Havana by Camila Cabello (featuring Young Thug) is named best-selling digital single of 2018 by IFPI, the organisation that represents the recorded music industry worldwide.
Released in 2017, Havana is the lead track from Cuban-American singer Camila Cabello’s eponymous debut solo album. Drawing on influences from Cabello’s Cuban heritage, the track, and the subsequent remix version with Spanish lyrics from Daddy Yankee, reached number one in 95 countries, rocketing Cabello to global solo success. In June 2018, Havana became Spotify’s most-streamed song ever by a solo female artist with 888 million streams. It has now been streamed over 2.6 billion times in total worldwide.
Frances Moore, chief executive of IFPI, said, “Havana truly was the stand-out hit of the year. Momentum behind the track continued to build and build at an extraordinary rate as it consistently topped charts and leading playlists. Camila Cabello is a perfect example of an artist who has drawn on her musical roots to produce her own unique sound that is capturing the hearts of fans all over the world.”
The second best-selling single, God’s Plan by Drake, released in January 2018. is from his album Scorpion and broke multiple global streaming records upon release, including first-day streaming records on both Spotify and Apple Music. On Apple Music the track reached over 14 million streams in its first day and more than 60 million within its first week of release.
Shape of You by Ed Sheeran was the third best-selling single of 2018, maintaining a strong chart position since the track took the number one spot in 2017. It was the lead single from Sheeran’s global smash album ÷ and reached number one in multiple countries.
Top 10 Global Digital Singles 2018
| Rank | Artist and song title | Global total converted track equivalent (m) |
| 1 | Camila Cabello (feat. Young Thug) – Havana | 19.0m |
| 2 | Drake – God’s Plan | 15.3m |
| 3 | Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You | 14.9m |
| 4 | Ed Sheeran – Perfect | 13.5m |
| 5 | Maroon 5 (feat. Cardi B) – Girls Like You | 11.9m |
| 6 | Luis Fonsi (feat. Daddy Yankee) – Despacito | 11.8m |
| 7 | Tia Ray – Be Apart | 10.9m |
| 8 | The Chainsmokers & Coldplay – Something Just Like This | 10.0m |
| 9 | Marshmello & Anne-Marie – FRIENDS | 9.6m |
| 10 | Post Malone (feat. Ty Dolla $ign) – Psycho | 9.2m |
(source: IFPI)
