1942 10-inch 78 rpm release of the single "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby.
1997 7-inch 45 rpm release of "Candle in the Wind 1997"/"Something About the Way You Look Tonight", double A-side single by Elton John.

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 the late Diana, Princess of Wales, rather than the Marilyn Monroe of 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).

Legend

edit
Colors
Physical sales
Digital sales

Best-selling Latin singles by language

edit

5 million copies or more

edit
Artist Single Released Language(s) Sales
(in millions)
Source
Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee "Despacito" 2017 Spanish 36.1[a] [2][3]
Los del Río "Macarena" 1995 Spanish 10 [4]

1–4.9 million copies

edit
Artist Single Released Sales
(in millions)
Source
The Andrews Sisters "Bei Mir Bist Du Schön" 1937 14 [5]
Prince Nico Mbarga "Sweet Mother" 1976 13 [6]
Kyu Sakamoto "Sukiyaki" 1963 13 [7]
Trio "Da Da Da" 1982 13[disputeddiscuss] [8]
Gene Autry "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" 1949 12.5 [9]
The Beatles "I Want to Hold Your Hand" 1963 12 [10]
Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman "Time to Say Goodbye" 1996 12 [11]
Village People "Y.M.C.A." 1978 12 [12]
Band Aid "Do They Know It's Christmas?" 1984 11.7 [13]
Cher "Believe" 1998 11 [14][15]
Carl Douglas "Kung Fu Fighting" 1974 11 [16][17]
George McCrae "Rock Your Baby" 1974 11 [10]
Mills Brothers "Paper Doll" 1943 11 [10]
Roger Whittaker "The Last Farewell" 1975 11 [18]
Bing Crosby "Silent Night" 1935 10 [19]
ABBA "Fernando" 1976 10 [20]
Roy Acuff "Wabash Cannonball" 1942 10 [10]
Paul Anka "Diana" 1957 10 [21][22]
Toni Braxton "Un-Break My Heart" 1996 10 [23]
George Harrison "My Sweet Lord" 1970 10 [24]
Los del Río "Macarena" 1995 10 [25]
Middle of the Road "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" 1971 10 [10]
The Monkees "I'm a Believer" 1966 10 [10][26]
Panjabi MC "Mundian To Bach Ke" 1998 10[disputeddiscuss] [27]
Patti Page "Tennessee Waltz" 1950 10 [28][29][30]
The Penguins "Earth Angel" 1954 10 [31]
Elvis Presley "Hound Dog" 1956 10 [32]
Procol Harum "A Whiter Shade of Pale" 1967 10 [10]
Britney Spears "...Baby One More Time" 1998 10 [33]


Best-selling Latin singles by genre

edit

5 million copies or more

edit
Artist Single Released Genre(s) Sales
(in millions)
Source
Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee "Despacito" 2017 36.1[a] [2][3]
Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello "Señorita" 2019 Latin pop[36][37] 16.1[a] [38]
Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean "Hips Don't Lie" 2006 10 [41]

1–4.99 million copies

edit
Artist Single Released Genre(s) Sales
(in millions)
Source
Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean "Hips Don't Lie" 2006 10 [43]

See also

edit

Notes

edit
  • a.^ Sales figure includes 'equivalent track streams'.

