Number Ones (Michael Jackson album)
Number Ones is a greatest hits album by American singer Michael Jackson. It was released on November 16, 2003, by Epic Records. Number Ones was Jackson's first proper compilation album with Epic Records, after the release of the first disc of in 1995. The album included Jackson singles that reportedly reached number 1 in charts around the world. Number Ones also features the last original single released during Jackson's lifetime, "One More Chance", released two days after the release of the album.
Number Ones was successful around the world, originally reaching number one in the UK among other countries. The album eventually returned to the top spot in the UK and reached number one on the US charts after Jackson's sudden death in 2009, staying as the number one selling album in the United States for six non consecutive weeks and for twenty-seven weeks on the Top Pop Catalog Albums chart. However, as a 'catalog' title, initially Number Ones was excluded from the Billboard 200 denying Jackson a seventh solo number one album on the chart. The rules preventing titles older than 18 months to chart on the Billboard 200 were subsequently changed in the fall of 2009 due to the posthumous success of Jackson, as well as The Beatles re-mastered re-releases.
Number Ones has sold more than 9 million copies worldwide and by 2013 it was certified 4× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. At the 2009 American Music Awards, it won two awards - Favorite Pop/Rock Album and Favorite Soul/R&B Album. With Number Ones, Jackson was the first artist to sell more than one million downloads in one week. The album was also the third best-selling album of 2009 in the United States according to Nielsen Soundscan and ninth best-selling worldwide according to IFPI.
Background
In 2003, Sony released Number Ones, which was different from ' in several ways. The latter sold over 5 million copies, comprised fifteen singles : three from Off the Wall, five from Thriller, four from Bad and three from Dangerous. The versions of those songs were included exactly as they appeared on the original albums, whereas Number Ones included radio edits, single versions, and new edits. Number Ones also offered singles from the second disc of ', plus the title track from and "You Rock My World", the hit single from Invincible. The album also included two bonus tracks: "Break of Dawn" and the new, previously unreleased single, "One More Chance", which became his final hit single during his lifetime. The beat-heavy ballad "One More Chance", which was written for Jackson by R. Kelly, was recorded exclusively for this collection. The U.S. release also included another track, a live rendition of "Ben".The Number Ones title is a bit of a misnomer, as "Thriller" only went to number 1 on the US Dance/Club charts and "Smooth Criminal" only went to number 1 in Belgium and Ireland.
There were four covers for the Number Ones album: a shot from the "Bad" music video, a shot from the "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" music video, one where he is suspended on his toes while performing his song "Billie Jean", and the final cover shows him holding his signature fedora, in the midst of a kick.
Impact of album after death
Number Ones had already sold 1,825,000 copies in the US the week Jackson died. Following Jackson's death on June 25, the album sold 108,000 units in the US on the chart week ending July 1, 2009 and was the biggest-selling album of the week, though only one quarter of Jackson's entire US album sales recorded that week, shifting just under 425,000 albums and 2.6 million digital singles. The following week it remained the biggest selling album shifting its largest one-week sales since being release in 2003 with 350,000 copies sold, as Jackson's overall album sales tally swelled to 1.1 million for the week. Number Ones was 2009's third biggest-selling album according to SoundScan, behind Susan Boyle's I Dreamed a Dream and Taylor Swift's Fearless. Although the best selling album for three weeks in a row, the record was not allowed to chart on the Billboard 200 due to rules, but entered the Comprehensive Chart at number 1 where it remained for six weeks. Number Ones was the best-selling album in the United States for six consecutive weeks amassing sales of 2.36 million by the end of 2009. The Billboard Catalog chart also allowed Number Ones to chart, where it led Jackson in occupying the entire top 12 positions on the chart. Number Ones has topped Top Catalog Albums Chart several times; most recently for three consecutive weeks in May and June 2014. As of November 8, 2014, the album has sold over 5 million copies in the US.In the UK, Ireland and Canada, the album re-entered the UK charts at number 1 the week following Jackson's death.
In New Zealand, Number Ones re-entered the chart following Jackson's death at number 38, climbing to number 4 the following week. It then reached number 1 the next week; the album was also certified 4x Platinum, shipping over 60,000 copies.
Track listing
The songs included on each international version and format are summarised below, sortable using the position within an edition.| Song | North American/ South American / Asian CD | European/ Australian/ Canadian/ South American / Japanese/ Asian CD | DVD | DVD |
| "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| "Rock with You" | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| "Billie Jean" | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| "Beat It" | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| "Thriller" | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| "Human Nature" | 6 | |||
| "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" | 6 | 7 | ||
| "Bad" | 7 | 8 | 6 | 5 |
| "Smooth Criminal" | 8 | 11 | 9 | |
| "The Way You Make Me Feel" | 9 | 9 | 7 | 6 |
| "Man in the Mirror" | 10 | 8 | 7 | |
| "Dirty Diana" | 11 | 10 | 10 | 8 |
| "Black or White" | 12 | 12 | 11 | 9 |
| "You Are Not Alone" | 13 | 13 | 12 | 10 |
| "Earth Song" | 14 | 14 | 13 | 11 |
| "Blood on the Dance Floor" | 15 | 14 | ||
| "You Rock My World" | 15 | 16 | 15 | 12 |
| "Break of Dawn" | 16 | 17 | ||
| "One More Chance" | 17 | 18 | ||
| "Ben " | 18 |
International version
American version
Chart positions
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
| Chart | Rank |
| German Albums Chart | 33 |
| UK Albums Chart | 73 |
| US Top Pop Catalog Albums | 1 |
| Chart | Rank |
| UK Albums Chart | 76 |
| US Billboard 200 | 39 |
| US Top Pop Catalog Albums | 1 |
| Chart | Rank |
| US Billboard 200 | 120 |
| US Top Pop Catalog Albums | 4 |
| Chart | Rank |
| US Top Pop Catalog Albums | 26 |
| Chart | Rank |
| Polish Albums Chart | 90 |
| Chart | Rank |
| Irish Albums | 40 |
| UK Albums | 63 |