Michael Jackson soundtrack zooms to No. 1

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MANILA – Certified chart-topper Michael Jackson, whose “This Is It” film was declared the No. 1 worldwide, scored another hit with the movie’s official soundtrack.

The “This Is It” OST is on top of the Billboard 200 with 373,000 copies sold during the week ended November 1, Nielsen SoundScan reported.

According to Billboard.com, “This Is It” is the late King of Pop’s 6th No. 1 album on the Billboard 200. Jackson’s other No. 1 albums are “Thriller,” “Bad,” “Dangerous,” “HIStory,” and “Invincible.”

“This Is It” edged “Full Circle” by rock band Creed (No. 2 with 110,000 copies), “Fearless” by country teen sensation Taylor Swift (No. 3 with 109,000 copies) and “Soulbook” by British singer-songwriter Rod Stewart (No. 4 with 84,000 copies).

The soundtrack features the original album masters of some of Jackson’s hits arranged in the same sequence as they appear in the movie, an article on MichaelJackson.com said.

It also has 2 versions of the “This Is It” song, a spoken word poem titled “Planet Earth,” and previously unreleased versions of some of his tracks. A 36-page commemorative booklet also goes with the CD.

Before “This Is It” topped the Billboard 200 this month, Jackson’s compilation of his greatest hits, “Number Ones,” was declared the best-selling album in the United States for 2009 with about 1.62 million copies sold.

The “This Is It” movie, meantime, earned about $101 million in five days since opening worldwide on Wednesday, Columbia Pictures noted as reported by Reuters.

The film’s run in the US has been extended up to Thanksgiving (November 29) from a limited 2-week screening. The movie’s screening will also be extended overseas on a per-country basis, Columbia Pictures added.

“This Is It” puts together Jackson’s rehearsal footage for his “final curtain call” concert tour slated in London. Jackson was not able to stage the concerts as he suffered a cardiac arrest and died on June 25.

His death has been ruled a homicide by the Los Angeles County coroner, Reuters reported, due to an overdose of the powerful anesthetic propofol.

Meanwhile, several exhibits paying tribute to the music legend have opened in the US and Great Britain.

The GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles, California has the “Michael Jackson: A Musical Legacy” exhibit which will run until 2010. It earlier had a temporary memorial display after Jackson’s death.

“Michael Jackson: The Official Exhibition, the Arts and Exhibitions International,” meanwhile, opened at The O2 bubble in London last month. –

With reports from MichaelJackson.com, Top40.about.com, Billboard.com and Reuters