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Rosé and Bruno Mars top global music chart with viral hit APT

The South Korean singer has made history as the first artist from outside the West to top the industry’s official year-end singles list.

Blackpink star Rosé and American singer Bruno Mars have secured the world’s biggest-selling single of 2025 with their collaboration APT.

The track, which went viral following its release in late 2024, has accumulated more than two billion streams globally. It marks a significant shift in the music industry, becoming the first song with non-English lyrics to top the annual chart published by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).

A breakthrough for K-pop

The success of APT represents the first time the global singles chart has been led by an artist from outside North America or Europe. While the song is primarily in English, it features Korean spoken-word sections and a chorus built around the word “아파트” (pronounced “apateu”), the Korean word for apartment.

Victoria Oakley, the chief executive of the IFPI, described the achievement as a “landmark moment” for the industry.

“This year’s results underline the global reach of today’s music market, with songs connecting across languages and borders,” she said.

The second biggest hit of the year was Golden, performed by the animated girl group Huntr/x. The group features in the Netflix animated film KPop Demon Hunters, which became the platform’s most-watched movie of all time in 2025.

Another track from the same film, Soda Pop by the rival fictional boy band Saja Boys, also secured a spot in the top 20.

The top five was rounded out by American singer Alex Warren’s Ordinary in third place, while Bruno Mars appeared again at number four with his Lady Gaga collaboration Die With A Smile. Benson Boone’s Beautiful Things, which was the world’s biggest song in 2024, remained popular enough to take the fifth spot.

For the second year in a row, no British artists featured in the global top 10. However, London-born singer Lola Young reached 11th place with her breakthrough single Messy, which surpassed one billion streams during the year.

The figures also confirmed that Taylor Swift remained the biggest artist overall globally in 2025, taking the title for a record sixth time. Her single The Fate of Ophelia featured at number 19 on the singles list.

The IFPI chart is compiled using data from over 8,000 record labels worldwide, converting physical sales, downloads, and streams into a single standardized figure.