So Candle in the Wind is close to having sold 5 million copies (4,910,000) with only Band Aid anywhere near (3,730,000). So do you think any single will ever beat Candle in the Wind with even the most popular songs now lucky to get to 1.5 million. I thin perhaps if they re released band aid with new celebrities on it perhaps they could get close

Even if they did a new version of Band Aid, it shouldn't be added to the original version anyway.

The original Band Aid song sells about 50k copies a year amiright? So it would take 24 years to beat the sales of Candle In The Wind, and that's not taking into account that CITW will be selling in those 24 years too, and the fact that Band Aid may get less popular as time goes on.

 

So if Band Aid ever do outsell Candle it will be a very long time before that happens. And as single sales are falling and the biggest selling songs of the decade aren't doing more than 1.5m let alone 4.9m, I can't imagine that anything new will be a contender.

Nope never gonna happen, especially as it would seem sales are starting to peak - and presumably start to fall at some point in the next couple of years as streaming becomes more and more popular.

I don't think it can be COMPLETELY ruled out (I'm sure before 2011 literally no one would have said that year would produce one of the top 5 best selling albums of all time) but it is extremely unlikely to happen at least any time soon. Christmas songs could wear down its lead very gradually if they continue to be popular every year but even Band Aid would, as pointed out above, take well over 20 years to achieve that.

I think it's similar to Thriller in the worldwide album sales stakes. Unless the singles market absolutely spikes (even to like, 3x its current levels), nothing should ever get close to 'Candle in the Wind'.

It requires "perfect" conditions:

 

Somebody everybody loves dies related to

a song that everyone can relate to

by a popular artist whose music everyone can listen to no matter what age, sex, social background etc.

AND everybody is consuming music in 1 format which requires that one buys a song.

 

+ one word: charity.

 

 

Edited October 5, 201311 yr by SKOB

No way it would be outsold... unless probably the conditions SKOB mentioned was fulfilled but chances for the song to be outsold should still be thin like a hair. Who knows though maybe in about 30 years time, the Band Aid track has done it.

 

And how much does CITW sell each year by the way?

Yeah there would have to be some kind of mass public hysteria behind a charity record for something to sell in those volumes.

I would say unlikely but of course before 1997 we never thought a single would ever sell that much (at least I didn't) so you can never say never.

So an Adele / Emeli Sande duet following the death of the queen.

So an Adele / Emeli Sande duet following the death of the queen.

With a guest rap from 2 Chainz.

So an Adele / Emeli Sande duet following the death of the queen.

It has to be tragic though. Her passing peacefully of old age won't generate anything like the sympathy Diana got.

It has to be tragic though. Her passing peacefully of old age won't generate anything like the sympathy Diana got.

Will falling into Philip's grave at his funeral do?

I can't imagine an event that would spark a song selling that happening in the near future.

Diana was the most famous person on the planet at the time, arguably the most famous person ever. Nobody has anything like that level of fame today. Perhaps the only way it could ever be beaten is by a charity record in response to some unimaginable disaster in this country ocurring, tens of thousands or more killed. But beyond a terrorist attack, it's difficult to see that happening.

Edited October 5, 201311 yr by Col1967

With a guest rap from 2 Chainz.

And produced by Calvin Harris (naturally)

I would say unlikely but of course before 1997 we never thought a single would ever sell that much (at least I didn't) so you can never say never.

I think this post says it all. It's a bit like before the invention of planes no one ever imagined 6 tonnes of metal would be able to fly through the sky. So yeah basically, never say never.

Diana was the most famous person on the planet at the time, arguably the most famous person ever. Nobody has anything like that level of fame today. Perhaps the only way it could ever be beaten is by a charity record in response to some unimaginable disaster in this country ocurring, tens of thousands or more killed. But beyond a terrorist attack, it's difficult to see that happening.

The Queen was even mentioned in this thread yet you think Diana was the "most famous person ever"? Okay.

 

I struggle to see how it could happen given how accessible music is without the need to buy it these days, but never say never. A terrorist attack seems most likely.

Well, if there was ever another Band Aid single (and next year, there could well be one given its the 30th anniversary of the first one), it could give it a boost beyond the normal minimal Christmas surge, but it wouldn't be much. And of course, the death of the Queen/commemorations of Diana's death (not including terrible movies of course) or similar situations would at least spark a little surge of buying for Candle..., so I don't really think either will ever stop selling totally. Band Aid does sell more these days, but given how far Candle... is ahead.

 

I would love to be proven wrong somehow though. Schmaltzy rubbish (though I don't mind the original)

Edited October 5, 201311 yr by Chez Wombat