Michael Jackson’s career was a testament to innovation, dedication, and global impact. His achievements were recognized by Guinness World Records on numerous occasions. While some records may have been surpassed over time, others continue to stand as a mark of his influence.
This list explores some of Michael Jackson’s potentially unbroken records, highlighting his groundbreaking accomplishments in the music industry.
1. Most hit songs on UK Singles chart in one calendar year:
In 2006, Michael Jackson (USA) reached the UK Top 40 chart with 19 singles. All were re-issues of previous hits.
2. Most charities supported by a pop star:
As of 2000, Michael Jackson had supported 39 charity organizations either with monetary donations through sponsorship of their projects or through participating in their silent auctions. The charities involved include AIDS Project LA, American Cancer Society, BMI Foundation, Inc., Childhelp USA, United Negro College Fund (UNCF), YMCA – 28th Street/Crenshaw, The Sickle Cell Research Foundation and Volunteers of America.
3. Most lucrative recording contract
In March 2010, nine months after the singer’s death, the estate of Michael Jackson (USA, 1958–2009) brokered a recording contract with Sony Music Entertainment worth a staggering $250 million (then £165 million). The agreement, the largest ever in the music industry, demanded 10 albums of previously unreleased songs and repackaged existing material over a period of seven years.
4. Most Grammy Awards won in a single year by a male artist
The record for the most Grammy Awards won in a year is eight, by Michael Jackson in 1984.
5. Most viewed Wikipedia page for a musician (male)
Between 1 December 2007 and 30 June 2016, the Wikipedia page for American pop legend Michael Jackson (1958–2009) had been viewed an estimated 85 million times – more than any other article dedicated to a solo musician on the online encyclopaedia.
6. Best-selling album (Mexico)
Thriller by Michael Jackson (USA, 1958-2009) has sold 1.72 million copies in Mexico since it was released in 1982, according to data supplied by Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas (AMPROFON). Histórico: Banda el Recodo de Cruz Lizárraga – En Vivo (1997), by Banda el Recodo, is the best-selling album by a Mexican act, with 1.45 million copies sold. Thriller is also the best-selling album in Canada (2.75 million), the Netherlands (830,000), Austria (400,000), Latvia (136,000), the former Yugoslavia (112,500) and Israel (80,000), and it remains the best-selling album in the USA by a solo artist (34 million) as well as the world’s most popular release of all time (an estimated 67 million copies sold). Coincidentally, Mexico also holds the record for the largest Thriller dance, when the Instituto de la Juventud del Gobierno del Distrito Federal organized 13,597 participants paying tribute to the unforgettable choreography in Jackson’s “Thriller” video at Mexico City’s Monumento a la Revolución on 29 August 2009 – just 65 days after the singer’s death.
7. Most Billboard Music Awards won
Michael Jackson (USA, 1958–2009) has won 40 Billboard Music Awards. The annual event recognizes outstanding achievement on Billboard magazine’s (USA) weekly sales, streaming and airplay charts.
8. Most viewed Wikipedia page for a musician
Between 1 December 2007 and 30 June 2016, the Wikipedia page for American pop legend Michael Jackson (1958–2009) had been viewed an estimated 85 million times – more than any other article dedicated to a solo musician on the online encyclopaedia. The next most viewed pages for musicians are those of Lady Gaga (USA, b. Stefani Germanotta) with 80 million views and Eminem (USA, b. Marshall Bruce Mathers III) with 78 million views as of the same date.
9. First No.1 debut on US singles chart
“You Are Not Alone” was the first of four Hot 100 tracks to debut at No.1 in 1995. Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy” followed suit on 30 September, before Whitney Houston (“Exhale (Shoop Shoop)”, on 25 November) and Mariah Carey again, this time with Boyz II Men (“One Sweet Day”, on 2 December), both started at the top. “You Are Not Alone” by Michael Jackson (USA, 1958–2009) was the first single to debut at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100, on the chart dated 2 September 1995. As of 16 November 2019, 35 tracks had debuted at No.1 on the Hot 100. Travis Scott’s “Highest in the Room” was the most recent No.1 debut, on 19 October 2019. “You Are Not Alone” was taken from the album HIStory: Past, Present and Future – Book I. “Alone” replaced Seal’s “Kiss from a Rose” at No.1 and delayed rapper Coolio’s rise to the top with “Gangsta’s Paradise”, which knocked Jackson off the No.1 spot the following week.
10. Highest-earning dead celebrity (current)
This record is for the highest-earning dead celebrity based on the most recent data from Forbes (or similar) at $115 Million.
11. Largest TV audience for a music video premiere
An estimated 500 million people in 27 countries watched the premiere of Michael Jackson’s (USA) “Black or White” video on 14 November 1991. The 11-minute clip, directed by John Landis, reportedly cost $4 million to make.
12. Best-selling album in the USA by a solo artist
Released on 30 November 1982, Thriller by Michael Jackson (USA, 1958-2009) is the best-selling album in the USA by a solo artist. On 20 August 2021, Thriller was certified for shipments of 34 million units by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), extending its lead as the best-selling album by a solo act in Jackson’s homeland. Only the Eagles’ 1976 compilation, Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975), has higher certification in the USA (38 million units sold). Billy Joel’s Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II (1985) was certified 23x multi-platinum on 26 October 2011. Double Live (1998) by Garth Brooks (21x multi-platinum on 1 November 2006) and Come on Over (1997) by Shania Twain (20x multi-platinum on 15 November 2004) are the other albums by solo artists to have registered US sales of at least 20 million units as of 20 August 2021. It is estimated that Thriller – featuring seven US Top 10 singles – has sold in excess of 67 million copies across the globe, making it the world’s best-selling album.
