Just weeks after making headlines for crushing King of Rock N’ Roll Elvis Presley‘s record for most Gold-certified songs (among male vocalists), Chris Brown is logged in the Recording Industry Association of America’s (RIAA) history books for planting R&B’s flag in yet another uncharted territory.
Details inside.
Believe it or not, only 8 acts in the history of recorded music can boast having scored 20 or more multi-Platinum singles in America over their careers. The RIAA qualifies “multi-Platinum” as 2 million or more sold in the United States.
At writing, Chris – with exactly 20 to his credit – is the only male singer in the group. Among all acts, his placement follows Lil Wayne (20), Beyonce (21), Kanye West (26), Taylor Swift (28), Eminem (30), Drake (32), and Rihanna (34).
What’s more, the RIAA took to press earlier this week to award even more plaques to the ‘Loyal‘ hitmaker. See the full list below of updates (as of February 14).
6x Platinum
- ‘Loyal’ (Single)
Platinum (for sales of 1 million in the U.S.)
- ‘Superhero’ (Single)
Gold (for sales of 500,000 in the U.S.)
- B*tches & Marijuana (Single)
Together, the updates help bring Brown’s overall digital single sales to 94.5 million in the U.S. – extending his record as the best-selling male R&B singer of the digital age.
Overall, the only acts to have sold more digital records than Chris are Drake (184 million), Eminem (166 million), Rihanna (161.5 million), Kanye West (140.5 million), Taylor Swift (137.5 million), Post Malone (121 million), Beyonce (114.5 million), Justin Bieber (112.5 million), The Weeknd (111 million), and Katy Perry (109.5 million).