Black Eyed Peas: "I Gotta Feeling" tops the 8 million mark
The Black Eyed Peas' 2009 smash "I Gotta Feeling" this week becomes the first song in digital history to top the 8 million sales mark in U.S. sales.
To find the last song that has sold 8 million or more copies in the U.S. you have to go back to the pre-digital era for Elton John's "Candle In The Wind 1997," which he recorded in the wake of Princess Diana's shocking death on Aug. 31, 1999. The song, which was double-listed with "Something About The Way You Look Tonight," has sold 8,839,000 physical singles, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Both of these smashes topped the Hot 100 for 14 weeks. (They are two of only seven songs to hang on to the top spot that long since 1955.) Both artists won "performance Grammys" for these songs. Elton won for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. The Peas won for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals.
"I Gotta Feeling" was also the first song in digital history to sell 6 million copies (it reached that threshold in July 2010) and the first to sell 7 million copies (it hit that mark in March 2011).
The Peas also had the first song in digital history to sell 500K copies. "Let's Get It Started" reached that level in February 2005.
Here are the other songs that made digital history by becoming the first to reach various other thresholds. 1 million: Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" (Oct. 9, 2005). 2 million: Daniel Powter's "Bad Day" (Dec. 31, 2006). 3 million: Soldier Boy Tell 'Em's "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" (June 29, 2008). 4 million and 5 million: "Low" by Flo Rida featuring T-Pain (June 28, 2008 and June 21, 2009).
Here are the other songs that made digital history by becoming the first to reach various other thresholds. 1 million: Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" (Oct. 9, 2005)
This song is only second to "Candle In The Wind 1997" in term of sales?
VERY impressive!
