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List of best-selling singles

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This is a compendium of the best-selling music singles, based on claimed sales by various sources, certified units by certifying authorities worldwide, as well as year-end singles charts by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).

A precise list of best-selling singles is hard to determine, as no organization has consistently tracked global music sales throughout history. Although the IFPI has published year-end global singles charts since 2007, it has never provided comprehensive all-time worldwide sales figures for singles. It is also difficult to compare the commercial performance of singles from different eras, due to shifts of music consumption over time. From the late 19th century to the early 2000s, physical singles were the major metric to measure a song's success. Digital downloads became the most dominant format between the mid-2000s and the mid-2010s, before being overtaken by music streaming.

According to the IFPI, a digital track purchase roughly equal to 0.3 of a physical single. During the physical era, it was uncommon for singles to achieve Multi-Platinum certification compared to the digital era. During the first 55 years of RIAA certification (1958–2013), Elton John's "Something About the Way You Look Tonight"/"Candle in the Wind 1997" was the only single to receive Diamond certification for physical release. After the inclusion of streaming for RIAA certifications in 2013, three digital singles were immediately certified Diamond that year. By October 2019, a total of 33 singles had been certified Diamond by the RIAA.

According to Guinness World Records, Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" (1942) is the best-selling single worldwide, with estimated sales of over 50 million copies. The song's success was before the existence of certification systems, hence the accuracy is often disputed. Guinness World Records also states that John's "Candle in the Wind 1997" is "the biggest-selling single since UK and US singles charts began in the 1950s, having accumulated worldwide sales of 33 million copies". In 2023, Guinness World Records declared "Spotlight" by Chinese singer Xiao Zhan as the best-selling digital single of all time, with 54.3 million downloads. According to official certifications worldwide, Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You" is the highest-certified single ever.

By claimed sales

The following is a list of singles that have sold at least 20 million copies (pure sales) according to various sources. Since no official organization provides global record sales, reported figures are often exaggerations. Therefore, this list is ordered by the release year of singles instead of their claimed sales figures.

YearSingleArtistClaimed sales
(in million)Ref."Silent Night""White Christmas""Petit Papa Noël""Rock Around the Clock""It's Now or Never""We Are the World""I Will Always Love You""Something About the Way You Look Tonight"/"Candle in the Wind 1997""Rolling in the Deep""Spotlight"
1935Bing Crosby30{{cite weblast1=first1=title="Silent night, holy night"website=German Patent And Trade Mark Officelanguage=en-gb}}
1942Bing Crosby50title= Best-selling singlework= Guinness World Recordsaccess-date= 14 November 2020url= https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/best-selling-single}}
1946Tino Rossi30
1954Bill Haley & His Comets25
1960Elvis Presley20
1985USA for Africa20
1992Whitney Houston24
1997Elton John33
2011Adele20.6
2020Xiao Zhan54.3title= Biggest-selling digital singlecontribution= Guinness World Records: Biggest-selling digital singlepage=publisher= Guinness World Recordsdate= 4 January 2023access-date= 6 February 2025url= https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/397597-biggest-selling-digital-single }}

By certified units

1970s and earlier

SingleArtistReleasedCertified units
(in million)"Bohemian Rhapsody""We Will Rock You""September""Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree""Highway to Hell""Have You Ever Seen the Rain""Fortunate Son""Piano Man""Don't Stop Me Now""We Are the Champions"
Queen1975
Queen1977
Earth, Wind & Fire1978
Brenda Lee1958
AC/DC1979
Creedence Clearwater Revival1971
Creedence Clearwater Revival1969
Billy Joel1973
Queen1979
Queen1977

1980s

SingleArtistReleasedCertified units
(in million)"Don't Stop Believin'""Last Christmas""Billie Jean""Africa""Livin' on a Prayer""Thriller""I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)""Beat It""Careless Whisper""Back in Black"
Journey1981
Wham!1984
Michael Jackson1983
Toto1982
Bon Jovi1986
Michael Jackson1983
Whitney Houston1987
Michael Jackson1983
George Michael1984
AC/DC1980

