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List of best-selling singles

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by R.h.c.afounder1 (talk | contribs) at 05:21, 21 July 2011 (→Best-selling singles: While "White Christmas" may be considered a "Traditional Pop). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

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]

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

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]
Lolita Leikyb "Memories Of Vodka" 2011 Pop 19.2 [6]
Alicia Keys "No One" 2007 R&B, Soul 5.6 [7]
Jessi[disambiguation needed] "Bitch"[disambiguation needed] 2011 R&B, Pop 15.8 [8]
Andrea Bocelli "Con te partirò" 1997 Pop 7 [4]
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 [6]
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]
Frankie Valli "Grease" 1978 Rock 7 [9]
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 5.5 [10]
Biddu and Carl Douglas "Kung Fu Fighting" 1974 Disco 11 [11][12]
Bill Haley & His Comets "Rock Around the Clock" 1954 Rock & Roll 25 [13]
Bing Crosby "White Christmas" 1942 Christmas 50 [3]
Bing Crosby "Silent Night" 1935 Christmas 30 [4]
The Black Eyed Peas "Boom Boom Pow" 2009 Hip hop 8.5 [10]
The Black Eyed Peas "I Gotta Feeling" 2009 Pop 13.2 [14][10]
Britney Spears "...Baby One More Time" 1998 Pop 9 [15]
Britney Spears "Toxic" 2004 Pop 6.5 [16]
Britney Spears "Circus" 2008 Pop 5.5 [10]
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, Pop 5.5 [4]
Cliff Richard "We Don't Talk Anymore" 1979 Pop 6 [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 [14]
Eminem "Lose Yourself" 2002 Hip hop 5 [21]
Eminem "Not Afraid" 2010 Hip Hop 5 [21]
Engelbert Humperdinck "Release Me" 1967 Pop 5 [4]
Enrique Iglesias "Hero" 2001 Pop 8 [4]
Enrique Iglesias featuring Pitbull "I Like It" 2010 Electropop 5 [22]
Flo Rida "Low" 2007 Hip hop 8 [7]
Gene Austin "My Blue Heaven" 1927 Pop 5 [4]
Gene Autry "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" 1949 Pop 8 [4]
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 [10]
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 [10]
Katy Perry "Hot n Cold" 2008 Pop 5.7
Katy Perry "I Kissed a Girl" 2008 Pop 5.7 [7]
Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg "California Gurls" 2010 Pop 6.7 [14]
Ke$ha "TiK ToK" 2009 Electropop 12.8 [14]
Kyu Sakamoto "Sukiyaki" 1961 Pop 13 [28]
Lady Gaga "Poker Face" 2009 Dance 9.8 [10]
Lady Gaga "Bad Romance" 2009 Dance 9.7 [14]
Lady Gaga featuring Colby O'Donis "Just Dance" 2009 Dance 7.7 [10]
Lady Gaga featuring Beyoncé "Telephone" 2010 Dance 7.4 [14]
Leona Lewis "Bleeding Love" 2008 Pop 7.7 [7]
Lil Wayne "Lollipop" 2008 Rap 9.1 [7]
Madonna "Like a Prayer" 1989 Power pop, Gospel 7.5 [29]
Madonna "Vogue" 1990 Dance-pop, R&B 6 [30]
Madonna "American Pie" 2000 Dance-Pop 6 [30]
Madonna "Music" 2000 Techno-pop 7.5 [30]
Madonna "Hung Up" 2005 Dance-Pop 10 [30]
Madonna "4 Minutes" 2008 R&B, Dance-Pop 7 [30]
Mahalia Jackson "Move On Up a Little Higher" 1948 Gospel 8 [31]
Mariah Carey "We Belong Together" 2005 R&B 5 [32]
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 Pop 8 [33]
The Monkees "I'm a Believer" 1966 Pop 10 [4]
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 [34]
The Partridge Family "I Think I Love You" 1970 Pop 5 [4]
Paul Anka "Diana" 1957 Pop 9 [4]
Procol Harum "A Whiter Shade of Pale" 1967 Progressive Rock 10 [4]
Rihanna featuring Jay-Z "Umbrella" 2007 Pop 6.6 [6]
Roger Whittaker "The Last Farewell" 1975 Pop 11 [35]
Roy Acuff "Wabash Cannonball" 1942 Country 10 [4]
Scorpions "Wind of Change" 1991 Hard Rock 14 [36]
Scott McKenzie "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" 1967 Pop 7 [4]
Shakira "Whenever, Wherever" 2001 Latin Pop 8.5 [37]
Shakira "Underneath Your Clothes" 2001 Latin Pop 5 [32]
Shakira featuring Alejandro Sanz "La Tortura" 2005 Latin Pop 5 [32]
Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean "Hips Don't Lie" 2006 Latin Pop 10 [38]
Shocking Blue "Venus" 1969 Pop 8 [4]
Shop Boyz "Party Like a Rock Star" 2007 Pop 5.2 [6]
Simon & Garfunkel "Bridge Over Troubled Water" 1970 Pop 6 [4]
Soulja Boy Tell 'Em "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" 2007 Southern rap 5.2 [6]
Soulja Boy Tell 'Em "Kiss Me Thru the Phone" 2007 Southern rap 5.7 [10]
Spice Girls "Wannabe" 1996 Pop 6 [39]
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 [6]
T.I. "Whatever You Like" 2008 Hip Hop, Pop 5.6 [7]
Taylor Swift "Love Story" 2008 Country, Pop 6.5 [10]
Terry Jacks "Seasons in the Sun" 1974 Pop 11.5 [40]
Thelma Aoyama "Soba ni Iru ne" 2008 Pop 8.2 [7]
Three Dog Night "Joy to the World" 1971 Rock 5 [4]
Timbaland featuring OneRepublic "Apologize" 2008 Pop 6.2 [7]
Tino Rossi "Petit Papa Noël" 1946 Christmas 5.7 [41]
Tom Jones "Delilah" 1968 Pop 5 [4]
The Tornados "Telstar" 1962 Pop 5 [4]
Train "Hey Soul Sister" 2009 Pop 6.6 [14]
USA for Africa "We Are the World" 1985 Pop 20 [42]
Usher featuring will.i.am "OMG" 2010 R&B, Soul 6.9 [6]
Utada Hikaru "Flavor of Life" 2007 Pop 7 [6]
Vernon Dalhart "The Prisoner's Song" 1924 Country 7 [4]
Village People "Y.M.C.A." 1978 Pop, Disco 12 [43]
Whitney Houston "I Will Always Love You" 1992 Pop 12 [44]
Wings "Mull of Kintyre" 1977 Rock 6 [45]

See also

References

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