Hot 50: Biggest Dancehall Songs Of All Time

Drake has been the most streamed artist on Spotify in Jamaica for the past two years but what may be surprising to many is that he has one of the most successful dancehall songs globally of all time which makes this list in the top 5. The magic of the music industry is in making great songs and Dancehall, characterized by the “boof baff riddim” pioneered by King Jammys, Steely & Clevie and others continues to be one of the most influential genres of music in the 21st century.

105 songs have been certified Diamond and 4 of them are dancehall. It doesn’t matter who sings it, authentic dancehall music- the kind that causes people to move and shake, separates itself with the electronic drum beats, kick up rhythms, audacious lyrics, automatic dancing instructions, and a unique culture based on the struggles of people from Jamaica is undoubtable the most charted globally. 

As the genre evolves and many artists from rock, pop, and hip hop incorporate elements of dancehall into their music, the mainstream media tends to whitewash Dancehall’s influence on popular music. When it hits, It’s retitled and packaged as something else.

Rolling Stone Magazine’s since-edited review of Rihanna’s “Work” defined it as “a tropical house-flavored track featuring Drake,” while a Wall Street Journal article positioned Justin Bieber’s What Do You Mean? as “pioneering the ‘Caribbean, beach-party vibe’ of tropical house in the mainstream”.

The LA Times, have described pop dancehall tracks as “Caribbean-flavored house beat” or “airy tropical-house bangers.”

In the HuffPost article “Enjoy Dancehall Sounds, But Don’t Let Enjoyment Be Erasure”, Rasheena Fountain underscores the “whitewashing” that happened to other black music genres. “While musical genres should be inclusive, the problem comes when progression and mainstream acceptance comes with erasure of the culture that created the music, lessening the authenticity.”

Bieber’s Sorry, first released by Def Jam records and produced by Skrillex and Bloodpop, became one of the biggest singles of 2015 and is the most successful dancehall song of all time based on US certifications. The song peaked at No. 1 on the global YouTube charts and spent three weeks at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100.  It made Forbes Magazine’s headlines after it broke sales records in 2016 and also became the most-streamed song in the U.K. since records began. It was also the first song to hit 100 million streams in Britain at the time and according to the esteemed magazine, “helped the Canadian star become the first artist to hold positions Number 1, 2, and 3 simultaneously on the Official Singles Chart”.

The success of Sorry helped to ignite popular music’s interest in Dancehall and several Dancehall-influenced hits followed post 2016, including Drake’s One Dance and Controlla, Rihanna’s Work, Ed Sheeran’s Shape Of You which has sold more than 41 million units worldwide.

While in Jamaica dancehall is viewed as non-charting, aggressive music, sped up flows, “poor people” messaging and hardcore delivery, dancehall has given the world some of its biggest and most memorable hits. If it sounds like dancehall and has a riddim like dancehall, regardless of the singer’s nationality, it is dancehall.  

With Sean Paul as the most certified dancehall artist of all time, these are the dancehall songs with the most commercial success in the US and UK.

Editors note: the list does not take into consideration the cultural impact a song may have had in any market. 

Additionally, with the integration of streaming by the time you read this list, the data may change and songs may become more certified. Except for the top 20, the list is not in any particular order and we will continue to update as the certifications change.