American DJs have sent sent radio playlists into overdrive, trebling the usual number of Michael Jackson songs since his acquittal on child sex charges.

Monitoring organisation, Mediabase 24/7, says the verdict has provided a huge, short term boost to Jackson’s career, with his songs played 3000 times on more than 1500 US radio stations, compared to just over 1000 in the days immediately before the verdict.

President, Rich Meyer, says: “There was an absolute spike in airplay subsequent to the reading of the verdict. Only time will tell whether the increased airplay will be sustained.”

Despite the playlist upsurge, music experts maintain Jackson will struggle to revive his career.

In recent days, the most played tracks have been “Billie Jean”, followed by “Beat It”, “Rock With You”, “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” and “Thriller”. Ironically, “Smooth Criminal” has been the 10th most played song!