As Madonna’s new studio album, CONFESSIONS II, debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 (dated July 18), the Queen of Pop joins the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, in the top 10. Jackson’s former 1983-84 No. 1 Thriller falls 7-8 on the latest chart. Perhaps surprisingly, this is only the second time that the pair has appeared in the top 10 at the same time, and it last happened nearly 25 years ago. (All July 18-dated charts will refresh to Billboard’s website on Tuesday, July 14.)
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Madonna and Jackson previously shared space in the top 10 on the Dec. 1, 2001-dated chart. That week, Jackson’s chart-topping Invincible fell 3-4 in its third week on the list, while Madonna’s compilation GHV2: Greatest Hits Volume 2 debuted at No. 7. The next week both albums dropped out of the top 10 – although they remained in the top 15 together.
The two icons almost met up in the top 10 in the 1980s — when they spent a combined 57 weeks at No. 1 — but missed one another by a single week. On the Sept. 19, 1987-dated chart, the Madonna-led Who’s That Girl film soundtrack spent its third and final week in the top 10, at No. 7. The following week Who’s That Girl fell to No. 11, while Michael Jackson’s Bad debuted at No. 1. Then, on the Oct. 3-dated chart, Who’s That Girl remained at No. 11, while Bad held at No. 1.
Who’s That Girl and Bad may have never shared time in the top 10, but they did both appear in the top 15 of the chart for four straight weeks (Sept. 26 – Oct. 17, 1987 charts).
Madonna and Jackson had another close encounter on the Jan. 23, 1988-dated Billboard 200, when they were both in the top 15. Madonna’s remix album You Can Dance climbed 17-14 (to its peak), while Bad held at No. 4.
Considering Madonna and Jackson’s potent chart histories, how is it that they have barely crossed paths in the top 10, especially in the ‘80s when they spent a combined 57 weeks at No. 1 (16 and 41, respectively)? Madonna hit the top 10 for the first time on the Oct. 6, 1984-dated chart, with her self-titled debut. By that point, Jackson’s mega-hit Thriller had already departed the top 10 (where it had been lodged from January 1983 through June 1984).
Following Thriller, Jackson would chart four more top 10s before his death in 2009. After his passing, he notched another four top 10s. Meanwhile, Madonna was much more prolific in her output, as her self-titled set was her first of 24 top 10s, through CONFESSIONS II.
Also factoring into the pair missing each other through the years: their major new albums were often not released in close proximity to one another. Scrolling back in time, there were only four instances in which Madonna and Jackson released top 10-charting albums within six months of each other. It happened in 1987 with Who’s That Girl and Bad; in 1995 with Madonna’s ballads compilation Something To Remember and Jackson’s half-studio album/half-hits set HIStory; in 2001 with GHV2 and Invincible; and in 2009 with Madonna’s best-of Celebration and the posthumous Michael Jackson’s This Is It film soundtrack.
