It was a big night for Luke Combs at the Grand Ole Opry yesterday (August 13), celebrating his five-year anniversary of becoming an Opry member, becoming the first artist to have three RIAA Diamond-certified country singles, and taking home a great deal of accolades as a whole.
For those who are unfamiliar, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) awards Gold, Platinum, and Diamond records to albums and singles in the United States that reach certain selling or streaming checkpoints. Gold is classified by 500,000 units sales, Platinum is classified by 1 million units, and Diamond is classified by 10 million units for both albums and singles — it’s safe to say Combs has had a piece of all the action throughout his illustrious career.
Onstage at the Grand Ole Opry, Sony Music Nashville surprised Combs with five plaques that commemorate his historic certifications, including two new Diamond certifications for “When It Rains It Pours” and “Hurricane.” These two tunes became the 10th and 11th country singles to be Diamond-certified by the RIAA, including Combs in an elite group of country artists who have also achieved this accolade: Chris Stapleton, Darius Rucker, Lady A, and more.
When compiled with his previously Diamond-certified song “Beautiful Crazy,” the two-time CMA Entertainer of the Year becomes the first artist to have three country singles Diamond-certified by the RIAA, which is an extremely impressive feat for the North Carolina native.
That’s not all that occurred, though, as Gettin’ Old became certified Platinum and What You See Is What You Get became certified 5X Platinum onstage at the Grand Ole Opry. Additionally, his cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” became certified 5X Platinum.
We have a feeling that both What You See Is What You Get and “Fast Car” will become Diamond-certified eventually, but only time will tell whether or not Combs achieves such streaming success someday.
