it’s still hard to believe that he’s dead…. i grew up listening to him. he’s an incredible musician. such a great singer, writer, producer, dancer… so surreal. the things he has achieved are amazing. he will be remembered for the positive things, such as…. (courtesy of wikipedia)
- Jackson had nine platinum singles in the United States, trailing only Elvis Presley (27) and Mariah Carey (10).
- Jackson had 16 gold singles in the United States, behind only Elvis Presley (54), Madonna (26), The Beatles (24), Mariah Carey (23), Janet Jackson (21), Whitney Houston (18), Elton John (17) and The Temptations (17).
- Jackson’s Thriller remained at number one for thirty-seven weeks, the longest-ever stay by a non-soundtrack album and second only to West Side Story.
- Thriller spent a record 80 consecutive weeks, more than a year and a half, in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200. It was the first of only three albums to remain on the Top 10 for more than a year (along with Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill and Celine Dion’s Falling into You).
- “Thriller” is the second-best-selling album in U.S. history, at 28 million. Only a greatest hits compilation by The Eagles has sold more.
- Thriller is the only album in the United States to have sold more copies than any other in two separate years, topping the sales charts in 1983 and 1984.
- Four of Jackson’s albums, Bad, Dangerous, HIStory, and Invincible, debuted at number one in the United States.
- Jackson was the first artist to have four top-ten singles from one album (Off the Wall).
- Jackson was the first artist to have seven Top 10 singles from one album (Thriller), a feat matched only by his sister Janet and Bruce Springsteen.
- Jackson was the first artist to simultaneously have the number-one album and number-one single on Billboard’s Pop Charts and Black Charts.
- Jackson was the first artist in the 1980s to have two simultaneous top-five hits (“Beat It” and “Billie Jean” on April 16, 1983).
- Jackson is the only artist to have five number-one hits from one LP, Bad (“Bad”, “The Way You Make Me Feel”, “Man in the Mirror”, “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You”, and “Dirty Diana”).
- Jackson had nine number one singles in the 1980s, more than any other artist during the decade.
- Jackson was the first artist to have a song debut as high as #5 on the Hot 100 (“Scream” in 1995).
- Jackson was the first artist to ever have a song debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 (“You Are Not Alone”).
- Jackson’s album Bad remained in the top five of the Billboard 200 for thirty-eight weeks, longer than any other album to date.
- Jackson has had thirteen number-one singles on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles charts, trailing only The Beatles (20), Mariah Carey (18) and Elvis Presley (18 or 17, depending on source).
- Jackson had 28 top ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100, trailing only The beatles (29), Elvis Presley (36) and Madonna (37).
- Jackson had 37 top 40 hits on the Hot 100.
- Jackson’s album “Thriller” (1982) is the best selling album of all time with more than 104 million copies.
- Would have been the biggest audience ever to see an artist in one city, from “This Is It” in 2009.
- Would have been the most amount of people to attend a series of arena shows, from “This Is It” in 2009.
- The fastest ticket sales in history, with 700,000 tickets sold in about four hours for the cancelled “This Is It” tour in 2009.
- Jackson is the fourth best selling artist of all time with over 750 million records sold. (First, second and third are as follows: 1. The Beatles, 2. Elvis Presley, 3. Bing Crosby)
he has been such an influence to today’s music, there is NO way to deny it.
Michael Jackson's Influence
