: Jarvis Cocker of the British band Pulp accosts Jackson in mid-act at the BRIT Awards. Jackson was surrounded by children and a rabbi performing "Earth Song." Cocker claims Jackson had attempted to imitate Christ.
2001: Sony releases Invincible, which is panned by critics and does not sell well. Jackson battles a $21-million civil suit by a German concert promoter who says the singer backed out of two concerts and pocketed an advance.
2003: Jackson is charged with seven counts of child sexual abuse and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent. All charges were made by the same boy, Gavin Arvizo, who was under 14 at the time of the alleged crime.
2006: Financial troubles force closure on the main house on the Neverland Ranch. Jackson agrees to a Sony-backed refinancing deal. Jackson makes his first public appearance since the Arvizo trial to accept eight records from the Guinness World Records in London, including "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time." In late 2006, Jackson agrees to share joint custody of his first two children with ex-wife Debbie Rowe.
2008: Jackson issues Thriller 25, celebrating 25 years of the iconic album. The reissue hits number one in eight countries and reached number two in the U.S. Sony releases King of Pop, a fan-curated compilation.
The Eagles' first compilation, Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975, officially took over the number one spot after the Recording Industry of America (RIAA) recalculated sales and certified that the LP has gone 38 times platinum. Thriller is 33 times platinum.
According to the Associated Press, the last time the RIAA tallied the Eagles' greatest hits album sales was in 2006, before music streaming and downloading had really taken hold. The Thriller numbers were updated in 2017.
"We are grateful for our families, our management, our crew, the people at radio and, most of all, the loyal fans who have stuck with us through the ups and downs of 46 years," Don Henley said in a statement. "It's been quite a ride."
Maybe the most amazing element is that he achieved this status with a mere six albums from the time he turning 18 in 1976 to his death in 2009. Obviously, it helps when those albums include blockbusters like Thriller, Bad and Dangerous.
This limited discography in volume raises some questions though. As popular as Michael Jackson has been it is hard to imagine him challenging artists like Madonna or Mariah Carey, who were massive too but issued far more albums and mostly during a more favorable time for record sales.
Additionally, artists with well-known elements like video clips, dance moves, widely covered / sampled and highly influential are often seen as bigger sellers than they really are. Since Michael Jackson assembles these elements better than anyone we may wonder even more how much he truly sold.
A lot of myths are well alive around him, from the 750 million record sales to the 100 million copies sold of Thriller. Those claims are clearly fake though, on par with the billion sales of the Beatles or Elvis Presley. Speaking of myths, most of them are related to Thriller. Is it so big that it eclipses everything else and asks the question, were the likes of Off The Wall and Bad less successful than often believed?
NB: N/A means no specific number is available. Sales from the country are still accounted for in the Worldwide estimate by using figure patterns of both the artist and the country market. Countries not displayed in this fixed panel are factored in also.
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