Shining Bright: 13 Artists With the Most Diamond Hits Ever

Have you ever wondered who has the most diamond songs certified by the RIAA?

It takes a lot for an artist’s single to be certified as a diamond hit. Only a handful of musicians have earned multiple diamond qualifications in their lifetime.

That’s because to be classified as a diamond single, a song must earn considerable sales.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) uses gold, platinum, and diamond rankings to authenticate an artist’s level of success.

To be certified gold, a single needs to sell only 500,000 units. For a platinum certification, that number increases to 1 million.

Finally, a song must sell 10 million units or more to be named a diamond single.

So, which musicians have earned diamond status multiple times?

Let’s find out.

Who Has the Most Diamond Songs? The Top 13 Artists

Notably, the diamond single classification hasn’t existed for as long as most people think.

RIAA only created the diamond awards in 1999, 15 years after introducing the multi-platinum award for albums and singles.

Since the diamond status was introduced, around 23 artists have achieved two or more diamond certifications (at least at the time of writing).

Here are the top artists with the most diamond singles in the world today.

1. Michael Jackson

Diamond singles: Two

It’s probably no surprise that the King of Pop made it onto this list. Michael Jackson is considered one of the most influential figures of all time.

He is one of the best-selling music artists in the world, with estimated sales of over 400 million records.

Jackson had 13 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, making him the third-highest charting artist of all time.

He was even the first artist to produce a top 10 single for the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades.

His diamond-certified singles, perhaps unsurprisingly, are “Thriller” and “Billie Jean”.

However, various other singles have been certified multi-platinum.

2. Lady Gaga

Diamond singles: Three

No matter where you are, you’ve probably heard of Lady Gaga.

Gaga, one of history’s most eccentric pop icons, broke into the spotlight in 2007 with her album The Fame.

Every album she produced afterward reached the top of the Billboard 200 charts.

Plus, Gaga has released multiple number-one singles, and she’s one of the only female artists to have three songs certified diamond by the RIAA.

Those singles include “Just Dance,” “Bad Romance,” and “Poker Face”. Alongside all of her diamond singles, Lady Gaga has various other accolades.

She’s earned 13 Grammy awards, 18 MTV Music Video Awards, and two Gloden Globe awards.

Plus, she was named Billboard’s Artist of the Year in 2010.

3. Maroon 5

Diamond singles: Three

American pop-rock band Maroon 5 started earning significant industry attention in 2002 when they released the album Songs About Jane.

Hit songs like “This Love” and “Harder to Breathe” drew in fans worldwide and even helped the group earn a Grammy Award.

Despite incredible success, Maroon 5 didn’t get a single to the top of the Billboard 100 charts until 2010, with their song “Makes Me Wonder.”

Today, Maroon 5 has sold over 135 million records, making them one of the best-selling artists in the world.

The three diamond singles produced by Maroon 5 include “Moves Like Jagger,” “Girls Like You” (with Cardi B), and “Sugar.”

4. Eminem

Diamond singles: Three

One of the most famous rap artists of all time, Eminem, or Marshal Bruce Mathers III, has undoubtedly made his mark on the hip-hop scene.

Mathers has broken world records for producing the song with the most words in any hit single.

He was also the best-selling artist in the US during the 2000s and the best-selling male music artist in the US in 2010.

Eminem has had 10 number-one songs on the Billboard 200, consecutively debuting at number one on the charts.

Eminem’s songs “Lose Yourself, “Not Afraid,” and “Love the Way You Lie” (featuring Rihanna) have all been certified diamond or higher by the RIAA.

5. Ed Sheeran

Diamond singles: Three

One of the few British artists on this list, Ed Sheeran has achieved many accolades throughout his career.

From a single album, he broke the record for the most top-10 singles on the UK charts. Two of his albums are among the best-selling in UK chart history.

The Official Charts Company named Sheeran the Artist of the Decade in 2019. He also became the most followed artist on Spotify in 2022.

Sheeran also has four Grammy awards, five Brit awards, and six Billboard music awards.

His diamond-certified singles include “Perfect,” “Thinking Out Loud,” and “Shape of You.”

All these songs achieved their certification in 2019.

6. The Chainsmokers

Diamond singles: Three

Known for their electronic music and DJ beats, The Chainsmokers started their musical career by releasing remixes of songs produced by other indie artists.

They have since won a Grammy, seven Billboard awards, and two American Music awards.

The Chainsmokers also became some of the world’s highest-paid DJs in 2019, earning even more than the famous Calvin Harris.

Notably, all three singles certified diamond for the Chainsmokers have been produced in collaboration with another artist.

