List of best-selling singles in the United States

This is a list of best selling singles in the United States that have been certified by the Recording Industry Association of America. All of these singles have sold over 2 million copies, meaning they are all platinum or multi-platinum singles. For more information on what makes a platinum single or album, see RIAA certification.

What makes a single?

In music, a single is a song considered commercially viable enough by the artist and record company to be released separately from an album, usually featured on an album as well. For more information, see single.

Notes about RIAA certification

• The RIAA only certifies a record if that record company pays for its official certification; some companies do not consider this an important distinction and will not request certifications unless pressed by its active, still saleable artists. A full and complete list of RIAA-certified recordings would be a very incomplete list of popular American music.

• The RIAA only certifies a particular recording of a song. For example, sales of Elton John's original "Candle in the Wind" single are not counted towards the 1997 version's official total.

• Retroactive RIAA certification only goes back to 1958; thus, a record like Bing Crosby's "White Christmas", released in 1942 and reported in 1963 as having sold 30 million copies, and currently listed by the Guinness Book of World Records at 50 million sales, would not be eligible. Bill Haley and His Comets' "Rock Around the Clock" is assumed to have sold more than 25 million copies since 1955. According to Billboard Magazine's statistician Joel Whitburn, other pre-1958 singles that would be affected by this cutoff point include Gene Autry's "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (8 million sales reported); Crosby's "Silent Night" (7 million); Vernon Dalhart's "The Prisoner's Song" (7 million); the Mills Brothers' "Paper Doll" (6 million); Patti Page's "The Tennessee Waltz" (6 million); Gene Austin's "My Blue Heaven" (5 million); and Ben Selvin's "Dardanella" (5 million); and another 21 single releases in the 2-3 million range. (That is, assuming their respective record companies would elect to bear the optional expense of an official RIAA certification. It is unlikely, for example, that Sony BMG Music Entertainment, which absorbed RCA Records, which in turn had long ago purchased the Victor Talking Machine Company, now sees any particular advantage in precisely determining the sales for Selvin's 1920 smash hit on Victor Records.) The first officially RIAA-certified million-selling single was Perry Como's "Catch a Falling Star", in March 1958.

• Prior to 1989, singles were awarded with a Gold certification for sales of 1,000,000 units and a Platinum certification for sales of 2,000,000 units. For certification dates after January 1, 1989, a Gold award represents sales of 500,000 units and a Platinum award represents sales of 1,000,000 units.

Records

In alphabetical order within sections.

Over 11 million copies

• "Candle in the Wind 1997/Something About the Way You Look Tonight", Elton John^[1]

Over 8 million copies

• "We Are the World", USA for Africa^[2]

Over 5 million copies

• "Low", Flo Rida featuring T-Pain^[3]

Over 4 million copies

• "Hey Jude", The Beatles^[4]
• "Hound Dog"/"Don't Be Cruel", Elvis Presley^[5]
• "I Will Always Love You", Whitney Houston^[6]
• "Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)", Los Del Rio^[7]
• "Whoomp! (There It Is)", Tag Team^[8]
• "I'm Yours", Jason Mraz^[9]
• "Love Story", Taylor Swift ^[10]

Over 3 million copies

• "Apologize", Timbaland presents OneRepublic^[11]
• "Disturbia", Rihanna^[12]
• "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You", Bryan Adams^[13]
• "Eye of the Tiger", Survivor^[14]
• "Gangsta's Paradise", Coolio featuring L.V.^[15]
• "Hot N Cold", Katy Perry^[16]
• "How Do I Live", LeAnn Rimes^[17]
• "I Kissed a Girl", Katy Perry^[18]
• "I'll Be Missing You", Puff Daddy & Faith Evans featuring 112^[19]
• "Just Dance", Lady GaGa featuring Colby O'Donis^[20]
• "Let It Rock", Kevin Rudolf featuring Lil Wayne^[21]
• "Live Your Life", T.I. featuring Rihanna^[22]
• "Love Me Tender/Any Way You Want Me", Elvis Presley^[23]
• "Right Round", Flo Rida featuring Ke$ha^[24]
• "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", Beyonce^[25]
• "Stronger", Kanye West^[26]
• "Umbrella", Rihanna featuring Jay-Z^[27]
• "Viva la Vida", Coldplay^[28]
• "Whatever You Like", T.I.^[29]