13. Highest-earning dead celebrity (male, current)
Michael Jackson (USA, 1958–2009) earned $115 million (£94 million) in the 12 months to 1 October 2023, according to Forbes. The figure was substantially boosted by ticket sales of $85 million (£69 million) from the hit Broadway show MJ: The Musical. The Cirque du Soleil show Michael Jackson ONE, staged in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, also brings in millions of dollars for his estate. This also makes Jackson the highest-earning dead celebrity overall. Jackson has been the No.1 top-earning dead celebrity overall for nine of the last 10 years. In 2021–22, his crown was temporarily taken by author Roald Dahl, who earned £513 million (£380 million). The figure was substantially boosted by Netflix’s purchase of the Roald Dahl Story Company, in which the writer’s heirs held a 75% stake, for £684 million (£500 million) in September 2021.
14. Most expensive jacket sold at auction
The most valuable jacket sold at auction was the black and red calf leather jacket with winged shoulders worn by singer Michael Jackson (USA) in his renowned 1983 Thriller video, which was sold to Milton Verret of Austin, Texas, USA, for £1.1m ($1.8m) at a sale organised by Julien’s Auction in Beverly Hills, California, USA, on 26 June 2011.
15. Most American Music Awards won by a male artist
Michael Jackson (USA, 1958–2009) won 26 trophies at the American Music Awards (AMAs) between 1980 and 2009, including the Award of Merit (1984), the Special Achievement Award (1989), the International Artist Award of Excellence (1993) and the Artist of the Century (2002).
Jackson’s haul of awards also includes a record-setting eight wins at a single ceremony (1984) – a feat matched by Whitney Houston in 1994. His first three awards were secured in 1980, all in the Soul/R&B category: Favourite Male Artist, Favourite Single (“Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough”) and Favourite Album (Off the Wall). Five months after his death in 2009, he won his final four awards: Favourite Male Artist – Pop/Rock, Favourite Male Artist – Soul/R&B, Favourite Album – Pop/Rock (Number Ones) and Favourite Album – Soul/R&B (Number Ones).
At the 2019 American Music Awards (AMAs), presented at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, USA, on 24 November, Taylor Swift won six awards to take her ahead of Jackson for the most awards won in the history of the AMAs (29).
The first AMAs were staged at the Earl Carroll Theatre in New York City on 19 February 1974. The 2019 edition was the 47th ceremony (two events were held in 2003, when the AMAs switched from January to November).
16. Most simultaneous hits on UK singles chart
Michael Jackson (USA, 1958-2009) set the record for the most simultaneous hits on the UK singles chart when 28 of his tracks flooded the countdown – including 13 in the top 40 – on 11 July 2009, following his death on 25 June 2009. Jackson’s most successful re-entries on the chart were “Man in the Mirror” (No.2), originally a No.21 hit in 1988, and “Billie Jean” (No.10), his No.1 single from 1983.
17. Best-selling album
Released on 30 November 1982, Thriller by Michael Jackson (USA, 1958-2009) is the world’s best-selling album. Sales figures vary wildly from source to source, but it is estimated that the album – featuring seven US Top 10 singles – has sold in excess of 67 million copies across the globe. On 20 August 2021, Thriller was certified for shipments of 34 million units by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), extending its lead as the best-selling album by a solo artist in Jackson’s homeland. Only the Eagles’ 1976 compilation, Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975), has higher certification in the USA (38 million units sold).
Singles from Thriller on the Billboard Hot 100: “The Girl Is Mine” (feat. Paul McCartney, No.2); “Billie Jean” (No.1); “Beat It” (No.1); “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” (No.5); “Human Nature” (No.7); “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)” (No.10); “Thriller” (No.4).
18. Most expensive music video
Directed by Mark Romanek (USA), the video for Michael and Janet Jackson’s hit single; Scream (1995) cost $7 million (£4.4 million) to make.
19. Best-selling album (Canada)
Thriller by Michael Jackson (USA, 1958-2009) has sold an estimated 2.75 million copies in Canada since it was released in 1982, according to data published by Music Canada and Nielsen SoundScan. The world’s best-selling album features five singles that reached the Top 10 on the Canadian Hot 100 and has sold in excess of 67 million copies across the globe.
Singles from Thriller on the Canadian Hot 100: “The Girl Is Mine” (feat. Paul McCartney, No.8); “Billie Jean” (No.1); “Beat It” (No.1); “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” (No.1); “Thriller” (No.3).
Eight other albums have sold 2 million copies in Canada, led by Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill (2.44 million), Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours (2.4 million) and Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon (2.35 million).
20. Highest-grossing documentary film at the global box office
Michael Jackson’s This Is It, documenting concert rehearsals by the US pop legend, was released on 28 October 2009 and had grossed $252,091,016 (£186,405,000) worldwide as of 11 January 2018, according to movie financial intelligence service The Numbers (www.the-numbers.com). The film opened simultaneously in 25,000 theatres around the world and took $200 million (£119,673,000) in its first two weeks.
21. Best-selling game affiliated to a music artist
The best-selling game affiliated to one musical artist or band is Michael Jackson: The Experience (Ubisoft, 2010), with 6.08 million worldwide sales, as of 11 June 2014.
