Madonna is the most successful female singer in the UK

Madonna has been named as the most successful female singer of all time in the U.K., based on the sales of singles. The U.S. artist has sold almost 18 million records.

The Official Charts Company, reported via the NME, has announced that Madonna has sold more singles in the U.K. than any other female artist in chart history. Madonna has notched up 17.8 million sales. This comes from some 59 Top 10 hits over a thirty year period. Globally, Madonna Louise Ciccone is also the most successful singer of all time with over 300 million records sold. However, in the U.S. Madonna lies third in the rank of female artists behind Whitney Houston and Barbra Streisand, according to RIAA data. Second on the U.K. list is the singer Rihanna, who has sold 11.4 records to date. It is conceivable, however, that Rihanna could one day overtake Madonna since her record sales were reached in only seven years. In third place is the Australian singer Kylie Minogue, who has 10.2 million sales. Despite their recent success, British singers like Adele and Leona Lewis do not make the top ten. The top ten list of female artists is (from the BBC): 1. Madonna - 17.8 million 2. Rihanna - 11.4 million 3. Kylie Minogue - 10.2 million 4. Whitney Houston - 8.5 million 5. Lady Gaga - 7.236 million 6. Britney Spears - 7.234 million 7. Beyonce - 6.9 million 8. Celine Dion - 6.7 million 9. Mariah Carey - 6.62 million 10. Olivia Newton-John - 6.61 million