Michael Jackson’s not-so-hidden gem “Chicago” debuts on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, among overall growth for his catalog as the late King of Pop’s biopic Michael continues to dominate at the box office.
The viral “Chicago” enters the Hot 100 (dated June 6) at No. 30, almost entirely from 10.7 million official chart-eligible streams (up 30% week over week) in the United States May 22-28, according to data tracker Luminate. (Older songs are allowed to appear on the chart if ranking in the top 50 and showing meaningful gains.)
The song has drawn 388 million streams to date, with its latest frame up from 8.3 million (May 30-dated charts), 6.9 million (May 23), 5.4 million (May 16) and 3.8 million (May 9 — reflecting the first week of tracking after Michael premiered April 24). Its May 9 chart sum was 83% higher than the week before.
“Chicago” was released on Jackson’s album Xscape in 2014, nearly five years after he died. The set produced two Hot 100 hits that year: “Love Never Felt So Good,” with Justin Timberlake (No. 9 peak) and “Slave to the Rhythm” (No. 45).
Timbaland and JRoc produced “Chicago,” which Cory Rooney wrote.
The track becomes Jackson’s 52nd Hot 100 hit as a soloist, dating to his initial entry, “Got To Be There,” in 1971. It’s his first since Drake’s “Don’t Matter to Me,” featuring Jackson, debuted at its No. 9 peak in July 2018, becoming Jackson’s 30th top 10, 13 of which hit No. 1.
Plus, the Jackson 5/Jacksons, with Jackson as a member, tallied 11 Hot 100 top 10s, including four No. 1s, in 1969-84.
Jackson becomes the first artist to have debuted new entries on the Hot 100 in each decade since the 1970s. His totals by decade: ‘70s — 11; ‘80s — 20; ‘90s — 12; 2000s — four; ‘10s — four; and ‘20s — one.
When Jackson’s “Thriller,” originally a No. 4 Hot 100 hit in 1984, rode Halloween gains to No. 10 on the Nov. 15, 2025-dated chart, he became the first artist ever to rank in the top 10 in six distinct decades.
Jackson’s iconic music has surged amid Michael’s run, but “Chicago” stands out as not having been a major hit upon its original release — and it’s not featured in the film. On the May 23-dated Hot 100, a personal-best six songs of his charted simultaneously, with all having bounded to the top 10 and five having reached No. 1 in their original release schedules in the ‘70s-‘80s: “Billie Jean,” “Human Nature,” “Beat It,” “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough,” “Dirty Diana” and “Rock With You.”
On the latest Hot 100, “Chicago” is Jackson’s second-highest-charting song, after “Billie Jean” at No. 19. Below “Chicago” are “Human Nature” (No. 31) and “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” (No. 43).
Social media has helped “Chicago” take its place among Jackson’s Hot 100 history, including usage on TikTok.
In a 2014 track-by-track Billboard review of Xscape, Joe Levy praised “Chicago” as “a dark funk tale of an affair with a married woman, with trap snares and washes of keyboard drama. Out front, Jackson’s tenor voice lays out the promise of a love (‘This woman had to be an angel from heaven sent just for me’), while his backing vocal screams of the consequences (‘She tried to lead a double life, loving me while she was still your wife’). At the 3:20 mark, the drums drop out and the vocals and finger snaps take over.
“Timbaland sometimes felt he was hearing Jackson’s spirit speak to him in the studio,” Levy added. “This is one of those moments.”
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