Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” lurches back onto the Billboard Hot 100 (dated Nov. 7) at No. 20.
Leading up to Halloween, the spooky anthem, and title track to Jackson’s landmark 1983 album, surged by 49% to 9.3 million chart-eligible streams in the United States Oct. 23-29, according to Luminate. It also doubled to 4.2 million in radio airplay audience and gained 61% to 3,000 sold.
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“Thriller” originally hit No. 4 on the Hot 100 in March 1984, becoming the seventh and final top 10 from Jackson’s album that ruled the Billboard 200 for 37 weeks — the most for a set by a single artist. It also made the album the first with as many as seven top 10 songs.
The track by the King of Pop, who died in 2009, has returned to the Hot 100 each year this time since 2018. It first revisited the top 20 in 2021 and the top 10, hitting No. 10, a year ago.
Two other Halloween-related hits creep back onto the Hot 100, led by Rockwell’s “Somebody’s Watching Me” at No. 39. It scared up 6.3 million streams (up 52%), 1.5 million in radio reach (up 49%) and 1,000 sold (up 58%) in the tracking week. The song — with backing vocals by Jackson — hit No. 2 in March 1984; it shared space in the top 10 with “Thriller” for three weeks that month.
Plus, Citizens of Halloween’s “This Is Halloween” reenters the Hot 100 at No. 41, led by 6.1 million streams (up 68%). The Danny Elfman-written song, which first made the chart in 2023 and rose to a No. 26 high last year, is from 1993’s beloved stop-motion animated film The Nightmare Before Christmas.
On the Streaming Songs chart, the titles with the six top percentage gains are all supernatural-themed, with “This Is Halloween” followed by Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers’ “Monster Mash” from 1962 (up 63% to 5.8 million), Ray Parker Jr.’s “Ghostbusters” from 1984 (up 61% to 5.9 million), “Somebody’s Watching Me,” “Thriller” and Tame Impala and JENNIE’s “Dracula” — at its No. 5 high on the Hot 100 (up 11% to 7.2 million).
