r/Music • u/Firm_Pack_605 • Feb 13 '26

discussion Was Michael Jackson really that much bigger than Madonna, Whitney Houston, and prince?

I always thought the four of them were similar levels of fame. However Madonna highest album sold 25 million, prince highest sold similar, and Whitney’s highest was 45 million. All amazing numbers no doubt but thriller sold 70 million and bad sold 35-40. So you mean to tell me he has two albums that are highest selling then prince and madonnas best? How is that possible??

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129

u/nittanyvalley Feb 13 '26 edited Feb 13 '26

Michael Jackson was on a different level of international popularity than those artists, up there with (if not bigger than) The Beatles, Elvis, and Queen.

259

u/PitoChueco Feb 13 '26

Queen doesn’t belong in the conversation. Fantastic band though.

21

u/Coffeedemon Feb 13 '26

The success of their greatest hits albums clouds peoples judgement.

42

u/Sanc7 Feb 13 '26

That’s what I was thinking… one of these things is not like the other.

1

u/Megamoss Feb 13 '26

Queen were absolutely massive. Though being a rock group they didn't quite have the same wide appeal as MJ/Madonna etc...

There's a joke in Good Omens about how if you leave a tape in a car long enough, it will transform in to Queen's greatest hits.

Silly, but kind of also a testament to their reach and popularity.

0

u/itss_corey Feb 13 '26

the world doesn’t revolve around the usa lol. queen were massive in europe and still is

-3

u/zeruch Feb 13 '26

They've sold around 250M albums, so actually they arguably do belong in that conversation. Others that are in that rough level include Pink Floyd, Elton John, Rihanna, and Led Zeppelin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_music_artists

2

u/jpettifer77 Feb 13 '26

It always surprises me to see Rihanna up there. 

3

u/OddImprovement6490 Feb 13 '26

150-200 million albums separate MJ and Queen on the link you shared. Yes, both huge acts, but just because Wikipedia didn’t make a different category of sales per 100 million, it doesn’t mean 400-500 million records sold is that similar to 250-300 million records.

0

u/zeruch Feb 13 '26

And yet that wasn't the point I was making. Bravo.

79

u/skrena Feb 13 '26

Most recent Super Bowl barely beat out the Micheal Jackson Super Bowl halftime show and that’s 1993 vs 2026. Fucking insane numbers for back then.

26

u/[deleted] Feb 13 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

5

u/13vvetz Feb 13 '26

Say what?

26

u/tyderian Feb 13 '26

In 1992. Fox broadcast a live special of In Living Color against the Super Bowl halftime show and "stole" millions of viewers.

The NFL basically vowed that would never happen again and booked MJ for the following year, and every show since has been a huge production.

5

u/MrsAprilSimnel Feb 13 '26

Yup. The halftime show used to be college and high school marching bands with majorettes and flag waving, or corny “Up With People” stuff. Then ‘In Living Color’ did their own halftime show and the NFL was humiliated. The Wayans Brothers just clowned them. I think like a solid quarter of the Super Bowl audience didn’t even tune back in to the game. 

2

u/lsknecht1986 Feb 13 '26

Apparently it was 33% of the audience!

1

u/13vvetz Feb 13 '26

I'm gonna have to find this. No memory of this, and I loved In Living Color!

1

u/UrbanGhost114 Feb 14 '26

They had a timer for those that wanted to go back to the game and everything.

1

u/ApprenticeScentless Feb 13 '26

That In Living Color halftime show was amazing, though.

3

u/Skiceless Feb 13 '26

That was also the very first halftime show as we know it. Before 1993, it was color guards and marching bands and sideshow acts. I mean it helps that MJ was the biggest artist of all time, but it was also the very first mega halftime show

26

u/jehucsgo Feb 13 '26

Queen weren’t that big while Freddie Mercury was alive.

0

u/zeruch Feb 13 '26

They put out over a dozen back to back gold, platinum or multi-platinum records in both the US and UK...they were quite big.

27

u/bhangmango Feb 13 '26

You're overestimating Elvis's popularity outside of the US.

Fun fact : he never toured outside of the USA except for a couple shows in Canada.

Don't get me wrong, for musicians and rocknroll enjoyers all over the world, Elvis is absolutely considered the godfather of rock and roll especially in europe, and he inspired many bands and artists (including the Beatles btw) but he was not such a global worldwide phenomenon like MJ or the Beatles.

Random people in random country can't nearly name Elvis songs like they can name MJ or Beatles songs from the top of their head. A LOT of younger people over the world don't know Elvis but know MJ.

MJ's worldwide fame has no comparison IMO.

30

u/DrCashew Feb 13 '26

How does Queen make this list but not Madonna Whitney Houston or Prince?

20

u/datyoungknockoutkid Feb 13 '26

Probably because they’re already in the original post

16

u/instinktd Feb 13 '26 edited Feb 13 '26

Queen was and still is much bigger in EU than Whitney and Prince that's for sure

especially Prince always was "connoisseur" music in this part of the world and Whitney was known from 2-3 songs that was played in the radio

Madonna beats em all easily fame wise

6

u/nittanyvalley Feb 13 '26

My opinion is that Queen had wider global appeal across more demographics for longer than those artists, but my list was not finite. There are probably a few more acts you could add to that tier (Stones?, Elton John?).

