This is a compendium of the best-selling music singles. The criterion for inclusion is to sell at least ten million copies worldwide. The singles listed here were cited by reliable sources from various media, such as digital journalism, newspapers, magazines, and books.
According to Guinness World Records , Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" (1942) as performed by Bing Crosby is the best-selling single worldwide, with estimated sales of over 50 million copies. [1] The song, recognized as "the best-selling single of all time", was released before the pop/rock singles-chart era and "was listed as the world's best-selling single in the first-ever Guinness Book of Records (published in 1955) and—remarkably—still retains the title more than 50 years later". Guinness World Records also states that double A-side charity single "Candle in the Wind 1997"/"Something About the Way You Look Tonight" (1997) by Elton John (rewritten as a tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales, rather than Marilyn Monroe in the original 1973 version), is "the biggest-selling single since UK and US singles charts began in the 1950s, having accumulated worldwide sales of 33 million copies". This makes it the second-best-selling physical single of all time. [1]
Two best-selling singles lists are displayed here relating first to physical singles (mainly CD and vinyl singles) and second to digital singles (digitally downloaded tracks which first became available to purchase in the early 2000s).
Artist | Single | Released | Sales (in millions) | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bing Crosby | "White Christmas" | 1942 | 50 | [1] |
Elton John | "Something About the Way You Look Tonight"/"Candle in the Wind 1997" | 1997 | 33 | [1] |
Bing Crosby | "Silent Night" | 1935 | 30 | [2] |
Tino Rossi | "Petit Papa Noël" | 1946 | 30 | [3] |
Bill Haley & His Comets | "Rock Around the Clock" | 1954 | 25 | [4] [5] |
Whitney Houston | "I Will Always Love You" | 1992 | 20 | [6] |
Elvis Presley | "It's Now or Never" | 1960 | 20 | [7] [8] |
USA for Africa | "We Are the World" | 1985 | 20 | [9] |
The Ink Spots | "If I Didn't Care" | 1939 | 19[ disputed ] | [10] |
Celine Dion | "My Heart Will Go On" | 1997 | 18 | [11] |
Mariah Carey | "All I Want For Christmas Is You" | 1994 | 16 | [12] |
Baccara | "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" | 1977 | 16 | [13] |
Bryan Adams | "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" | 1991 | 15 | [14] |
John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John | "You're the One That I Want" | 1978 | 15 | [15] |
A list of the best selling singles released before 2000, based on worldwide certified unit sales (including both digital sales and equivalent track streams)
Beginning in 2020, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry began reporting the best-selling singles of each year in terms of subscription streams equivalent units. The methodology used converts all digital formats, including digital download sales, paid subscription streaming, and free ad-supported streaming, into a single figure. [79]
Artist | Single | Released | Units (in billions) | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|
The Weeknd | "Blinding Lights" | 2019 | 5.31 | [79] [80] [81] |
The Weeknd | "Save Your Tears" | 2020 | 4.66 | [80] [81] [82] |
The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber | "Stay" | 2021 | 3.81 | [80] [81] |
Harry Styles | "As It Was" | 2022 | 3.74 | [81] [82] |
Dua Lipa | "Levitating" | 2020 | 2.99 | [80] [81] |
Ed Sheeran | "Bad Habits" | 2021 | 2.77 | [80] [81] |
Miley Cyrus | "Flowers" | 2023 | 2.70 | [82] |
Tones and I | "Dance Monkey" | 2019 | 2.34 | [80] |
Rema and Selena Gomez | "Calm Down" | 2022 | 1.89 | [82] |
SZA | "Kill Bill" | 2022 | 1.84 | [82] |
The Weeknd and Ariana Grande | "Die for You" | 2023 | 1.78 | [82] |
BTS | "Butter" | 2021 | 1.76 | [80] |
Glass Animals | "Heat Waves" | 2020 | 1.75 | [81] |
Olivia Rodrigo | "Drivers License" | 2021 | 1.73 | [80] |
Justin Bieber featuring Daniel Caesar and Giveon | "Peaches" | 2021 | 1.72 | [81] |
Roddy Ricch | "The Box" | 2019 | 1.67 | [80] |
Saint Jhn | "Roses" | 2019 | 1.64 | [80] |
Dua Lipa | "Don't Start Now" | 2019 | 1.62 | [80] |
Olivia Rodrigo | "Good 4 U" | 2021 | 1.61 | [80] |
Lil Nas X | "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" | 2021 | 1.60 | [80] |
Future featuring Drake | "Life Is Good" | 2020 | 1.57 | [80] |
Year | Artist | Single | Source |
---|---|---|---|
1966 | Barry Sadler | "The Ballad of the Green Berets" | [83] |
1968 | The Beatles | "Hey Jude" | [84] |
1969 | The Archies | "Sugar, Sugar" | [85] |
1990 | Madonna | "Vogue" | [86] |
1992 | Whitney Houston | "I Will Always Love You" | [87] |
1998 | Celine Dion | "My Heart Will Go On" | [88] |
Year | Artist | Single | Sales (in millions) [b] | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|
2007 | Avril Lavigne | "Girlfriend" | 7.3 | [89] |
2008 | Lil Wayne | "Lollipop" | 9.1 | [90] |
2009 | Lady Gaga | "Poker Face" | 9.8 | [69] |
2010 | Kesha | "Tik Tok" | 12.8 | [91] |
2011 | Bruno Mars | "Just the Way You Are" | 12.5 | [67] |
2012 | Carly Rae Jepsen | "Call Me Maybe" | 12.5 | [92] |
