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 (RIAA). All of these singles have shipped over three million copies, meaning they were certified platinum or multi-platinum.

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 certifies a record only 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

Over 8 million copies

• "We Are the World", USA for Africa

Over 6 million copies

• "I Gotta Feeling", The Black Eyed Peas
• "Just Dance", Lady Gaga featuring Colby O'Donis
• "Low", Flo Rida featuring T-Pain

Over 5 million copies

• "Boom Boom Pow", The Black Eyed Peas
• "Hey Soul Sister", Train
• "I'm Yours", Jason Mraz
• "Love Story", Taylor Swift
• "Poker Face", Lady Gaga
• "Tik Tok", Ke$ha

Over 4 million copies

• "Bad Romance", Lady Gaga
• "California Gurls", Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg
• "Down", Jay Sean featuring Lil Wayne
• "Dynamite", Taio Cruz
• "Fireflies", Owl City
• "Fuck You", Cee Lo Green
• "Gives You Hell", The All-American Rejects
• "Grenade", Bruno Mars
• "Hey Jude", The Beatles
• "Hot n Cold", Katy Perry
• "Hound Dog"/"Don't Be Cruel", Elvis Presley
• "I Will Always Love You", Whitney Houston
• "Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)", Los Del Rio
• "Need You Now", Lady Antebellum
• "Party in the U.S.A.", Miley Cyrus
• "Right Round", Flo Rida featuring Kesha
• "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", Beyoncé
• "Whoomp! (There It Is)", Tag Team

Over 3 million copies

• "Airplanes", B.o.B featuring Hayley Williams
• "Apologize", Timbaland presents OneRepublic
• "Bad Day", Daniel Powter
• "BedRock", Young Money featuring Lloyd
• "Before He Cheats", Carrie Underwood
• "Break Your Heart", Taio Cruz
• "Disturbia", Rihanna
• "Don't Stop the Music", Rihanna
• "Empire State of Mind", Jay-Z & Alicia Keys
• "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You", Bryan Adams
• "Eye of the Tiger", Survivor
• "Gangsta's Paradise", Coolio featuring L.V.
• "Hey There Delilah", Plain White T's
• "How Do I Live", LeAnn Rimes
• "How to Save a Life", The Fray
• "I Kissed A Girl", Katy Perry
• "I Like It", Enrique Iglesias feat. Pitbull
• "I'll Be Missing You", Puff Daddy & Faith Evans featuring 112
• "Irreplaceable", Beyonce
• "Just A Dream", Nelly
• "Let It Rock", Kevin Rudolf featuring Lil Wayne
• "Live Your Life", T.I. featuring Rihanna
• "Love Lockdown", Kanye West
• "Love Me Tender/Any Way You Want Me", Elvis Presley
• "Love Song", Sara Bareilles
• "No One", Alicia Keys
• "Paparazzi", Lady Gaga
• "Paper Planes", M.I.A
• "Teenage Dream", Katy Perry
• "The Climb", Miley Cyrus
• "Replay", Iyaz
• "Stronger", Kanye West
• "Umbrella", Rihanna featuring Jay-Z
• "Viva la Vida", Coldplay
• "Whatcha Say", Jason Derülo
• "Whatever You Like", T.I.

Achievements

• Rihanna was named the Hot Digital Songs Artist of the 2000s decade
• Katy Perry is the only artist to top the 4 million mark with four songs - Hot N Cold, California Gurls, I Kissed A Girl and Firework which is more than any other artist in digital history
• Lady Gaga, Rihanna and will.i.am have each had three 3-million-sellers. (will.i.am's total includes two Black Eyed Peas hits and his featured role on Usher's "OMG.")

See also

• RIAA certification
• Lists of best-selling albums

External links

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