These Beautiful Streams
The record was the best-selling single of the year across all digital formats including streaming and downloads
Popular music took on a number of different shapes in 2024. Shaboozey poured up a few double shots of whiskey for country, Kendrick Lamar took hating in hip-hop to new heights, and Sabrina Carpenter was hopped up on that main pop girl espresso, to name a few. But it was Benson Boone‘s “Beautiful Things,” an ode to the traditional pop-rock format, that was the top-selling song of the year across digital formats, including streaming and downloads with an equivalent of 2.11 billion global subscription streams.
Boone was presented the 2024 IFPI Global Single Award for his breakthrough track, which appears on his album Fireworks & Rollerblades. “As a global breakout artist, this is an amazing achievement to produce a truly worldwide hit,” IFPI CEO Victoria Oakley shared in a statement. Boone recently performed “Beautiful Things” at the 2025 Grammy Awards, where he was nominated for Best New Artist. The single currently had more than 1.8 billion streams on Spotify, which counted towards the sales total along with other paid subscription streaming, ad-supported platforms, and single-track downloads.
Trailing Boone on the 2024 IFPI Global Single Chart are Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” with 1.79 billion equivalent streams, Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control” with 1.70 billion, Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather” with 1.52 billion, Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy) with 1.51, and more. Releases from Hozier, Post Malone, Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift, and Noah Kahan round out the top 10.
Next month, Boone will take the stage at Austin’s ACL Live at the Moody Theater for Rolling Stone’s third annual Future of Music showcase, presented by JBL. He will lead night one with additional appearances from singer-songwriter Hannah Bahng, Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Laila!, and British indie-rock act jasmine.4.t.
