This is a list of best-selling singles in the United States, some of which have been certified by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). All of these singles have sold over four million copies according to either reliable third-party claims or multi-platinum certifications. 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.
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. Remixes, live and other versions count as separate.
Prior to 1989, physical singles were awarded with a Gold certification for shipments of 1,000,000 units and a Platinum certification for shipments of 2,000,000 units. For certification dates since January 1, 1989, a Gold award represented shipments of 500,000 units and a Platinum award represented shipments of 1,000,000 units.
Since May 9, 2013, RIAA certifications for singles in the "digital" category include on-demand audio and/or video song streams in addition to downloads.
Physical sales figures backed by RIAA certifications may be inaccurate as physical singles can be "overcertified" (sell less copies than were shipped to stores) or "undercertified" (sell beyond their current certification level and not receive a new certification).
This is a list of the best-selling songs in the United States since 1992. From 1992 through 2004, the numbers are for physical singles. From 2005 onwards, they are for digital songs.
1992: "I Will Always Love You", Whitney Houston – 3,086,000
1993: "Whoomp! (There It Is)", Tag Team – 2,754,000
1994: "I'll Make Love to You", Boyz II Men – 1,627,000
1995: "Gangsta's Paradise", Coolio featuring L.V. – 2,534,000
1996: "Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)", Los Del Rio – 3,747,000
1997: "Candle in the Wind 1997", Elton John – 8,111,000
1998: "The Boy Is Mine", Brandy & Monica – 2,591,000
1999: "Believe", Cher – 1,707,000
2000: "Maria, Maria", Santana featuring The Product G&B – 1,337,000
2001: "Loverboy", Mariah Carey – 571,000
2002: "A Moment Like This", Kelly Clarkson – 600,000
2003: "This Is The Night", Clay Aiken – 948,000
2004: "I Believe", Fantasia – 401,000
2005: "Hollaback Girl", Gwen Stefani – 1,200,000
2006: "Bad Day", Daniel Powter – 2,015,000
2007: "Crank That (Soulja Boy)", Soulja Boy – 2,909,000
2008: "Bleeding Love", Leona Lewis – 3,420,000
2009: "Boom Boom Pow", The Black Eyed Peas – 4,762,000
2010: "California Gurls", Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg – 4,398,000
2011: "Rolling in the Deep", Adele – 5,813,000
2012: "Somebody That I Used to Know", Gotye featuring Kimbra – 6,801,000
2013: "Blurred Lines", Robin Thicke featuring T.I and Pharrell Williams – 6,498,000
2014: "Happy", Pharrell Williams - 6,400,000
2015: "Uptown Funk", Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars - 5,529,000
2016: "Can't Stop the Feeling!", Justin Timberlake - 2,495,000
Digital songs
Based on reliable sources like Billboard and Nielsen SoundScan's year end report wherever available.
Rihanna was named the Hot Digital Songs Artist of the 2000s decade.
After his sudden death, Michael Jackson became the first artist in digital history to sell one million downloads in a week, with a record-breaking 2.6 million downloads of his songs.
Katy Perry is the only artist to top the 5 million mark with six songs—"Hot n Cold", "California Gurls", "Firework", "E.T.", "Roar" and "Dark Horse". In October 2015, Perry also became the first artist to top the 6 million mark with 3 of her songs.
Lady Gaga's debut single "Just Dance" is the best-selling debut single by any artist in the United States, with over 7.01 million copies sold as of October 2015. Gaga is also the first and only artist to pass 7 million downloads with two songs, with "Just Dance" and "Poker Face".
2012 was the first year in which three songs sold over 6 million downloads (Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know", Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe", and fun.'s "We Are Young").
