It's been quite a run for Luke Combs. In his 7+ years as a major label recording artist, he has amasssed 17 Country Radio Airplay Number Ones, 19 platinum certifications, 8 gold certifications, and now 3 Diamond certified singles! The latter sets a new record as Luke Combs is the first artist to acheive three diamond certified country singles in music history.
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) awards certifications to recognize the commercial success of music recordings, primarily in the United States. These certifications are based on the number of units sold or consumed (through streaming, downloads, and physical purchases) and include Gold, Platinum, Multi-Platinum, and Diamond certifications.
The diamond certification is awarded to albums or singles that have sold or its equivalent (sales plus streaming) 10 million units in the United States. Diamond certification was introduced by the RIAA in 1999 to recognize the achievement of significant commercial success.
The RIAA counts the following towards diamond certification:
Physical Album Sales: Traditional physical media sales like CDs, vinyl records, and cassettes.
Digital Album Sales: Sales of digital albums through online platforms.
Streams and Downloads: Since the evolution of how music is consumed, the RIAA includes certain streaming metrics in its certification criteria. Specifically:
On-Demand Audio and Video Streams: As of 2016, the formula considers 1,500 streams as equivalent to one album sale.
Track Sales: 10 digital track sales (from one album) are equivalent to one album sale.
In country music, Come On Over by Shania Twain is a diamond certified album and is the best-selling studio album by a female solo act in any genre. Achieving a diamond certification is a significant milestone for any artist, indicating a major level of commercial success in their career.
A diamond certification is rare in country music. Currently, the following artists are the only ones that have acheived a diamond certified country single:
Brett Young- In Case You Didn't Know
Kane Brown-Heaven
Lady A- Need You Now
Sam Hunt-Body Like a Back Road
Chris Stapleton-Tennessee Whiskey
Lil Nas X- Old Town Road
Darius Rucker-Wagon Wheel
Florida Georgia Line-Cruise
Garth Brooks holds the record for the most diamond certified albums in country music with five. Shania Twain holds the same record with three diamond certified country albums.
This is quite a feat for Luke who also just celebrated five years as a member of The Grand Ole Opry, and a top 20 Hot 100 hit with Post Malone. Check out the video below. Mr. Combs does seem like one of the nicest guys in country music, and we're happy to see his continued success in an ever increasingly competitive market, cheers!
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I met him 4 years ago Sana. He is a nice guy.