Close

APT by Bruno Mars and Rose named best-selling song of last year

It is the first time the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry chart-topping song has featured a non-European or North American singer

By contributor Casey Cooper-Fiske, Press Association Senior Entertainment Reporter
Published
Supporting image for story: APT by Bruno Mars and Rose named best-selling song of last year
Bruno Mars collaborated with Kpop star Rose on APT (PA)

Bruno Mars’s single APT with K-pop star Rose has been named by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) as the best selling track of 2025 globally.

It is the first time the chart-topping song has featured a non-European or North American singer, with the 29-year-old New Zealand-born BlackPink member, whose real name is Roseanne Park, and it is also the first time the top track has featured non-English lyrics.

Mars, 40, whose real name is Peter Hernandez, previously topped the chart in 2011 for his solo single Just The Way You Are.

Bruno Mars performing, while wearing sunglasses and a long faux fur coat
Bruno Mars also topped the IFPI chart in 2011 with Just The Way You Are (Ian West/PA)

APT was closely followed by Golden by HUNTR/X in second place, which is one of two singles on the chart from the Netflix animated film KPop Demon Hunters.

Alex Warren’s Ordinary is in third place, Mars’s collaboration with Lady Gaga, Die With A Smile, is in fourth, and Benson Boone’s Beautiful Things is fifth.

It is the first time all of 2024’s top five singles remained in the chart for 2025.

The top 10 concluded with Billie Eilish’s Wildflower (six), which won song of the year at the Grammy Awards, Teddy Swims’s Lose Control (seven), Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s Luther (eight), which won the record of the year Grammy, Gracie Abrams’s That’s So True (nine), and Lamar’s Drake diss track Not Like Us (10).

Singer Rose smiling while holding an MTV award
BlackPink singer Rose has become the first artist from outside of Europe or North America to top the IFPI chart (Doug Peters/PA)

Victoria Oakley, chief executive of the IFPI, said: “Rose and Bruno Mars topping the IFPI global single chart with APT is a landmark moment, not least as it’s the first time a winning single has featured non-English lyrics.

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

APT was nominated for three gongs at the 2026 Grammy Awards in best pop duo/group performance, song of the year and record of the year, but was snubbed during the awards ceremony in Los Angeles, which they opened with a performance of the song.