1990s

SingleArtistReleasedCertified units
(in million)"All I Want for Christmas Is You""Candle in the Wind 1997""Smells Like Teen Spirit""Iris""Thunderstruck""I Will Always Love You""My Heart Will Go On""...Baby One More Time""Under the Bridge""I'll Be Missing You"
Mariah Carey1994
Elton John1997
Nirvana1991
Goo Goo Dolls1998
AC/DC1990
Whitney Houston1992
Celine Dion1997
Britney Spears1998
Red Hot Chili Peppers1992
Puff Daddy and Faith Evans featuring 1121997

2000s

SingleArtistReleasedCertified units
(in million)"Lose Yourself""I Gotta Feeling""Party in the U.S.A.""I'm Yours""Yeah!""Hey, Soul Sister""Halo""Poker Face""Just Dance""Tik Tok"
Eminem2002
Black Eyed Peas2009
Miley Cyrus2009
Jason Mraz2008
Usher featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris2004
Train2009
Beyoncé2008
Lady Gaga2008
Lady Gaga2008
Kesha2009

2010s

SingleArtistReleasedCertified units
(in million)"Shape of You""Sunflower""Thinking Out Loud""Just the Way You Are""Old Town Road""Take Me to Church""Closer""Starboy""Sweater Weather""Radioactive"
Ed Sheeran2017
Post Malone and Swae Lee2018
Ed Sheeran2014
Bruno Mars2010
Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus2018
Hozier2013
The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey2016
The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk2016
The Neighbourhood2012
Imagine Dragons2012

2020s

SingleArtistReleasedCertified units
(in million)"Heat Waves""Save Your Tears""Stay""Flowers""As It Was""Levitating""Lose Control""Beautiful Things""Something in the Orange""Good 4 U"
Glass Animals2020
The Weeknd2020
The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber2021
Miley Cyrus2023
Harry Styles2022
Dua Lipa2020
Teddy Swims2023
Benson Boone2024
Zach Bryan2022
Olivia Rodrigo2021

