Topic summary
Best-selling single
Extracted from the Wikipedia article List of best-selling singles.
According to Guinness World Records, Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" (1942) is the best-selling single worldwide, with estimated sales of over 50 million copies. The song's success was before the existence of certification systems, hence the accuracy is often disputed. Guinness World Records also states that John's "Candle in the Wind 1997" is "the biggest-selling single since UK and US singles charts began in the 1950s, having accumulated worldwide sales of 33 million copies". In 2023, Guinness World Records declared "Spotlight" by Chinese singer Xiao Zhan as the best-selling digital single of all time, with 54.3 million downloads. In 2025, Guinness World Records declared that Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" was the best-selling single worldwide by a female artist, with over 24 million copies sold. According to official certifications worldwide, Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You" is the highest-certified single ever.