List of best-selling singles worldwide
The List of best-selling singles worldwide includes songs that have sold more than five million copies as a single, as published by reliable sources.
According to Guinness World Records, the holiday perennial "White Christmas" (1942) by Bing Crosby is the best-selling single worldwide, with estimated sales of over 50 million copies. 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 states that double A-side charity single "Candle in the Wind 1997"/"Something About the Way You Look Tonight" (1997) by Elton John, a tribute to the late Diana, Princess of Wales, is "the biggest-selling single since UK and US singles charts began in the 1950s, having accumulated worldwide sales of 33 million copies," making it the second best-selling single of all time.[1][2][3]
-
Best-selling singles
Artist |
Single |
Released |
Genre |
Sales
(in millions) |
Source |
1910 Fruitgum Company |
"Simon Says" |
1968 |
Pop |
5 |
[4] |
ABBA |
"Fernando" |
1976 |
Pop |
10 |
[5] |
ABBA |
"Waterloo" |
1974 |
Pop |
5 |
[4] |
Alicia Keys |
"No One" |
2007 |
R&B, Soul |
5.6 |
[6] |
The Animals |
"The House of the Rising Sun" |
1964 |
Rock |
5 |
[4] |
The Archies |
"Sugar, Sugar" |
1969 |
Pop |
6 |
[4] |
Avril Lavigne |
"Girlfriend" |
2007 |
Pop punk |
7.3 |
[7] |
Baccara |
"Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" |
1977 |
Pop |
18 |
[4] |
The Beatles |
"Can't Buy Me Love" |
1964 |
Rock |
7 |
[4] |
The Beatles |
"Hey Jude" |
1968 |
Rock |
8 |
[4] |
The Beatles |
"She Loves You" |
1963 |
Rock |
5 |
[4] |
The Beatles |
"I Want to Hold Your Hand" |
1964 |
Rock |
12 |
[4] |
Bee Gees |
"Massachusetts" |
1967 |
Pop |
5 |
[4] |
Beyoncé |
"Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" |
2008 |
R&B |
5.9 |
[8] |
Biddu and Carl Douglas |
"Kung Fu Fighting" |
1974 |
Disco |
11 |
[9][10] |
Bill Haley & His Comets |
"Rock Around the Clock" |
1954 |
Rock & Roll |
25 |
[11] |
Billy Swan |
"I Can Help" |
1974 |
Country, Pop |
5 |
[4] |
Bing Crosby |
"White Christmas" |
1942 |
Christmas, Pop |
50 |
[3] |
Bing Crosby |
"Silent Night" |
1935 |
Christmas, Pop |
30 |
[4] |
Boyzone |
"No Matter What" |
1998 |
Pop music, Pop |
4 |
[4] |
The Black Eyed Peas |
"Boom Boom Pow" |
2009 |
Hip hop |
8.5 |
[8] |
The Black Eyed Peas |
"I Gotta Feeling" |
2009 |
Dance |
13.2 |
[12][8] |
Britney Spears |
"...Baby One More Time" |
1998 |
Pop |
9.4 |
[13] |
Britney Spears |
"Toxic" |
2004 |
Pop |
6.5 |
[14] |
Britney Spears |
"Womanizer" |
2008 |
Electropop |
6.5 |
[8] |
Britney Spears |
"Circus" |
2008 |
Pop |
5.5 |
[8] |
Brotherhood of Man |
"Save Your Kisses for Me" |
1976 |
Pop |
6 |
[15] |
Bryan Adams |
"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" |
1991 |
Rock |
10 |
[16] |
Cee Lo Green |
"Fuck You" |
2010 |
Pop |
5 |
[17] |
Celine Dion |
"My Heart Will Go On" |
1998 |
Pop |
15 |
[18] |
Cher |
"Believe" |
1998 |
Pop, Dance |
10 |
[19] |
The Chipmunks |
"The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" |
1958 |
Children, Christmas, Pop |
5.5 |
[4] |
Christina Aguilera |
