Michael Jackson Fails to Outperform Living Artists, For Once

Michael Jackson's album landed at No. 3, which is not bad for someone who's dead.

There aren't many living musicians who'd be disappointed with opening week album sales of nearly a quarter of a million units and a No. 3 spot on the Billboard chart. Of the artists who've passed on to another world, there's probably just one for whom such a performance would be a letdown: Michael Jackson.

The King of Pop's posthumous Michael moved 228,000 copies in the U.S. its first week, trailing only No. 2 S...