In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separately from an album, although it usually also appears on an album. In other cases a recording released as a single may not appear on an album.
An extended play (EP) is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. Contemporary EPs generally contain four to five tracks, and are considered "less expensive and time-consuming" for an artist to produce than an album. An EP originally referred to specific types of records other than 78 rpm standard play (SP) and LP, but it is now applied to mid-length CDs and downloads as well. In K-pop they are usually referred to as mini albums. Ricardo Baca of The Denver Post said, "EPs—originally extended-play 'single' releases that are shorter than traditional albums—have long been popular with punk and indie bands." In the United Kingdom, the Official Chart Company defines a boundary between EP and album classification at 25 minutes of maximum length and no more than four tracks.
Natalie Jane Imbruglia is an Australian-British singer and actress. In the early 1990s, she played Beth Brennan in Neighbours. Three years after leaving the programme, she began a singing career with her cover of Ednaswap's song "Torn". It reached number one in Sweden, and charted highly in many other countries. Her debut album, Left of the Middle (1997), sold seven million copies worldwide. Imbruglia's five subsequent albums have combined sales of three million copies worldwide, and her accolades include eight ARIA Awards, two Brit Awards, one Billboard Music Award, and three Grammy nominations.
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards. Certification is not automatic; for an award to be made, the record label must first request certification. The audit is conducted against net shipments after returns, which includes albums sold directly to retailers and one-stops, direct-to-consumer sales and other outlets.
Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory.
Westlife are an Irish pop group formed in Dublin, Ireland, in 1998. The group consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member before leaving in 2004. The group disbanded in 2012 after 14 years and later reunited in 2018.
The Official Charts Company is a British inter-professional organisation that compiles various official record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France.
UKChartsPlus is an independent weekly newsletter about the UK music charts. It was first published in September 2001 as ChartsPlus in order to authoritatively record the official music chart information in the UK, as compiled by the Official Charts Company. It began after Hit Music, a sister publication of Music Week, ceased publication in May 2001. The new newsletter was established totally independent of Music Week, licensing the chart data directly from Official Charts Company and other chart providers.
Hungarian Recording Industry Association is the Hungarian music industry association, founded in 1992. MAHASZ issues the Hungarian Music Awards, awards music recording certification and maintains the music charts for Hungary.
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the official Australian music chart in June 1988, succeeding the Kent Music Report, which had been Australia's national music sales charts since 1974.
The Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers is an Argentine organization member of the IFPI, which represents the music industry in the country. It is a nonprofit organization integrated by multinational and independent record labels.
A lead single is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date.
The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment, a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie. GfK Entertainment is the provider of weekly Top 100 single and album charts, as well as various other chart formats for genres like compilations, jazz, classical music, schlager, hip hop, dance, comedy, and music videos. Following a lawsuit in March 2014 by Media Control AG, Media Control® GfK International had to change its name.
The Official Finnish Charts are national record charts in Finland compiled and published by Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. The name Suomen virallinen lista/Finlands officiella lista, which is singular in both Finnish and Swedish, is used generically to refer to both the albums and the singles chart, and the context reveals which chart is meant.
VG-lista is a Norwegian record chart. It is presented weekly in the newspaper VG. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continents around the world. The data are collected by Nielsen Soundscan International and are based on the sales in approximately 100 shops in Norway. The singles chart started as a top 10 chart in week 42 of 1958 and was expanded to a top 20 chart in week 5 of 1995, the same time the albums chart, which started as a top 20 chart in week 1 of 1967 was expanded to a top 40 chart.
The UK Dance Singles Chart and the UK Dance Albums Chart are music charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company from sales of songs in the dance music genre in record stores and digital downloads. The chart can be viewed on the BBC Radio 1's and Official Charts Company's website. The archive on the Official Charts Company website goes back to 3 July 1994, the beginning of the first charting week. The dates listed in the menus below represent the Saturday after the Sunday the chart was announced, as the dates are given in chart publications such as the ones produced by Billboard, Guinness, and Virgin.
The UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart and UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart are record charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company (OCC) to determine the 40 most popular singles and albums in the rock and heavy metal genres. The two charts are compiled by the OCC from digital downloads, physical record sales and audio streams in UK retail outlets. The charts have been published on the official OCC website since 1994. Previously, the UK Rock Singles chart, sometimes called the Metal Singles chart, that was compiled by CIN, which later became OCC, was published in Hit Music from September 1992 intermittently to February 1997 and interchangeably with the Rock and Metal Albums chart and also with the Indie Chart.
The Swiss Hitparade is Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.
The UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart and the UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart are 40-position R&B and hip hop music charts compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the music industry in the United Kingdom.
The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, which was based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Singles Chart were faring in Scotland, has not been published since 20 November 2020.
