Chart Watch: MJ Makes Hot 100 History

"Love Never Felt So Good" by Michael Jackson & Justin Timberlake jumps from #22 to #9 in its third week on the Hot 100. This makes Jackson the only artist in Hot 100 history to land a top 10 hit in each of five decades. He passes five artists who have notched top 10 hits in each of four decades: Barbra Streisand, Cher, Aerosmith, Madonna and Whitney Houston.

Making this even more amazing, if you combine Jackson's solo hits with his hits with the Jackson 5, he has made the top 10 in each of six decades. The J5's debut hit, "I Want You Back," first made the top 10 the last week of 1969.

As Billboard's Gary Trust notes, Jackson also sets a new record for the longest span of top 10 hits in Hot 100 history. He first cracked the top 10 (as a solo artist) in November 1971 with "Got To Be There." This week's chart is dated May 31, which gives him a 42 year and six month span of top 10 hits. He passes Santana, whose top 10 hits span 33 years and eight months.

"Love Never Felt So Good" is Jackson's 29th top 10 hit. Since the Hot 100 began in August 1958, only two artists have amassed as many or more top 10 hits: Madonna (38) and the Beatles (34). This is Jackson's 40th top 10 hit if you add in eight top 10 hits with the Jackson 5 and three with the re-named the Jacksons. It's Timberlake's 16th top 10 hit (his 22nd if you add in six *NSYNC hits).

This is Jackson's fourth top 10 hit on which he shared billing, following "The Girl Is Mine" and "Say Say Say" (both with Paul McCartney) and "Scream" (with Janet Jackson). (Siedah Garrett sang an uncredited backup vocal on "I Just Can't Stop Loving You").

Jackson co-wrote "Love Never Felt So Good" with pop veteran Paul Anka. Anka wrote 11 of his 12 top 10 hits as an artist. (That was unusual when he started in 1957, especially for a teen artist.) Anka's only top 10 hit that he didn't write was his last, the nostalgic ballad "Times Of Your Life."

Timberlake was just two when Jackson recorded this pop-disco tune in 1983. At that time, with disco winding down (and Prince coming on strong), it might have seemed a little dated. Now it's like a little lost gem. Johnny Mathis recorded the song on his 1984 album A Special Part Of Me.

Timberlake has a second hit in the top 10. His solo smash "Not A Bad Thing" holds at #8 for the third week. Billboard's Trust notes that this is the 13th time that Timberlake has had two songs in the top 10 at the same time. That's a lot of doubling up.

John Legend's "All Of Me" is #1 for the third straight week. It's also #1 for the third week on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.

"Fancy" by Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX jumps from #3 to #2. The song tops the 1 million mark in digital sales this week.

"Problem" by Ariana Grande featuring Iggy Azalea jumps from #4 to #3. The song is #1 on Hot Digital Songs for the third straight week. It's the first song to spend its first three weeks at #1 on that chart since Katy Perry's "Roar" spent its first four weeks on top last summer.

Pharrell Williams's "Happy" holds at #2. The song this week becomes the first to sell 5M copies in 2014. Only once before in digital history has a song sold 5M this early in a calendar year. That was last year, when "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Wanz reached the 5M mark in 2013 sales one week earlier than this.

"Turn Down For What" by DJ Snake & Lil Jon rebounds from #6 to #5. It's #1 on Dance/Electronic Songs for an eighth week. The song tops the 2 million mark in digital sales this week.

"Dark Horse" by Katy Perry featuring Juicy J dips from #5 to #6. The song tops the 5 million mark in digital sales this week. It's Perry's sixth song to reach this plateau. That's more than any other artist in digital history. In fact, it's as many as the next two artists combined. Lady Gaga and Eminem have each had three 5-million-sellers.

Perry's 5-million-sellers are "Firework" (6,622,000), "E.T." (featuring Kanye West, 5,736,000), "California Gurls" (featuring Snoop Dogg, 5,630,000), "Hot N Cold" (5,511,000), "Roar" (5,377,000) and now "Dark Horse" (5,025,000).

Coldplay lands its third top 10 hit as "A Sky Full Of Stars" vaults from #43 to #10. It follows "Speed Of Sound" (#8 in 2005) and "Viva La Vida" (#1 in 2008). Avicii co-wrote and co-produced this song. (The song drops off Hot Digital Songs this week, as fans utilize iTunes' "Complete My Album" feature. Effectively, fans who completed the album were "returning" the song." For the purposes of the Hot 100, however, aggregate sales contribute to the song's overall point total.)

Here's a recap of this week's top 10 songs.

The Top Five: John Legend's "All Of Me" holds at #1 for the third week in its 32nd week on the chart. This is its 13th week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #3 (158K) … "Fancy" by Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX jumps from #3 to #2 in its 11th week on the chart. This is its fourth week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #2 (234K) … "Problem" by Ariana Grande featuring Iggy Azalea jumps from #4 to #3 in its third week on the chart. It has been in the top 10 the entire time. Digital sales rank: #1 (248K) … Pharrell Williams's "Happy" drops from #2 to #4 in its 20th week on the chart. This is its 16th week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #4 (130K) … "Turn Down For What" by DJ Snake & Lil Jon rebounds from #6 to #5 in its 21st week on the chart. This is its eighth week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #5 (121K).

The Second Five: "Dark Horse" by Katy Perry featuring Juicy J dips from #5 to #6 in its 35th week on the chart. This is its 20th week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #20 (67K) … "Talk Dirty" by Jason Derulo featuring 2 Chainz holds at #7 for the second week in its 22nd week on the chart. This is its 17th week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #10 (85K) … Justin Timberlake's "Not A Bad Thing" holds at #8 for the third week in its 12th week on the chart. This is its fifth week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #16 (74K) … "Love Never Felt So Good" by Michael Jackson & Justin Timberlake leaps from #22 to #9 in its third week on the chart. It's Jackson's 29th top 10 solo hit; Timberlake's 16th. Digital sales rank: #7 (110K) … Coldplay's "A Sky Full Of Stars" vaults from #43 to #10 in its third week on the chart. It's the band's third top 10 hit. Digital sales rank: not charted.

Two songs drop out of the top 10 this week. Idina Menzel's "Let It Go" drops from #9 to #13. Paramore's "Ain't It Fun" drops from #10 to #12 (despite a healthy 7% gain in chart points. It will probably return to the top 10.)

Let's keep an eye on three other songs that already listed in the top 10 on Hot Digital Songs (but not yet on the Hot 100). "Am I Wrong" by Nico & Vinz jumps from #8 to #6 (115K). "Wiggle" by Jason Derulo featuring Snoop Dogg dips from #7 to #8 (109K). 5 Seconds of Summer's "Don't Stop" debuts at #9 (91K).

Luke Bryan's "Play It Again" tops the 1 million mark in digital sales this week. In addition, Florida Georgia Line's "This Is How We Roll," which features Bryan, becomes the second country song to top the 1M mark in 2014 sales. Last week, Brantley Gilbert's "Bottoms Up" became the first.

"Say Something" by A Great Big World & Christina Aguilera becomes the ninth song to sell 2M copies in 2014.

Imagine Dragons becomes the second act to top the 1 million mark in 2014 sales with two different songs. Both "Demons" and "Radioactive" top the 1M mark in 2014 sales this week. Lorde has also reached that plateau in 2014 sales with two songs, "Team" and "Royals."

To My Readers: I'll have a separate Chart Watch report on this week's key movers and debuts on the Hot 100 on Thursday morning. I won't recap the top 10 in that second report. It will be fresh material.