Is Halloween About To Become the New Christmas on the Hot 100?
Categoria: Musica
This week's Five Burning Questions looks at new Oct. 31-boosted chart peaks for Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and Tame Impala & JENNIE's "Dracula."
Por Billboard | 10/11/2026
On this week’s Billboard Hot 100 (dated Nov. 14), Halloween comes closer than ever to boosting a spooky-season anthem to the top of its rankings. Related Ella Langley’s ‘Choosin’ Texas’ Holds Off Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ for 27th Week Atop Hot 100 The Nightmare Before Christmas: Michael Jackson, Wham! & Mariah Carey Hits Celebrate Dual Holidays on the Hot 100 The 25 Biggest Halloween Songs of All Time on the Hot 100 Though Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” reigns for a 27th week on the listing, a pair of fright-night favorites — one classic and one new — appear right below it, in Michael Jackson ‘s “Thriller” and Tame Impala and JENNIE ‘s “Dracula,” respectively. Both hit new peaks this week, and lead the six total Halloween-themed titles on this week’s chart, including one first-time entry: “Spooky, Scary Skeletons,” from late ’70s hitmaker Andrew Gold. Will “Thriller” get to No. 1 one of these years? And will Halloween someday have close to the same annual impact on the Hot 100 as Christmas does? Billboard staffers answer these questions and more below. 1. No Halloween songs got to No. 1 this year as we predicted they might, but we did get songs at No. 2 (“Thriller”) and No. 3 (“Dracula”). Are we moving towards Halloween becoming a perennial Hot 100-dominating holiday like Christmas? Katie Atkinson: It sure looks like it! And the chart tracking week will allow for even more Halloween music action in the coming years, because Halloween was on a Saturday this year, meaning the only Halloweekend activity was Friday through early Sunday. Next year, it falls on a Sunday, allowing for an extra tracking day, and it just goes up from there. With music streaming at an all-time high, the more closely we can follow people’s listening habits, the more these seasonal spikes will occur. Kyle Denis : I think we just might be! Obviously, not every Halloween will coincide with a $1 billion-grossing Michael Jackson biopic and a hit single that just so happens to share a name with one of the holiday’s most enduring characters, but 2026 certainly helped refine the sub-genre of “Halloween pop.” Chris Eggertsen : I hope so! Halloween is my favorite holiday, and I’d love to see an influx of songs about ghosts and monsters flood the Hot 100 starting every late September or so. While it does seem we’re moving in that direction, I don’t think it’ll ever quite match the power of Christmas — a holiday in which seasonal music is so deeply embedded — in terms of Billboard chart dominance. Lyndsey Havens : I think so and I hope so. Halloween may not be as cheery as Christmas, but it is a bit more inclusive and playfully spooky — and that’s something worth getting behind. Andrew Unterberger : I don’t know if we’re ever going to quite get to the regular 40-of-the-top-50 levels of domination Christma