In control

Janet Jackson outranks Michael in Billboard all-time Hot 100 artiste chart.

BEAT it, Michael Jackson.

The king of pop is not the most accomplished among his musical siblings, losing that distinction to Janet Jackson, in one prime statistic – how much time their records have spent on the charts.

Billboard magazine, which monitors the jostling, did some counting as part of its celebration of the 60th anniversary of its Hot 100 chart, which kicked off on Aug 4, 1958.

The numbers may surprise many, with Janet landing at No. 7 in the magazine’s all-time Hot 100 artiste ranking, ahead of Michael who comes in at No. 8.

Michael actually has 13 No. 1s among his 30 top 10s, both greater feats than Janet’s totals of 10 and 27 respectively.

But Janet, 52, is more “sticky”, notching 219 weeks in the Top 10, compared with Michael’s 183.

She also ruled the roost longer when she hit No. 1 with any single.

That’s The Way Love Goes reigned supreme for eight weeks in 1993.

Michael’s Billie Jean, in contrast, managed only seven weeks at the top in 1983 while his Black Or White could not extend a seven-week No. 1 run in 1991 to 1992.

Heading the Hot 100 artiste list is the Beatles – followed by Madonna, Elton John, Elvis Presley, Mariah Carey and Stevie Wonder in positions two to six.

At No. 9 is Whitney Houston while Rihanna takes No. 10.

Janet is likely to pull further ahead of Michael, who died in 2009.

Now on tour in United States, she could come up with another hot-selling album or repackage her hits.

But Janet, 52, is still unlikely to overhaul his phenomenal record sales of more than 350 million, with her current number hovering only at more than 100 million. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network