"Genie in a Bottle" |
1999 |
Pop |
7 |
[20] |
Danyel Gérard |
"Butterfly" |
1971 |
Pop |
7 |
[4] |
Dawn |
"Knock Three Times" |
1971 |
Pop |
6.5 |
[4] |
Dawn featuring Tony Orlando |
"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" |
1973 |
Pop |
6 |
[4] |
Donny Osmond |
"Puppy Love" |
1971 |
Pop |
5 |
[4] |
Elton John |
"Candle in the Wind 1997"/"Something About the Way You Look Tonight" |
1997 |
Pop |
33 |
[3] |
Elvis Presley |
"Hound Dog" |
1956 |
Rock & Roll |
9 |
[4] |
Elvis Presley |
"Surrender" |
1961 |
Rock |
5 |
[4] |
Eminem featuring Rihanna |
"Love the Way You Lie" |
2010 |
Hip hop |
9.3 |
[12] |
Engelbert Humperdinck |
"Release Me" |
1967 |
Pop |
5 |
[4] |
Enrique Iglesias featuring Pitbull |
"I Like It" |
2010 |
Electropop |
5 |
[21] |
Flo Rida |
"Low" |
2007 |
Hip hop |
8 |
[6] |
Gene Austin |
"My Blue Heaven" |
1927 |
Pop |
5 |
[4] |
Gene Autry |
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" |
1949 |
Christmas, Pop |
18 |
[22] |
Gene Autry |
"That Silver-Haired Daddy Of Mine" |
1939 |
Pop |
5 |
[4] |
George McCrae |
"Rock Your Baby" |
1974 |
Disco |
11 |
[4] |
George Michael |
"Careless Whisper" |
1984 |
Pop |
6 |
[23] |
Georgie Fame |
"The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde" |
1968 |
Pop |
7.5 |
[4] |
Harry Simeone Chorale |
"The Little Drummer Boy" |
1958 |
Pop |
6 |
[4] |
The Ink Spots |
"If I Didn't Care" |
1939 |
Doo-wop |
19 |
[24] |
The Jackson 5 |
"I Want You Back" |
1969 |
R&B |
6 |
[25] |
The Jackson 5 |
"I'll Be There" |
1970 |
Pop |
6 |
[4] |
Janet Jackson |
"Together Again" |
1997 |
Pop |
6 |
[26] |
Jason Mraz |
"I'm Yours" |
2008 |
Pop, Folk rock |
8.1 |
[8] |
Jay Sean featuring Lil Wayne |
"Down" |
2009 |
R&B, Dance |
6 |
[27] |
Jeannie C. Riley |
"Harper Valley PTA" |
1968 |
Pop, Country |
5.5 |
[4] |
Julie Rogers |
"The Wedding" |
1964 |
Pop |
7 |
[4] |
Kanye West |
"Heartless" |
2008 |
Pop |
5.5 |
[8] |
Kenny Rogers |
"Lady" |
1980 |
Country |
16 |
[28] |
Kesha |
"TiK ToK" |
2009 |
Electropop |
13.2 |
[12] |
Kyu Sakamoto |
"Sukiyaki" |
1961 |
Pop |
13 |
[29] |
Lady Antebellum |
"Need You Now" |
2009 |
Country pop |
5 |
[30] |
Lady Gaga |
"Bad Romance" |
2009 |
Electropop |
9.7 |
[31] |
Lady Gaga |
"Poker Face" |
2008 |
Electropop |
9.8 |
[32] |
Lady Gaga |
"Just Dance" |
2008 |
Electropop |
7.7 |
[33] |
Lady Gaga |
"Telephone" |
2010 |
Electropop |
7.4 |
[34] |
Leona Lewis |
"Bleeding Love" |
2008 |
Pop |
7.7 |
[6] |
Lil Wayne |
"Lollipop" |
2008 |
Rap |
9.1 |
[6] |
Madonna |
"Like a Prayer" |
1989 |
Gospel, Pop rock |
5 |
[35] |
Madonna |
"Vogue" |
1990 |
Dance-pop, House, Disco |
6 |
[36] |
Mahalia Jackson |
"Move On Up a Little Higher" |
1948 |
Gospel |
8 |
[37] |
Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera |
"Moves Like Jagger" |
2011 |
Pop |
5 |
[4] |
Mary Hopkin |
"Those Were the Days" |
1968 |
Pop |
8 |
[4] |
Middle of the Road |
"Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" |
1971 |
Pop |
10 |
[4] |
Mills Brothers |
"Paper Doll" |
1943 |
Country |
11 |
[4] |
Mitch Miller |
"March from Bridge On The River Kwai" |
