Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ Is Revived Yet Again

Sometimes, when Michael Jackson’s music soars on the charts, it’s easy to pinpoint the reason why. His catalog gains significantly every October thanks to his forever connection to Halloween, which is often soundtracked by both his album Thriller and the title track. He also performs well around the holidays, thanks to the Christmassy tracks he released as part of the Jackson 5 in the early stages of his career.

In other instances, it’s not as easy to explain why Jackson’s sales rise or gains on streaming sites. This superstar remains massively popular even years after his death, and sometimes fans simply decide to return to the classics that made him one of the most successful musicians of all time, focusing their listening and buying on a handful of his most popular works.

Thriller is a bestseller again in the United Kingdom this week. The blockbuster reappears on two albums charts, as listeners in that country have never really stopped buying it. This frame, Thriller appears highest on the Official Physical Albums chart, where it re-enters at No. 93.

It also jumps back onto the Official Albums Sales ranking at No. 96, coming in a few spaces lower on the list that takes into account all forms of purchases, and not just those on physical formats.

If Thriller can hold on for just one more frame on the Official Physical Albums chart, it will give Jackson another 100-week winner. It hasn’t spent nearly as long on the list of the bestselling titles in the country, where it’s only up to 15 frames.

As Thriller reappears, another one of Jackson’s most popular offerings is growing. The Essential Michael Jackson climbs on the two tallies it appears on this frame. The compilation is up one space on both the Official Albums Streaming chart (No. 13) and the Official Albums chart (No. 18).

The former tally looks only at which collections are being streamed most frequently, while the latter is the ranking of the most-consumed albums, regardless of how fans are tuning in.

The Essential Michael Jackson has spent more time on its rankings than Thriller has on the two tallies where it reappears. The popular compilation is up to 142 stays somewhere on the streaming-only roster. It has just six more turns to go before becoming a 200-week charter on the 100-space list of the most-consumed projects throughout the nation.