Michael Jackson Returns Multiple Hits To One Chart As Drake’s Dominance Fades

BusinessHollywood & EntertainmentMichael Jackson Returns Multiple Hits To One Chart As Drake’s Dominance FadesByHugh McIntyre,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Hugh McIntyre covers music, with a focus on the global charts.Follow AuthorJun 07, 2026, 08:00am EDTMichael Jackson sends four singles — "Rock With You," "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)," "Smooth Criminal" and "Bad" — back to the same Billboard chart as Drake slips away. American musician Michael Jackson performs onstage at the Rosemont Horizon during his 'BAD' tour, Rosemont, Illinois, April 19, 1988. (Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images)Getty ImagesDrake is typically referred to as a rapper, but in reality, the music he releases can be classified under many different genre labels. Hip-hop is often most appropriate, but sometimes – hundreds of times, actually – he has landed hits on Billboard's R&B charts. That was the case recently, when he unleashed three albums, Iceman, Habibti and Maid of Honour, simultaneously. The projects all became major wins, and they launched at Nos. 1, 2 and 3, respectively, on the Billboard 200, a historic first. Most of the tracks on those albums were classified as rap or hip-hop, but Billboard classified some of them as R&B. Drake scored multiple new smashes on the R&B Streaming Songs tally last week, and a handful of tunes from his most recent full-lengths debuted inside the top 10 on that ranking only a few days ago – but now many of them have fallen. As a number of Drake tracks vacate the R&B Streaming Songs list, Michael Jackson returns with some of his most popular singles.MORE FOR YOUMichael Jackson Returns With Four Hit SinglesThe R&B Streaming Songs chart only features 15 spaces, and yet this week, four tracks by Jackson return. Only one, "Rock With You," bounds back into the top 10 after not finding space on the rundown just days ag...