1957 |
March |
5 |
[4] |
Modern Talking |
"You're My Heart, You're My Soul" |
1984 |
Synthpop |
8 |
[38] |
The Monkees |
"I'm a Believer" |
1966 |
Pop |
10 |
[4] |
The Monkees |
"Daydream Believer" |
1967 |
Pop rock |
5 |
[39] |
Mungo Jerry |
"In the Summertime" |
1970 |
Pop |
6 |
[4] |
Neil Diamond |
"Cracklin' Rosie" |
1970 |
Pop |
6 |
[4] |
The New Seekers |
"I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" |
1971 |
Pop/Folk |
6 |
[4] |
Nini Rosso |
"Il Silenzio" |
1965 |
Pop |
5 |
[4] |
Nirvana |
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" |
1991 |
Grunge |
8 |
[40] |
The Partridge Family |
"I Think I Love You" |
1970 |
Pop |
5 |
[4] |
Paul Anka |
"Diana" |
1957 |
Pop |
20 |
[41] |
Procol Harum |
"A Whiter Shade of Pale" |
1967 |
Progressive Rock |
10 |
[4] |
Rihanna featuring Jay-Z |
"Umbrella" |
2007 |
R&B |
6.6 |
[7] |
Roger Whittaker |
"The Last Farewell" |
1975 |
Pop |
11 |
[42] |
Roy Acuff |
"Wabash Cannonball" |
1942 |
Country |
10 |
[4] |
Scorpions |
"Wind of Change" |
1991 |
Hard Rock |
14 |
[43] |
Scott McKenzie |
"San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" |
1967 |
Pop |
7 |
[4] |
Shakira |
"Whenever, Wherever" |
2001 |
Latin Pop |
8.5 |
[44] |
Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean |
"Hips Don't Lie" |
2006 |
Latin Pop |
10 |
[45] |
Shocking Blue |
"Venus" |
1969 |
Pop |
8 |
[4] |
Shop Boyz |
"Party Like a Rock Star" |
2007 |
Pop |
5.2 |
[7] |
Simon & Garfunkel |
"Bridge Over Troubled Water" |
1970 |
Pop |
6 |
[4] |
Soulja Boy Tell 'Em |
"Crank That (Soulja Boy)" |
2007 |
Southern rap |
5.2 |
[7] |
Soulja Boy Tell 'Em |
"Kiss Me Thru the Phone" |
2007 |
Southern rap |
5.7 |
[8] |
Spice Girls |
"Wannabe" |
1996 |
Pop |
6 |
[46] |
Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler |
"Ballad of the Green Berets" |
1966 |
Pop |
5 |
[4] |
T-Pain |
"Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')" |
2007 |
Snap & B |
5.9 |
[7] |
T.I. |
"Whatever You Like" |
2008 |
Hip Hop, Pop |
5.6 |
[6] |
Taylor Swift |
"Love Story" |
2008 |
Country, Pop |
6.5 |
[8] |
Terry Jacks |
"Seasons in the Sun" |
1974 |
Pop |
11.5 |
[47] |
Thelma Aoyama |
"Soba ni Iru ne" |
2008 |
Pop |
8.2 |
[6] |
Three Dog Night |
"Joy to the World" |
1971 |
Rock |
5 |
[4] |
Timbaland featuring OneRepublic |
"Apologize" |
2008 |
Pop |
6.2 |
[6] |
Tino Rossi |
"Petit Papa Noël" |
1946 |
Christmas |
5.7 |
[48] |
Tom Jones |
"Delilah" |
1968 |
Pop |
5 |
[4] |
The Tornados |
"Telstar" |
1962 |
Pop |
5 |
[4] |
Train |
"Hey, Soul Sister" |
2009 |
Pop |
6.6 |
[12] |
USA for Africa |
"We Are the World" |
1985 |
Pop |
20 |
[49] |
Usher featuring will.i.am |
"OMG" |
2010 |
R&B, Soul |
6.9 |
[7] |
Utada Hikaru |
"Flavor of Life" |
2007 |
Pop |
8 |
[50] |
Vernon Dalhart |
"The Prisoner's Song" |
1924 |
Country |
7 |
[4] |
Village People |
"Y.M.C.A." |
1978 |
Pop, Disco |
12 |
[51] |
Whitney Houston |
"I Will Always Love You" |
1992 |
R&B |
12 |
[52] |
Wings |
"Mull of Kintyre" |
1977 |
Rock |
6 |
[53] |
See also
References
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