Michael Jackson’s overlooked fan favorite “Chicago” has debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart amid continued growth across the late King of Pop’s catalog as his biopic Michael maintains its strong performance at the box office.
The surging “Chicago” enters the Hot 100 (dated June 6) at No. 30, driven almost entirely by 10.7 million official chart-eligible streams (up 30% from the previous week) in the United States during the May 22-28 tracking period, according to Luminate. (Older songs are eligible to appear on the chart if they rank within the top 50 and demonstrate significant gains.)
The song has accumulated 388 million streams to date, with its latest tracking week increasing from 8.3 million (May 30-dated charts), 6.9 million (May 23), 5.4 million (May 16), and 3.8 million (May 9 — representing the first full week of tracking after Michael premiered on April 24). Its total on the May 9 chart was 83% higher than the week prior.
“Chicago” was released on Jackson’s Xscape album in 2014, nearly five years after his death. The project generated two Hot 100 entries that year: “Love Never Felt So Good,” featuring Justin Timberlake (which peaked at No. 9), and “Slave to the Rhythm” (which reached No. 45).
The song was produced by Timbaland and JRoc, while Cory Rooney received writing credit.
The track becomes Jackson’s 52nd solo Hot 100 entry, dating back to his first chart appearance with “Got To Be There” in 1971. It marks his first Hot 100 hit 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 hit, with 13 of those reaching No. 1.
In addition, the Jackson 5/Jacksons, with Jackson as a member, recorded 11 Hot 100 top 10 hits, including four chart-toppers, between 1969 and 1984.
Jackson becomes the first artist to debut new Hot 100 entries in every decade beginning with the 1970s. His decade-by-decade totals stand at 11 in the 1970s, 20 in the 1980s, 12 in the 1990s, four in the 2000s, four in the 2010s, and one in the 2020s.
When Jackson’s “Thriller,” originally a No. 4 Hot 100 hit in 1984, returned to No. 10 on the chart dated Nov. 15, 2025, fueled by Halloween-related gains, he became the first artist in history to place songs in the top 10 across six different decades.
While Jackson’s legendary catalog has experienced a significant resurgence during the theatrical run of Michael, “Chicago” is particularly notable because it was not a major hit when it was initially released and does not appear in the film. On the May 23-dated Hot 100, a career-best six of his songs charted simultaneously, all of which had previously reached the top 10 and five of which hit No. 1 during their original chart runs in the 1970s and 1980s: “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” ranks as Jackson’s second-highest-charting song, trailing only “Billie Jean” at No. 19. Following “Chicago” are “Human Nature” at No. 31 and “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” at No. 43.
Social media platforms have played a key role in driving the popularity of “Chicago,” including widespread use of the song on TikTok.
In a 2014 track-by-track Billboard review of Xscape, Joe Levy described “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.”