Michael Jackson Set To Top The Charts

First Published: June 30, 2009 4:39 PM EDT Credit: Getty Images

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Caption Michael Jackson performs during the Bad Tour in London in 1987Less than one week after Michael Jackson’s untimely passing, the pop star is poised to return to the top of the charts.

According to Billboard, three of the pop star’s albums “Number Ones,” “The Essential Michael Jackson” and “Thriller” pulled in huge numbers following his death. Each album sold 100,000 copies last week. The week prior to his death, the singer only sold 10,000 albums from his entire catalog.

The King of Pop could also be on track to hold anywhere between six to nine of the top slots on Billboard’s Top Pop Catalog chart with “Off the Wall, “Bad,” “Dangerous” and his box set “The Ultimate Collection” also selling well.

The Jackson 5’s sales have also been affected by Jackson’s death. “The Ultimate Collection” and “20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection” have both been moving fast.

The only other music artists to hold so many concurrent top 10 titles were AC/DC and the Beatles, who have each held five of the top spots, Billboard reported.

Jackson reportedly scored the majority of his sales through digital downloads. Billboard sources said his “Essential Michael Jackson,” “Number Ones” and “Thriller,” each sold more than 30,000 digital copies, with “Essential” moving an impressive 70,000 online downloads.

Jackson is also expected to rule the Hot Digital Songs chart with 1.8 million songs downloaded last week. Fans bought “Man in the Mirror,” “The Way You Make Me Feel,” “Billie Jean” and “Smooth Criminal” in big numbers.

Official Nielsen SoundScan’s sales numbers will be released on Wednesday.

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