The only 117 songs that have now been certified diamond
They say there is no money in the music industry these days, but that is a blatant falsehood. We are listening to more music now than ever before in the Spotify age – a recent IFPI report revealed that we are listening to an average of 20.1 hours of music each week – and while streaming might have made the profit shares much more marginal, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a tonne of money to be made from the newly expanded market.
Evidence for this comes from the fact that 116 of the 117 certified diamond songs have only achieved that status since 2013. The only track that came before Justin Bieber’s gear-changing ‘Baby’ was Elton John’s proto-viral hit ‘Something About the Way You Look Tonight / Candle in the Wind’. Strangely, even Elton’s effort is indicative of the trend that lay ahead. The song was catapulted into the history books owing to the death of Princess Diana; now, a great number of hits are tied to something beyond the music.
Thus, the fact that 2015 seemed to be a turning point for the diamond division, whereby the number of certified songs hitting the ten million mark needed to become diamond went from three to seven in the space of 12 and continued to grow from thereon exponentially; is not simply to do to the accelerating impact of easy, cheap streaming, but also the sharing platform of social media. This has meant that the pop charts are now more commercial than ever before.
Amid the rampant rise of diamond hits is a factor indicative of the modern commercial inclination: 36 of the songs either feature another named artist or are shared collaborations. In essence, this is a type of creative networking. It brings together two artists, not only making songs ‘a bigger deal’ but also conglomerating two fanbases so a song has a wider instant audience to launch it. Previously, this method was very, very rare, and while ‘featuring’ is also a tenet of rap which helps to explain its rise, it is also tied to this commercial trick.
Furthermore, it is also glaring that the list is more a selection of modern ‘fads’ more so than the biggest hits of all time. With the exception of Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Queen – who were propelled to diamond status thanks to a recent movie – huge acts from bygone eras fail to make the diamond league. This showcases that modern commerciality is driven by social trends rather than the music itself. This is precisely why many labels found themselves in disputes with artists by forcing them to try and create viral TikToks to launch a song.
Moreover, once a song is firmly planted in the public eye, it usually gains evergreen sales. Take, for instance, ‘Fireflies’ by Owl City – one of the few solo-written songs to crack the list – which was released in 2009 but only made it to diamond in 2023. Its steady accumulation comes from the fact that its recurring presence on social media and on external sources means that it is constantly being introduced to new audiences and generations.
And finally, the data also shows that cross-over appeal is a huge driving factor. The two biggest hitters on the list are Post Malone with five diamond singles and Bruno Mars with six. Both of these stars are not typical of any given genre. Post Malone could just as easily crop up in the record collection of a country fan as someone who favours rap. Likewise, Bruno Mars is often collaborating in such a way that he spreads his voice beyond his typical pop stylings. Most importantly of all, they also know how to craft a catchy hook which is a sentiment that will forever dominate the RIAA charts.
The only certified diamond songs in history:
- ‘Something About the Way You Look Tonight / Candle in the Wind’ – Elton John
- ‘Baby’ – Justin Bieber
- ‘Now Afraid’ – Eminem
- ‘Bad Romance’ – Lady Gaga
- ‘Radioactive’ – Imagine Dragons
- ‘Thrift Shop’ – Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
- ‘Poker Face’ – Lady Gaga
- ‘Call Me Maybe’ – Carly Rae Jepsen
- ‘Uptown Funk’ – Mark Ronson ft Bruno Mars
- ‘Roar’ – Katy Perry
- ‘Royals’ – Lorde
- ‘All About That Bass’ – Meghan Trainor
- ‘Despacito’ – Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee ft Justin Bieber
- ‘Firework’ – Katy Perry
- ‘Lose Yourself’ – Eminem
- ‘Love the Way You Lie’ – Eminem ft Rihanna
- ‘Blurred Lines’ – Robin Thicke ft Pharrell and T.I.
