Michael Jackson is one of the many artists who revolutionized the music industry. His career revolved around topping charts and releasing best-selling albums. He is ranked as No. 7 on the RIAA’s list of top-selling artists, in addition to selling more than 75 million albums in the U.S. With Michael Jackson’s many past achievements, he earned the title of ‘King of Pop’.

Jackson rose to fame when he and his brothers formed a group called the Jackson 5 (later known as the Jacksons). They became the first group to have their first four singles, I Want You Back, I’ll Be There, The Love You Save, and ABC, to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. ABC was Jackson 5’s first Grammy nomination in 1971, for the Best Contemporary Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group, or Chorus. Furthermore, in 1975, they earned their second Grammy nomination for the song Dancing Machine, for the Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group.

Michael’s first solo album, Off the Wall, was released in 1979. It was the best-selling album of the year, selling more than 20 million copies. This album incorporated many hit singles worldwide, such as Don’t Stop ‘til You Get Enough and Rock With You. Jackson became the first solo artist to have four of his hit songs from the same album, including She’s Out Of My Life and Rock With You, to reach the Top 10 Hits chart.

After Jackson released his hit album *Off the Wall*, he eventually released his album *Thriller* in 1982, which is one of Jackson’s most successful albums. This album sold around 45 million copies worldwide, and according to the RIAA, it is one of the best-selling albums of all time. In 2008, both of his *Off The Wall* and *Thriller* albums were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In fact, Jackson is the first artist in history to win eight Grammys on one night at the 26th Annual Grammy Awards for *Thriller* in 1984. This included winning Album of the Year for *Thriller* and Record of the Year for *Beat It*. Jackson eventually became one of the few artists to win the most Grammys by the 1980s with over 11 awards. *Thriller* is also the first album to have seven of its songs be on the Top 10 Hits on the Billboard Hot 100 as well. A few years after *Thriller* had been released, it still remained on the charts.

His first single from Thriller is called The Girl Is Mine, which reached No. 1 on the rhythm-and-blues charts. Furthermore, it also reached No. 2 on the pop charts in 1982. His second single from Thriller is Billie Jean. One of Jackson’s signature dance moves is the moonwalk. He performed this moonwalk dance during his Billie Jean performance, making it his own famous dance move. Both his Billie Jean single and moonwalk dance topped the pop charts.

In 1984, Jackson had two stars in the same category on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, making him the first celebrity to have achieved this. He earned his star as part of the Jacksons in 1980 on the Hollywood Walk of Fame before receiving his own star as a solo artist.

One of the most prestigious Grammy awards of all time is the Grammy Legend Award. As of 1993, only 15 individuals received this award, with Jackson being the 10th one.

When Jackson was still a part of the Jackson 5 with his brothers, he had been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the first time in 1997. Later on, in 2001, Jackson was inducted once again but as a solo artist.

Following the death of Jackson in 2009, he was able to become the first artist to sell more than one million digital tracks in one week. Additionally, he had three best-selling albums in the U.S., which made him the first artist to attain this achievement. He also had six best-selling albums two weeks later, which again made him the first artist to do so.

Jackson made history once again in 2014 when he became the first artist to ever get a Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades. This happened after Love Never Felt So Good reached No. 9 on the chart.

With Michael Jackson being one of the best artists of all time with his countless achievements throughout his career, from being in Jackson 5 with his brothers to being a solo artist, he collectively became known as the King of Pop.

SOURCES:

https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/10-reasons-michael-jackson-became-king-pop

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Michael-Jackson

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/michael-jackson-is-born

IMAGES:

https://www.biography.com/musician/michael-jackson

Zoran Veselinovic, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons