All Time Best Selling Singles Worldwide

by **Wayne** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 11:15 am

I read somewhere that My Heart will go on sold a colossal 12 million copies globally. I am a fan of Celine Dion but even I have to admit that that statement was way overrated. I think the sales are nearer to 8 million globally placing Celine Dion third on the list!! :lol:

by **streisand15** » Sat Nov 24, 2007 11:13 am

This list is completaly false:

If you look only the certifications, these artists has sold this number of singles, but you can't only look the certifications:
I'm a fan of Barbra Streisand, and I've studied her sales (in albums and singles) a lot and this is the correct list for her:

STREISAND's SINGLES' SALES

“People” – 0.4 milions in USA, 0.3 millions worldwie – 0.7 milions worldwide

“The Way We Were” – 1 million in USA (Platinium), 1 million worldwide – 2 milions worldwide

“Love Theme From A Star Is Born: Evergreen” – 1.4 milions in USA(Platí), 1.6 millions worldwide –
3 milions worldwide

“The Main Event/Fight” – 0.5 milions in USA (Gold), 0.3 milions worldwide – 0.8 milions worldwide

“You Don’t Bring Me Flowers (with Neil Diamond)” – 1.1 millions in USA (Platinium), 0.9 millions worldwide – 2 milions worldwide

“No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) (with Donna Summer) – Single Mix” – 0.45 milions in USA (Gold), 0.1 milions worldwide – 0.55 millions worldwide

“No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) (with Donna Summer)” – 1.3 milions in USA (Platinium), 1.1 millions worldwide) – 2.4 millions worldwide

“Woman In Love” – 1.4 millions in USA (Platinium), 3.1 milions worldwide – 4.5 milions worldwide

“Guilty (with Barry Gibb”) – 0.5 milions in USA (Gold), 0.5 milions worldwdie
- 1 million worldwide

“I Finally Found Someone (with Bryan Adams)” 0.58 milions in USA
(Gold), 0.42 milions worldwide –
1 million worldwide

“Tell Him (with Céline Dion)” – 0.2 milions in USA, 1 milion worldwide –
1.2 milions worldwide

TOTAL STREISAND's SINGLES' SALES:

8.83 milions in USA and 10.72 milions worldwide).
+/- = 20 milions worldwide (with certificacions and aprox. sales, but she had have other singles non-certificated, so, her singles sales are in:

20-25 millions worldwide

by **nelson** » Sat Nov 24, 2007 5:12 pm

streisand15 wrote:This list is completaly false:

If you look only the certifications, these artists has sold this number of singles, but you can't only look the certifications:
I'm a fan of Barbra Streisand, and I've studied her sales (in albums and singles) a lot and this is the correct list for her:

STREISAND's SINGLES' SALES

Do you have the break down in each country?

ANd where was your source?

And that's what you called "studied"??? Where's your study? I didn't see any studying in them. :lol:

by **HolidayGuy** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 3:42 am

One thign I'm pretty sure of: Madonna's sold some 85 million singles worldwide by now (including digital), which I'd have to think is one of the highest tallies for any act (especially over the last 25 years). 8-)

by **HUR** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 3:49 am

HolidayGuy wrote:One thign I'm pretty sure of: Madonna's sold some 85 million singles worldwide by now (including digital), which I'd have to think is one of the highest tallies for any act (especially over the last 25 years).

I agree with that. I think that both Madonna and Micheal Jackson sold pretty much the same worldiwde. And probably only the Beatles, Elvis Presley and Elton John sold more singles than both. Bee Gees come close too, in my opinion. I don´t know about others.

by **Cool** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 3:53 am

Fake!

Whenever, Wherever 3,3 million sold

by **seattleboy** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 6:04 am

HolidayGuy wrote:One thign I'm pretty sure of: Madonna's sold some 85 million singles worldwide by now (including digital), which I'd have to think is one of the highest tallies for any act (especially over the last 25 years).

I agree.

by **denise** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 9:01 am

HolidayGuy wrote:One thign I'm pretty sure of: Madonna's sold some 85 million singles worldwide by now (including digital), which I'd have to think is one of the highest tallies for any act (especially over the last 25 years).

WOWWWWWWW

by **naughty** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 1:20 am

I have something to ask?? maybe it will sound silly but anyways

before the the explosion of the download thing , singles sales were based on physical sales which usually cost at least 4$ , but now with the downloads the song is sold for 0.99$ and can sell more than the physical sales did , So I guess this is unfair , or is there a system to count these downloads??

by **djlights** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 3:53 pm

Is there any possibility of "Zombie" being on that list?

by **johnnyboy** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 2:44 pm

Hanboo wrote:
Best-selling Singles in The World Ever

Last update: May 23, 2003

(rank, estimated world sales rounded to nearest million, title, artist (year), specific country sales).

001 35 Candle in the Wind Elton John (1997) US 8 UK 4.9
002 31 White Christmas Bing Crosby (1943) US 15
003 30 Silent Night/Adeste Fideles Bing Crosby (1935)
004 24 It's Now or Never Elvis Presley (1960) US 9 UK 1
005 21 Rock Around the Clock Bill Haley & His Comets (1954)
006 18 My Heart Will Go On Celine Dion (1998) UK 1.3
007 16 We Are The World USA For Africa (1985) US 8
008 15 I Want to Hold Your Hand Beatles (1963) US 6 UK 1.8
009 13 Hound Dog/Don't Be Cruel Elvis Presley (1956) US 6
010 12 YMCA Village People (1978)
011 11 Seasons In The Sun Terry Jacks (1974)
012 11 Born To Be Alive Patrick Hernandez (1979)
013 11 The Last Farewell Roger Whittaker (1975)
014 11 Rock Your Baby George McCrae (1974)
015 11 Paper Doll Mills Brothers (1943)
016 11 Macarena Los Del Rio (1993) US 4.2
017 10 (Everything I Do) I Do It for You Bryan Adams (1991) US 3
018 10 I Will Always Love You Whitney Houston (1993) US 4.6
019 10 The Hustle Van McCoy (1977)
020 10 Save Your Kisses For Me Brotherhood Of Man (1976)
021 10 Fernando Abba (1976)
022 10 Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep Middle Of The Road (1971)
023 10 Hey Jude Beatles (1968) US 4
024 10 A Whiter Shade Of Pale Procol Harum (1967)
025 10 I'm a Believer Monkees (1966)
026 10 Tennessee Waltz Cowboy Copas (1948)
027 10 Wabash Cannonball Roy Acuff (1942)
028 09 ... Baby One More Time Britney Spears (1999) UK 1.5
029 09 A Walk In The Park Nick Straker Band (1980)
030 09 Are You Lonesome Tonight? Elvis Presley (1960) US 3 UK 1
031 09 Diana Paul Anka (1957)
032 09 Jailhouse Rock Elvis Presley (1957) US 3
033 08 Ma Baker Boney M (1978)
034 08 Kung Fu Fighting Carl Douglas (1974)
035 08 Venus Shocking Blue (1969)
036 08 Those Were The Days Mary Hopkin (1968)
037 08 Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde Georgie Fame (1968)
038 08 Marina Rocco Granata (1959)
039 08 Heimweh - Freddy Quinn (1956) 6.5 Ger **
040 08 Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer Gene Autry (1949)
041 07 Wannabe Spice Girls (1996) US 2 UK 1.3
042 07 Do They Know It's Christmas Band Aid (1984) UK 3.6
043 07 You're The One That I Want John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John (1978) UK 2
044 07 Mississippi Pussycat (1977)
045 07 Feelings Morris Albert (1975)
046 07 Amazing Grace Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (1972)
047 07 Butterfly Danyel Gerard (1971)
048 07 Knock Three Times Dawn (1971)
049 07 Let It Be Beatles (1970) *
050 07 Suspicious minds Elvis Presley (1969) US 2
051 07 Honey Bobby Goldsboro (1968)
052 07 San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair) Scott McKenzie (1967)
053 07 Tombe la Neige Adamo (1964)
054 07 The Wedding Julie Rogers (1964)
055 07 Can't Buy Me Love The Beatles (1964) US 4
056 07 All Shook Up Elvis Presley (1957) US 3
057 07 Born To Lose/No Letter Today Ted Daffan & His Texans (1943)
058 06 Lady Marmalade - Christina Aguilera,Lil' Kim, Mya & Pink (2002) **
059 06 Mambo No.5 Lou Bega (1999)
060 06 Vogue Madonna (1990) US 2
061 06 Le Freak Chic (1979)
062 06 You Light Up My Life Debbie Boone (1977) US 4
063 06 Mull of Kintyre Paul McCartney & Wings (1977) UK 2.1
064 06 Dancing Queen Abba (1976)
065 06 Una Paloma Blanca George Baker Selection (1975)
066 06 Tie A Yellow Ribbon (Round The Ole Oak Tree) Dawn (1973)
067 06 I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing New Seekers (1971)
068 06 In The Summertime Mungo Jerry (1970)
069 06 I'll Be There Jackson 5 (1970)
070 06 Cracklin' Rosie Neil Diamond (1970)
071 06 Bridge over troubled water Simon & Garfunkel (1970)
072 06 Ma Belle Amie Tee Set (1969)
073 06 Sugar, Sugar Archies (1969)
074 06 Harper Valley P.T.A. Jeannie C. Riley (1968)
075 06 The Ballad Of The Green Berets Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler (1966)
076 06 She Loves You Beatles (1963) UK 1.9
077 06 Surrender Elvis Presley (1961) US 3 UK 1
078 06 The Chipmunk Song Chipmunks (1958) US 4
079 06 Little Drummer Boy Harry Simeone Chorale (1958)
080 06 Tequila Champs (1958)
081 06 Tennessee Waltz Patti Page (1950)
082 06 Jingle Bells Bing Crosby (1943)
083 06 The Prisoner's Song Vernon Dalhart (1924)
084 05 Time To Say Goodbye Andrea Bocelli & Sarah Brightman (1998) Ger 2
085 05 I'll Be Missing You Puff Daddy & Faith Evans (1997) US 3
086 05 Gangsta's Paradise Coolio (1995) US 3
087 05 Gonna Make You Sweat C&C Music Factory (1991)
088 05 Eye Of The Tiger Survivor (1982) US 2
089 05 The Smurf Song Father Abraham (1978)
090 05 Rivers Of Babylon/Brown Girl In The Ring Boney M (1978) UK 2
091 05 Way Down Elvis Presley (1977) US 2
092 05 Waterloo Abba (1974)
093 05 I'd Love You To Want Me Lobo (1972)
094 05 Puppy Love Donny Osmond (1971)
095 05 Joy To The World Three Dog Night (1971)
096 05 I Think I Love You Partridge Family (1970)
097 05 My Sweet Lord George Harrison (1970)
098 05 Get Back Beatles (1969)
099 05 Build Me Up Buttercup Foundations (1969)
100 05 Love Is Blue Paul Mauriat & His Orchestra (1968)
101 05 I Heard It Through The Grapevine Marvin Gaye (1968)
102 05 Delilah Tom Jones (1968)
103 05 Simon Says 1910 Fruitgum Co. (1968)
104 05 Release Me Engelbert Humperdinck (1967)
105 05 Massachusetts Bee Gees (1967) 2 Ger
106 05 Satisfaction Rolling Stones (1965)
107 05 Il Silenzio Nini Rosso (1965)
108 05 The House Of The Rising Sun The Animals (1964)
109 05 If I Had A Hammer Trini Lopez (1963)
110 05 Return to sender Elvis Presley (1962) US 1.8
111 05 Good luck charm Elvis Presley (1962) US 2.4
112 05 Telstar Tornados (1962)
113 05 Wooden Heart Elvis Presley (1961) UK 1 Ger 1
114 05 A Fool Such As I/I Need Your Love Tonight Elvis Presley (1959) US 3.4
115 05 Volare Domenico Modugno (1958) It 1
116 05 Teddy Bear Elvis Presley (1957) US 2.8
117 05 Sail Along Silv'ry Moon Billy Vaughn (1957)
118 05 Love Letters In The Sand Pat Boone (1957) US 4
119 05 March from Bridge On The River Kwai Mitch Miller (1957) Ger 4
120 05 Love Me Tender/Any Way You Want Me Elvis Presley (1956) US 3.5
121 05 My Happiness John & Sandra Steele (1948)
122 05 That Silver-Haired Daddy Of Mine Gene Autrey (1939)
123 05 My Blue Heaven Gene Austin (1927)

This was done back in 2003 so way before downloads. Some very dodgy claims here:
Fernando - ABBA
Save Your Kisses For Me - Brother Hood of Man
White Christmas - Bing Crosby
Rock Around the Clock - Bill Hailey
Silent Night - Bing Crosby
Rock Your Baby - George McCrae
Paper Dolls - Mills Brothers
Ma Baker - Boney M
Chirp Chirp Cheep Cheep - Middle of the Road

Indeed any claim of sales of more than 10m for a pre-1960 record seems dubious.

all these seem very unbelievable.

by **HolidayGuy** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 2:51 pm

"My Heart Will Go On" at 18m copies is more than a little "dogy."

I mean, it was limited in the USA (less than 700,000)- no way in heck it sold anywhere close to 18m, no matter how huge it was.

Likely for some other pones on that list, that aren't close to their tallies.

by **alek** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 4:17 pm

18 m of MHWGO , what , and like a prayer has sold more than 5 m too , with like more than 700,000 -800,000 of digitals songs

by **zeus555** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 4:34 pm

Here is a List of the World's Best Selling Singles - from Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_be ... _worldwide

As you can see, ABBA's actual Best Seller -
'Dancing Queen' - is not even included. It sold
around 6 Million, before the Download Era. Its
USA Download Sales are over 600,000. Its UK
Download Sales are over 100,000, (now), & then
there are Download Sales from the rest of the
World. So, it has sold around 1 Million on
Downloads, too. Its Sales are now about 7 Million.
'Fernando' has sold about 6.5 Million, (adding in
Downloads) - not the 10 Million, that is so often claimed.

