‘Something About The Way You Look Tonight/Candle In The Wind’ by Elton John
‘Something About The Way You Look Tonight/Candle In The Wind’ was the first song to ever be certified diamond on October 9, 1997. It actually received this certification 2 years before the official diamond award was even unveiled! Since this song, it has been bestowed sparingly by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The only way an artist can request this certification is is a song has moved at least 10 million equivalent units with sales and streaming numbers.
‘Baby’ by Justin Bieber featuring Ludacris
‘Baby’ by Justin Bieber featuring Ludacris was released in 2010, and the song was then certified diamond on May 9, 2013. The song was made available for digital download on January 18, 2010, and then as of May, 2013 the song had sold 3.9 million downloads in the United States alone! ‘Baby’ was certified 12x platinum in the country.
‘Not Afraid’ by Eminem
‘Not Afraid’ was released in 2010 as the album ‘Recovery”s lead single. The song received numerous positive reviews from music critics as the song was deemed as anthemic in nature and carrying a positive message. ‘Not Afraid’ then went onto become the 16th song in the Billboard history to debut on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 1. Then in June 2014, the song was certified 10x diamond by RIAA.
‘Bad Romance’ by Lady Gaga
‘Bad Romance’ gave Lady Gaga the platform she has today, and it’s no surprise why! The song was released in 2009, and was then certified diamond on May 29, 2015. The song topped the charts in 20+ countries and sold 12 million copies worldwide, which made it one of the best selling singles of all time. It peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and they sold around 5.9 million digital downloads as of 2019.
‘Radioactive’ by Imagine Dragons
The band Imagine Dragons released their song ‘Radioactive’ in 2012, and it was certified diamond 3 years later on July 6, 2015. The song sold 7.7 million tracks, and the band’s record label said the song had been streamed more than 366 million times. The song was the band’s first single to top the US Billboard Hot 100, and has remained their most popular and best-selling song to date.
‘Thrift Shop’ by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis featuring Wanz
Macklemore’s ‘Thrift Shop’ was released in 2012 and was then certified diamond on November 19, 2015. The song reached number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and has since sold over 6 million copies in the US alone. The song also reached number 1 in the UK, Ireland, Canada, France, Denmark, Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand – so it’s no wonder why it was deemed as diamond.
‘Poker Face’ by Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga has had multiple diamond-rated songs, and ‘Poker Face’ is another one. Released in 2008, the song was certified diamond on November 30, 2015, after it became the best-selling single of 2009 with surpassing a million sales by September 2010. It’s currently at the top of Lady Gaga’s countdown with 1.51 million chart sales, including 39 million streams!
‘Call Me Maybe’ by Carly Rae Jepson
Carly Rae Jepson’s ‘Call Me Maybe’ was released in 2011 and it took the world by storm! The song is predicted to have made a big revenue since it will have made money from means such as digital downloads, streams, radio airplay, and merchandising sales. The song sold over 18 million copies worldwide, which made it become one of the best selling digital singles of all time.
‘Uptown Funk’ by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars
This song was released in 2014, and became certified diamond 2 years later on October 18, 2016. ‘Uptown Funk’ was number 1 for 7 weeks on the Billboard Top 100 and actually made sales of over 1.6 million, plus 115 million streams. The viral single was actually made 11 times platinum by the RIAA due to its combined streaming equivalent units and downloads crossing over 11 million in the US.
‘Roar’ by Katy Perry
‘Roar’ was a huge single that was released in 2013, and it was deemed diamond in June 22, 2017. This song sold 9.9 million units, through combined sales and track-equivalent streams, globally throughout 2013. It was then the fifth-best-selling single of the year.