In the music industry, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separately from an album, although it usually also appears on an album. Typically, these are the songs from albums that are released separately for promotional uses such as digital download or commercial radio airplay and are expected to be the most popular. In other cases a recording released as a single may not appear on an album.
The Billboard Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales, radio play, and online streaming in the United States.
"What's Love Got to Do with It" is a song recorded by the American singer Tina Turner, released in 1984. It was taken from her fifth solo album, Private Dancer and became Turner's most successful single.
"I Will Always Love You" is a song originally written and recorded in 1973 by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. Her country version of the track was released in 1974 as a single and was written as a farewell to her one-time partner and mentor of seven years, Porter Wagoner, following Parton's decision to pursue a solo career.
"I Want to Break Free" is a song by the British rock band Queen, from their eleventh album The Works (1984). It was written by bass guitarist John Deacon and was released in three versions: album, single and extended. It came to be included in most live concerts by the group, in several videos and in The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert where it was sung by Lisa Stansfield.
"I Wanna Dance with Somebody " is the first single from Whitney Houston's second studio album, Whitney. It was released on April 30, 1987 by Arista Records. It was produced by Narada Michael Walden, and written by George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam of the band Boy Meets Girl, who had previously written the number-one Whitney Houston hit "How Will I Know."
"One Moment in Time" is a song by American singer Whitney Houston and written by Albert Hammond and John Bettis, produced by Narada Michael Walden for the 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul, South Korea. The song was Houston's third number one in the UK Singles Chart, and reached number five on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song was later included on the second disc of her first greatest hits Whitney: The Greatest Hits and also on The Ultimate Collection and on the second disc of I Will Always Love You: The Best of Whitney Houston.
Glamorest Life is the third studio album by American rapper Trina, released on October 4, 2005.
"Something Got Me Started" is the first single released from British band Simply Red's 1991 album Stars.
"Tubthumping" is a song released by British rock band Chumbawamba from their eighth studio album, Tubthumper (1997). It is the band's most successful, peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart. It topped the charts in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand and hit number six on the US Billboard Hot 100. At the 1998 Brit Awards, "Tubthumping" was nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Single. As of April 2017, the song had sold 880,000 copies in the UK.
American singer Kelly Clarkson has released eight studio albums, four extended plays, one compilation album, one remix album, and 42 singles. In 2002, she won the inaugural season of the television competition American Idol and was immediately signed to a US$1 million recording deal with RCA Records. She made her chart debut in September 2002 with the double A-side single "Before Your Love" / "A Moment Like This", which topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States by achieving the biggest jump to number one. Her debut album, Thankful, was released in April 2003 and debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart in the United States and was certified in four countries, including a double-platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Its lead single, "Miss Independent", charted in nine countries, reaching number nine on the Billboard Hot 100. Subsequent singles from the album include "Low" and "The Trouble with Love Is". In 2004, Clarkson released her second album, Breakaway, which incorporated aspects of pop rock. Breakaway debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 and subsequently became her most successful studio album to date, being certified sextuple-platinum in the United States and twelve million worldwide. Its first four singles, "Breakaway", "Since U Been Gone", "Behind These Hazel Eyes", and "Because of You", became successful hits worldwide, charting at the top-ten in many countries, and with the latter-most topping the charts in the Netherlands and Switzerland. Its final single, "Walk Away", became a top-twenty hit in many countries.
"Bless the Broken Road" is a song that has been recorded by several American country music artists. Co-written by Marcus Hummon, Bobby Boyd, and Jeff Hanna in 1994, it tells how the journey through relationship heartbreak and disappointment was an important series of lessons along the broken road to finding one’s true love. It was first recorded by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1994, followed by Hummon on his 1995 album All in Good Time.
"Baby, Come to Me" is a love ballad from Patti Austin's 1981 album Every Home Should Have One, sung as a duet by Austin and James Ingram. It was written by Rod Temperton. The song was released as a single in April 1982, peaking at #73 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, several months later the popular American soap opera General Hospital began to feature the song heavily, as the love theme for the character Luke Spencer. The single was re-released in October, and reached #1 on the chart in February 1983.
