The best-selling single by a female artist in music history is Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You," from The Bodyguard soundtrack (1992), recognized as one of the best-selling singles of all time, with estimated sales exceeding 20 million copies globally, and holding records for its massive success in the US and worldwide charts.
Top Selling Singles of All Time by Solo Female Artists: 1. "I Will Always Love You" - Whitney Houston (20 million) 2. "My Heart Will Go On" - Celine Dion (18 million) 3. "All I Want for Christmas Is You" - Mariah Carey (16 million)
According to Guinness World Records, Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" (1942) is the best-selling single worldwide, with estimated sales of over 50 million copies.
Taylor Swift has surpassed Madonna to claim the title of best-selling female artist of all time in ChartMasters' global all-time ranking. The update places Swift fifth overall among all artists, just behind The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, and Queen.
Taylor Swift has just become the best-selling female artist of all time, surpassing Madonna! Thanks to her newest hit album “The Life of a Showgirl” which has become her biggest album debut ever!
1. Madonna. The remarkable, hyper-ambitious Material Girl who never stops re-inventing herself, Madonna has sold over three hundred million records and CDs to adoring fans worldwide. Her film career, however, is another story.
Yes, Taylor Swift is currently estimated to be richer than Beyoncé, with Forbes reporting Swift's net worth at approximately $1.6 billion in late 2024/early 2025, largely from her Eras Tour and music catalog, while Beyoncé's net worth is estimated around $700-$800 million, though she recently crossed the billionaire threshold. Swift became the first musician to reach billionaire status solely from her music and performances, surpassing Beyoncé's wealth.
Who is the most successful artist of all time?
The calculation of Swift's wealth put her at #2,117 on the Forbes list of the world's billionaires, ahead of such fellow female icons as Dolly Parton ($450 million), Barbra Streisand ($460 M), Celine Dion ($550 M), Beyoncé ($760 M), Madonna ($850 M) and Rihanna ($1.4 billion).
They explain, "Taylor isn't just popular — she's engineered an entirely new era of fan-driven music culture," adding, "More people may know who she is now, but Michael Jackson is still bigger in cultural footprint."
Taylor Swift is the highest-grossing live music artist of all time, collecting $3 billion according to Pollstar. U2, Coldplay, Bruce Springsteen, and Elton John also passed two-billion mark in concert revenue.
The "number one played song in the world" depends on the metric: The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights" is the most-streamed song ever on Spotify (over 5.231 billion streams), while Djo's "End of Beginning" was a top global song recently on Spotify; historically, Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" is the best-selling single of all time, and Elton John's "Candle in the Wind 1997" / "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" is the biggest-selling single since charts began, but in terms of current global popularity, it's a rotating list with many contenders.
Garth Brooks is the artist with nine diamond-certified albums, a record for album sales (10 million+ units each), though Drake now leads in total Diamond certifications (albums and singles combined) with over 10, followed by Post Malone for singles. Brooks' nine diamond albums include classics like Double Live, The Ultimate Hits, and In Pieces, making him the sole artist with this many album awards from the RIAA.
Taylor Swift has officially become the richest female musician, surpassing Rihanna with a net worth of $1.6 billion. This achievement comes largely from her successful "Eras Tour" and the continued popularity of her music catalog.
Progression of most weeks at number one
Songs that tied the current record at a given time are noted below the table. The current record holder is "All I Want For Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey at 22 weeks, and the longest record held is "One Sweet Day" by Carey and Boyz II Men with 8,554 days. Ref.
Yes, Kim Kardashian is generally considered richer than Taylor Swift, though both are billionaires, with Kardashian often leading due to her successful businesses like SKIMS, while Swift's wealth comes from music, tours (like The Eras Tour), and films. Recent reports (late 2025) place Kardashian's net worth around $1.9 billion, slightly ahead of Swift's $1.6 billion, though these figures fluctuate.
The richest singer of all time is generally considered to be Jay-Z, with estimated net worths reaching billions, primarily from his music, record labels (Roc-A-Fella), fashion (Rocawear), and significant investments in alcohol brands (D'usse, Ace of Spades) and tech companies like Uber. Other music billionaires include Taylor Swift and Rihanna, while Paul McCartney is the wealthiest British musician, but Jay-Z consistently leads lists of the world's richest musicians due to his diverse business empire.
Swift, having sold over 200 million albums, then eclipsed even Gaga, having become a billionaire and won fourteen Grammy Awards, an Emmy Award, forty American Music Awards, thirty-nine Billboard Music Awards, a hundred and eighteen Guinness World Records, twenty-three MTV Video Awards, twelve Country Music Awards and ...
Over the course of Elvis' life, he achieved some of the highest accolades in music and film. It is estimated that more than one billion Elvis records have been sold worldwide, more than anyone in record industry history.
Through his songs, concerts, and fashion, he proliferated visual performance for artists in popular music, popularizing street dance moves such as the moonwalk, the robot, and the anti-gravity lean. Jackson is often deemed the greatest entertainer of all time.
As to be expected, due to his far greater number of total chart entries, Elvis has the advantage over The Beatles in most performance categories. Presley placed 102 titles in Billboard's top 40, while The Beatles had 50 entries that made it that far up the chart. In the top 20, Elvis had 61 songs and The Beatles 37.
Elon Musk on track to become first trillionaire.
Forbes' latest list of America's Richest Women Celebrities features Oprah Winfrey at the top with a net worth of $3.1 billion, followed by Kim Kardashian at $1.7 billion and Taylor Swift at $1.6 billion.
Swift and Cyrus have been friends since they were teenagers and were most recently seen supporting one another at the 2024 Grammys. Cyrus won two Grammys last year: Record Of The Year for “Flowers” and Best Pop Solo Performance.