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Michael Jackson's The Essential Hits No. 1 on U.K. Official Albums Streaming Chart for First Time
The Essential by Michael Jackson climbed from No. 12 to No. 1 on the U.K. Official Albums Streaming chart on May 13, 2026. The late singer placed three albums in the top 10 simultaneously as the biopic Michael continued to drive streams. The compilation also returned to No. 1 on the overall U.K. Official Albums chart.
May 13, 1:14 PM·2m read2 sources
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Michael Jackson scored his first No. K. Official Albums Streaming chart on May 13, 2026, as The Essential jumped from No. 12 to the summit. The compilation has now spent 205 weeks on the chart.
Forbes reported that the surge marks the first time Jackson has ruled the ranking that measures the most-played albums of any genre or length on platforms including Spotify and Apple Music.
Two weeks before May 13, 2026, The Essential had reached No. 2. It now beats that title to the peak position despite Number Ones' far longer chart run.
Thriller rose from No. 9 to No. 4. Bad advanced from No. 13 to No. 6. Michael — Songs From the Motion Picture, which debuted at No. 3 earlier in May 2026, rounded out his top 10 entries alongside The Essential, Number Ones, Bad and Thriller.
U.K. The impact of the self-titled biopic Michael continues to drive consumption of his catalog more than a decade and a half after his death in 2009.
The Essential simultaneously returned to No. K. It had stood at No. 14 the previous week. The compilation has accumulated eight nonconsecutive weeks at No.
1 on that chart as of May 2026. In the summer of 2009, following Jackson's passing, The Essential held the No. K. Official Albums chart for seven consecutive weeks. It has not managed another turn at the summit in more than a decade and a half until this week.
U.K. charts. U.K. chart this week. It rose from No.
