"Before the streaming era, holidays didn't usually affect Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart. You'd get an occasional seasonal novelty hit, but for the most part, December's charts didn't look much different from the charts in, say, March. Streaming has changed that in a big way. The December charts are wall-to-wall Christmas, July 4 brings a chart surge for patriotic music, and Halloween streaming has made chart perennials out of old hits by the likes of Rockwell, Bobby "Boris" Pickett and Ray Parker Jr."
"The biggest beneficiary of this Halloween surge has been the estate of Michael Jackson. His song "Thriller" has become a staple of spooky playlists, and this week, it zooms all the way back up to No. 10 more than 40 years after its release. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THRILLER") MICHAEL JACKSON: (Singing) So let me hold you tight and share a killer, thriller. Despite many listeners' complicated relationship with Jackson, "Thriller" has returned to the charts many times over the years."
"But its return to the Top 10 has triggered a major milestone. Michael Jackson is now the only artist in history to score a Top 10 hit in six separate decades, and he's done it in seven decades if you count his work in The Jackson 5. "I Want You Back" first hit the Top 10 in the very last chart of the 1960s."
Streaming-driven listening patterns have turned holidays into major forces on the Billboard Hot 100, producing seasonal surges such as wall-to-wall Christmas in December, patriotic spikes around July 4, and Halloween revivals of spooky tracks. Old songs by artists like Rockwell, Bobby "Boris" Pickett and Ray Parker Jr. now reappear regularly due to playlisting and streaming. Michael Jackson's "Thriller" climbed to No. 10 more than 40 years after its release because of those Halloween playlists. The return of "Thriller" to the Top 10 creates a record: Michael Jackson has Top 10 hits in six separate decades, seven including The Jackson 5.
Read at www.npr.org
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