Since 1958, the Recording Industry Association of America® (RIAA) has celebrated artistes whose music captivates generations and hits significant US streaming and sales thresholds.
The RIAA has clear and established certification requirements: 500,000 units for Gold, 1 million for Platinum, 2 million for multi-platinum, and 10 million for Diamond.
On Monday, the RIAA recognised the top albums, singles, and first-timers’ massive achievements in a special year-end report.
Tagged # RIAAClassOf2024, the list features ‘‘65 breakout artists who earned their first Gold & Platinum certifications in 2024, with a list spanning five albums and 69 singles.”
On the list, Chukwuka Ekweani, popularly known as CKay, has maintained his position as the Nigerian artiste with the highest sales in the United States.
The RIAA named CKays ‘Love Nwantiti’ the highest-selling Nigerian song in the United States. The hit song earned over 8 million units sold due to its virality on TikTok in 2021.
‘Love Nwantiti’ is also the most certified song in the United States. With over 8 million units sold, it is in a peak position as AfroBeats’ first-ever diamond record. The certification reads, “certified 8 million digital singles to date.”
The 29-year-old is also the first Nigerian artiste on Spotify to amass over a billion streams. This was in 2022 for the same song, ‘Love Nwantiti’.
Wizkid, Rema, too
In second place, Grammy award-winning Nigerian artiste Wizkid earned that position after his top 10 single, ‘Essence,’ sold over 4 million units in the United States. This has grown to 6.5 million.
He is also the most certified Nigerian artiste in the United States, with eight certifications. The certification reads, “certified 6.5 million singles to date.”
Rema is the third best-selling Nigerian artist in the United States, as his song ‘Calm Down’ has sold over 5 million units. The song has also been declared six times RIAA platinum. “Certified 5 million digital singles till date,” it reads.
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Other successes accumulated by the song include over 1 billion streams on a song in the United States. It’s also the first African song to spend over 52 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, the highest-charting Nigerian song on the Billboard Hot 100 with a number 3 peak, and the first to top Billboard’s radio chart.
Other Nigerian artistes to receive RIAA certifications are Davido, whose single ‘Fall’ is the first Nigerian song to be certified RIAA Gold; Burna Boy, the Nigerian act with the most Hot 100 entries; and Tems, who holds the record for the first Nigerian artist to debut on the Hot 100.
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