The recent climb to the top comes as the “Michael” biopic continues dominating the box office four weeks after its release.
WASHINGTON — “Billie Jean” is back on the Billboard charts, more than four decades after its release.
The classic song from the 1982 “Thriller” album resurged following the release of “Michael,” the big-budget Michael Jackson biopic. The movie, starring Jaafar Jackson as the King of Pop, follows Michael Jackson’s early career through his “Bad” album.
It has been dominating the box office for four weeks after its release.
The song climbed from No. 65 just three weeks ago and now leads the chart after more than 51 million global streams in a single week, according to data from Luminate, an industry data and analytics company that provides insight into changing behaviors across music listenership.
“Billie Jean” has also set a new record for the longest climb to No.1 on the Global 200 Billboard chart, reaching the top in its 144th week on the list. It beat Djo’s “End of Beginning,” which topped charts in its 94th week in January, boosted by the “Stranger Things” finale.
When it was first released, “Billie Jean” dominated the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts for seven weeks.
The biopic has also propelled other songs from the King of Pop, who died in 2009.
“Beat It,” also from the “Thriller” album, hit the Global 200’s top five, with 39.6 million streams worldwide. At its release, it had topped the Hot 100 charts for three weeks.
During the film’s opening weekend, streams of Michael Jackson’s catalog jumped 95% in the U.S., compared with the same days the previous weekend.
CNN Newsource contributed to this report.
