Singles
 

What do you exactly mean by singles?

I always thought singles were the more popular tracks from the album. Wanted a very non wiki reply btw.

lol sorry

Ones that have a video with them?

Singles to me are the individual songs that get released into the chart and are on general sale.

They are used to promote an album. Though with the internet and MP3's, I don't know how long that will continue.

Can you consider "I kissed a girl" as a hit single?

i think that pretty much personifies "hit single"

The basic parameters of the music single were established in the late 1800s, when the gramophone record began to supersede phonograph cylinders in commercial music. Gramophone discs were manufactured with a range of playback speeds (from 16 rpm to 78 rpm) and in several sizes (including 12"). By around 1910, however, the 10-inch 78 rpm shellac disc had become the most commonly used format.