There is a new king and queen in Nashville when it comes to award certifications by the RIAA – Recording Industry Association of America – Carrie Underwood and Luke Combs.
According to the RIAA, eight time Grammy Award winning Underwood has 22.5 million album units and 72.6 million singles units certified to make her the highest RIAA Certified female in Country music history.
RIAA certifications are calculated on U.S. sales alone.
Carrie Underwood spoke on the honour saying, “accomplishments like this are more than I would have ever dared to dream of when I was starting out. I owe everything to the fans, who have literally voted for me from the beginning of my career and have showed up and given me so much love for over 20 years. I feel blessed.”
President & CEO of MCA Mike Harris added, “this monumental achievement solidifies Carrie Underwood’s legacy as a generational talent and a true titan of the music industry. Becoming the highest RIAA certified female country artist of all time is a testament to the unparalleled connection Carrie shares with fans and the enduring power of her artistry.”
100,000 = gold
one million = platinum (each million is another platinum award)
Diamond = 10 million
Some of Underwood’s accomplishments include:
debut album “Some Hearts” – 9x platinum
single “Before He Cheats” – 11x platinum – Diamond status
“Blown Away” – 5x platinum
“Cowboy Casanova” – 4x platinum
“All-American Girl – 3x platinum
“I’m Gonna Love You” with Cody Johnson – platinum
“Favorite Time of Year” – gold
Along with her eight Grammys, Underwood has won: 16 ACM (Academy of Country Music) Awards – three of them Entertainer of the Year, 25 CMT (Country Music Television) Awards – the most ever, 17 American Music Awards, 10 People’s Choice Awards, seven CMA (Country Music Association) Awards, and crowned season four champion on “American Idol”.
Luke Combs has passed one of the greatest male Country music stars in history to be named the highest certified male Country music artist by the RIAA with 168 million units sold! Brooks has eight of his albums certified Diamond for selling at least 10 million copies.
In response to the announcement Combs said, “when my team first told me about this, my initial reaction was, ‘Are you sure? There’s no way.’ It was only eight years ago that I got my first plaque for ‘Hurricane’ going gold. I knew then, without a doubt, I had the best fans in the world. The song had gone platinum before they could even give me the gold plaque. I’m super humbled by the fans’ belief in me and support of my music today and over the years. I know this does not happen without them. This achievement is more so theirs than it is mine. All I ever hoped and dreamed of from the beginning of this crazy ride was to make music that made people feel something and I can’t wait to continue making country music for the rest of my life.”
Combs had his for four singles certified Diamond. His other accomplishment include:
53 cumulative weeks at number one on the Billboard Country Airplay chart
the first Country artist to have two singles top one billion streams on Spotify
is a member of the Grand Ole Opry
eleven time CMA Award winner
has four ACM Awards
six Billboard Music Awards
he is the first Country music artist to perform at the Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza music festivals.