Michael Jackson-"This is it"

MICHAEL JACKSON'S "THIS IS IT" made motion picture history as the highest grossing concert film of all time. And now, the two-disc album companion to the movie Michael Jackson's This is It released by Sony Music's Epic Records makes its first week debut in the #1 spot of the Billboard Top 200 album chart, as well as the Soundtrack album chart. U.S. sales of the album - which features new hit song "This is It" totaled 373,100 units this week according to Nielsen Soundscan, this figure does not include significant sales from non-traditional retailers. Sales figures from other parts of the world are still being tallied although the album did hit #1 in 16 other countries including Canada, Japan, France, Italy, Holland, Belgium, Turkey, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Korea, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the Middle East and Colombia and Top-3 in the UK, Australia, Argentina, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland and Spain. A simultaneous #1 album and a #1 documentary film has not happened since 1971 when the Rolling Stones did it with the album Sticky Fingers and movie Gimme Shelter.

Michael Jackson albums now occupy the top five spots of Billboard catalog album chart at #1, #3 and #4; his Number Ones album is this year's best-selling overall album year to date as of this week. Throughout his career, Michael Jackson has spent a total of 51 weeks at #1 on the Billboard album chart. Only The Beatles and Elvis Presley have spent more weeks at the top. His last #1 was Invincible in 2001 although Thriller hit the top of the Billboard catalog album chart last October.