Madonna is at 250 millions EAS, Michael is at 340 EAS, but it’s true that Michael has been around longer than Madonna did and he had its biggest hit (Thriller) before Madonna’s debut… also, Michael’s sales went up after his death while Madonna is still there touring… btw Madonna did incredibly well, especially considering that she is a woman and that she was the first woman ever to rival the men in the mainstream, prompting the music industry to bet more on women… she started out being a ballerina in NY with little to no money and she ended up being the best selling artist of the 80s alongside Michael, practically creating the “job” for the future female popstars… since then she faced misogyny, slutshaming and ageism throughout her entire career, and she’s still doing it to these days… not to mention how much she fought for lgbt and women’s rights long before it became normal to do so… she’s definitely an icon just as much as Michael… and that’s why even if one day she might be outsold by newer artists (like perhaps Taylor), her legacy as the original, the one and only Queen of Pop will forever be untouchable
@@nikosgr9290 I find this argument odd because releasing an album doesn't necessarily mean that people will buy it (as evidenced by MJ and M's lowest selling albums). Part of the reason MJ didn't release more studio albums was because he promoted them for far longer than M did, with seven or eight singles over the course of three years compared to three or four singles across one year. So they sold more over the long-haul. Madonna also has a 30M+ selling greatest hits compilation that significantly cannibalized her sales, whereas MJ's biggest hits collection (HIStory) is included here. There's no doubt that MJ was the bigger seller either way though.
@@FindingMadonna I get your point, but the no of albums was a response to the years michael had been on compared to madonna, which is an odd thing to say too. The no of singles they released was also an indication of how succesful they were and the fact that they had too many potential singles in it, but the gap between albums was also down to how long each artist took to prepare an album.
am i the only one to think it’s sad that many people’s sales raise up after their death? like, give them the praise they deserve while they’re still with us…
Incorrect. The title says "album sales," yet greatest hits and soundtracks have been excluded. For instance, Madonna's Immaculate Collection was a massive hit for her. this would have been far more interesting if all albums were included.
the Immaculate collection is counted is counted as an lp or other long play and is then distributed to each album that had the most impact on the sales of the compilation album.
If we put the Immaculate collection on this chart, we would be immensely reducing the sales of the other albums. For example, like a virgin album would have 14 mil. less sales if we took into account the immaculate collection as a standalone project.
@@robinlambregts4666yes it did it was even confirmed by the mj estate and his family it was even put up at thriller night a event hosted by the Jackson family proving he sold over 120 million copies worldwide so keep keep being jealous all you want to but thriller still sold that much wether you like it or not
@@fadgaola Hi, for Elvis maybe in the US or a few decades ago but as a french in my 20s I can tell you that here madonna is a 1000 times more famous than him. For Lady Gaga, that’s what you think and Madonna influenced her a lot. Anyways both queens and Elvis king !
I know your comment is kinda old now but what Greatest hits for Michael were there. Unless you think history is a greatest hit it is not. It’s just a duel album so the first 15 songs are old but the other 15 are the album songs.
For the jealous haters in the comments saying thriller didn’t sell 121 million copies worldwide when it was literally confirmed by the MJ estate and his family and at thriller night a event hosted by the jackson family they put up proof of thriller selling over 121 million copies worldwide and it was a plaque showing it so keep being jealous haters all you want it still sold that much
They say it sold 70million certified units. It's about the certified markets which are about 40 countries as I think. 120 million are the total in all the markets like more than 100 countries but most of these countries aren't certified . Sorry for my English. I'm still learning and trying to reach B2
Michael Jackson in the 1970s Motown years: The Calm Before The Storm. Michael Jackson at 1979 and beyond: *DOMINATION.* But Madonna held her own with Mike. She put out more albums than he did in his adult solo career. And adding them all up she can rival his sales prominence. Which is why she's the Queen of Pop. But there's a REASON why Michael Jackson was the UNDISPUTED King of Pop & this chart showed it right here.
Regarding the number of albums, yes she was more prolific, but he promoted his albums for far longer. She spent at most a year with three, four, or fives singles. MJ worked his albums for two to three years with up to eight singles. If M had released half the number of albums but promoted them the way MJ did, I think her numbers wouldn't be a whole lot less than they currently are. Either way, they both used different strategies and both worked for them.
Not be rude I’m genuinely confused Because if your talking about history for Michael Jackson with about 32 million sales that’s a real album with You are not alone being the first single to debut number 1 on billboard.
@@joelniviere1084 It's not just pure album sales. It's EAS a.k.a. equivalent album sales. It's album + singles sales in all formats ( whether it's physical, digital or streaming ) taken into consideration and compiled into equivalent album sales to show how much sales come from these albums. So yes, it's 120M+. 70M is just pure album sales.
@@JDUCSUDMU38948yes it has it was confirmed by the mj estate and Michaels family even at thriller night a event hosted by the jackson family they put it up showing thriller sold over 120 million copies worldwide with proof of it
@@naurking5388 yes there is there’s a plaque showing it that the Jackson family put out for thriller night and the mj estate announced it on Instagram also if you go to any legit chart it will tell you the same thing it sold over 121 million copies worldwide
@@ottoask9151 yes it did there’s even a plaque that shows it that the Jackson family put up for thriller night and Michaels estate and family even confirmed it so let’s not be Jealous haters 😊
@@nikolas_1982no it sold over 120 million copies worldwide in mostly pure sales and digital sales streaming sales do not count with pure and digital sales plus if we counted streaming with it it would be over 3 billion since it sold that much on Spotify and it has billions of streams on pandora and music so no streaming isn’t included and the mj estate has even confirmed themselves thriller sold over 120 million copies worldwide
