List of best-selling singles in the United States

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This list compiles the best-selling singles in the United States, based on reported sales figures. Some of the singles have been certified by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In music, a single is a song considered commercially viable enough by the artist and record company to be released separately from an album, usually featured on an album as well. For more information, see single.

Contents

Physical singles

Elton John's "Candle in the Wind 1997" is the best-selling physical single in the United States since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking music sales in 1991. Elton John 2011 Shankbone 2.JPG
Elton John's "Candle in the Wind 1997" is the best-selling physical single in the United States since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking music sales in 1991.

All of these physical singles have sold over four million copies according to either reliable third-party claims or RIAA multi-platinum certifications.

SongArtist(s)Release yearClaimed sales
(million) [A] 		No. of times Platinum [3]
"Candle in the Wind 1997" Elton John 19978.84 [4] 11×
"We Are the World"USA for Africa19858 [5] 4×
"Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" Gene Autry 19497 [6] None
"Paper Doll" The Mills Brothers 19436 [7] None
"The Tennessee Waltz" Patti Page 19486 [7] None
"Hound Dog" / "Don't Be Cruel" Elvis Presley 19565 [8] 4×
"It's Now or Never" Elvis Presley 19605 [9] 1×
"That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine" Gene Autry 19355 [10] None
"The Ballad of the Green Berets" Barry Sadler 19665 [11] None
"Dardanella" Ben Selvin 19195 [12] None
"My Blue Heaven" Gene Austin 19285 [13] None
"I Will Always Love You" Whitney Houston 19924.59 [14] 4×
"Macarena" Los del Río 19964.3 [15] 4×
"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" Bryan Adams 19914.1 [16] 3×
"Le Freak" Chic 19784 [17] 1×
"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" Marvin Gaye 19684 [18] None
"I'm a Believer" The Monkees 19664 [19] None
"You Light Up My Life" Debby Boone 19774 [20] 1×
"Hey Jude" The Beatles 196844×
"Whoomp! (There It Is)" Tag Team 199344×

Digital singles

The below singles have sold at least 6 million digital copies as reported by Luminate (or previously Nielsen SoundScan). Sales figures are not fully represented by RIAA certifications, which have included on-demand streaming-equivalent units since May 2013. [21] Thus the actual sales figures will be different from the amounts specified by the RIAA.

"I Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas is the best-selling digital single in the U.S., with over 8.7 million downloads sold. Black Eyed Peas.jpg
"I Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas is the best-selling digital single in the U.S., with over 8.7 million downloads sold.
Lady Gaga is the first artist to have two 7-million-selling digital singles. The Monster Ball - Poker Face revamped2 cropped.jpg
Lady Gaga is the first artist to have two 7-million-selling digital singles.
Katy Perry is the first artist to have three 6-million-selling digital singles. Katy Perry - Part Of Me Australian Premiere - June 2012 (3).jpg
Katy Perry is the first artist to have three 6-million-selling digital singles.
SongArtist(s)Release
year		Reported sales (million)No. of times Platinum [24]
"I Gotta Feeling" The Black Eyed Peas 20098.7 [22] 10×
"Rolling in the Deep" Adele 20108.4 [22] 8×
"Radioactive" Imagine Dragons 20128.2 [25] 16×
"Uptown Funk" Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars 20148.1 [26] 11×
"Party Rock Anthem" LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett and GoonRock 20118.1 [22] 10×
"Somebody That I Used to Know" Gotye featuring Kimbra 20117.9 [22] 14×
"Cruise" Florida Georgia Line 20127.6 [27] 14×
"Call Me Maybe" Carly Rae Jepsen 20117.6 [28] 10×
"Poker Face" Lady Gaga 20087.5 [29] 10×
"Lose Yourself" Eminem 20027.4 [30] 13×
"Firework" Katy Perry 20107.2 [31] 12×
"Just Dance" Lady Gaga featuring Colby O'Donis 20087.2 [29] 11×
"Don't Stop Believin'" Journey 19817.0 [32] 18×
"Just the Way You Are" Bruno Mars 20107.0 [32] 13×
"Low" Flo Rida featuring T-Pain 20077.0 [33] 10×
"Happy" Pharrell Williams 20146.9 [34] 11×
"Boom Boom Pow" The Black Eyed Peas 20086.9 [22] 5×
"I'm Yours" Jason Mraz 20086.8 [35] 13×
"We Are Young" fun. featuring Janelle Monáe 20116.8 [36] 10×
"Tik Tok" Kesha 20096.8 [37] 12×
"Need You Now" Lady Antebellum 20096.7 [38] 12×
"Moves like Jagger" Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera 20116.7 [39] 10×
"Love the Way You Lie" Eminem featuring Rihanna 20106.5 [22] 13×
"Blurred Lines" Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell Williams 20136.5 [40] 10×
"Hey, Soul Sister" Train 20096.4 [36] 11×
"Roar" Katy Perry 20136.4 [41] 15×
"Sexy and I Know It" LMFAO 20116.4 [22] 8×
"Party in the U.S.A." Miley Cyrus 20096.3 [42] 14×
"Dark Horse" Katy Perry featuring Juicy J 20136.3 [41] 11×
"Thrift Shop" Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Wanz 20136.2 [40] 10×
"Love Story" Taylor Swift 20086.2 [43] 8×
"Sail" Awolnation 20106.1 [32] 10×
"Grenade" Bruno Mars 20106.1 [22] 10×
"Viva la Vida" Coldplay 20086.1 [36] 5×
"Thinking Out Loud" Ed Sheeran 20146.0 [26] 18×
"All of Me" John Legend 20146.0 [26] 14×
"Fuck You / Forget You" CeeLo Green 20106.0 [44] 7×
"Someone like You" Adele 20116.0 [22] 5×
"Apologize" Timbaland featuring OneRepublic 20076.0 [45] 4×

