Many artists have gone "diamond," meaning their songs or albums have sold/streamed 10 million units, with top examples including Post Malone, Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift, Drake, Eminem, and Cardi B for singles, and Adele, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, and Garth Brooks for albums, with Drake holding the most diamond singles and Garth Brooks the most diamond albums. Diamond certification by the RIAA signifies massive success, with artists accumulating multiple diamond-certified tracks or albums.
The RIAA gives diamond certifications to songs that have gone platinum 10 times. Over 170 songs have been certified diamond, and 39 artists have multiple songs on the list. Drake has the most with 15, followed by Post Malone with nine. Rihanna has the most among women.
Drake has the most RIAA Diamond Certifications of any artist, ever.
The highlights: -3rd Most-Certified Artist All-Genre. -265.5 Million Certified Singles and Albums. -FIVE singles certified Diamond & above.
Rappers with the most DIAMOND plaques 💎 • Eminem - 6 • Drake - 6 • Jay Z - 3 • Cardi B - 3.
Drake's 'Take Care' Album Has Officially been Certified RIAA Diamond after Selling 10 Million Units... becoming his first ever diamond certified album.
Garth Brooks is the artist with nine diamond-certified albums, a record for album sales (10 million+ units each), though Drake now leads in total Diamond certifications (albums and singles combined) with over 10, followed by Post Malone for singles. Brooks' nine diamond albums include classics like Double Live, The Ultimate Hits, and In Pieces, making him the sole artist with this many album awards from the RIAA.
There's no single "number 1 artist of all time" as it's subjective, but Leonardo da Vinci often tops lists for visual art due to masterpieces like the Mona Lisa, while The Beatles are frequently cited as the best-selling music group ever, and Michael Jackson or Elvis Presley are often named as top solo music artists by sales and influence. Modern metrics like Spotify streams point to artists like Bad Bunny or Taylor Swift for recent dominance.
Lady Gaga is the first woman to receive the DIGITAL DIAMOND AWARD certification from RIAA, and “Just Dance” marks her third DIAMOND single after “Bad Romance” and “Poker Face.”
"Shake It Off" was certified diamond on March 13, 2020, making Swift the first female artist in US history to have both a diamond-certified single and album (2008's "Fearless"). She has since added a second diamond album to her resume (2014's "1989").
Who is the most successful artist of all time?
George Strait holds the record for the most platinum albums, with 33 certified by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) for selling over one million copies each in the USA, a feat that cements his status as the "King of Country" and leads all artists across genres. He is followed by Elvis Presley and The Beatles in overall platinum awards, but Strait leads the pack specifically for platinum albums.
Her studio albums 21 and 25 were the top two best-selling albums of the 2010s in the UK and both are listed among the best-selling albums in UK chart history, while in the US both are certified Diamond, the most of any artist who debuted in the 21st century.
Eminem is one of the highest-certified music artists in the United States, with three of his albums and four of his singles being certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Ariana Grande now has two singles certified Diamond in the US: • Bang Bang • 7 rings.
They explain, "Taylor isn't just popular — she's engineered an entirely new era of fan-driven music culture," adding, "More people may know who she is now, but Michael Jackson is still bigger in cultural footprint."
Michael Jackson. Based on numerous polls and data, Michael Jackson is widely regarded as the most famous singer in the world, thanks to his immense worldwide popularity and legendary status throughout his career.
Its single "Bad Guy" became the first by an artist born in the 21st century to top the US Billboard Hot 100 and be certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Drake is the male artist with the most platinum singles. Beyoncé is the female artist with the most platinum singles. Maroon 5 is the band with the most platinum singles. This table tracks artists with some number of singles that have received at least 20 digital platinum certifications (excluding features).
The 3rd richest rapper varies slightly by source and date, but generally, after Jay-Z and often Kanye West or Dr. Dre, Sean "Diddy" Combs is consistently listed as the third wealthiest, with fortunes ranging from around $400-$600 million, driven by music, Bad Boy Records, Ciroc Vodka, and other ventures, despite recent legal challenges affecting his standing.
GOAT Rappers
There isn't one single "1st fastest rapper," as records change and different metrics are used (syllables vs. words, underground vs. mainstream), but Twista (formerly Tung Twista) was the first recognized by Guinness World Records in 1992 for 598 syllables in 55 seconds, while Eminem holds records for fastest rap in a #1 single ("Godzilla"), and underground MCs like Rebel XD and Tonedeff have clocked even higher syllable-per-second rates.