Michael Jackson achieved something extraordinarily rare: he became a huge-selling recording star twice.
First came the Jackson 5. With Michael as their young lead singer, the brothers exploded onto Motown with “I Want You Back,” followed by “ABC,” “The Love You Save” and “I’ll Be There.” All four became No. 1 hits in America.
Historical estimates credit the Jackson 5/Jacksons with more than 100 million records sold worldwide during their career.
Then Michael became even bigger on his own.
Beginning with the adult breakthrough of Off the Wall in 1979, he built one of the most successful solo catalogs in music history with Thriller, Bad, Dangerous and HIStory.
Michael Jackson – “Billie Jean”
Thriller alone became the best-selling album in history. Guinness World Records estimates worldwide sales above 67 million copies, while other official and industry claims have placed the figure even higher.
Bad followed with tens of millions more copies sold, while Dangerous became another enormous international success.
That helps explain why Michael’s exact lifetime sales total is difficult to pin down. Different sources count albums, singles, downloads and group recordings differently. Estimates exceeding 500 million records have been widely cited, although precise worldwide totals remain disputed.
What is much harder to dispute is the scale of the achievement.
Michael had already participated in a group that sold around 100 million records before building a solo career that dwarfed even that success.
Most singers spend their entire lives hoping for one legendary career. Michael Jackson effectively had two.