2013 | Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell | "Blurred Lines" | 14.8 | [61] |
2014 | Pharrell Williams | "Happy" | 13.9 | [65] |
2015 | Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth | "See You Again" | 20.9 | [49] |
2016 | Drake featuring Wizkid and Kyla | "One Dance" | 12.5 | [50] |
2017 | Ed Sheeran | "Shape of You" | 26.6 | [46] |
2018 | Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug | "Havana" | 19.0 | [46] [47] |
2019 | Billie Eilish | "Bad Guy" | 19.5 | [54] |
2020 | The Weeknd | "Blinding Lights" | — [lower-alpha 1] | [79] |
2021 | The Weeknd | "Save Your Tears" | — [lower-alpha 2] | [80] |
2022 | Harry Styles | "As It Was" | — [lower-alpha 3] | [81] |
2023 | Miley Cyrus | "Flowers" | — [lower-alpha 4] | [82] |
"The Real Slim Shady" is a song by American rapper Eminem from his third album The Marshall Mathers LP (2000). It was released as the lead single a month before the album's release.
Number Ones is a greatest hits album by American singer Michael Jackson. It was released on November 18, 2003, by Epic Records. Number Ones was Jackson's first proper compilation album with Epic Records, after the release of the first disc of HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I in 1995. The album included Jackson's singles that reportedly reached number 1 in charts around the world, hence the album's name. Number Ones also features the last original single released during Jackson's lifetime, "One More Chance", released four days after the release of the album.
American singer Britney Spears has released nine studio albums, eight compilation albums, nine box sets, three extended plays (EPs), 50 singles, 11 promotional singles, two charity singles, and has made three guest appearances. In 1997, Spears signed a recording contract with American record label Jive Records in order to launch her career.
"Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", also known as simply "Let It Snow", is a song written by lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne in July 1945 in Hollywood, California, during a heatwave as Cahn and Styne imagined cooler conditions. The song was first recorded that fall by Vaughn Monroe, was released just after Thanksgiving, and became a hit by Christmas.
The discography of American pop vocal group Backstreet Boys consists of ten studio albums, 31 singles, one live album, three compilation albums and 33 music videos. As of 2019, they have sold more than 130 million records worldwide, becoming the best-selling boy band of all time. Formed in Orlando, Florida in 1993, the group consists of Nick Carter, Brian Littrell, Kevin Richardson, AJ McLean and Howie Dorough. Richardson left the group in 2006 to pursue other interests, but rejoined in 2012. The Backstreet Boys released their debut single "We've Got It Goin' On" in 1995, which peaked at number sixty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100. The single, however, entered the top ten in many European countries. Their debut album, Backstreet Boys, was released internationally in 1996, and was certified three times platinum in Europe, and diamond in Canada. In 1997, they released their second international album, Backstreet's Back, which continued their international success. At the same time, they released their second self-titled album in the United States. It peaked at number four and eventually became the tenth best-selling album of the 1990s.
The Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) or Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy. It was established in 1992, when major corporate labels left the previously existing Associazione dei Fonografici Italiani (AFI). During the following years, most of the remaining Italian record labels left AFI to join the new organisation. As of 2011, FIMI represents 2,500 companies operating in the music business.
Irish boy band Westlife have released twelve studio albums, sixteen video albums, one live album, three karaoke albums, thirty-eight singles, twenty-one promotional singles, nine compilation albums and fifty-four music videos. Formed on 3 July 1998, the group was made up of singers Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan, and Brian McFadden. The band was signed under Simon Cowell, Clive Davis, and Jordan Jay and under record labels' BMG, S Records, Arista Records, Sony BMG, Syco Music, Sony Music Entertainment and RCA Records from 1998 to 2012 and currently on Universal Music Group and Virgin EMI Records from 2018. The last four members remained active until their last live concert performance in the Europe's third largest stadium Croke Park on 23 June 2012 and have reunited on 3 October 2018 for new music and tour. Based on the British Phonographic Industry certifications, the group have sold more than 26 million records and videos in the United Kingdom alone across their 20-year career–12.8 million singles, 13.5 million albums and 1.3 million videos. Their biggest selling album is their first Greatest Hits compilation, followed by Coast to Coast, with seven of their albums selling one million copies or more. Their biggest selling video is "Where Dreams Come True", which has sold 240,000 copies to date.
