The Weeknd‘s hit singles “Blinding Lights” and “Starboy” have officially been certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America.
The RIAA’s diamond certification means a song moved 10 million units, with one equivalent song unit equal to a single digital song sale, or 150 on-demand audio and/or video streams.
“Blinding Lights” was originally released back in late 2019 as the second single from the artist’s After Hours album, and its certification comes just weeks after the artist (otherwise known as Abel Tesfaye) marked the studio set’s second anniversary. In April 2020, the song peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, eventually spending four weeks in the top spot. In November, “Blinding Lights” became the new No. 1 song on Billboard’s Greatest Songs of All Time Hot 100 chart.
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The Daft Punk-assisted “Starboy,” meanwhile, served as the title track to The Weeknd’s third full-length released back in 2016 and became his third No. 1 single when it reigned over the Hot 100 for a single week the following January.
With both songs’ certifications, The Weeknd joins a rarefied group of artists to have three diamond singles. (“The Hills” was his first track to achieve the sales benchmark in March 2020.)
Other superstars with a hat trick of diamond-certified singles under their belts include Justin Bieber (“Baby,” “Despacito [Remix]” with Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, and “Sorry”), Katy Perry (“Roar,” “Firework” and “Dark Horse”), Ed Sheeran (“Shape of You,” “Thinking Out Loud” and “Perfect”), Imagine Dragons (“Radioactive,” “Demons” and “Believer”) and more.
Earlier on Tuesday (April 5), The Weeknd unveiled the chilling music video for his latest Dawn FM-era single “Out of Time” featuring Jim Carrey and Squid Game star HoYeon Jung. He also floated the idea of changing his stage name to ABEL earlier this week in the lead-up to the visual’s release.