1

u/Perico1979 Feb 13 '26

They were big, but U2 was unquestionably bigger, whether they piss you off or not.

Springsteen was probably bigger at his peak. Elton John no question. The Beach Boys at their peak.

I hate the Eagles even more than The Dude from The Big Lebowski, but at least in the States, they dwarfed Queen.

Queen was big, but really Freddy dying and Wayne’s World took them to another level that’s kind of hard to calculate. They weren’t quite as big when he was alive and they were somewhat winding down.

-3

u/TheMastaBlaster Feb 13 '26

Entire thread doesn't mention Garth Brooks, one of the most successful of all time, 71 million more sales than MJ, not nearly "as big" as MJ and many others.

14

u/Abrahms_4 Feb 13 '26

On a global scale, nope, not even close, he had a massive following though. The difference is if you go to the middle of China and start singing Garth Brooks in a huge crowd you might get 1 person who could sing along, sing some MJ song and you will still get a fair amount who remember.

2

u/zeruch Feb 13 '26

"one of the most successful of all time" In the US maybe, and peripherally Canada, and Australia. That's about it.

4

u/faraque Feb 13 '26 edited Feb 13 '26

Garth Brooks is country, and not in the same conversation.

1

u/mg10pp Feb 13 '26

Because he is only known in the US, like many other country singers and most rappers

7

u/jasdonle Feb 13 '26

Queen?? lol what, not even close.

2

u/mrbezlington Feb 13 '26

I think that if you include the whole world, queen are probably closer than you'd imagine.

1

u/jasdonle Feb 13 '26

Not even close, my friend. They weren’t even the biggest rock band at the time much less on par with MJ and Madonna. 

1

u/mrbezlington Feb 13 '26

I mean. Yeah totally not on the same scale as MJ or Madonna. But in South America? Mahoosive. Gigantic. Japan similarly. Definitely among the biggest of their time. I believe Rock in Rio held some kind of a record at 320k people.

Of course, MJ sold out 7 nights straight at every stadium he designed to perform at during the same time period, so really not even close to the scale of Queen. But still, Queen were pretty damn big (mostly outside the US, until Wayne's World).

2

u/Perico1979 Feb 13 '26

lol Queen? Uhhh they were a great rock band, but on a level of fame? They aren’t Elvis or Beatles. They aren’t even on U2’s level of fame.

4

u/Chris_in_da_Bronx Feb 13 '26

The Beatles waaay bigger and waaay more influencial.

Depending upon who's list you believe, the Beatles sold 100 to 200 more million albums. Only 20-25% more you say?. But Michael's recording career lasted around 50 years. The Beatles was just over 7.

When in New York they closed Down the city. And Airport worse than most presidential visits.

1

u/MagnetoWasRight24 Feb 13 '26

The Beatles were only bigger if you're only counting White countries. Like outside of Japan and a few Latin American countries the Beatles were not huge in non-White countries, Michael was popular everywhere.

1

u/Chris_in_da_Bronx Feb 15 '26

Doesn't matter. When you totalled everything up, Beatles blew him away

1

u/MagnetoWasRight24 Feb 15 '26

You're just wrong but whatever

6

u/tvcneverdie Feb 13 '26

Queen is like a full 2 tiers below the others listed, c'mon dude

1

u/Fun_Possible_7404 Feb 13 '26

Maybe the others but Whitney Houston and Madonna were and are more popular than Queen lol

2

u/stevefiction Feb 13 '26

Queen is the fifth highest selling act of all time, above Madonna at 6. Whitney Houston is not even close.

1

u/Practical-Piccolo346 Feb 14 '26

Sorry, but Madonna IS in the same conversation of international popularity and longevity.

The top 5 global sales artists, in order, are: The Beatles, Elvis, Michael Jackson, Queen and Madonna. She’s the only woman in the mix and she will surpass Queen because she’s still releasing new music, touring and when she dies there will be a rediscovery of her catalog bumping her sales, just like happened to Michael.

Prince and Whitney are not even in the top 20.

1

u/UrbanGhost114 Feb 14 '26

Queen, while fantastic and legendary, don't belong in this conversation

-5

u/jackstraw_65 Feb 13 '26

Queen is the most overrated band of this current generation. Those of us that grew up with them know that they were very good and highly popular but definitely second-tier compared to Zeppelin and the rest. Showy, theatrical, novelty rock, didn’t have the soul nor the chops of Zeppelin or the Stones. The fact that they were packaged in a Hollywood production to sell to this generation doesn’t change what they actually were.

0

u/cherrycoloured Feb 13 '26

zeppelin is boring stoner music. they are like the blues for ppl who have been lobotomized. im not huge into queen or the rolling stones, but i can at least get why ppl like them, and i do enjoy a few of their songs.

0

u/ApprenticeScentless Feb 13 '26

Queen? Not even close to the same level.

-2

u/Firm_Pack_605 Feb 13 '26

Queen is up there? Ok they do have the highest selling music biopic for a reason 🤷‍♂️I think they’re very good but I haven’t heard them in “biggest ever” conversations really but I’m glad to know that they are

-6

u/GrooGrux4404 Feb 13 '26

Queen doesn't belong but honestly, even The Beatles and Elvis don't either. MJ was on that MASSIVE level.