Tones And I’s ‘Dance Monkey’ the biggest single in 2019 by a non-American artist: IFPI

It’s official: Tones And I hit the world for six last year with her breakout track ‘Dance Monkey.’

The former-busker-turned-chart breaker comes in at No. 6 on the IFPI’s Top 10 Global Digital Singles 2019, making her the highest-ranked artist from outside America to impact the list.

After its release in May 2019, ‘Dance Monkey’ turned into a monster.

By November, it had sped past one billion streams, and the tune went on to amass a record-setting 24 weeks at No. 1 on the ARIA Singles Chart, and 11 weeks at No. 1 in the U.K., a high-mark for a solo female artist. Its music video has punched past three-quarters of a billion views on YouTube.

Watch Tones And I’s ‘Dance Monkey’:

All told, ‘Dance Monkey’ reached No. 1 in at least 30 countries, went top 5 in the U.S., its recognised as the most-“Shazamed” song of all time and is now the longest-ever No. 1 song on the Spotify global chart.

During the last calendar year, ‘Dance Monkey’ generated 11.4 million chart equivalent sales, the IFPI reports, a least a million more than hits by Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Lewis Capaldi, and Halsey.

Tones flies high on a global list that has a strong female presence, led by Billie Eilish’s all-conquering ‘Bad Guy.’ Duh.

Eilish’s standout topped charts in more than 15 countries, including the U.S. and Australia, and bagged Eilish the coveted record and song of the year categories at the 2020 Grammy Awards, making her the youngest artist to win the latter category.

Watch Billie Eilish’s ‘Bad Guy’:

Now aged 18, she’s since become the youngest artist to record the James Bond theme, with the title track to ‘No Time to Die’.

“Billie Eilish has taken the world by storm with her incredible voice and genre-defying sound,” says Frances Moore, chief executive of IFPI, the organisation that represents the recorded music industry worldwide.

According to the IFPI, ‘Bad Guy’ ruled the year in music with 19.5 million converted track equivalent units.

“She is also an artist who addresses important issues like mental health in her lyrics that clearly resonate with her fans all over the world. We wish her success for what will no doubt be another standout year.”

IFPI CEO Frances Moore presents Billie Eilish with the IFPI award for biggest global single of 2019

Female artists rule

No less than six females appear on this list as lead or guest singers (Eilish, Camila Cabello, Ariana Grande, Tones, Lady Gaga and Halsey).

Just a handful of “internationals” get the nod: Canadian Shawn Mendes and Cuban Camila Cabello, Tones, Ed Sheeran (at No. 7 with the Justin Bieber collaboration ‘I Don’t Care’) and Lewis Capaldi (No. 9 with ‘Somone You Loved’).

The Global Digital Singles Chart is said to be the only ranking to “accurately measure” consumption across audio streaming, video streaming and permanent downloads on a worldwide basis.

It’s the second time this year the IFPI has hit us with a list of superstar recording artists after its Global Recording Artist of the Year 2019, led by Taylor Swift.

Top 10 Global Digital Singles 2019
1. Billie Eilish, ‘bad guy’
2. Lil Nas X, ‘Old Town Road’
3. Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello, ‘Señorita’
4. Post Malone, SwaeLee, ‘Sunflower’
5. Ariana Grande, ‘7 rings’
6. Tones and I, ‘Dance Monkey’
7. Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber, ‘I Don’t Care’
8. Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, ‘Shallow’
9. Lewis Capaldi, ‘Someone You Loved’
10. Halsey, ‘Without Me’

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.