{"id":682276,"date":"2026-05-20T04:48:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T04:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/682276\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T04:48:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T04:48:10","slug":"songs-that-topped-the-global-200-a-decade-after-their-release","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/682276\/","title":{"rendered":"Songs That Topped the Global 200 a Decade After Their Release"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tAs previously reported<\/a>, Michael Jackson<\/a>\u2019s \u201cBillie Jean\u201d is the biggest song in the world \u2014 more than 43 years after its release, moonwalking two spots to No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200<\/a> chart (dated May 23). The song has surged as the Jackson biopic Michael continues to thrill moviegoers, topping the latest box office<\/a> over its fourth weekend of release.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cBillie Jean\u201d totaled 51.5 million chart-contributing streams (up 7% week over week) and 3,000 sold (down 3%) worldwide May 8-14, according to Luminate. (The Global 200 ranks songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world.)<\/p>\n

\n\tJackson, who died in 2009, is No. 1 on the Global 200 for the first time. Meanwhile, \u201cBillie Jean\u201d claims the record for the longest rise to the top, reigning in its 144th week. (The chart launched in September 2020.)<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cBillie Jean\u201d also dates back the furthest among all Global 200 No. 1s, having been released on Jackson\u2019s album Thriller in November 1982; it dominated the U.S.-based Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks in March-April 1983.<\/p>\n

\n\tSince the Global 200 began, five songs have hit No. 1 more than a decade after their release, reflecting a combination of their evergreen appeal and new buzz that has helped win over subsequent generations of fans. From Jackson\u2019s coronation with \u201cBillie Jean\u201d to the song it dethrones \u2014 Justin Bieber\u2019s \u201cBeauty and a Beat,\u201d featuring Nicki Minaj \u2014 to two festive carols and a Stranger Things-boosted favorite, below is a look at the leaders that have built legacies strong enough to conquer much newer chart competition.<\/p>\n


\"Billboard
<\/a><\/p>\n

\tMichael Jackson, \u201cBillie Jean\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tYear released: 1982
Date hit No. 1 on Global 200: May 23, 2026<\/p>\n

\n\tOriginally released on Jackson\u2019s opus Thriller, the song ruled the Hot 100 for seven weeks and Hot R&B\/Hip-Hop Songs for nine weeks in 1983. With those songs No. 1 and Thriller then atop the Billboard 200 and Top R&B\/Hip-Hop Albums, Paul Grein reported in the March 5, 1983, Billboard issue that Jackson made history as the first artist to lead all four lists at the same time.<\/p>\n

\n\tMichael has also sparked appreciation for the late King of Pop\u2019s wider library, with 17 of his songs infusing the May 16 and 23 Global 200 charts, the most among all acts in those weeks.<\/p>\n

\tWham!, \u201cLast Christmas\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tYear released: 1984
Date hit No. 1 on Global 200: Dec. 20, 2025<\/p>\n

\n\tThe jangly, bittersweet synth single by the duo of the late George Michael, who solely wrote and produced it, and Andrew Ridgeley, and has grown this decade, reaching a No. 2 best on the Hot 100 this past holiday season.<\/p>\n

\n\tRidgeley\u00a0marveled to\u00a0Billboard<\/a>\u00a0in December at how it has become \u201cbeloved by all generations,\u201d citing \u201cthe special place the song occupies in so many hearts and one that George Michael would have been immensely proud of. Thank you, everyone who has embraced the song as a little piece of their own merry Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tKate Bush, \u201cRunning Up That Hill (A Deal With God)\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tYear released: 1985
Date hit No. 1 on Global 200: June 18, 2022<\/p>\n

\n\tThe song\u2019s sync in Netflix\u2019s Stranger Things catapulted the alt nugget to No. 1 on the Global 200, as well as No. 3 on the Hot 100. It first peaked at No. 30 on the Hot 100 in 1985. Bush celebrated<\/a> that the song was given\u00a0\u201ca whole new lease of life by the young fans who love the show \u2014 I love it, too!\u201d<\/p>\n

\tMariah Carey, \u201cAll I Want for Christmas Is You\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tYear released: 1994
Date hit No. 1 on Global 200: Dec. 19, 2020<\/p>\n

\n\tUnwrapped on Carey\u2019s album Merry Christmas, the song hit No. 1<\/a> on the Hot 100 a quarter-century later. It hangs atop the highest bough on Billboard\u2019s Greatest of All Time Holiday 100 Songs retrospective<\/a> and has since run up record commands of 22 weeks<\/a> on the Hot 100 and 20 weeks<\/a> on the Global 200.<\/p>\n

\tJustin Bieber feat. Nicki Minaj, \u201cBeauty and a Beat\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tYear released: 2012
Date hit No. 1 on Global 200: May 9, 2026<\/p>\n

\n\tBieber played Coachella in Indio, Calif., on both April 11<\/a> and April 18<\/a>, with the song, a No. 5 hit on the Hot 100 in 2013, part of his April 11 set. Mixing newer songs with a segment in which he played clips of his earlier hits directly from YouTube, he told the crowd, referencing the scope of his catalog, \u201cTonight is such a special night. I feel like we gotta take you guys on a bit of a journey \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\t


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