Biggest selling global single of the year announced
Pop star Miley Cyrus has been awarded the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry’s (IFPI) Global Single Award for her track Flowers.
The award is presented annually to the artist with the world’s best-selling single of the year across all digital formats from the organisation that represents the recorded music industry worldwide.
Cyrus’ hit song, released in January 2023, scooped the record of the year at the Grammys this year as well as the best solo pop performance.
As well as this, in 2023 the chart-topping track was named the longest running number one single in the UK by a female solo artist this decade so far by the Official Charts Company, following 10 weeks at the top.
Harry Styles’ As It Was was had been named the biggest selling single of the year for 2022 and the track now features at number five on the IFPI’s 2023 Global Singles Chart.
Taylor Swift, who was previously announced as IFPI’s Global Recording Artist of the Year, features in the chart’s top 10 twice with Cruel Summer reaching number seven and Anti-Hero placed at number nine.
Rema’s Calm Down with Selena Gomez has become the second best-selling single of the year while Yng Lvcas and Peso Pluma’s La Bebe comes in at number six, highlighting the global rise in the popularity of afrobeat.
In at number three on the chart is Kill Bill by pop singer SZA, who took home three Grammys this year, while Die For You by The Weeknd and Ariana Grande has come in at number four.
Overall, artists of 10 different nationalities spanning five continents have been represented in the IFPI’s Global Singles Chart’s top 20.
Lewis Morrison, director of global charts and certifications at IFPI, said: “We are delighted to present the IFPI Global Single Award to Miley Cyrus, who produced the song of 2023 with Flowers.
“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.”
Cyrus, 31, who found fame on the hit Disney show Hannah Montana, has had three chart-topping singles in the UK, with We Can’t Stop and Wrecking Ball reaching number one before Flowers.
Following on from her debut album Meet Miley Cyrus in 2007 the American singer reinvented her look and sound for 2010 album Can’t Be Tamed, later coming out with Bangerz in 2013, which peaked at number one in the UK charts.
Her latest album Endless Summer Vacation, featuring her chart-topping breakup anthem Flowers, also peaked at number one following its release in 2023.