By year

YearSingleArtistRef."The Ballad of the Green Berets""Hey Jude""Sugar, Sugar""Vogue""Killing Me Softly""My Heart Will Go On"
1966Barry Sadlerurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=qqdJDAAAQBAJtitle=Music: A Social Experiencepublisher=Routledgedate=2022access-date=29 December 2022first1=Stevenlast1=Corneliusfirst2=Marylast2=Natvigisbn=978-1-315-40428-8 }}
1968The Beatlesurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=5qleEAAAQBAJtitle=Take a Sad Song: The Emotional Currency of "Hey Jude"publisher=Rowman & Littlefielddate=2022access-date=29 December 2022page=3first=Jameslast=Campionisbn=978-1-4930-6238-6 }}
1969The Archiesurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=TkwJAQAAMAAJtitle=The Many Worlds of Musicpublisher=Broadcast Music, Inc.date=1970access-date=29 December 2022page=9}}
1990Madonnaurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=QUs5AQAAIAAJtitle=The Art of Record Productionpublisher=Omnibus Presspage=31date=1997access-date=29 December 2022first=Richard Jameslast=Burgessisbn=978-0-7119-5552-3author-link=Richard James Burgess}}
1996Fugees
1998Celine Dionurl=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/what-to-listen-to/best-celine-dion-songs/title=10 of the best Celine Dion songswork=The Daily Telegraphdate=11 October 2017access-date=29 December 2022archive-date=8 December 2022archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208160832/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/what-to-listen-to/best-celine-dion-songs/url-access=subscription}}
YearSingleArtistSales
(in million)Ref."Girlfriend""Lollipop""Poker Face""Tik Tok""Just the Way You Are""Call Me Maybe"
2007Avril Lavigne7.3url=http://www.ifpi.org/content/library/DMR2008.pdftitle=Digital Music Sales in 2007publisher=International Federation of the Phonographic Industrypage=6archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080306023416/http://www.ifpi.org/content/library/DMR2008.pdfarchive-date=6 March 2008access-date=13 November 2010}}
2008Lil Wayne featuring Static Major9.1
2009Lady Gaga9.8title= IFPI Digital Music Report 2010contribution= Top 10 Digital Songs 2009publisher= International Federation of the Phonographic Industrypage= 10access-date= 13 April 2018url= http://www.ifpi.org/content/library/DMR2010.pdfurl-status= livearchive-date= 22 February 2012archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120222025232/http://www.ifpi.org/content/library/DMR2010.pdf}}
2010Kesha12.8
2011Bruno Mars12.5title= IFPI Digital Music Report 2012contribution= The Global Top Selling Digital Singles of 2011publisher= International Federation of the Phonographic Industrypage= 7date= 23 January 2012access-date= 13 April 2018url= http://www.ifpi.org/content/library/DMR2012.pdfarchive-date= 5 December 2016archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161205091833/http://www.ifpi.org/content/library/DMR2012.pdf}}
2012Carly Rae Jepsen12.5
YearSingleArtistUnits
(in million)Ref."Blurred Lines""Happy""See You Again""One Dance""Shape of You""Havana""Bad Guy"
2013Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell14.8title= IFPI Digital Music Report 2014contribution= Top Global Singlespage= 15publisher= International Federation of the Phonographic Industrydate= 18 March 2015access-date= 18 March 2015url= http://ifpi.org/downloads/Digital-Music-Report-2014.pdfurl-status= livearchive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140321072520/http://ifpi.org/downloads/Digital-Music-Report-2014.pdfarchive-date= 21 March 2014}}
2014Pharrell Williams13.9title= IFPI Digital Music Report 2015publisher= International Federation of the Phonographic Industrycontribution= Global Top Digital Singles of 2014page= 12date= 14 April 2015access-date= 13 April 2018url= http://ifpi.org/downloads/Digital-Music-Report-2015.pdfurl-status= livearchive-date= 14 November 2017archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171114204053/http://www.ifpi.org/downloads/Digital-Music-Report-2015.pdf}}
