Candle in The Wind 1997 - Chart Performance

Chart Performance

"Candle in the Wind" was expected to debut high on the charts, partly due to its tribute to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. It became the fastest-selling single in the UK, selling 658,000 copies in its first day of release, and over 1.5 million copies in its first week. The single remained at number one for 5 weeks, and it eventually sold 4.9 million copies in the UK, overtaking the 13-year-old record held by Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?". It has been certified as the best-selling single of all time in the UK.

The chart success in the United States was similar. Released on 22 September 1997, "Candle in the Wind" debuted at number one on the Billboard 100, with first week sales at 3.5 million copies. The album/single stayed at the top of the charts for 14 consecutive weeks, a record for a male solo artist. The best-selling single in Billboard history, and the only single ever certified Diamond in the United States, the single sold over 11 million copies in the U.S. In terms of certified sales it went on to become "the best-selling single of all time" with 33 million copies sold, while according to estimations from other sources it is the second best-selling single worldwide of all time.

There has been some confusion and considerable debate on whether John's record is or is not the best-selling single in the world, due to a lack of information on sales for the record's main contender for the number-one spot, Bing Crosby's recording of "White Christmas," because Crosby's recording was released before the advent of the modern-day US and UK singles charts. However, after careful research, Guinness World Records in 2007 concluded that, worldwide, Crosby's recording of "White Christmas" has, in their estimation, sold at least 50 million copies, and that John's recording of "Candle in the Wind" has sold 33 million, making Crosby's recording the best-selling single of all time. However, an update in the 2009 edition of the book decided to further help settle the controversy amicably by naming both John's and Crosby's songs to be "winners" by stating that John's recording is the "best-selling single since UK and US singles charts began in the 1950s," while maintaining that "the best-selling single of all time was released before the first pop charts," and that this distinction belongs to "White Christmas," which it says "was listed as the world's best-selling single in the first-ever Guinness Book of Records (published in 1955) and – remarkably – still retains the title more than 50 years later."

In Canada, "Candle in the Wind 1997" spent three years in the top 20, with 46 non-consecutive weeks at the top spot. However, the song's unusual chart performance in Canada has also been explained as a structural factor; due to the relative lack of CD singles available for sale in Canadian stores. In Germany, the song is the 8th best selling pop hymn ever. Having spent six weeks at number one on the ARIA Charts, "Candle in the Wind 1997" is the all-time best-selling single in Australia, and is certified 14 times platinum with 56 weeks in the Top 100. According to Musiikkituottajat, the Finnish music industry federation, "Candle in the Wind 1997" is the best-selling single of all time in Finland, with platinum-sales of over 54,000 copies to date.

It is estimated that at the peak of sales, almost six copies of the single were sold per second. In the UK, the single grabbed the number one slot on the first day of its release, with more than 650,000 copies sold in 24 hours, becoming the fastest-selling record of all time in the UK charts. All artist and composer royalties and record company profits were donated to the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund.