Top 10 best-selling songs of all time

CachHayNhat - Songs are the end product of making music. They are a product of art, but ultimately big business. The most famous songs are known all over the world. Not only are they played continuously on the radio, hummed in the shower, or sung in karaoke bars, they have been purchased millions upon millions of times.

The following ranks the Top 10 songs by worldwide sales. The Top 10 Songs chart includes both physical and digital sales.

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Top 10 best selling songs of all time

(as of January 2020)

TOP 10 BEST SELLING SONGS OF ALL TIME:

1. WHITE CHRISTMAS

by Bing Crosby

~52 million copies sold

2. SHAPE OF YOU

by Ed Sheeran

~ Sold 42 million copies

3. DESPACITO

by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee

~38 million copies sold

4. CANDLE IN THE WIND

by Elton John

~33 million copies sold

5. IN THE SUMMERTIME

by Mungo Jerry (band)

~ 31 million copies sold

6. SILENT NIGHT

by Bing Crosby

~30 million copies sold

7. ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK

by Bill Haley & His Comets (band)

~25 million copies sold

8. I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU

by Whitney Houston

~24 million copies sold

9. SOMETHING JUST LIKE THAT

by The Chainsmokers and Coldplay (band)

~23 million copies sold

10. PERFECT

by Ed Sheeran

~22 million copies sold

Top 10 best-selling songs in history based on worldwide sales.

1. White Christmas

~52 million copies sold

Released year: 1942

Written by: Irving Berlin

Main Genre: Classic Christmas Pop

Most successful version sung by: Harry Crosby (aka Bing Crosby)

"White Christmas", performed by American singer Bing Crosby (real name Harry Crosby), is the best-selling song in history. Crosby, who died in 1977, has sold about 52 million copies of the song to date. The song was written by Russian-American composer Irving Berlin (real name Israel Beilin). Although Berlin is Jewish, he wrote the song in 1940 as an homage to the snowy Christmases he knew growing up in New York City. Berlin at Christmas time in California is warm, reminiscing about the white houses he used to be in New York.

The song was later used by Bing Crosby for the NBC radio show's Christmas Day special the following year. Crosby performed the song in front of a live audience and received rave reviews for it. A few months later, he decided to turn the song into a single and the rest is history.

For Bing Crosby, the release of White Christmas also marked the beginning of Crosby's legendary status as the world's most successful performer of Christmas songs. Crosby's version of "Silent Night", an old Austrian Christmas carol from the 19th century, is also in the Top 10 best-selling songs of all time.

2. Shape of You

~ 42 million copies sold

Released year: 2017

Written by: Ed Sheeran, Steve Mac & Johnny McDaid

Main Genre: Pop

Most successful version sung by: Ed Sheeran

"Shape of You" by British singer Ed Sheeran is the second best-selling song of all time. The song has sold about 42 million times. At the same time, the song also set a new record for most digital copies sold. Sheeran wrote the song alongside British songwriters Steve Mac and Johnny McDaid. The song was released in January 2017 and was an instant hit. At the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, the song won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance.

3. Despacito

~ 38 million copies sold

Released year: 2017

Written by: Luis Rodriguez, Ramon Ayala & Erika Ender

Main Genre: Latin Pop

Most successful version sung by: Luis Rodriguez (aka Luis Fonsi) & Ramon Ayala (aka Daddy Yankee)

The third best-selling top song in history was also released in January 2017. “Despacito” (Spanish for “slowly” or “gently”) became popular in the US for the first time. Latin, before taking over the world in the summer of 2017. The song has sold around 38 million copies worldwide. The song was written by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi (real name Luis Rodriguez), Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee (real name Ramon Ayala) and Panamanian singer Erika Ender. Recorded and released by the first two, the song quickly became the greatest, most successful Latin Pop song in history.

4. Candle in the Wind

~ 33 million copies sold

Released year: 1997

Written by: Elton John & Bernie Taupin

Main Genre: Pop

Most successful version sung by: Elton John

Elton John's "Candle in the Wind" is the fourth best-selling song of all time. The song was originally written in 1973 by the British singer herself along with British lyricist Bernie Taupin. It was originally an homage to American actress and singer Marlyn Monroe. The original song was popularized again later.

However, in 1997 John and Taupin rewrote and re-recorded the song, and Elton John used the new version of the song at the funeral of Lady Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales. This new homage to the beloved princess became a global phenomenon and sold some 33 million copies worldwide. In some countries, the single also included the song "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" as a double A-side.

For Elton John, who is also the fourth best-selling solo artist in history, "Candle in the Wind" remains the most successful single of his illustrious half-century career.

5. In the Summertime

~ 31 million copies sold

Released year: 1970

Written by: Raymond Dorset

Main Genre: Skiffle

Most successful version sung by: Mungo Jerry (band)

“In the Summertime” is the fifth best-selling song in music history. The song was released by British rock band Mungo Jerry in 1970 and was written by Raymond Dorset, the band's frontman. The skiffle song has been sold about 31 million times around the world. According to Dorset, it only took him about 10 minutes to write the entire song. Not a bad time for a Top 5 song.