Michael, a biopic based on the life of Michael Jackson, has not only revived the nostalgia of people, but also successfully broken several box office records, bringing back MJ’s music from the ’70s and ’80s into the spotlight once again. Surprisingly, since the release of the film last week, the King of Pop’s songs like Beat It, Billie Jean, Bad, and Thriller have once again started to rise in the streaming charts. And it is quite intriguing that the popularity of Michael Jackson’s songs has found a way back to us, making him the number 1 artist in the world yet again, 17 years after his death, surpassing other contemporary artists.
As per Hindustan Times reports, the data analytics agency Kworb prepares the Global Digital Artist Ranking every month, ranking singers and performers based on how many times their songs are streamed across major platforms. And according to the latest edition of the rankings, for May 2026, “Michael Jackson is at the top with a staggering 11157 points. Michael leads Justin Bieber, who is in the second spot, by almost 5000 points. K-pop group BTS, in the third spot, is further behind with just 4397 points. Michael’s dominance is such that he is the number one artist on all but one platform, leading comfortably on Apple Music, iTunes, YouTube, Shazam, and Deezer, while only narrowly trailing Bieber on Spotify.”
