Michael Jackson & Madonna Are Both on the Hot 100 Again

The King and Queen of Pop resume their royal residences together on the Billboard Hot 100, as Michael Jackson charts four classics sparked by the new hit biopic Michael, and Madonna returns with her new collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter, “Bring Your Love.”

As Michael continues to rock with moviegoers following its April 24 premiere, Jackson’s “Billie Jean” bounds 38-17 on the Hot 100 (dated May 16), followed by three reentries of his: “Human Nature” (No. 29), “Beat It” (No. 32) and “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” (No. 42). “Billie Jean” and “Beat It” hit No. 1 for seven and three weeks, respectively, in 1983; “Human Nature” reached No. 7 that year; and “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” spent a week at No. 1 in 1979, becoming the second of his 13 solo leaders.

Streaming surges power Jackson’s moves, as the songs respectively drew 12.7 million chart-eligible U.S. streams (up 35%), 9.8 million (up 57%), 9.5 million (up 37%) and 8.5 million (up 35%) May 1-7, according to Luminate. They also received 4 million, 2.7 million, 1.8 million and 1.5 million in radio airplay audience.

Madonna, meanwhile, returns to the Hot 100 at No. 74 with “Bring Your Love.” Released April 30, the duet debuts with 4.1 million streams, 6.6 million in radio reach and 3,000 sold.

When did MJ and Madge last share spots on the Hot 100? More than 22 years ago. On the Jan. 3, 2004, chart, Madonna ranked at No. 83 with another high-profile team-up: “Me Against the Music,” with Britney Spears (the Princess of Pop). Jackson that week held the anchor spot, No. 100, with “One More Chance.”

Unsurprisingly, Jackson and Madonna boast a long legacy of appearing on the Hot 100 together, including in the chart’s upper reaches. They first doubled up on the Oct. 29, 1983, tally — when Madonna made her first appearance, as “Holiday” entered at No. 88. Jackson had two hits that week: “Say Say Say,” with Paul McCartney, at No. 11, and “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing),” at No. 23. The pair, thus, span 42 years, six months and two weeks of gracing the chart simultaneously.

For two months in 1985, Madonna and USA for Africa were both in the Hot 100’s top 10. For three of those frames, Madonna had two songs in the tier, joined by “We Are the World,” which Jackson cowrote and on which he famously took the spotlight vocally. For four of those weeks, Madonna’s “Crazy for You” and “We Are the World” claimed the top two, with the former bumping the latter from No. 1.

Plus, for two weeks in October 1987, the top of the Hot 100 was as regal as could be, as Jackson’s “Bad” was No. 1 and Madonna’s “Causing a Commotion” peaked at No. 2. As noted by Paul Grein in Billboard’s Chart Beat print column in the first of those weeks, Jackson tied Madonna for the most No. 1s of the ‘80s to that point, six each. By the end of the decade, Jackson won with nine No. 1s, while Madonna, Phil Collins and Whitney Houston shared second place with seven each.

Additional reporting by Keith Caulfield