Guinness World Records 2018

ARTS & MEDIA

BEST-SELLING SINGLES BY TERRITORY

Territory Song Performer Ye a r Units sold*

World “White Christmas” Bing Crosby (USA) 1942 50 million

USA “White Christmas” Bing Crosby (USA) 1942 25 million

Japan “Soba ni Iru ne” Thelma Aoyama feat. SoulJa

(both JPN)

2008 9.2 million

South Korea “Cherry Blossom Ending” Busker Busker (KOR) 2012 6.5 million

France “Petit Papa Noël” Tino Rossi (FRA) 1946 5.7 million

UK “Something About the Way You Look Tonight”/

”Candle in the Wind 1997”

Elton John (UK) 1997 4.9 million

Germany “Something About the Way You Look Tonight”/

”Candle in the Wind 1997”

Elton John (UK) 1997 4.5 million

Canada “Pour que tu m’aimes encore” Celine Dion (CAN) 1995 2.1 million

Australia “Party Rock Anthem” LMFAO feat. Lauren Bennett

& GoonRock (USA/UK/USA)

2011 1 million

Spain “Amor Gitano” Alejandro Fernández (MEX) &

Beyoncé (USA)

2007 480,000

BEST-SELLING ALBUMS BY TERRITORY

Territory Album Performer Ye a r Units sold*

World Thriller Michael Jackson (USA) 1982 66 million

USA Thriller Michael Jackson (USA) 1982 32 million

Japan First Love Hikaru Utada (JPN) 1999 7.6 million

UK Greatest Hits Queen (UK) 1981 6.1 million

France D’eux Celine Dion (CAN) 1995 4.4 million

Brazil Thriller Michael Jackson (USA) 1982 3.8 million

Italy La vita è adesso Claudio Baglioni (ITA) 1985 3.8 million

South Korea Mis-Encounter Kim Gun-mo (KOR) 1995 3.3 million

Germany Mensch Herbert Grönemeyer (DEU) 2002 3.1 million

Canada Thriller Michael Jackson (USA) 1982 2.4 million

Spain Más Alejandro Sanz (ESP) 1997 2.2 million

Australia Bat Out of Hell Meat Loaf (USA) 1977 1.7 million

MOST WEEKS AT NO.1 (SINGLE)

Territory Chart company Song Artist Year(s) Weeks

Brazil Billboard “I Want to Know What Love Is” Mariah Carey (USA) 2009–10 27

France SNEP “Happy” Pharrell Williams (USA) 2013–14 22

UK Official Charts Company “I Believe” Frankie Laine (USA) 1953 =18

Belgium Ultratop “Hello” Adele (UK) 2015–16 =18

Germany GfK Entertainment “Rivers of Babylon” Boney M (JAM/MSR/ABW) 1978 17

USA Billboard “One Sweet Day” Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men (USA) 1995–96 =16

Belgium Ultratop “Kvraagetaan” Fixkes (BEL) 2007 =16

Canada Billboard “I Gotta Feeling” The Black Eyes Peas (USA) 2009 =16

“Shape of You” Ed Sheeran (UK) 2017 =16

Australia ARIA “Shape of You” Ed Sheeran (UK) 2017 =15

Netherlands Stichting Nederlandse “Shape of You” Ed Sheeran (UK) 2017 =15

MOST AWARDS WON (AS OF 11 MAY 2017)

Award Artist Wins

Billboard Music Awards (USA) Michael Jackson (USA) 40

Grammy Awards (USA) Sir Georg Solti (UK, b. HUN) =31

Teen Choice Awards – Music (USA) One Direction (UK) =31

American Music Awards (USA) Michael Jackson (USA) 26

Juno Awards (CAN) Anne Murray (CAN) =24

MTV Video Music Awards (USA) Beyoncé (USA) =24

Country Music Association Awards (USA) George Strait (USA) 23

Latin Grammy Awards (USA) Calle 13 (PRI) 22

ARIA Music Awards (AUS) Silverchair (AUS) 21

MTV Europe Music Awards Justin Bieber (CAN) 20

BRIT Awards (UK) Robbie Williams (UK) 18

Echo Music Prize (DEU) Helene Fischer (DEU, b. RUS, right) 16

Melon Music Awards (KOR) Girls’ Generation (KOR) =13

Mnet Asian Music Awards (KOR) EXO (KOR) =13

NRJ Music Awards (FRA) M Pokora (FRA) 11

MTV Video Music Awards Japan Exile (JPN) =10

Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards – Music (USA) Selena Gomez (USA) =10

The Headies (NGA) Mode 9 (NGA) 9

Sanremo Music Festival (ITA) Domenico Modugno & Claudio Villa (both ITA) 4

THRILLER

Michael Jackson’s

1982 classic – the

best-selling album

• has been certified
  29 times platinum by
  the Recording Industry
  Association of America
  (RIAA). Thriller won
  Jackson eight Grammy
  awards at the 1984
  ceremony, including
  Album of the Year and
  Record of the Year for
  “Beat It” – the most
  Grammy awards won
  by an individual in
  one year.

MARIAH CAREY

Mariah Carey (USA) has

sung marathon chart-

toppers in both the USA

and Brazil, duetting with

R&B band Boyz II Men on

the former and covering

a 1984 Foreigner hit for

the latter. After “Vision of

Love” hit the Billboard N o.1

spot on 4 Aug 1990, Carey

went on to record the

most US No.1 singles by a

female artist. She is tied

with Elvis Presley on 18 –

only The Beatles, with 20,

have scored more.

BING CROSBY

Festive favourite “White Christmas”

was sung by Bing Crosby (USA) in the

film Holiday Inn (USA, 1942) and won an

Academy Award for Best Original Song.

It was one of four Crosby-crooned songs

to win an Oscar between 1937 and 1951 –

the most Oscar award-winning songs

sung by the same person.

*all sales figures estimated