Their first was “Closer” with Halsey, followed by “Don’t Let Me Down” with Daya, and finally “Something Just Like This” with Coldplay.

7. Cardi B

Diamond singles: Three

Known for her aggressive flow and controversial lyrics, Cardi B has rapidly risen to fame in the last few years.

Her first studio album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 charts in 2018. It was also named the best female rap album of the 2010s.

Cardi B is the female rapper with the most number-one singles (five) ever to emerge on the Billboard Hot 100.

She’s also the female artist in the rap genre with the most diamond-certified songs. Plus, she’s sold over 100 million records in the US alone.

Cardi B’s diamond-certified streak started with “Bodak Yellow” in 2021, followed by “Girls Like You” with Maroon 5 and “I Like It”.

8. Justin Bieber

Diamond singles: Four

Love him or hate him, there’s no denying Justin Bieber is one of the best-known artists in the world.

His first studio album debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 charts when he was still a teenager.

This made him the youngest male solo artist to top the charts in 47 years.

The album also spawned the internationally successful single “Baby,” one of America’s best-selling singles.

Alongside four diamond certifications for “Baby,” “Despacito,” “Sorry,” and “Stay,” Bieber has earned a variety of other accolades.

He holds two Grammy awards, eight Juno Awards, 26 Billboard Music Awards, and the most Teen Choice Awards for any male individual (23).

9. Imagine Dragons

Diamond singles: Four

Based in Las Vegas, Imagine Dragons is a pop-rock band with a huge cultural following.

The group’s song “Radioactive” held the record for the most weeks charted on the Billboard Hot 100 and was named the biggest rock hit of the year by Rolling Stone.

Imagine Dragons might not have sold as many albums worldwide as other artists on this list, but they’ve emerged as one of the globe’s best-selling groups.

They are also the only group in RIAA history to have four songs with a higher certification than diamond.

Imagine Dragon’s first certified diamond song was “Radioactive.” They followed this up with the songs “Demons,” “Believer,” and “Thunder.”

10. Katy Perry

Diamond singles: Four

Among the most popular female singers in the world, Katy Perry is the Queen of Camp.

She rose to fame in 2008 with her debut single “I Kissed a Girl,” which hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Today, Katy stands as the only female artist with a record four diamond singles.

Plus, all of the studio albums she has released under Capitol have surpassed more than a billion streams on Spotify.

She’s had nine US number-one singles and three number-one albums. She even holds four Guinness World Records.

Katy Perry’s diamond singles include “Roar,” “Firework,” “Dark Horse,” and “California Gurls”, featuring Snoop Dogg.

11. The Weeknd

Diamond singles: Five

Known for his chart-topping hits, The Weeknd, or Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, is a cultural phenomenon.

He’s won 20 Billboard Music Awards, 22 Juno Awards, four Grammys, and six American Music Awards, alongside other accolades.

Tesfaye also holds a variety of Billboard chart records. He became the first artist from Canada to have diamond-certified singles from the RIAA.

He was the first artist ever to hold the top three places on the Hip-Hop and Hot R&B charts.

The Weekend’s first diamond certification was given to “The Hills” in 2019, followed by “Blinding Lights,” “Starboy,” “Can’t Feel My Face,” and “Earned It” in 2023.

12. Drake

Diamond singles: Five

One of the highest-earning male artists of all time, Drake has taken the world by storm with his music.

With sales of over 170 million records, Drake is ranked as the highest-certified artist for digital singles in the US.

He has also won five Grammy awards and a record-breaking 34 Billboard Music Awards.

Drake has positioned 11 number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100, or 12 if you count “Sicko Mode”.

He also holds a range of Hot 100 records, including the most charted songs (294), the most top 10 singles (68), and the most Hot 100 debuts in one week (22).

Drake’s first diamond certification was awarded to “God’s Plan” in 2019. In 2020, he received a second diamond certification for “Sicko Mode,” and in 2021, he earned his third for “Life Is Good”.

In 2022, Drake released two more diamond singles, “Hotline Bling” and “One Dance.”

13. Bruno Mars

Diamond singles: Six

R&B superstar Bruno Mars has undoubtedly accomplished a lot in his music career.

He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, and eight of his songs also reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.

Mars has created a total of six diamond-certified songs and was the first artist in the US to hit this number.

His diamond-certified songs include well-known tunes like “Just The Way You Are” and “Locked Out of Heaven,” as well as “Grenade” and “Uptown Funk”.

The other two diamond songs are “When I Was Your Man” and “That’s What I Like”.

Along with his selection of diamond singles, Mars also has 15 Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards, and 11 American Music Awards under his belt.