Gotye’s ‘Somebody’ is the single we know the best
December 26, 2012 12:52PM
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Updated: January 31, 2013 6:18AM
This year seems to have had more than its share of inescapable hits, but one has been more omnipresent than the rest.
Gotye’s persistently slinky “Somebody That I Used to Know” is shaping up to be 2012’s biggest single, both in terms of sales and airplay.
According to Nielsen SoundScan, “Somebody That I Used to Know” has sold 6.7 million downloads, 2012’s top total by nearly half a million. Carly Rae Jepsen’s coquettish “Call Me Maybe” is the only other track to sell more than 6 million copies so far this year, with 6.3 million downloads.
Rounding out the top five sellers year-to-date are fun.’s “We Are Young” (5.8 million), Maroon 5’s “Payphone” (4.6 million) and Nicki Minaj’s “Starships” (3.9 million).
How much did radio play “Somebody That I Used to Know?” If you put all of the song’s U.S. spins onto one station that played nothing else starting Jan. 1, 2012, it would still be repeating the record well into 2017.
Gannett News Service
