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.
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.
Best-selling singles
| Artist | Single | Released | Genre | Sales (in millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910 Fruitgum Company | "Simon Says" | 1968 | Pop | 5 | |
| ABBA | "Fernando" | 1976 | Pop | 10 | |
| ABBA | "Waterloo" | 1974 | Pop | 5 | |
| Adele | "Rolling in the Deep" | 2011 | Soul | 7 | |
| Alicia Keys | "No One" | 2007 | R&B, Soul | 5.6 | |
| Andrea Bocelli | "Con te partirò" | 1997 | Pop | 7 | |
| The Animals | "The House of the Rising Sun" | 1964 | Rock | 5 | |
| The Archies | "Sugar, Sugar" | 1969 | Pop | 6 | |
| Avril Lavigne | "Girlfriend" | 2007 | Pop punk | 7.3 | |
| Baccara | "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" | 1977 | Pop | 18 | |
| The Beatles | "Can't Buy Me Love" | 1964 | Rock | 7 | |
| The Beatles | "Hey Jude" | 1968 | Rock | 8 | |
| The Beatles | "She Loves You" | 1963 | Rock | 5 | |
| The Beatles | "I Want to Hold Your Hand" | 1964 | Rock | 12 | |
| Bee Gees | "Massachusetts" | 1967 | Pop | 5 | |
| Beyoncé | "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" | 2008 | R&B | 5.9 | |
| Biddu and Carl Douglas | "Kung Fu Fighting" | 1974 | Disco | 11 | |
| Bill Haley & His Comets | "Rock Around the Clock" | 1954 | Rock & Roll | 25 | |
| Bing Crosby | "White Christmas" | 1942 | Christmas | 50 | |
| Bing Crosby | "Silent Night" | 1935 | Christmas | 30 | |
| The Black Eyed Peas | "Boom Boom Pow" | 2009 | Hip hop | 8.5 | |
| The Black Eyed Peas | "I Gotta Feeling" | 2009 | Dance | 13.2 | |
| Britney Spears | "...Baby One More Time" | 1998 | Pop | 9 | |
| Britney Spears | "Toxic" | 2004 | Pop | 6.5 | |
| Britney Spears | "Womanizer" | 2008 | Electropop | 6.5 | |
| Britney Spears | "Circus" | 2008 | Pop | 5.5 | |
| Brotherhood of Man | "Save Your Kisses for Me" | 1976 | Pop | 6 | |
| Bryan Adams | "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" | 1991 | Rock | 10 | |
| Cee Lo Green | "Fuck You" | 2010 | Pop | 5 | |
| Celine Dion | "My Heart Will Go On" | 1998 | Pop | 15 | |
| Cher | "Believe" | 1998 | Pop, Dance | 10 | |
| The Chipmunks | "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" | 1958 | Children, Pop | 5.5 | |
| Danyel Gérard | "Butterfly" | 1971 | Pop | 7 | |
| Dawn | "Knock Three Times" | 1971 | Pop | 6.5 | |
| Dawn featuring Tony Orlando | "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" | 1973 | Pop | 6 | |
| Donny Osmond | "Puppy Love" | 1971 | Pop | 5 | |
| Elton John | "Candle in the Wind 1997"/"Something About the Way You Look Tonight" | 1997 | Pop | 33 | |
| Elvis Presley | "Hound Dog" | 1956 | Rock & Roll | 9 | |
| Elvis Presley | "Surrender" | 1961 | Rock | 5 | |
| Eminem featuring Rihanna | "Love the Way You Lie" | 2010 | Hip hop | 9.3 | |
| Engelbert Humperdinck | "Release Me" | 1967 | Pop | 5 | |
| Enrique Iglesias | "Hero" | 2001 | Pop | 8 | |
| Enrique Iglesias featuring Pitbull | "I Like It" | 2010 | Electropop | 5 | |
| Flo Rida | "Low" | 2007 | Hip hop | 8 | |
| Gene Austin | "My Blue Heaven" | 1927 | Pop | 5 | |
| Gene Autry | "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" | 1949 | Pop | 18 | |
| Gene Autry | "That Silver-Haired Daddy Of Mine" | 1939 | Pop | 5 | |
| George McCrae | "Rock Your Baby" | 1974 | Disco | 11 | |
| George Michael | "Careless Whisper" | 1984 | Pop | 6 | |
| Georgie Fame | "The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde" | 1968 | Pop | 7.5 | |
| Harry Simeone Chorale | "The Little Drummer Boy" | 1958 | Pop | 6 | |
| The Ink Spots | "If I Didn't Care" | 1939 | Doo-wop | 19 | |
| The Jackson 5 | "I Want You Back" | 1969 | R&B | 6 | |
| The Jackson 5 | "I'll Be There" | 1970 | Pop | 6 | |
| Janet Jackson | "Together Again" | 1997 | Pop | 6 | |
| Jason Mraz | "I'm Yours" | 2008 | Pop, Folk rock | 8.1 | |
| Jay Sean featuring Lil Wayne | "Down" | 2009 | R&B, Dance | 6 | |
| Jeannie C. Riley | "Harper Valley PTA" | 1968 | Pop, Country | 5.5 | |
| Julie Rogers | "The Wedding" | 1964 | Pop | 7 | |
| Kanye West | "Heartless" | 2008 | Pop | 5.5 | |
| Katy Perry | "I Kissed a Girl" | 2008 | Pop | 8.4 | |
| Katy Perry | "Hot n Cold" | 2008 | Pop | 5 | |