- ‘I Gotta Feeling’ – Black Eyed Peas
- ‘Party Rock Anthem’ – LMFAO ft Lauren Bennett and GoonRock
- ‘Counting Stars’ – OneRepublic
- ‘Closer’ – Chainsmokers ft Halsey
- ‘Cruise’ – Florida Georgia Line
- ‘Dark Horse’ – Katy Perry ft Juicy J
- ‘Just the Way You Are’ – Bruno Mars
- ‘Shape of You’ – Ed Sheeran
- ‘Thinking Out Loud’ – Ed Sheeran
- ‘We Are Young’ – Fun ft Janelle Mone
- ‘I’m Yours’ – Jason Mraz
- ‘The Hills’ – The Weeknd
- ‘See You Again’ – Wiz Khalifa ft Charlie Puth
- ‘God’s Plan’ – Drake
- ‘Congratulations’ – Post Malone ft Quavo
- ‘Old Town Road’ – Lil Nas X ft Billy Ray Cyrus
- ‘Trap Queen’ – Fetty Wap
- ‘Perfect’ – Ed Sheeran
- ‘Shake It Off’ – Taylor Swift
- ‘Happy’ – Pharrell
- ‘Meant to Be’ – Bebe Rexha ft Florida Georgia Line
- ‘Grenade’ – Bruno Mars
- ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ – Foster the People
- ‘All of Me’ – John Legend
- ‘Baby Shark’ – Pinkfong
- ‘Rockstar’ – Post Malone ft 21 Savage
- ‘Sunflower’ – Post Malone and Swae Lee
- ‘Stay With Me’ – Sam Smith
- ‘Party in the U.S.A.’ – Miley Cyrus
- ‘Sicko Mode’ – Travis Scott ft Drake
- ‘Bodak Yellow’ – Cardi B
- ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ – Queen
- ‘Sorry’ – Justin Bieber
- ‘Hey, Soul Sister’ – Train
- ‘Low’ – Flo Rida ft T-Pain
- ‘Stressed Out’ – Twenty One Pilots
- ‘Somebody That I Used to Know’ – Gotye ft Kimbra
- ‘That’s What I Like’ – Bruno Mars
- ‘When I Was Your Man’ – Bruno Mars
- ‘Sail’ – AWOLNATION
- ‘Moves Like Jagger’ – Maroon 5
- ‘Sad!’ – XXXTentacion
- ‘Demons’ – Imagine Dragons
- ‘Believer’ – Imagine Dragons
- ‘Lean On’ – Major Lazer and DJ Snake ft M
- ‘Havana’ – Camila Cabello ft Young Thug
- ‘Stronger’ – Kanye West
- ‘Super Bass’ – Nicki Minaj
- ‘Life is Good’ – Future ft Drake
- ‘Girls Like You’ – Maroon 5 ft Cardi B
- ‘All I Want for Christmas’ – Mariah Carey
- ‘The Box’ – Roddy Ricch
- ‘I Like It’ – Cardi B ft J Balvin and Bad Bunny
- ‘Tennessee Whiskey’ – Chris Stapleton
- ‘Sugar’ – Maroon 5
- ‘I Will Always Love You’ – Whitney Houston
- ‘Lucid Dreams’ – Juice Wrld
- ‘Location’ – Khalid
- ‘A Thousand Years’ – Christina Perri
- ‘Blinding Lights’ – The Weeknd
- ‘Starboy’ – The Weeknd ft Daft Punk
- ‘Timber’ – Pitbull ft Kesha
- ‘Thunder’ – Imagine Dragons
- ‘Don’t Let Me Down’ – The Chainsmokers ft Daya
- ‘Heathens’ – Twenty One Pilots
- ‘Unforgettable’ – French Montana ft Swae Lee
- ‘Billie Jean’ – Michael Jackson
- ‘Thriller’ – Michael Jackson
- ‘Drip Too Hard’ – Lil Baby and Gunna
- ‘Locked out of Heaven’ – Bruno Mars
- ‘Can’t Handle Us’ – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft Ray Dalton
- ‘Wagon Wheel’ – Darius Rucker
- ‘Something Just Like This’ – The Chainsmokers and Coldplay
- ‘Psycho’ – Post Malone ft Ty Dolla $ign
- ‘White Iverson’ – Post Malone
- ‘Can’t Feel My Face’ – The Weeknd
- ‘Hotline Bling’ – Drake
- ‘One Dance’ – Drake
- ‘Lollipop’ – Lil Wayne ft Static Major
- ‘Pursuit of Happiness (Nightmare)’ – Kid Cudi ft MGMT and Ratatat
- ‘XO Tour Llif3’ – Lil Uzi Vert
- ‘Fireflies’ – Owl City
- ‘Without Me’ – Halsey
- ‘Say You Won’t Let Go’ – James Arthur
- ‘Earned’ – The Weeknd
- ‘Take Me to Church’ – Hozier
- ‘Just Dance’ – Lady Gaga
- ‘Need You Now’ – Lady A
- ‘Sweater Weather’ – The Neighbourhood
- ‘Better Now’ – Post Malone
- ‘I Fall Apart’ – Post Malone
- ‘Circles’ – Post Malone
- ‘We Found Love’ – Rihanna ft Calvin Harris
- ‘Crazy Beautiful’ – Luke Combs
- ‘Ni**as in Paris’ – Jay-Z and Kanye West
- ‘Wake Me Up’ – Avicii
- ‘Fuck Love’ – XXXTentacion ft Trippie Redd
- ‘California Gurls’ – Katy Perry ft Snoop Dogg
- ‘Stay’ – The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber
- ‘Bad Guy’ – Billie Eilish
