Watch the throne.
Social media was buzzing over whether or not Drake is as big of a star as Michael Jackson after the OVO boss broke the King of Pop’s chart record when nine songs from Certified Lover Boy landed in the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 last month.
“Way 2 Sexy,” “Girls Want Girls,” “Fair Trade,” “Champagne Poetry,” and “Knife Talk” all occupied the top 5 spots, tying Drake with The Beatles and besting MJ’s 37-year-old record for most top 10 hits on the same album, which he set with Thriller in 1982.
“Is Drake in 2021 now as big as Michael Jackson or The Beatles at their peaks?” asked Billboard, sparking a Twitter debate amongst fans.
Michael jackson
Reminder of his record:🏆 Best-selling thriller album of all time (120 million)
🏆5 best-selling albums of all time
🥇N • 1 of the Charts since he was 11 years old
👑 Most successful artist of all time
Drake doing better? 🤭 pic.twitter.com/vktrhAiwXg
— M.queen9 (@Mari___lord) September 18, 2021
He isn’t as big as Michael..he’s bigger than Michael and that’s a fact
— Sarkcess (@SARK_PROMO) September 18, 2021
Now the King of Pop’s son, Prince Jackson, is weighing in on the debate. While he acknowledged Drake’s success, he said no one will ever be able to compare to his late father.
“I mean everybody has their own definition of great, and all respect to Drake everything that he does,” Prince told TooFab. “But what my father and my family accomplished, in the time that they did it, is very unlikely never to be matched again.”
Drake compared himself to MJ on Certified Lover Boy. “Not sure if you know but I’m actually Michael Jackson / The man I see in the mirror is actually goin’ platinum,” he raps on “You Only Live Twice.”
The Toronto rapper posthumously collaborated with Jackson on “Don’t Matter to Me” off his 2018 album Scorpion, which featured vocals from MJ’s previously unreleased session with Paul Anka.