Miley Cyrus’ Flowers Confirmed by IFPI as Biggest-Selling Global Single of the Year

26 February 2024 - Press release

Flowers tops IFPI Global Single Chart

 

IFPI, the organisation that represents the recorded music industry worldwide, has announced that Flowers by Miley Cyrus is the winner of the IFPI Global Single Award for 2023.

The IFPI Global Single Award is presented to the artist with the world’s best-selling single of the year across all digital formats – including paid subscription streaming, ad-supported platforms, and single-track downloads.

Miley Cyrus’ Flowers took the #1 spot in this year’s IFPI Global Single Chart, her first appearance in an IFPI Global Chart Top 10. The double Grammy Award-winning song, released in January 2023, hit #1 simultaneously in 29 markets around the world and finished the year at the top of the 2023 charts in markets including the UK, France and Australia.

The Top 10 also saw first ever IFPI Global Chart appearances for artists from Nigeria (with Rema’s Calm Down with Selena Gomez at #2) and Mexico (with Yng Lvcas and Peso Pluma’sLa Bebe at #6), reflecting the global rise of the Afrobeats and Regional Mexican genres in 2023.

Morgan Wallen’s Last Night, which topped the year-end charts in the USA, reached #8 in the chart, while last year’s IFPI #1 Global Single, As It Was by Harry Styles, was #5.

IFPI Global Recording Artist of the Year, Taylor Swift, featured twice in the Top 10, with Anti-Hero, the lead single from Midnights, reaching #9 and Cruel Summer, from 2019’s Lover, at #7 following a resurgence in popularity thanks to her record-breaking Eras tour.

The Weeknd’s Die For You reached #4, becoming the third track from the artist to reach the IFPI Global Single Chart Top 5, after previous #1s Blinding Lights and Save Your Tears.

Outside the Top 10, Tom Odell’s Another Love reached #18 more than 10 years after its release and YOASOBI’s IDOL, the theme song from Anime series Oshi No Ko, reached #19, showcasing the power of streaming to drive music discovery and rediscovery.

Overall, artists of 10 different nationalities spanning five continents (Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, South Korea, UK, and US) were represented in the Top 20, up from six nationalities in 2022. 

Lewis Morrison, Director of Global Charts & Certifications at IFPI, says: “We are delighted to present the IFPI Global Single Award to Miley Cyrus, who produced the song of 2023 withFlowers. Topping the charts in so many countries simultaneously, the song - along with its message of empowerment -resonated across the world and is the definition of a truly global hit. Congratulations to Miley and her team for this incredible achievement.

“It is also fantastic to see so many nationalities and genres represented in the IFPI Global Single Chart. It is a wonderful reflection of the wide range of extraordinary artists that - working in partnership with their record labels - are finding international success.”

 

About the IFPI Global Charts
IFPI’s Global Charts provide the most complete picture of artist, album and track performance worldwide. The Charts capture streaming, downloads and physical formats in every country directly from the participating record labels, which is then converted using IFPI’s unique methodology to a single, global chart figure.  The methodology, developed in partnership with IFPI’s member record labels, reflects global commercial success by combining the most exhaustive reporting of unit sales and streams with the country-level economics of each consumption type.

 

Top 20 IFPI Global Singles Chart 2023

Position	Artist	Track	Global subscription streams equivalent (billions)
1	Miley Cyrus	Flowers	2.70
2	Rema, Selena Gomez	Calm Down	1.89
3	SZA	Kill Bill	1.84
4	The Weeknd, Ariana Grande	Die For You	1.78
5	Harry Styles	As It Was	1.46
6	Yng Lvcas, Peso Pluma	La Bebe	1.45
7	Taylor Swift	Cruel Summer	1.39
8	Morgan Wallen	Last Night	1.37
9	Taylor Swift	Anti-Hero	1.31
10	Jung Kook	Seven (feat. Latto)	1.24
11	David Guetta, Bebe Rexha	I'm Good (Blue)	1.23
12	Metro Boomin, The Weeknd, 21 Savage	Creepin'	1.20
13	The Weeknd	Save Your Tears	1.19
14	Stephen Sanchez	Until I Found You	1.18
15	Karol G, Shakira	TQG	1.18
16	Sam Smith, Kim Petras	Unholy	1.17
17	SZA	Snooze	1.06
18	Tom Odell	Another Love	1.01
19	YOASOBI	Idol	1.01
20	The Weeknd	Starboy	1.00

(source: IFPI)