Following his Grammy win last Sunday, The Weeknd achieves another milestone this week with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His songs “Starboy” and “Blinding Lights” have been certified diamond, selling more than 10 million equivalent units each.
The Weeknd now has three RIAA diamond-certified singles, and makes history as the first Black singer to achieve this honor. He’s also the first Canadian to gain three diamond singles as the lead artist.
The Toronto, Canada, native received his first diamond award in 2019 for “The Hills” from his 2015 album, Beauty Behind the Madness. The Weeknd is also the sixth artist overall to earn at least three diamond singles. He joins artists such as Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, Katy Perry, and Maroon 5, to name a few.
Released in fall 2016, “Starboy” is now certified 11x multi-platinum. It was the lead single to The Weeknd’s Grammy-winning third album of the same title. It spent one week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 in January 2017.
The Weeknd’s 2020 album After Hours produced the blockbuster single “Blinding Lights.” The mega-hit, which he co-produced with Max Martin and Oscar Holter, ruled the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks in spring 2020. It also won several accolades during the After Hours campaign, including IFPI’s 2020 Global Digital Single Award, which is awarded for the “world’s best-selling single of the year across all digital formats.”
Additionally, The Weeknd landed five other RIAA awards this week, including “I Feel It Coming” (6x multi-platinum); “Die for You” (4x multi-platinum); “Party Monster” (3x multi-platinum); “Heartless” (3x multi-platinum); and “Reminder” (3x multi-platinum). His Starboy album was also bumped to 4x multi-platinum.
As mentioned above, The Weeknd took home a new Grammy at the 64th Grammy Awards this past Sunday. His participation in Kanye West’s “Hurricane” with Lil Baby won Best Melodic Rap Performance. It’s his first win in this category.
At the moment, The Weeknd is promoting his recent album Dawn FM, which has two versions: standard and alternative world.
Today (April 6), he released a music video for “Out of Time,” starring acclaimed actor/comedian Jim Carrey and HoYeon Jung (Squid Game). The video was directed by Cliqua.
This summer, The Weeknd will support his new record-breaking LP on a massive After Hours Til Dawn Tour. The North American leg kicks off on July 8 in his hometown of Toronto, Canada. Doja Cat, who recently won her first Grammy with SZA, will serve as the opening act.
