RosΓ© scored the biggest hit of the year with her Bruno Mars collaboration APT
KPop stars delivered the world’s most popular songs of 2025, new music industry figures show.
Blackpink singer RosΓ© scored the year’s biggest worldwide hit, with her Bruno Mars collaboration APT notching up more than two billion streams.
It is the first time a song featuring non-English lyrics has topped the annual global chart published by industry body the IFPI.
The year’s second biggest hit of 2025 was Golden, performed by Huntr/x, the animated girl group from Netflix smash KPop Demon Hunters.
The huge success of APT also marks the first time the IFPI chart has been topped by an artist from outside North America or Europe.
Although sung mostly in English, APT opens with some spoken Korean, which translates as: “Chaeyoung’s favourite random game. Random game. Game start.”
The song’s chorus, then repeats the word “μννΈ” – which is pronounced “apateu”, meaning “apartment” in English.
Victoria Oakley, CEO of the IFPI said it was a “landmark moment”. The industry body has been publishing the annual lists since 2007.
Mars also featured on another song in the top five, with his Lady Gaga collaboration Die With A Smile coming in fourth place.
US singer Alex Warren’s track Ordinary was the third-biggest single of the year, while Benson Boone’s Beautiful Things rounded out the top five. Boone’s song took the number one spot in 2024.
The chart is dominated by songs released in earlier years – eight of the top 10 biggest-selling singles were released before 2025.
For the second consecutive year, no British artists featured in the end-of-year global top 10.
However, singer Lola Young took 11th place with her breakthrough single Messy, which notched up more than one billion streams.
Another song from KPop Demon Hunters, Soda Pop by Huntr/x’s rival boyband Saja Boys, also features in the top 20.
Earlier this week, the IFPI said Taylor Swift was the biggest artist overall globally in 2025.
She appears once in the top singles of the year, with The Fate of Ophelia, the lead single from her album The Life of a Showgirl, in 19th place.
The list of top 20 albums of the year will follow on Friday.
The top 20 most popular singles of 2025:
RosΓ© and Bruno Mars – APT
Huntr/X – Golden
Alex Warren – Ordinary
Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars – Die With A Smile
Benson Boone – Beautiful Things
Billie Eilish – Birds of a Feather
Teddy Swims – Lose Control
Kendrick Lamar and SZA – Luther
Gracie Abrams – That’s So True
Kendrick Lamar – Not Like Us
Lola Young – Messy
Bad Bunny – DtMF
Saja Boys – Soda Pop
Sabrina Carpenter – Espresso
Chappell Roan – Pink Pony Club
Sombr – Back to Friends
The Weeknd – Timeless
Shaboozey – A Bar Song (Tipsy)
Taylor Swift – The Fate of Ophelia
Ravyn Lenae – Love Me Not
Source: IFPI