Over 2 million copies

• "4 Minutes", Madonna featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland^[30]
• "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now", McFadden & Whitehead^[31]
• "All Shook Up", Elvis Presley^[32]
• "Another One Bites the Dust", Queen^[33]
• "Are You Lonesome Tonight", Elvis Presley^[34]
• "Baby Got Back", Sir Mix-a-Lot^[35]
• "Bad Day", Daniel Powter^[36]
• "Bad Girls", Donna Summer^[37]
• "Before He Cheats", Carrie Underwood^[38]
• "Big Girls Don't Cry", Fergie^[39]
• "Blue Bayou", Linda Ronstadt^[40]
• "Boogie Nights", Heatwave^[41]
• "Boogie Oogie Oogie", A Taste of Honey^[42]
• "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down", Puff Daddy featuring Mase^[43]
• "Car Wash", Rose Royce^[44]
• "Celebration", Kool & the Gang^[45]
• "The Climb", Miley Cyrus^[46]
• "Crazy", Gnarls Barkley^[47]
• "Cyclone", Baby Bash^[48]
• "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy", Rod Stewart^[49]
• "Dani California", Red Hot Chili Peppers^[50]
• "Dazzey Duks", Duice^[51]
• "Dead and Gone", T.I.^[52]
• "Disco Duck (Part 1)", Rick Dees & His Cast Of Idiots^[53]
• "Disco Lady", Johnnie Taylor^[54] (first single certified Platinum by the RIAA—2 million units shipped)
• "Don't Stop the Music", Rihanna^[55]
• "Elvira", Oak Ridge Boys^[56]
• "Emotion", Samantha Sang^[57]
• "Endless Love", Diana Ross & Lionel Richie^[58]
• "Fantasy", Mariah Carey^[59]
• "Fergalicious", Fergie featuring will.i.am^[60]
• "Funkytown", Lipps Inc.^[61]
• "Get Back", The Beatles^[62]
• "Girlfriend", Avril Lavigne^[63]
• "Glamorous", Fergie featuring Ludacris^[64]
• "Gold Digger", Kanye West featuring Jamie Foxx^[65]
• "Grease", Frankie Valli^[66]
• "Heartbreak Hotel/I Was the One", Elvis Presley^[67]
• "Hips Don't Lie", Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean^[68]
• "Hot Child in the City", Nick Gilder^[69]
• "Hot Stuff", Donna Summer^[70]
• "How Do U Want It/California Love", 2Pac^[71]
• "How to Save a Life", The Fray^[72]
• "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", Joan Jett & The Blackhearts^[73]
• "I Wanna Sex You Up", Color Me Badd^[74]
• "I Will Survive", Gloria Gaynor^[75]
• "If I Were A Boy ", Beyonce^[76]
• "Irreplaceable", Beyoncé^[77]
• "Islands in the Stream", Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton^[78]
• "Jailhouse Rock", Elvis Presley^[79]
• "Jump", Kris Kross^[80]
• "Kiss and Say Goodbye", The Manhattans^[81]
• "Kiss Kiss, Chris Brown featuring T-Pain^[82]
• "Knock on Wood", Amii Stewart^[83]
• "Le Freak", Chic^[84]
• "Let It Be", The Beatles^[85]
• "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear/Loving You", Elvis Presley^[86]
• "Love Song", Sara Bareilles^[87]
• "Mickey", Toni Basil^[88]
• "Mr. Big Stuff", Jean Knight^[89]
• "Night Fever", Bee Gees^[90]
• "No One", Alicia Keys^[91]
• "One Sweet Day", Boyz II Men & Mariah Carey^[92]
• "O.P.P", Naughty By Nature^[93]
• "Paralyzer", Finger Eleven^[94]
• "Physical", Olivia Newton-John^[95]
• "Play That Funky Music", Wild Cherry^[96]
• "Pocketful of Sunshine", Natasha Bedingfield^[97]
• "Reunited", Peaches & Herb^[98]
• "Rump Shaker", Wreckx-N-Effect^[99]
• "SexyBack", Justin Timberlake^[100]
• "Shadow Dancing", Andy Gibb^[101]
• "Shake It", Metro Station^[102]
• "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)", The Jacksons^[103]
• "Smack That", Akon featuring Eminem^[104]
• "Something", The Beatles^[105]
• "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band", Meco^[106]
• "Stayin' Alive", Bee Gees^[107]
• "Sugar, We're Goin Down", Fall Out Boy^[108]
• "Take a Bow", Rihanna ^[109]
• "Take Your Time (Do It Right) Part 1", S.O.S. Band^[110]
• "Tha Crossroads", Bone Thugs-N-Harmony^[111]
• "The Boy Is Mine", Brandy and Monica^[112]
• "Too Much Heaven", Bee Gees^[113]
• "Tragedy", Bee Gees^[114]
• "Unwritten", Natasha Bedingfield^[115]
• "Vogue", Madonna^[116]
• "We Are the Champions", Queen^[117]
• "What I've Done", Linkin Park^[118]
• "When Doves Cry", Prince^[119]
• "Wild Thing", Tone Lōc^[120]
• "Y.M.C.A.", Village People^[121]
• "You Light Up My Life", Debby Boone^[122]
• "You're Beautiful", James Blunt^[123]
• "You're the One That I Want", John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John^[124]

See also

• RIAA certification
• Lists of best-selling albums

References

• http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinum.php

External links

• RIAA website
• Billboard Magazine - a magazine that publishes weekly music rankings