American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake has released five studio albums, two compilation albums, three extended plays, and 39 singles. Timberlake initially started his music career in 1995, as a member of boy band NSYNC. Following the group's hiatus in 2002, he released his solo debut studio album, Justified, in November that same year. The album was a commercial success and peaked at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart and additionally topped the charts in Ireland and the United Kingdom. Justified earned multiple multi-platinum certifications, including a triple platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and a sextuple platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). It produced four singles: "Like I Love You", "Cry Me a River", "Rock Your Body" and "Señorita"; all performed well commercially, with two of them becoming top 5 hits on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and top two hits on the UK Singles Chart. "Rock Your Body" also reached number one in Australia.
Son by Four is a salsa music group from Puerto Rico, well known for their English U.S. pop hit "Purest of Pain ". The group is signed to Sony Music.
The discography of Weezer, an American rock band, consists of 12 studio albums, two compilation albums, one video album, six extended plays, 28 singles and 25 music videos. Weezer's self-titled debut studio album, often referred to as The Blue Album, was released in May 1994 through DGC Records. The album was a huge commercial success, peaking at number 16 on the US Billboard 200 and spawning the singles "Undone – The Sweater Song" and "Buddy Holly", both of which were responsible for launching Weezer into mainstream success with the aid of music videos directed by Spike Jonze. It has sold 4.3 million copies in the United States and has been certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), becoming the band's best selling album to date. Following the success of their debut album, Weezer took a break from touring for the Christmas holidays. Lead singer Rivers Cuomo began piecing together demo material for Weezer's second studio album. Cuomo's original concept for the album was a space-themed rock opera, Songs from the Black Hole. Ultimately, the Songs from the Black Hole album concept was dropped; the band, however, continued to utilize songs from these sessions into work for their second studio album. Pinkerton was released as the band's second studio album in September 1996. Peaking at number 19 on the Billboard 200, it was considered a critical and commercial failure at the time of its release, selling far less than its quadruple platinum predecessor. However, in the years following its release, it has seen much critical and commercial championing.
Keith Washington is an American R&B vocalist from Detroit, Michigan who recorded the hit single "Kissing You" in 1991. The song was also used as Background music for the ABC television soap opera General Hospital. "Kissing You" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance Male and won a 1992 Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Single – Male. The song also topped the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for one week.
"Each Time You Break My Heart" is a song recorded by British singer Nick Kamen, for his eponymous debut studio album (1987). It was released by Sire Records on 2 November 1986 as his debut single in 7-inch and 12-inch maxi formats. Kamen had gained popularity by starring in a 1985 Levi's television commercial, later deciding to delve into music business and signed a record deal with Sire. "Each Time You Break My Heart" was the lead single from his album, written and produced by Madonna and Stephen Bray. It was originally set to be included on Madonna's third studio album, True Blue (1986), but failed to make the final track list. Madonna also provided background vocals on the track.
Canadian rapper Drake has released five studio albums, two extended plays, six mixtapes, one hundred thirty singles, five promotional singles and eighty-four music videos. His music has been released on record labels Universal Motown Records and Universal Republic Records, along with subsidiaries Aspire Music Group, Young Money Entertainment and Cash Money Records. He has the most number one singles on the US Hot Rap Songs chart with fifteen, and the most number one singles on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart with nineteen.
The discography of MercyMe, an American Christian rock band, includes nine studio albums, two compilation albums, two video albums, and 24 singles. MercyMe, formed in 1994, released six independent albums from 1995–2000 before signing with INO Records and releasing their major label debut album, Almost There (2001). Almost There peaked at number 37 on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Billboard Christian Albums chart. The band released Spoken For, their second studio album, in 2002; it peaked at number two on the Billboard Christian Albums chart and number 41 on the Billboard 200. Its second single, "Word of God Speak", spent a record 23 weeks atop the Billboard Christian Songs chart. The album has been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and has sold over 550,000 copies. In 2003, mainstream radio interest in "I Can Only Imagine", the band's second single from Almost There, caused sales of the album to surge. "I Can Only Imagine" would peak at number five on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and number 71 on the Billboard Hot 100. Almost There was eventually certified triple Platinum by the RIAA, signifying shipments of over 3,000,000 copies, and has sold over 2.2 million copies in the United States.