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ For those where sales figures are not cited, sales figures are based on certified amounts by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

References

  1. ↑ "Recording Industry Association of America - April 25, 2014". RIAA. Archived from the original on August 7, 2013. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  2. ↑ "RIAA Debuts Album Awards with Streams". RIAA.com. RIAA. February 2016. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  3. ↑ "Gold & Platinum – Physical single". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  4. ↑ Grein, Paul (June 27, 2012). "Week Ending June 24, 2012. Songs: Elton & The Peas". yahoo.com. Yahoo-HuffPost Entertainment Network. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  5. ↑ Edwards, Gavin (March 6, 2020). "'We Are the World': A Minute-by-Minute Breakdown". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on November 22, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  6. ↑ Badger, Reid; Salem, James (December 22, 1996). "America's Holiday Sound– Distinctive artists". The Tuscaloosa News . Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  7. 1 2 Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop memories, 1890-1954 . Record Research. ISBN   9780898200836.
  8. ↑ Rees, Dafydd; Crampton, Luke (1991). Rock movers & shakers, Volume 1991, Part 2. ABC-CLIO. p. 400. ISBN   9780874366617 . Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  9. ↑ Murrells, Joseph (1985). Million selling records from the 1900s to the 1980s : an illustrated directory. Arco Pub. p. 145. ISBN   0668064595. It turned out to be the biggest hit of his already phenomenal career; global sales were reported 20 million (five million in the U.S.A., one million in Britain, one million in Germany and the remainder from other countries, including Sweden and Japan)
  10. ↑ The Biographical Encyclopedia of American Radio. Routledge. 2011. ISBN   9780415995498 . Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  11. ↑ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2, illustrated ed.). Barrie & Jenkins. p. 211. ISBN   0-214-20480-4.
  12. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954 . Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p.  379. ISBN   0-89820-083-0.
  13. ↑ CD liner notes: Chart-Toppers of the Twenties, 1998 ASV Ltd.
  14. ↑ Trust, Gary (August 28, 2009). "Ask Billboard: Battle of the Divas, Round 3". Billboard. Retrieved July 3, 2009.
  15. ↑ Jeffrey, Don (20 January 1997) (January 18, 1997). "Best-selling Records of 1996". Billboard . Retrieved January 5, 2014.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ↑ Sandiford-Waller, Theda (November 9, 1996). "Hot 100 Singles Spotlight". Billboard . Vol. 108, no. 45. BPI Communications Inc. p. 83. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  17. ↑ Perrone, Pierre (April 27, 1996). "Obituary: Bernard Edwards". The Independent . Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  18. ↑ The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Rock History: Folk, pop, mods, and rockers, 1960-1966. Greenwood Press. 2006. p. 33. ISBN   9780313329609 . Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  19. ↑ Dietz, Lawrence (September 23, 1968). "The Monkees' Man Invades the Kiddie Ghetto". New York Magazine. 1 (25): 46. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  20. ↑ Blackwell, Earl (January 1, 1990). Earl Blackwell's Celebrity Register, 1990. Gale Research Incorporated. p. 45. ISBN   9780810368750 . Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  21. ↑ "RIAA Adds Digital Streams To Historic Gold & Platinum Awards". Recording Industry Association of America. May 9, 2013. Archived from the original on June 29, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Trust, Gary (October 2, 2015). "Ask Billboard: Lady Gaga First Artist With Two 7-Million-Selling Downloads". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  23. ↑ Payne, Chris (June 26, 2014). "Katy Perry Becomes the RIAA's All-Time Top Digital Artist". Billboard.
