- Who
- Xiao Zhan
- What
- 54,318,228 unit(s) sold
- Where
- Not Applicable ()
- When
Released on 25 April 2020, “Spotlight” (aka “Light Spot” or “Made to Love”) by Chinese singer/actor Xiao Zhan (aka Sean Xiao) rang up a reported 24.37 million download sales in the first 24 hours and has since gone on to shift more copies than any track in the history of recorded music – physical or digital – with jaw-dropping sales of 54.31 million reported by 4 January 2023. This figure puts “Spotlight” ahead of the estimated 50 million physical copies of Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” sold worldwide since 1942, and well clear of its nearest digital challenger, Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” (2017), which sold 41.5 million units across the globe in 2017–18, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).
“Spotlight” was released in response to a Chinese internet boycott against Xiao, instigated by users of the fan-fiction site Archive of Our Own. While the move polarized opinion, loyal fans rallied round Xiao and showed their support for the X-NINE singer by reportedly each “buying an average of 66 copies” of the single.
