Mama mia, mama mia! Queen's epic 1975 hit “Bohemian Rhapsody” has just been certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America for amassing more than 10 million in sales and stream equivalents in the U.S. This makes Queen the first British band ever to achieve RIAA Diamond status for an individual song.
Queen have become the first ever UK band to have a song certified 'diamond', reaching the milestone for their iconic 1975 hit 'Bohemian Rhapsody'.
Queen is the first British band in music history to earn the Diamond song award.
"Bohemian Rhapsody" was certified diamond on March 25, 2021.
Only 116 songs in history have been certified diamond and 23 artists have multiple songs on the list. Post Malone has the most with eight, followed by Bruno Mars with six.
Garth Brooks has received seven Diamond awards for seven individual albums from the RIAA for selling over ten million units each, a feat only he can claim, and is the No.
Lady Gaga, while still retaining her three diamond-certified singles, may soon add another to her list of accomplishments. Her radio blockbusters "Bad Romance" and "Just Dance" have already achieved 11-times platinum certifications, and "Poker Face" has also reached diamond status.
However, EMI executive Ray Foster (a fictional character loosely based on former EMI chief Roy Featherstone, according to AXS), refuses to release the song as the band's next single following “Killer Queen,” mainly because he didn't understand the song and also thought a six-minute tune would never play on the radio.
The Queen died in her Platinum Jubilee year, on 8 September, at the age of 96. Her funeral was held on 19 September 2022 and she was buried at the King George VI Memorial Chapel later that day.
“Bohemian Rhapsody” was first made for Queen's 1975 album, A Night at the Opera. Written by Freddie Mercury, the song is Queen's greatest hit to date.
Also known as Cullinan I, the enormous, 530.2-carat drop-shaped diamond was added to the Sovereign's Sceptre with Cross, a sacred object that dates back to the 1600s used during coronation ceremonies, in 1910. It also is on public display in the Jewel House at the Tower of London.
Bohemian Rhapsody
As a result, it is one of the longest-reigning Number 1 hits of all-time. As well as being Queen's best seller, it's also one of the UK's biggest singles of all time, with 2.6 million pure sales. For comparison, We Are The Champions - their second best-seller - is on 962,000 sales.
These awards, given by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), represent huge sales—500,000 units for gold, 1 million for platinum, 2 million or more for multiplatinum, and 10 million for diamond.
['Old Town Road'] is now 14x Platinum and the most certified song in music history. Thank YOU!" The "Old Town Road" version featuring Cyrus has steadily climbed the certification ranks since it emerged in April 2019. (The original "Old Town Road" was first released in December 2018.)
There's evidently no love lost between Queen drummer Roger Taylor and Sacha Baron Cohen. Ali G and Borat comedian Sacha Baron Cohen was the first choice to play Queen legend Freddie Mercury in his biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.
4. Freddie Mercury – US$50 million. A cultural icon and the most famous face of all the members of Queen past and present, Mercury amassed a considerable fortune, thought to be worth US$50 million by the time of his death, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Rami himself has revealed that he is lip-syncing, but it's not just Freddie's voice that we hear. "It is an amalgamation of a few voices," he told the Metro US. "But predominantly it is my hope and the hope of everyone that we will hear as much Freddie as possible. I think that is the goal for all of us."
Adele is the only artist or band in the last decade in the US to earn an RIAA diamond certification for a one disc album in less than two years.
Thriller, the album, gained its overall Diamond certification back in 1983 and became 34 times multi-platinum in August 2021. That same month, Bad also became 11 times multi-platinum after becoming a Diamond-certified album in February 2017.
Elvis' Christmas Album : Camden 1970
Camden, 1970 : 10,000,000 sales Diamond award.
Garth Brooks holds the record for most diamond-certified albums, with nine. Others with three or more albums that have reached diamond status include The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Shania Twain and the Eagles. The RIAA awards diamond plaques to albums and singles that reach 10 times platinum status.
According to Guinness World Records, Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" (1942) as performed by Bing Crosby is the best-selling single worldwide, with estimated sales of over 50 million copies.
Lil Nas X's 'Old Town Road' Is the Fastest Song in History to Be Certified Diamond by the RIAA | Billboard – Billboard.