The discography of American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake consists of six studio albums, two compilation albums, three extended plays, and 51 singles. Timberlake 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.
English singer-songwriter Adele has released four studio albums, one video album, two extended plays, 17 singles and eleven music videos. Adele has sold over 72 million in pure album sales and over 100 million in album equivalent units worldwide over four studio albums and one video album as of December 2021. She was named the best-selling album artist of the 2010s decade in the US and worldwide. She has also sold over 100 million in single sales with total sales records over 170 million as of December 2021. She also became the best-selling female artist of the 21st century in the UK. Her album 21 became the best-selling album of the 21st century.
American singer Katy Perry has released six studio albums, seven extended plays (EP), 39 singles, and 11 promotional singles. According to Recording Industry Association of America, Perry has sold 109.5 million digital singles and 17 million albums in the United States. She is also the sixth best-selling digital singles artist in the United States. Throughout her career, Perry has sold 48 million album units and 135 million singles worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Billboard listed her as the fourth top female artist of the 2010s decade and the 61st greatest artist of all time. Perry has scored nine number one songs on Billboard Hot 100 and three number one albums on Billboard 200.
"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" is a popular Christmas song written in 1963 by Edward Pola and George Wyle. It was recorded and released that year by pop singer Andy Williams for his first Christmas album, The Andy Williams Christmas Album. However, the song was not released as a promotional single by Williams' record label that year, as they instead opted to promote his cover of "White Christmas" as the official promo single from the album. "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" has consistently made it onto pop singles charts around the world in the 2010s and 2020s. It peaked at No. 5 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 2020 and at No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart in 2021.
"'Till I Collapse" is a song by American rapper Eminem featuring American singer Nate Dogg, released from his fourth studio album The Eminem Show (2002). Despite never being released as a single, the song has managed to chart numerous times worldwide and is the most streamed non-single of all time on Spotify as of June 2022.
"Rolling in the Deep" is a song by English singer-songwriter Adele from her second studio album, 21 (2011). It is the lead single and opening track on the album. The song was written by Adele and Paul Epworth. The singer herself describes it as a "dark blues-y gospel disco tune". In 2011, it was reportedly the biggest crossover hit in the United States since 1985; "Rolling in the Deep" gained radio airplay from many different radio formats. It was first released on 29 November 2010 as the lead single from 21 in digital download format. The lyrics describe the emotions of a scorned lover.
"Set Fire to the Rain" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Adele for her second studio album, 21 (2011). The song was written by Adele and Fraser T. Smith while the production was handled by the latter. It became Adele's third consecutive US number-one single from 21 and reached the top ten in most of other foreign markets. It is a pop power ballad with lush instrumentation and a swelling string arrangement, in contrast to the understated production of most songs on the album. The song has received acclaim from various critics with many complimenting on Adele's vocals. "Set Fire to the Rain" was voted by readers of Billboard as their favorite number one hit of 2012. Though no official music video was released for the song, a live performance from the DVD Live at the Royal Albert Hall was uploaded to video-sharing website YouTube. This rendition won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards.
"No Role Modelz" is a song by American rapper J. Cole, taken from his third studio album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive. The song interpolates "Don't Save Her" by Project Pat, and was produced by Phonix Beats and J. Cole. During the week of December 22, 2015, the song reached number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Cole his fourth top 40 hit as a solo artist and the highest-charting single from 2014 Forest Hills Drive. On May 20, 2016, the single was officially certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
"Without Me" is a song by American rapper Eminem from his fourth studio album The Eminem Show (2002). "Without Me" was released on May 13, 2002, as the lead single from the album, and re-released on his greatest hits compilation album Curtain Call: The Hits (2005). "Without Me" is one of Eminem's most successful singles, reaching number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and number one in fifteen countries.
"Believer" is a song by American pop rock band Imagine Dragons. The song was released on February 1, 2017, through Interscope Records and Kidinakorner as the lead single from the band's third studio album, Evolve (2017). It was written by Dan Reynolds, Wayne Sermon, Ben McKee, Daniel Platzman, Justin Tranter, Jamie marcel and its producers Mattman & Robin.
The Global Recording Artist of the Year is an award presented by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) to honor the year's commercially best-performing musician, based on global album-equivalent units earned, which includes music downloads, streaming and physical sales. It has been awarded every year since January 2014, starting with the British boy band One Direction, who won the accolade for 2013. American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift is the biggest winner of the accolade, having won four times—in 2014, 2019, 2022, and 2023.
Since its release more than 40 years ago, "Rock Around the Clock" has sold over 25 million copies in over 30 languages.
...while Autry's version of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" sold more than 12.5 million copies