Michael Jackson tops global download list

30/08/2010

One year after his death, Michael Jackson has been named as the most downloaded artist of all time.

The King of Pop, who died in June 2009 at age 50, topped the list produced by Nokia's Ovi Music Store.

According to the global sales figures, Jackson is most popular in India - accounting for 26 per cent of downloads in the country - followed by the UK and then Germany.

Sunday (August 29th) would have been the star's 52nd birthday and fans in his hometown of Gary, Indiana gathered for a party outside his childhood home, but others may wish to commemorate the event by picking up a Michael Jackson T-shirt at 8ball.co.uk.

Commenting on the download rankings, which saw the Billie Jean singer place ahead of Lady Gaga, Elvis Presley and the Black Eyed Peas, musicologist Geoff Roberts suggested the anniversary of the death and the birthday celebrations have "revived Jackson fever".

Last week, it emerged two of the star's children are to attend a private school in Los Angeles, having famously been shielded from the public eye while their father was alive.

Posted by Matt Foy