News
September 26, 2017 | Gold & Platinum
RIAA PRESENTS KATY PERRY WITH RECORD-BREAKING THREE DIAMOND SONG AWARDS DURING D.C. STOP OF WITNESS: THE TOUR
WASHINGTON – At the Washington, D.C. stop of her WITNESS: The Tour, Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Chairman & CEO Cary Sherman presented Capitol Records superstar Katy Perry with three Diamond Awards for her hit songs “Roar,” “Dark Horse,” and “Firework,” representing 10 million or more sales and streams of each individual song in the United States. With these milestone certifications, Katy recently made Gold & Platinum history as the first artist to earn three RIAA Diamond Song Awards.
Steve Barnett, Chairman and CEO of Capitol Music Group, joined Mr. Sherman and Bradford Cobb from Direct Management Group in presenting the prestigious awards to Katy.
L to R: Bradford Cobb, Direct Management Group; Cary Sherman, Chairman and CEO, RIAA; Katy Perry; Steve Barnett, Chairman and CEO, Capitol Music Group
Photo Credit: Daniel Swartz
Only 14 songs have earned coveted Diamond status to date. During the course of Katy’s career, a total of 22 of her songs have achieved RIAA certification, and three studio albums have also been certified Platinum or multi-Platinum. More information on her career certifications can be found here.
Katy Perry’s new album, Witness (Capitol Records), was No. 1 on the Billboard 200, marking her third album to debut atop the chart. It marked the biggest week for an album by a female artist in 2017. It also claimed the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Top Current Albums and Current Pop Albums charts. Globally, Witness topped the iTunes Albums chart in 46 countries. Current singles off the album “Swish Swish” and “Chained To The Rhythm” are RIAA-certified Gold and Platinum, respectively.
Katy is also the only female artist to have four videos surpass a billion views each. Her videos for “Firework” and “Last Friday Night” have over one billion views, while “Roar” and “Dark Horse” have surpassed the two billion mark. Visit http://katyperry.com for more information on her music and the North American leg of her WITNESS: The Tour, which runs until February 2018.
Almost 60 years since its inception, the RIAA’s iconic Gold & Platinum brand is the industry’s premier award for recognizing artistic achievement in the music marketplace. Officially launched in 1958, the program expanded in 1999 to include a Diamond Award honoring 10 million or more certifications of an album or song.
All RIAA certifications are calculated by Gelfand, Rennert & Feldman. Complete lists of all album, single, and video awards, as well as top tallies for artists and albums can be accessed at https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/.