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List of best-selling girl groups
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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A girl group is a popular music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. Girl groups have been popular at least since the heyday of the Boswell Sisters beginning in the 1930s, but the term "girl group" also denotes the wave of American female pop singing groups who flourished in the late 1950s and early 1960s between the decline of early rock and roll and the British Invasion, many of whom were influenced by doo-wop style. This article covers only girl groups from that era and later.
Sales figures records in most countries are not available before the 1990s, so it is difficult to accurately determine best-selling records, either by country or worldwide. Certification levels have been used for most countries, but certification was not common until the 1970s in the US and UK, and later in other countries. In addition, in many countries certification is for shipments of a record to retailers, rather than actual sales. Complicating matters further, the changes from 2010 onwards as certifications have become based on combined sales figures and streaming instead of sales alone.
As a result, these tables should not be considered finalized of the best-selling records by girl groups in each country.
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Best-selling girl groups worldwide
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Groups with claimed total record sales of more than 20 million:
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Best-selling girl group singles
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Worldwide
It is extremely difficult to assess worldwide sales of singles, due to the lack of auditing in many countries, and that no country officially tracked sales before the 1990s. In the second edition of The Book of Golden Discs, author Joseph Murrell calculated a worldwide sales figure of 18 million singles for Baccara's "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie",[26] but this figure is disputed and has never been officially confirmed. Other claimed worldwide sales figures for singles by girl groups are shown in the table below:
Notes:
- Sales figures obtained from certifying bodies alone
Australia
Singles certified platinum or more by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Only includes certifications since 1989, when ARIA took over compiling the Australian charts. From November 2014 onwards paid-for audio streams were included in the Australian singles chart and counted towards sales and certifications.
Certifications based on sales only
Certifications based on sales + on-demand digital streaming
Brazil
Based on certifications awarded by Pro-Música Brasil. Single certifications have only been awarded since 2008, and have included audio and video streaming from 2017 onwards.
Canada
Singles certified gold or more by the Music Canada.[77]
Certifications based on sales only
Certifications based on sales + on-demand digital streaming
Denmark
France
Certifications based on sales only
Certifications based on sales + on-demand digital streaming
Germany
Certifications based on sales only
Certifications based on sales + on-demand digital streaming
- Note: Certification levels in Germany have changed several times over the years – the certification level for a gold single was 250,000 until the end of 2002, 150,000 between 2003 and mid-2014, and 200,000 from mid-2014 onwards. These different levels are reflected in the table above.
- From January 2014 onwards, paid-for audio streams were included in the German singles chart and counted towards sales and certifications.[114]
Italy
Japan
The ten biggest-selling girl group singles in Japan based on total sales (May 2020):
- From January 2014, RIAJ changed calculation method for Detailed Sales and the Gold Record.[135]
New Zealand
Singles certified platinum or more by Recorded Music NZ. Since November 2014 certifications for singles have included streaming, and therefore cannot be compared to certifications from before this date.
Certifications based on sales only
Certifications based on sales + on-demand digital streaming
South Korea
- Prior to Gaon Music Chart establishment (pre–2010)
The Gaon Music Chart, which was later renamed the Circle Chart, was established in January 2010. As a result, there are no available official sales data for singles released prior to that time. Nevertheless, there are unofficial estimates for some earlier releases.
- Prior to certification (2010–2017)
South Korea experienced a decline in digital music sales volume which began in late 2012.[178] The price of digital downloads was greatly inflated, and as a result, no girl group songs released since 2013 have surpassed the three million sales mark.
- After certification (2018–present)
The Circle Chart stopped releasing download sales in December 2017. However, the chart began implementing record certifications in April 2018, at a level of 2,500,000 sales per Platinum level.[197] Every song released since 1 January 2018 is eligible for a certification.
Spain
Sweden
There were few certifications awarded in Sweden before 1996, so singles before this date are not represented in this list. There have been three different certification levels since 1996: from 1996 to June 2003 the gold/platinum levels for singles were 15,000/30,000, from July 2003 to September 2010 the levels were 10,000/20,000, and from October 2010 onwards, when streaming was included in the certification levels, the levels have been 20,000/40,000. The tables below reflect these changes in certification levels.
Certifications based on sales only
Certifications based on sales + on-demand digital streaming
Switzerland
United Kingdom
Since July 2014, certifications have included audio streams so they cannot be compared to sales-only certifications before this date. The ten biggest-selling girl group singles in the United Kingdom:
Physical and digital sales only (before July 2014)
Physical and digital sales + on-demand digital streaming (after July 2014)
The following singles have been certified platinum or higher by the BPI in the UK.
United States
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Sales figures of records in the US were not tracked accurately until May 1991, when Nielsen SoundScan started recording sales of singles and albums electronically at point of sale, rather than relying on figures provided to them by record store staff.[250] As a result, there are no reliable sales figures available before this date, and therefore it is not possible to rank the best-selling singles by girl groups in the US in sales order.
Since 2013 certifications have included legal on-demand digital streams – separate figures for the pure sales component of singles released after 2013 are not available so they cannot be compared to sales-only certifications before this date.
Certifications based on sales only
RIAA sales certifications began in the US in 1958 – there are very few records with certifications before this date. Until 1988 a million-seller received a gold certification (and a two million-seller received a platinum certification). From 1989 onwards the levels were revised so that a million-seller received a platinum certification instead, with multi-platinum awards for multiple million sales.[251][252] However, these pre- and post-1989 certification levels are not currently reflected in the RIAA database.
The following singles have been certified by RIAA as selling one million copies or more in the US.
In addition, the following singles have been stated as selling one million copies or more in the US – however, they have not been certified by the RIAA.
Certifications based on sales + on-demand digital streaming
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Best-selling girl group albums
See also
Notes
References
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