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 late 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 are the changes from 2010 onwards as certifications have become based on a combined figure of sales and streaming, instead of sales alone.
As a result, these tables should not be considered definitive lists of the best-selling records by girl groups in each country.
Best-selling girl groups worldwide
Groups with claimed total record sales of more than 20 million.
Notes:
- Accurate total sales of the Supremes records are unknown â€" estimates range from 20 million records up to 100 million records.
Best-selling girl group singles
Worldwide
It is extremely difficult to obtain worldwide sales figures for singles due to the lack of verifiable sales reporting in many countries. The best-selling single of all time by a female group is thought to be the 1996 hit "Wannabe" by British group Spice Girls, with estimated sales of 8 million copies worldwide.
Other best-selling singles worldwide by girl groups include "The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" by Las Ketchup (7 million), and "Don't Cha" by the Pussycat Dolls (6 million).
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
France
The biggest-selling single in France by a girl group is believed to be "The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" by Spanish girl group Las Ketchup, with estimated sales of 1,750,000.
Singles certified diamond (750,000 sales) based on sales only
Singles certified gold (250,000 sales) 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 â€" 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.
Japan
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
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 paid-for audio streams so they cannot be compared to sales-only certifications before this date.
Physical and digital sales only (before July 2014)
Physical and digital sales + on-demand digital streaming (after July 2014)
United States
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. 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 â€" 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 â€" 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. 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 â€" however, they have not been certified by the RIAA.
Certifications based on sales + on-demand digital streaming
Best-selling girl group albums
Worldwide
Australia
Albums certified platinum or more by ARIA. Only includes certifications since 1997.
Brazil
Certifications according to ABPD. Some of the certification thresholds have changed depending on the amount of sales sold. Check the ABPD for more certifications.
Canada
Certifications according to Music Canada.
Europe
Albums certified platinum or more for more than one million sales in Europe, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
Note: the IFPI Europe Platinum Award was only created in 1996, therefore there are few albums on this list from before that date. No awards are publicly available after 2014.
Germany
Certifications according to the IFPI.
Japan
Sales according to Oricon and Platinum certifications according to the RIAJ.
Netherlands
Certifications according to the NVPI.
South Korea
Sales according to Gaon Chart and the Recording Industry Association of Korea.
Switzerland
Certifications according to the IFPI.
United Kingdom
Albums certified triple platinum or more by the BPI.
United States
Albums certified platinum or more by the RIAA. The sales figures shown for the quadruple and triple platinum albums are sales recorded by Nielsen SoundScan plus known sales from BMG's Music Club. These do not represent the total sales of the album in the US as they exclude unknown sales figures from Columbia House and other music clubs.
Taiwan
See also
- List of best-selling boy bands
- List of best-selling music artists
- List of best-selling singles
- List of best-selling albums
- List of girl groups
References