| Katy Perry | "California Gurls" | 2010 | Pop | 6.7 | |
| Katy Perry | " Firework" | 2010 | Pop | 5 | |
| Kenny Rogers | "Lady" | 1980 | Country | 16 | |
| Kesha | "TiK ToK" | 2009 | Electropop | 12.8 | |
| Kyu Sakamoto | "Sukiyaki" | 1961 | Pop | 13 | |
| Lady Antebellum | "Need You Now" | 2009 | Country pop | 5 | |
| Lady Gaga | "Poker Face" | 2009 | Dance-pop, Electropop | 9.8 | |
| Lady Gaga | "Bad Romance" | 2009 | Dance-pop, Electropop | 9.7 | |
| Lady Gaga featuring Colby O'Donis | "Just Dance" | 2009 | Dance-pop, Electropop | 7.7 | |
| Lady Gaga featuring Beyoncé | "Telephone" | 2010 | Dance-pop, Electropop | 7.4 | |
| Leona Lewis | "Bleeding Love" | 2008 | Pop | 7.7 | |
| Lil Wayne | "Lollipop" | 2008 | Rap | 9.1 | |
| Madonna | "Like a Prayer" | 1989 | Gospel, Pop rock | 5 | |
| Madonna | "Vogue" | 1990 | Dance-pop, House, Disco | 6 | |
| Mahalia Jackson | "Move On Up a Little Higher" | 1948 | Gospel | 8 | |
| Mary Hopkin | "Those Were the Days" | 1968 | Pop | 8 | |
| Middle of the Road | "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" | 1971 | Pop | 10 | |
| Mills Brothers | "Paper Doll" | 1943 | Country | 11 | |
| Mitch Miller | "March from Bridge On The River Kwai" | 1957 | March | 5 | |
| Modern Talking | "You're My Heart, You're My Soul" | 1984 | Synthpop | 8 | |
| The Monkees | "I'm a Believer" | 1966 | Pop | 10 | |
| The Monkees | "Daydream Believer" | 1967 | Pop rock | 5 | |
| Mungo Jerry | "In the Summertime" | 1970 | Pop | 6 | |
| Neil Diamond | "Cracklin' Rosie" | 1970 | Pop | 6 | |
| The New Seekers | "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" | 1971 | Pop/Folk | 6 | |
| Nini Rosso | "Il Silenzio" | 1965 | Pop | 5 | |
| Nirvana | "Smells Like Teen Spirit" | 1991 | Grunge | 8 | |
| The Partridge Family | "I Think I Love You" | 1970 | Pop | 5 | |
| Paul Anka | "Diana" | 1957 | Pop | 20 | |
| Procol Harum | "A Whiter Shade of Pale" | 1967 | Progressive Rock | 10 | |
| Rihanna featuring Jay-Z | "Umbrella" | 2007 | R&B | 6.6 | |
| Roger Whittaker | "The Last Farewell" | 1975 | Pop | 11 | |
| Roy Acuff | "Wabash Cannonball" | 1942 | Country | 10 | |
| Scorpions | "Wind of Change" | 1991 | Hard Rock | 14 | |
| Scott McKenzie | "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" | 1967 | Pop | 7 | |
| Shakira | "Whenever, Wherever" | 2001 | Latin Pop | 8.5 | |
| Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean | "Hips Don't Lie" | 2006 | Latin Pop | 10 | |
| Shocking Blue | "Venus" | 1969 | Pop | 8 | |
| Shop Boyz | "Party Like a Rock Star" | 2007 | Pop | 5.2 | |
| Simon & Garfunkel | "Bridge Over Troubled Water" | 1970 | Pop | 6 | |
| Soulja Boy Tell 'Em | "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" | 2007 | Southern rap | 5.2 | |
| Soulja Boy Tell 'Em | "Kiss Me Thru the Phone" | 2007 | Southern rap | 5.7 | |
| Spice Girls | "Wannabe" | 1996 | Pop | 6 | |
| Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler | "Ballad of the Green Berets" | 1966 | Pop | 5 | |
| T-Pain | "Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')" | 2007 | Snap & B | 5.9 | |
| T.I. | "Whatever You Like" | 2008 | Hip Hop, Pop | 5.6 | |
| Taio Cruz | "Dynamite" | 2010 | R&B | 5.6 | |
| Taylor Swift | "Love Story" | 2008 | Country, Pop | 6.5 | |
| Terry Jacks | "Seasons in the Sun" | 1974 | Pop | 11.5 | |
| Thelma Aoyama | "Soba ni Iru ne" | 2008 | Pop | 8.2 | |
| Three Dog Night | "Joy to the World" | 1971 | Rock | 5 | |
| Timbaland featuring OneRepublic | "Apologize" | 2008 | Pop | 6.2 | |
| Tino Rossi | "Petit Papa Noël" | 1946 | Christmas | 5.7 | |
| Tom Jones | "Delilah" | 1968 | Pop | 5 | |
| The Tornados | "Telstar" | 1962 | Pop | 5 | |
| Train | "Hey, Soul Sister" | 2009 | Pop | 6.6 | |
| USA for Africa | "We Are the World" | 1985 | Pop | 20 | |
| Usher featuring will.i.am | "OMG" | 2010 | R&B, Soul | 6.9 | |
| Utada Hikaru | "Flavor of Life" | 2007 | Pop | 8 | |
| Vernon Dalhart | "The Prisoner's Song" | 1924 | Country | 7 | |
| Village People | "Y.M.C.A." | 1978 | Pop, Disco | 12 | |
| Whitney Houston | "I Will Always Love You" | 1992 | R&B | 12 | |
| Wings | "Mull of Kintyre" | 1977 | Rock | 6 |
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