Madonna 'Biggest Selling UK Singles Artist Ever'

Madonna has been named as the biggest-selling female artist in the history of the Official UK Singles Chart.
The veteran pop star, who first charted with Holiday back in 1984, has sold a total of 17.8 million singles in the last 28 years.
But while Rihanna is a fair way behind her in second spot with a total of 11.4m singles sold, she has managed to do that in just seven years.
And RiRi has sold three million singles in the last year alone - leading to speculation that she could be in the No 1 spot herself before too long.
Kylie Minogue was in third spot with 10.2m singles and Whitney Houston was fourth with 8.5m. Lady GaGa rounded out the top five with 7.3m.
The data was provided by The Official Charts Company, and here is the top 10 in full...

1. Madonna (17.8m)
2. Rihanna (11.4m)
3. Kylie Minogue (10.2m)
4. Whitney Houston (8.5m)
5. Lady GaGa (7.329m)
6. Britney Spears (7.324m)
7. Beyoncé (6.9m)
8. Celine Dion (6.7m)
9. Mariah Carey (6.62m)
10. Olivia Newton John (6.61m)

From MTV.co.uk

Comments

[Lou]

I would love M to duet with Cyndia Lauper. Two 80s icons with very compatible voices. Also, Cyndi's "Bring Ya to the Brink" is the album that M should have recorded after "Confessions"... amazing album!

[Madgey_GaGa]

It is no surprise to me that Olivia is in the Top Ten - after all, her three singles from Grease sold not far short of four million in the UK alone! As for Janet Jackson, she has never had huge singles sales in the UK, so no surprise she is not on the list.

[Brisker2]

@ngl: the only M collaboration I like is Be Careful, with Ricky Martin.

[Anna]

ngl: American Pie is never listed as a collaboration. Everett sings a little at the end and is in the video. Since he is off M's Christmas card list, don't imagine she considers it a collaboration, either.

[ngl]

@Brisker2- Madonna has made a number of great collaborations IMPO, '4 Minutes' with JT (Madonna's last BIG HIT SINGLE), 'American Pie' with Rupert E, 'Me Against The Music' with Britney, 'Take A Bow' with Babyface...didn't you like any of these songs? Each to their own! Madonna hasn't done that many duets in her career. I recently read an article where Rihanna cited Madonna as a huge influence/ inspiration,I just thought a duet would be interesting and Rihanna is the queen of duets! @Andrea- I agree with you about Olivia, she hasn't had a hit single since 'Physical' in 1982! Olivia was big in the late 70's/ very early 80's- but that was decades ago & only for a brief period, and yet she makes the top 10! Some of these sales figures sound a little mysterious to me, where's Janet Jackson? Anyway at least Madonna is at Number 1!

[Andrea]

Agree with Lisa - you cannot make these comparisons. However, I do agree with one thing: the longevity factor, ie M has been around much longer as a truly active artiste far longer (e.g. Whilst ONJ still records and tours, she hasn't had a hit in years).

However, what is of even more interest to me as a major M fan is that she is one of only a couple in the list who has not had a million-seller in the UK! Now that really does amaze me!

[Lisa]

@RC: yes and no. Back when ou cite (1985), there was no digital delivery so physical was the only medium. As such, personally, I don't think you can back-adjust in that way, since buying habits back then were buying habits, ie if you wanted an album or single, you KNEW you had to go out and buy it. Just mho.

[Brisker2]

Madonna and Rihanna together would be as truly dreadful as any of Madonna's other collaborations. M's voice does not fare well in collaborations!

[RC]

Well, I truly think this data may be a little misleading. I think many of RiRi's and Gaga's singles sales are in digital form, which yes, could count as a "single" but it's hard to draw a fair analogy since most of Madonna's, Kylie's sales were via physical media in the 1980's and 1990's - when you literally had to invest time and effort in going to the store to purchase the single on CD or cassette. The fact that Rihanna moved 3-million singles alone last year is proof that these are in the digital domain. I just don't think it's the same. What would Kylie and M's single sales have looked like if this sort of technology was available in their heyday? I remember when "Like a Virgin" was selling 75,000 copies a day back in 1985 at the height of Madonna mania. What would this look like via digital delivery in 2012? One can only guess.....

[ngl]

Madonna's Number 1 place on the UK singles sales chart comes as no surprise, well done Madonna! What does come as a HUGE surprise is Kylie Minogue's Number 3 placing,she has sold significantly less singles than Madonna yet the press always carry on about her success in the UK & here in Oz! Rihanna at number 2 is surprising too, she has been around for less than a decade & has outsold Kylie that has been around for 25 years! A Madonna & Rihanna duet would produce interesting results, they both have such strong & unique energy- imagine if that was mixed together!