Best-selling physical single by a solo artist (female)

Whitney Houston’s (USA, 1963–2012) pop cover of Dolly Parton’s country hit “I Will Always Love You” has sold 24 million copies worldwide. Soundtracking Houston’s acting debut alongside Kevin Costner in the romantic thriller The Bodyguard (USA, 1992), the soaring ballad chalked up multiple weeks at No.1 across the globe in 1992–93, including a then-record 14 consecutive weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and a then-female-record 10 consecutive weeks on the UK’s Official Singles Chart. In January 2022, “I Will Always Love You” was Diamond-certified by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for US sales (including downloads and on-demand audio/video streaming-equivalent units) of 10 million units. It sold a further 1.67 million copies in the UK, 750,000 copies in Japan and 500,000 copies in Germany.

“I Will Always Love You” won Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 36th Grammy Awards on 1 March 1994 – the latter award presented to Whitney Houston by Dolly Parton herself. The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album also won Album of the Year.