Michael Jackson's new album Xscape hits number one in over 50 countries

The pop icon performs during the halftime show at the Super Bowl in 1993 (AP)

Michael Jackson’s new album Xscape has topped the digital charts in more than 50 countries after its release earlier this week, Digital Spy reports.

The King of Pop’s set of eight unheard tracks has been given a contemporary reworking by acclaimed producers such as Timbaland.

The first single from the album, “Love Never Felt So Good”, debuted at the iHeart Radio Music Awards at the beginning of the month.

Justin Timberlake’s vocals feature on the ‘retro’ style song, which was first penned by Jackson and Paul Anka in 1983.

Other singers heard on the album include Mary J Blige and D’Angelo.

“Any artist, I don’t care what genre you do, you should always aspire to be like Michael Jackson,” said Timberlake in 2012.

Another song on Xscape, “Do You Know Where Your Children Are?” is believed to be about Jackson’s child sex abuse allegations.

Its lyrics appear to be about a 12-year-old girl who ends up as a prostitute after fleeing abuse from her stepfather. Jackson sings the phrase “Save me from this living hell” multiple times, leading to fan speculation that the “Bad” star wrote it about the battle to clear his name.

Jackson’s first album after his 2009 death, Michael, proved a disappointment, with some critics claiming certain tracks were performed by an impersonator.

Epic Records have released Xscape after CEO LA Reid was granted exclusive access to Jackson’s four-decade archive of material.

The title of the album continues Jackson's tradition of using single words that are also the names of his songs ( Thriller, Bad,Dangerous). So far, Xscape, has received favourable reviews.