The Weeknd joins a small group of hitmakers who can boast having seen their first five albums certified Gold or higher at the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) with recent updates attached to his chart-topping quinary studio release, ‘Dawn FM.’
Over a year-and-a-half after The Weeknd (born Abel Tesfaye) took over airwaves with the Hot 100 top 10 hit ‘Take My Breath‘ and its parent album, ‘Dawn FM,’ he learned both efforts were certified Platinum at the RIAA. The term “Platinum” refers to sales status of 1 million in the United States.
The report, unveiled Monday (July 17), was accompanied by news ‘Out of Time‘ – another single found aboard ‘Dawn FM’ – had been upgraded to similar stature.
With the update, Tesfaye is the proud owner of 5 RIAA certified studio album – ‘Kiss Land‘ (Gold), ‘Beauty Behind the Madness‘ (6x Platinum), ‘Starboy‘ (4x Platinum), ‘After Hours‘ (3x Platinum), and ‘Dawn FM’ (Platinum).
Further, the ‘Breath’ and ‘Time’ sales refreshes push Abel’s cumulative single sales count to 113 million in the U.S. – extending his reign as the best-selling Black male singer in digital music history. Among all male singers, only Justin Bieber has sold more singles (119 million).
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Billboard Hot 100: All-Time Top Black Solo Artists (adjusted all-time Hot 100 points):
1. Mariah Carey 15.8 million
2. Stevie Wonder 14.3 million
3. Janet Jackson 13.4 million
4. Michael Jackson 13 million
5. Drake 12.8 million
6. Whitney Houston 12.6 million
7. Rihanna 12 million
8. Usher 10.3 million
9. Prince 10 million
10. Aretha Franklin 9.9 million
11. Marvin Gaye 8.2 million
12. Diana Ross 7.8 million
13. Donna Summer 7.6 million
14. Beyonce 7.4 million
15. Lionel Richie 7.4 million
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28. Nicki Minaj 4.6 million