2015Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth20.9url=https://www.musikindustrie.de/fileadmin/bvmi/upload/06_Publikationen/GMR/Global-Music-Report-2016.pdftitle=State of the Industry Overview 2016 Most popular artists and global bestsellers of 2015author=date=2016website=Bundesverband Musikindustriepublisher=IFPIlocation=Berlinpage=7language=enaccess-date=18 June 2022url-status=livearchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205051734/https://www.musikindustrie.de/fileadmin/bvmi/upload/06_Publikationen/GMR/Global-Music-Report-2016.pdfarchive-date=5 February 2022}}
2016Drake featuring Wizkid and Kyla12.5title= IFPI Global Music Report 2017: Annual State of the Industrypublisher= International Federation of the Phonographic Industrycontribution= Global Top 10 Digital Singles of 2016page= 9access-date= 13 April 2018url= http://www.ifpi.org/downloads/GMR2017.pdfurl-status= livearchive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170426063757/http://www.ifpi.org/downloads/GMR2017.pdfarchive-date= 26 April 2017}}
2017Ed Sheeran26.6title= IFPI Global Music Report 2018contribution= Global Top 10 Digital Singles of 2017page= 9publisher= International Federation of the Phonographic Industryaccess-date= 24 April 2018url= http://www.ifpi.org/downloads/GMR2018.pdfurl-status= deadarchive-date= 24 April 2018archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180424202534/http://www.ifpi.org/downloads/GMR2018.pdf}}
2018Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug19title= Havana by Camila Cabello (featuring Young Thug) named best-selling single of 2018publisher= International Federation of the Phonographic Industrydate= 6 March 2019access-date= 23 March 2019url= https://www.ifpi.org/news/Havana-by-Camila-Cabello-(featuring-Young-Thug)-named-best-selling-single-of-2018url-status= livearchive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190330234811/https://www.ifpi.org/news/Havana-by-Camila-Cabello-(featuring-Young-Thug)-named-best-selling-single-of-2018archive-date= 30 March 2019}}
2019Billie Eilish19.5first= Tatianalast= Cirisanotitle= Billie Eilish's 'Bad Guy' Named IFPI's Biggest Global Single of 2019magazine= Billboarddate= 10 March 2020access-date= 27 March 2020url= http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/international/9331529/billie-eilish-bad-guy-ifpi-global-single-2019-list}}
YearSingleArtistRef."Blinding Lights""Save Your Tears""As It Was""Flowers""Beautiful Things"
2020The Weekndtitle=The Weeknd wins 2020's IFPI Global Digital Single Award for Blinding Lightspublisher=IFPIdate=9 March 2021access-date=9 March 2021url=https://www.ifpi.org/the-weeknd-wins-2020s-ifpi-global-digital-single-award-for-blinding-lights/}}
2021The Weekndtitle=The Weeknd Wins IFPI Global Digital Single Award for Save Your Tearspublisher=IFPIdate=28 February 2022access-date=29 December 2022url=https://www.ifpi.org/the-weeknd-wins-ifpi-global-digital-single-award-for-save-your-tears/}}
2022Harry Stylestitle=Harry Styles wins IFPI Global Single Award for As It Waspublisher=IFPIdate=23 February 2023access-date=24 February 2023url=https://www.ifpi.org/harry-styles-wins-ifpi-global-single-award-for-as-it-was/}}
2023Miley Cyrustitle=Miley Cyrus' Flowers Confirmed by IFPI as Biggest-Selling Global Single of the Yearpublisher=IFPIdate=26 February 2024access-date=26 February 2023url=https://www.ifpi.org/miley-cyrus-flowers-confirmed-by-ifpi-as-biggest-selling-global-single-of-the-year/}}
2024Benson Boonetitle=Benson Boone's Beautiful Things Confirmed by IFPI as Biggest-Selling Global Single of the Yearurl=https://www.ifpi.org/benson-boones-beautiful-things-confirmed-by-ifpi-as-biggest-selling-global-single-of-the-year/website=IFPIaccess-date=20 February 2025date=20 February 2025}}

