Lil Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road’ Has Not Been Certified Diamond

Update: Despite multiple reports and Lil Nas X’s own tweets, the RIAA (Recording Industry Association Of America) has declared that “Old Town Road” has not actually been certified Diamond. The RIAA Twitter account responded to a tweet from @chartdata and wrote, “The song is currently 3X multi-Platinum. Please reach out to @RIAA with any questions going forward. Thanks!”

The original post follows below.

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The astounding success of Lil Nas X’s viral hit “Old Town Road” has been discussed to no end at this point, and that’s because while the song debuted a while ago now, its reign at the top of the charts is ongoing. In fact, it just became the longest-running No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in hip-hop history.

Since the song is still in constant rotation, it is continuing to make history, and it just hit a huge milestone: “Old Town Road” has now been certified Diamond, meaning it has sold 10 million units. That’s not all, though, as the song’s certification came in the midst of uncommon circumstances. @chartdata notes that “Old Town Road” is the first song to be certified Diamond while still at No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart since Elton John’s “Candle In The Wind 1997” did it over two decades ago.

https://twitter.com/chartdata/status/1146482467836055559

https://twitter.com/chartdata/status/1146483271590543360

Here’s some noteworthy context about this achievement (via Stereogum): This year, five other songs have also been certified Diamond, and they are Ed Sheeran’s “Shape Of You” (released as a single in 2016) and “Thinking Out Loud” (2014), Bruno Mars’ “Just The Way You Are” (2010), Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours” (2005), and Fun and Janelle Monáe’s “We Are Young” (2011). All of those songs were released over two years ago, while “Old Town Road” first claimed the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100 in April of this year.

Of course, Lil Nas X had a hilarious reaction to the news:

As aforementioned, Lil Nas X’s chart success is ongoing, as he just debuted two songs on the Billboard rock charts.