'Yes Sir I Can Boogie', by Bacarra, is given
the ridiculously inflated Total of 18 Million,
in the Wikipedia List! It was not even a Hit in
the USA! Its Sales were more like 4 to 5 Million.

Zeus555

by **johnnyboy** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 4:42 pm

LOL@Bacarra...18m!!! That claim is repeated in the 2012 edition of the Top 10 of Everything...or should that be Top 10 B**lsh*t lists??

by **alek** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 4:43 pm

zeus555 wrote:Here is a List of the World's Best Selling Singles - from Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_be ... _worldwide

As you can see, ABBA's actual Best Seller -
'Dancing Queen' - is not even included. It sold
around 6 Million, before the Download Era. Its
USA Download Sales are over 600,000. Its UK
Download Sales are over 100,000, (now), & then
there are Download Sales from the rest of the
World. So, it has sold around 1 Million on
Downloads, too. Its Sales are now about 7 Million.
'Fernando' has sold about 6.5 Million, (adding in
Downloads) - not the 10 Million, that is so often claimed.

'Yes Sir I Can Boogie', by Bacarra, is given
the ridiculously inflated Total of 18 Million,
in the Wikipedia List! It was not even a Hit in
the USA! Its Sales were more like 4 to 5 Million.

Zeus555

more accurate 15 m to MHWGO but 9 m to hung up is to much ,

by **Lioha** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 5:23 pm

alek wrote:
zeus555 wrote:Here is a List of the World's Best Selling Singles - from Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_be ... _worldwide

As you can see, ABBA's actual Best Seller -
'Dancing Queen' - is not even included. It sold
around 6 Million, before the Download Era. Its
USA Download Sales are over 600,000. Its UK
Download Sales are over 100,000, (now), & then
there are Download Sales from the rest of the
World. So, it has sold around 1 Million on
Downloads, too. Its Sales are now about 7 Million.
'Fernando' has sold about 6.5 Million, (adding in
Downloads) - not the 10 Million, that is so often claimed.

'Yes Sir I Can Boogie', by Bacarra, is given
the ridiculously inflated Total of 18 Million,
in the Wikipedia List! It was not even a Hit in
the USA! Its Sales were more like 4 to 5 Million.

Zeus555
more accurate 15 m to MHWGO but 9 m to hung up is to much ,

In this ridiculous wikipedia list data for the most modern singles are taken from Mediatraffic and their POINTS are presented as SALES.

by **alek** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 5:24 pm

yes i think so too

by **HolidayGuy** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 6:28 pm

Even 15m for "My Heart Will Go On" is WAY inflated. Likewise, "Hung Up" has not sold 9m. Most of these singles lists are not accurate in any way.

by **Wayne** » Sat Dec 31, 2011 12:25 am

My Heart Will Go On has sold over 9m physical copies, and over over 1.5m digital copies [worldwide - over 1m digital copies in the US alone]. Its total worldwide sales lie between 11-12m.

by **alek** » Sat Dec 31, 2011 4:01 am

04wayne wrote:My Heart Will Go On has sold over 9m physical copies, and over over 1.5m digital copies [worldwide - over 1m digital copies in the US alone]. Its total worldwide sales lie between 11-12m.

by **ShayLaB** » Sat Dec 31, 2011 11:25 am

It would be nice if there was a new thread on this...the original list was obviously flawed and it is mostly full of criticism of it.

by **ferrero** » Sat Dec 31, 2011 12:23 pm

its only a matter of time current acts like Rihanna, Katy Perry will be on top... digital era :roll:

by **EdWood** » Sat Dec 31, 2011 12:33 pm

LOL - I wonder how created this list - so full of inaccuracies I don't know where to start - wheres Bohemian Rhapsody for a start - if this starts at 5 million single sales then this song nearly sold that with sales from just the UK and USA (before the download era) I think its sales were put at least 8 million sales worldwide before the download era started in 2004.. 8-)

by **stevyy** » Sun Jan 01, 2012 10:30 pm

All I want for Christmas is you should be added to the list as it has at least sold 5 million copies (digitally and physcially). The total for the single stands at 4,2 million from the US, UK and Japan alone. assuming that it hasn't sold 1 additional copy (digitally) in Japan since 1994, excluding South Korea where all version of the song combined nearly sold 200k this year alone. :lol:

It's been certified Gold this season in Denmark and Italy.. and i'm pretty sure it sold some physical copies when it was first released, too.