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Best-selling single". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Global Top 10 Digital Singles of 2017", IFPI Global Music Report 2018 (PDF), International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, p. 9, archived from the original (PDF) on 24 April 2018, retrieved 24 April 2018
  3. ^ a b "Havana by Camila Cabello (featuring Young Thug) named best-selling single of 2018". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. 6 March 2019. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  4. ^ The Guinness Book of Records 1999. Guinness World Records Limited. 1998. p. 241. ISBN 0-85112-070-9. More than 4 million copies of the single were sold in the US alone, and more than 10 million were sold around the globe.
  5. ^ Sforza, John (2015). Swing It!: The Andrews Sisters Story. University Press of Kentucky. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-8131-4897-7.
  6. ^ "Prince Nico Mbara". Nigeria Exchange. Archived from the original on 30 December 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  7. ^ 坂本九さん 〜心のふるさと・笠間〜. Kasama Tourist (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. (Translation)
  8. ^ "Laut.de Biography – Trio" (in German). Archived from the original on 13 July 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  9. ^ Jackson, Kenneth T. (15 August 1998). The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives. Vol. 1. Gale. p. 550. ISBN 9780684804927. ...while Autry's version of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" sold more than 12.5 million copies
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Murrells 1978, p. 395.
  11. ^ "Andrea Bocelli". Decca Records. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012.
  12. ^ "Glenn Hughes". The Daily Telegraph. London. 16 March 2001. Archived from the original on 16 March 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
  13. ^ McFarlen, Donald (1988). The Guinness Book of World Records, 1989. Jim Pattison Group. pp. 155–156. ISBN 9780806902760.
  14. ^ "Throwback Thursday: 'Believe' by Cher, the song that brought you Auto-Tune [LISTEN]". Music Times. 13 March 2014. Archived from the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  15. ^ Napsha, Cheryl; Berman, Connie (2001). "1: And the Beat Goes On". Cher. Infobase Publishing. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-79105-907-4.
  16. ^ Ellis, James (27 October 2009). "Biddu". Metro. Archived from the original on 6 December 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
  17. ^ Browne, Malika (20 August 2004). "It's a big step from disco to Sanskrit chants, but Biddu has made it". The Sunday Times. London. Archived from the original on 11 January 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  18. ^ "Roger Whittaker". BBC Hereford and Worcester. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  19. ^ Berg, Marita (15 December 2013). "Silent Night". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  20. ^ Tagg, Philip (2000). Fernando the Flute. MMMSP. ISBN 978-0-9701684-1-2. Archived from the original on 25 December 2010. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  21. ^ Bush, John. "Paul Anka – Artist Biography". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2 May 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  22. ^ Larkin 2006, "Anka, Paul".
  23. ^ Pitt, Ivan L. (2010). Economic Analysis of Music Copyright: Income, Media and Performances. Springer. p. 125. ISBN 978-1-4419-6317-8.
  24. ^ Inglis, Ian (2010). The Words and Music of George Harrison. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-313-37532-3.
  25. ^ The Guinness Book of Records 1999. Guinness World Records Limited. 1998. p. 241. ISBN 0-85112-070-9. More than 4 million copies of the single were sold in the US alone, and more than 10 million were sold around the globe.
  26. ^ LaBlanc, Michael L. (1989). Contemporary Musicians: Profiles of the People in Music. Gale Research. ISBN 9780810322110.
  27. ^ Wartofsky, Alona (13 July 2003). "Rap's Fresh Heir". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  28. ^ "Songwriters Friends: Patti Page". Songwriters Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 12 June 2008. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  29. ^ "Patti Page". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  30. ^ "Tennessee Waltz singer Patti Page dies". The Daily Telegraph. London. 2 January 2013. Archived from the original on 23 December 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  31. ^ Martin, Douglas (14 November 2012). "Cleve Duncan, the Voice of 'Earth Angel', Dies". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 21 February 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  32. ^ Tyler, Don (2008). Music of the Postwar Era. ABC-CLIO. p. 226. ISBN 9780313341915.
  33. ^ Place, Clarissa (20 April 2012). "Ten Things About... Britney Spears". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 26 May 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  34. ^ Rutherford, Kevin. "The Year in Social & Streaming Charts: BTS, 'Despacito,' Kendrick Lamar & More". Billboard. Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group. Archived from the original on 12 December 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  35. ^ DeVille, Chris. "The 2018 State of Pop Address". Stereogum. Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group. Archived from the original on 4 January 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  36. ^ "Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello's "Señorita" Is Now The #1 Song In America". Stereogum. 26 August 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  37. ^ Holcombe, Madeline (21 June 2019). "Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes come together for a new single and music video 'Señorita'". CNN. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  38. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ifpi2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  39. ^ a b Exposito, Suzy (10 February 2020). "RS Charts: Shakira's 2006 Smash 'Hips Don't Lie' Is One of the Top 100 Songs".
  40. ^ Peoples, Glenn (3 October 2017). "Inside the "Despacito" Hot Streak"."Listen to two crossover reggaeton hits, Daddy Yankee’s “Gasolina” from 2004 and Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie” from 2006, and you’ll hear traditional reggaeton beats that are loud and energetic."
  41. ^ "Shakira to Release Special U.S. Edition of Her Hit Album She Wolf" (Press release). PR Newswire. 18 November 2009. Archived from the original on 4 June 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  42. ^ Peoples, Glenn (3 October 2017). "Inside the "Despacito" Hot Streak"."Listen to two crossover reggaeton hits, Daddy Yankee’s “Gasolina” from 2004 and Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie” from 2006, and you’ll hear traditional reggaeton beats that are loud and energetic."
  43. ^ "Shakira to Release Special U.S. Edition of Her Hit Album She Wolf" (Press release). PR Newswire. 18 November 2009. Archived from the original on 4 June 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2015.

Bibliography

edit

Category:Lists of best-selling singles