  24. ↑ "Gold & Platinum – Digital singles". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  25. ↑ "Nielsen SoundScan charts – Digital Songs – Week Ending: 09/14/2017" (PDF). Nielsen SoundScan. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 19, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  26. 1 2 3 "Top Digital Songs of the 2010s" (PDF). Nielsen Music Year-End Music Report U.S. 2019: 18. January 2020. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  27. ↑ Bjorke, Matt (November 1, 2016). "Top 30 Digital Singles Sales Report: November 1, 2016". Roughstock.
  28. ↑ Horowitz, Steven (August 14, 2015). "Carly Rae Jepsen: 'I Wanted to Be Brave' With New Album 'E-Mo-Tion'". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  29. 1 2 Trust, Gary (February 10, 2019). "Ask Billboard: Lady Gaga's Career Sales & Streams; Ariana Grande Takes '7' to 1". Billboard. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  30. ↑ "Nielsen SoundScan charts – Digital Songs – Week Ending: 09/28/2017" (PDF). Nielsen SoundScan. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 16, 2023. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  31. ↑ "Nielsen SoundScan charts – Digital Songs – Week Ending: 07/06/2017" (PDF). Nielsen SoundScan. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 19, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  32. 1 2 3 "Nielsen SoundScan charts – Digital Songs – Week Ending: 5/13/2017" (PDF). Nielsen SoundScan. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 21, 2017.
  33. ↑ Grein, Paul (June 5, 2014). "Chart Watch: 'Rude,' 'Summer' Hit Top 10". Yahoo!. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
  34. ↑ "The Rise of Uptown Funk: Could It Become the All-Time #1 Seller?". Hits . April 9, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  35. ↑ Grein, Paul (April 24, 2014). "Chart Watch: Former Teen Stars Make Good!". Yahoo!. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
  36. 1 2 3 Grein, Paul (January 2, 2014). "Chart Watch: 'Radioactive' Sets A Rock Record". Yahoo!. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  37. ↑ Trust, Gary (March 6, 2016). "Ask Billboard: Rihanna's Record Streak of Seven Studio Albums With Hot 100 No. 1s". Billboard. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  38. ↑ Bjorke, Matt (June 28, 2016). "Top 30 Digital Country Singles Report: June 28, 2016". Roughstock. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  39. ↑ ""Funk" Watch 2015". Hits Daily Double . HITS Digital Ventures. June 19, 2015. Archived from the original on June 21, 2015. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
  40. 1 2 Caulfield, Keith (January 2, 2014). "Justin Timberlake's '20/20' 2013's Best Selling Album, 'Blurred Lines' Top Song". Billboard. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  41. 1 2 Trust, Gary (February 20, 2017). "Ask Billboard: Katy Perry's Career Song & Album Sales". billboard.com. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  42. ↑ Denis, Kyle (August 24, 2023). "Miley Cyrus & Selena Gomez on the Charts: Ahead of 'Used to Be Young' & 'Single Soon', How Do They Compare?". Billboard . Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  43. ↑ Trust, Gary (October 21, 2022). "Ask Billboard: Taylor Swift's Career Streaming, Airplay & Sales, Ahead of the Chart Debut of Midnights". Billboard . Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  44. ↑ Grein, Paul (April 10, 2013). "Week Ending April 7, 2013. Songs: Discount Helps Bruno Reach #1". Yahoo Music (Chart Watch). Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  45. ↑ "The Rise of "Uptown Funk": Could It Become the All-Time #1 Seller?". April 9, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
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