George Michael Returns To The Top 40 With One Of His Most Celebrated Singles

Among all of George Michael’s huge singles, there is one that stands out when it comes to listeners in the United Kingdom, his home country. Decades after it was released and years after the singer’s passing, “Careless Whisper” remains the track that fans in that nation seem to return to regularly. It is the one that appears on the charts most frequently — at least outside of Christmas, when his Wham! cut “Last Christmas” becomes a favorite once again.

Michael scores a pair of top 40 hits in the U.K. this week with the same tune, as sales of the classic surge once more.

“Careless Whisper” Appears on Several Charts

“Careless Whisper” appears on only two song rankings in the U.K. at the moment, and it’s a top 40 win on both of them. The song jumps up the Official Physical Singles Sales chart, which ranks the bestselling tracks on formats like CD, vinyl, and cassette. Last week, it sat at No. 62, but now it rises to No. 36. Coincidentally, it hits that mark in its thirty-sixth frame on this roster.

“Careless Whisper” Reappears Inside the Top 40

At the same time that “Careless Whisper” bolts back into the top 40 on the Official Physical Singles Sales chart, it reenters the Official Vinyl Singles chart. Michael’s cut didn’t appear on the list of the bestselling individual tunes on wax in the U.K. just days ago, but now it’s back at No. 38.

George Michael and Wham!

“Careless Whisper” was originally released on Wham!’s sophomore album Make It Big, but the tune is credited solely to Michael in the U.K. The track dropped in the summer of 1984, but it didn’t become a hit on either the Official Physical Singles Sales chart or the Official Vinyl Singles chart until October 2024. Since then, the tune has departed the vinyl ranking several times, while it has never disappeared entirely from the Official Physical Singles Sales tally.

“Careless Whisper” Reached No. 1 All Around the World

“Careless Whisper” was a quick No. 1 hit in a number of countries all around the world in the mid-80s. The tune easily topped the main list of the most consumed songs in the U.K. and also brought Wham! to the summit on the Hot 100 in America.

The track was credited to both the group and Michael as a soloist in the U.S. and still stands as one of his and the duo’s most popular compositions to this day.