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When fans walked into Michael this April, they expected to hear some ofMichael Jackson’s biggest hits, from “Billie Jean” to “Thriller.” And they did, but one surprising omission stands out: his actual No. 1 song of all time is missing from the film.
Related: Is the ‘Michael’ Movie Based on a True Story? Here’s What the Biopic Gets Right and Wrong
According to Billboard, that title doesn’t belong to one of his most iconic solo tracks. Instead, it goes to “Say Say Say,” his 1983 duet with Paul McCartney—a song that, somewhat shockingly, isn’t featured in the new biopic at all.
The surprising Michael Jackson song that tops them all
“Say Say Say” may not be the first song that comes to mind when you think of Jackson’s catalog, but the numbers tell a different story.
The track spent six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and ultimately became Jackson’s top-performing single on the chart, based on its overall run and performance metrics. To get those numbers, Billboard ranked his songs “based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at lower spots earning the least.”
That means it outranks classics like “Billie Jean,” “Dirty Diana,” and “Beat It” in terms of chart success, even if those songs have had a bigger cultural footprint. It also helps that the song had double the star power, combining the fan bases of both Jackson and the legendary Beatles singer.
Why ‘Say Say Say’ is missing from the movie
The new biopic Michael, which hit theaters on April 24, 2026, focuses primarily on Jackson’s rise from the Jackson 5 era through his “Bad” tour in the late ’80s.
Its official soundtrack includes 13 songs spanning his early career and blockbuster solo albums like Off the Wall and Thriller—but notably skips “Say Say Say.”
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That omission likely comes down to the film’s narrative focus. While the duet was a massive hit, it’s technically part of McCartney’s album Pipes of Peace, not one of Jackson’s core solo releases. That makes it easy to leave out in a story centered on his personal artistic evolution, even if it came out during the timeframe the movie highlights.
Still, the numbers don’t lie: even decades later, the duet remains his most successful song on the charts—whether it made the movie or not.