Notes

References

Literary sources

References

  1. (December 2, 2020). "Music by Numbers: The Use and Abuse of Statistics in the Music Industries". Intellect Books.
  2. (October 9, 1997). "First Diamond certificate awarded to a US single". [[Guinness World Records]].
  3. (January 23, 2014). "2013 'Landmark Year' For RIAA's Gold & Platinum Program". [[Recording Industry Association of America]].
  4. (October 22, 2019). "Fastest Diamond certificate awarded to a US digital single". [[Guinness World Records]].
  5. "Best-selling single". [[Guinness World Records]].
  6. (November 10, 1999). "The American Recording Industry Announces its Artists of the Century". [[RIAA]].
  7. "Guinness Book of Records, 2009 Edition, pages 14, 15 & 169".
  8. Wyman, Bill. (January 4, 2013). "Did "Thriller" Really Sell a Hundred Million Copies?".
  9. "Best-selling single (France)".
  10. Barnett, David C.. (1 July 2000). "(We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock". [[NPR]].
  11. This figure was also cited through the 1980s by [[Guinness World Records]], albeit with the caveat that the figure was an "unaudited" claim. By the time of the book's 1999 edition, the estimated sales figure had increased to 43 million, again as an "unaudited" claim.
  12. Martin, Douglas. (5 December 2009). "Aaron Schroeder, Writer of Hit Songs for Elvis Presley, Dies at 83". [[The New York Times]].
  13. Breznican, Anthony. (30 June 2009). "The many faces of Michael Jackson". [[USA Today]].
  14. (August 23, 2024). "'I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU': WHITNEY HOUSTON REACHES A NEW MUSICAL MILESTONE". [[Black Enterprise]].
  15. Eftink, Jim. (25 May 2018). "This week in music: 2011 Adele". [[KFVS-TV]].
  16. (4 January 2023). "Biggest-selling digital single". Guinness World Records.
  17. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations". [[Australian Recording Industry Association]].
  18. "PMB: Certificados". [[Pro-Música Brasil]].
  19. {{cite certification
  20. {{cite certification
  21. "German single certifications". [[Bundesverband Musikindustrie]].
  22. {{cite certification
  23. "RIAJ: Gold Disc Certifications". [[Recording Industry Association of Japan]].
  24. {{cite certification
  25. "Audio Gest". AFP.
  26. "Spanish single certifications". [[Productores de Música de España]].
  27. {{cite certification
  28. {{cite certification
  29. {{cite certification
  30. {{cite certification
  31. {{cite certification
  32. "BVMI: Gold-/Platin-Datenbank". [[Bundesverband Musikindustrie]].
  33. {{cite certification
  34. {{cite certification
  35. {{cite certification
  36. {{cite certification
  37. "Goud En Platina - Singles 1995". [[Ultratop]].
  38. {{cite certification
  39. {{cite certification
  40. "Lot 454 – A Multi-Platinum Award for the Single "Candle In the Wind 1997" / "Something About The Way You Look Tonight" – Sotheby's". [[Sotheby's]].
  41. "Kulta- ja platinalevyt: Artistit". [[Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland]].
  42. "Polish certification awards 1995–present". [[ZPAV]].
  43. "Guld & Platina IFPI". [[International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
  44. "Hitparade.ch: Edelmetall". Hung Medien.
  45. (April 14, 2003). "Greek Singles Chart". [[IFPI Greece]].
  46. (18 March 2020). "Gaon's 관찰노트". Korea Music Content Industry Association.
  47. "The Irish Charts: Certtifications-Awards". [[Irish Recorded Music Association]].
  48. "Adatbázis - Arany- és platinalemezek".
  49. "India's undying Love for AURORA's 'Runaway,' Glass Animals' 'Heat Waves,' and Shawn and Camila's 'Senorita'".
  50. (2022). "Music: A Social Experience". [[Routledge]].
  51. Campion, James. (2022). "Take a Sad Song: The Emotional Currency of "Hey Jude"". [[Rowman & Littlefield]].
  52. (1970). "The Many Worlds of Music". [[Broadcast Music, Inc.]].
  53. Burgess, Richard James. (1997). "The Art of Record Production". [[Omnibus Press]].
  54. (2021-06-09). "Looking back at 25 years of The Fugees' 'Killing Me Softly' - Far Out Magazine".
  55. (11 October 2017). "10 of the best Celine Dion songs". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
  56. "Digital Music Sales in 2007". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
  57. (2010). "Top 10 Digital Single Tracks 2008". IFPI.
  58. "IFPI Digital Music Report 2010". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
  59. "IFPI publishes Digital Music Report 2011".
  60. (23 January 2012). "IFPI Digital Music Report 2012". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
  61. (18 March 2015). "IFPI Digital Music Report 2014". [[International Federation of the Phonographic Industry]].
  62. (14 April 2015). "IFPI Digital Music Report 2015". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
  63. . (2016). ["State of the Industry Overview 2016 {{!}} Most popular artists and global bestsellers of 2015"](https://www.musikindustrie.de/fileadmin/bvmi/upload/06_Publikationen/GMR/Global-Music-Report-2016.pdf). *[[International Federation of the Phonographic Industry*.
  64. "IFPI Global Music Report 2017: Annual State of the Industry". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
  65. "IFPI Global Music Report 2018". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
  66. (6 March 2019). "Havana by Camila Cabello (featuring Young Thug) named best-selling single of 2018". [[International Federation of the Phonographic Industry]].
  67. Cirisano, Tatiana. (10 March 2020). "Billie Eilish's 'Bad Guy' Named IFPI's Biggest Global Single of 2019".
  68. (9 March 2021). "The Weeknd wins 2020's IFPI Global Digital Single Award for Blinding Lights". IFPI.
  69. (28 February 2022). "The Weeknd Wins IFPI Global Digital Single Award for Save Your Tears". IFPI.
  70. (23 February 2023). "Harry Styles wins IFPI Global Single Award for As It Was". IFPI.
  71. (26 February 2024). "Miley Cyrus' Flowers Confirmed by IFPI as Biggest-Selling Global Single of the Year". IFPI.
  72. (20 February 2025). "Benson Boone's Beautiful Things Confirmed by IFPI as Biggest-Selling Global Single of the Year".
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