Song
Quiz

Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" (1942) is widely considered the best-selling physical single of all time, with estimated sales exceeding 50 million copies globally. In the streaming era, songs like Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You" and Luis Fonsi's "Despacito" have broken streaming records, but in combined sales plus streams, recent contenders include Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You."

Mariah Carey holds the record for most weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 as a solo artist. "One Sweet Day" (with Boyz II Men) held the top spot for 16 weeks, and "We Belong Together" spent 14 weeks at #1. In total weeks at #1, she remains one of the most successful chart acts in history.

The very first music video aired on MTV when the channel launched on August 1, 1981 was "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles. It was played at 12:01 AM as a symbolic statement about the new music television era. MTV went on to revolutionize the music industry by making visual presentation a core part of an artist's brand.

The Beatles are generally considered the best-selling music act of all time, with certified sales of over 600 million units worldwide. Among solo artists, Elvis Presley (500 million+) and Michael Jackson (350–400 million) rank among the top. Estimates vary depending on methodology (certified vs estimated sales) and territory, but these three names consistently top the charts.

The Billboard Hot 100 is the music industry standard chart in the United States, ranking the top 100 songs based on a combination of airplay (radio audience impressions), streaming data (audio and video), and sales data. It was introduced in August 1958 and is published weekly by Billboard magazine. A song's chart position reflects its popularity across all three metrics.