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).
Best-selling physical singles
15 million physical copies or more
| 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 | 24 | [6][7] |
| Elvis Presley | "It's Now or Never" | 1960 | 20 | [8][9] |
| USA for Africa | "We Are the World" | 1985 | 20 | [10] |
| The Ink Spots | "If I Didn't Care" | 1939 | 19[disputed – discuss] | [11] |
| Celine Dion | "My Heart Will Go On" | 1997 | 18 | [12] |
| Mariah Carey | "All I Want For Christmas Is You" | 1994 | 16 | [13] |
| Baccara | "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" | 1977 | 16 | [14] |
| Bryan Adams | "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" | 1991 | 15 | [15] |
| John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John | "You're the One That I Want" | 1978 | 15 | [16] |
10–14.9 million copies
Highest-certified singles
A list of the best selling singles released before 2000, based on worldwide certified unit sales (including both digital sales and equivalent track streams)
Best-selling digital singles
15 million digital copies or more
10–14.99 million copies
By stream equivalent units
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.[80]
Best-selling singles by year worldwide
| Year | Artist | Single | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Barry Sadler | "The Ballad of the Green Berets" | [84] |
| 1968 | The Beatles | "Hey Jude" | [85] |
| 1969 | The Archies | "Sugar, Sugar" | [86] |
| 1990 | Madonna | "Vogue" | [87] |
| 1992 | Whitney Houston | "I Will Always Love You" | [88] |
| 1998 | Celine Dion | "My Heart Will Go On" | [89] |
| Year | Artist | Single | Sales (in millions)[b] |
Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Avril Lavigne | "Girlfriend" | 7.3 | [90] |
| 2008 | Lil Wayne | "Lollipop" | 9.1 | [91] |
| 2009 | Lady Gaga | "Poker Face" | 9.8 | [70] |
| 2010 | Kesha | "Tik Tok" | 12.8 | [92] |
| 2011 | Bruno Mars | "Just the Way You Are" | 12.5 | [68] |
| 2012 | Carly Rae Jepsen | "Call Me Maybe" | 12.5 | [93] |
| 2013 | Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell | "Blurred Lines" | 14.8 | [62] |
| 2014 | Pharrell Williams | "Happy" | 13.9 | [66] |
| 2015 | Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth | "See You Again" | 20.9 | [50] |
| 2016 | Drake featuring Wizkid and Kyla | "One Dance" | 12.5 | [51] |
| 2017 | Ed Sheeran | "Shape of You" | 26.6 | [47] |
| 2018 | Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug | "Havana" | 19.0 | [47][48] |
| 2019 | Billie Eilish | "Bad Guy" | 19.5 | [55] |
| 2020 | The Weeknd | "Blinding Lights" | —[a] | [80] |
| 2021 | The Weeknd | "Save Your Tears" | —[b] | [81] |
| 2022 | Harry Styles | "As It Was" | —[c] | [82] |
| 2023 | Miley Cyrus | "Flowers" | —[d] | [83] |
See also
- List of best-selling singles by country
- List of best-selling sheet music
- List of best-selling music artists
- List of best-selling albums
- List of best-selling albums of the 21st century
- List of highest-certified music artists in the United States: This lists the top 100 certified music artists (albums), and the top 50 certified music artists (digital singles).
- IFPI Global Recording Artist of the Year
Notes
- ^ IFPI report claimed a figure of 2.72 billion subscription stream equivalent units globally
- ^ IFPI report claimed a figure of 2.15 billion subscription stream equivalent units globally
- ^ IFPI report claimed a figure of 2.28 billion subscription stream equivalent units globally
- ^ IFPI report claimed a figure of 2.70 billion subscription stream equivalent units globally
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- ^ Barnett, David C. (1 July 2000). "(We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock". NPR. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
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- ^ 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.
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