Number Ones

When Michael Jackson released Number Ones on November 17, 2003, the tracklist served as a definitive survey of his commercial dominance. Fifteen of the eighteen songs had topped the Billboard Hot 100, while three others, Thriller, Smooth Criminal, and Earth Song, achieved international number-one status despite missing the US summit. The collection opens with the disco-funk anthem Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough from 1979 and closes with One More Chance, a ballad written and produced by R. Kelly specifically for this project.

The album distinguished itself by utilizing radio edits and single mixes rather than original album versions. This choice created a leaner, punchier runtime of approximately one hour and eighteen minutes. Man in the Mirror runs at its shorter radio length, and familiar tracks like Billie Jean appear in their single forms. The US edition included Break of Dawn, a track from the 2001 album Invincible that had never been a single, while international versions often swapped it for Blood on the Dance Floor or added Jackson's 1972 debut hit Ben. [modifier]